uncle arnie wrote:

running dogg wrote:

..

Our utilities out here were run by morons. No grounds (eventually
grounds were put in), cheap materials. RF sources abound. A couple years
ago there was an arcing transformer on one of the poles. So I DF it and
tell SMUD (local electric company) all about it, and nothing was done
because the girl on the phone had no clue what I was talking about. A
few months later that transformer blew, plunging the whole area into
darkness at 2am.


Lawsuit? Get some legislation in place to regulate these bad boys? I never
realized the benefits of having Siberia-like winters. This has cheered my
day (which is a good thing as we start our 5th month of winter). Last year
the ice left the lakes second week of June. Yes, I want cheese with my
whine!

Do you realize how much a lawyer COSTS in America? Several hundred
dollars an HOUR. If I had that kind of money, I wouldn't be living in
this part of town, that's for damn sure.


As for BPL, you're right it's internet on electric "mains" lines. It
doesn't work all that well for what it's designed for. The only thing it
does well is spew QRM from 80 Mhz on down. So far, this latest attempt
to make money hasn't gotten past the test stage. Most other countries
have rejected it. And it's unlikely to make any inroads in poor places
like Africa, which was the intention. Internet by satellite works much
better.


They're doing it by cell phone signal or something so far here, which is
very expensive. I can't imagine satellite is cheap right now.

Not now, but I've heard of areas where even cell phones can't reach
(like deep in the mountains) where satellite internet is feasible.

Regarding poor countries, I heard a RN broadcast about a Swiss company that
does "micro loans" of usually less than $1000, which is used to finance a
cell phone and in some cases a tower for poor villages. The cell phone
owner and money borrower than sells air time to the other villagers. They
call the city and determine when to market their produce, and call their
overseas relatives without having to travel to a town with a landline. I
would think the next logical step would be internet access via micro loan.
This sort of thing sounds so sensible to me.


The micro loans I've heard about are for people in poor countries to
start small one person businesses to feed their families, but this is a
logical extension. And yes, it's so much more sensible than BPL, which
doesn't work well in America and Japan, can you imagine how it would
(not) work in someplace that has decrepit infrastructure and power for
four hours a day?


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