"Bob P" wrote in message
y.com...
Intentional or not, the article makes ham radio sound pathetic and
antiquated. I'm starting to wonder if the ARRL is making much ado about
nothing in order to collect money from a dwindling membership.
Bob
kb8tl at yahoo dot com



Don't be persuaded by an ill-informed WSJ reporter ... the amateur ranks are
not "shrinking"
.... they've been growing steadily throughout recent history - though not as
much as *I'd* like.

Also, I can tell you from personal field tests and measurements that "access
BPL" is every bit
as bad as the ARRL indicates ... they are NOT "crying wolf" in ANY respect.

FEMA has also made a very strong statement against BPL and, while they
haven't released
their report yet, I expect that when they do the NTIA will also express
serious concerns/reservations
about access BPL as a threat to DoD, Homeland Security, and many of their
other Federal Govt.
"clients'" interest in, and reliance on, HF communications.

There is no "plot" at the ARRL "to raise money by stirring the pot vis a vis
BPL." If it were not for
the real and serious threat that BPL presents, they wouldn't NEED to raise
the money to defend
against it (or could raise money and use it for some useful purpose other
than defending our rights).

Many times articles in the press are way off base ... the WSJ one is one of
those cases, and I wrote
to the author telling him so and why ... I haven't received a response yet,
and may not, but maybe,
just maybe, next time he'll check his facts better before publishing such an
inbalanced and inaccurate
piece.

73,
Carl - wk3c