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#1
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Another BPL?
Steve Bonine wrote:
There's an article in today's Washington Post http://preview.tinyurl.com/6ego68 that describes a technology that's under development to provide Internet access using spectrum in the TV channel range. Apparently this scheme checks for a signal before it uses a specific frequency and switches to a different one if it detects that the frequency is in use. I wonder how this will work and play with amateur radio. I remember when TV channel 2 was established in my home town, effectively shutting down six meter ham operation because the TV signal was so weak that even a correctly-operating six-meter rig would create serious TVI for the fringe reception of channel 2. Decades have passed and this new technology surely is much less sensitive to adjacent signals than the TVs of my childhood, but the analogy persists. 73, Steve KB9X These freqs, being opened up for the net, is a very exciting development .... I believe the opportunities and access provided will greatly expand the availability to the net under adverse circumstances, and make greater speeds available to those who were lacking the same ... Regards, JS |
#2
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Another BPL?
On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:09:58 -0400, John Smith wrote:
These freqs, being opened up for the net, is a very exciting developmen t ... I believe the opportunities and access provided will greatly expand the availability to the net under adverse circumstances, and make greater speeds available to those who were lacking the same ... Believe it when you see it... BPL was promised as the way to get broadband to rural residents. Never saw any of it deployed in rural areas - all the test systems ended up in suburbia. |
#3
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Another BPL?
On Jul 26, 11:32�am, Doug Smith W9WI wrote:
BPL was promised as the way to get broadband to rural residents. �Never saw any of it deployed in rural areas - all the test systems ended up in suburbia. AFAIK, the reason for that is the classic rural-utilities problem: how to get a usable return on investment from a low-density customer base. Given a reasonable rate structure, often there simply aren't enough revenue dollars to justify the expense of installation and maintenance. Note that the last parts of the USA to get electricity were the rural ones, and it took government programs like the REA and TVA to make it happen. (See windmill/farm radio story below). Access-BPL isn't a way to get broadband to cover more than a mile or two; that's a job for fiber optics. Access-BPL is all about the "last mile": getting the broadband signal into the customer's neighborhood and premises without new wires by using the power lines. It sounds like a good idea until the downsides are considered. Besides the obvious interference issues, there's the need to install devices to permit the BPL signal to bypass the distribution transformers (which raises a whole bunch of safety concerns) and how lossy the power lines are to the BPL signal (because it's radiating!). Economics alone may be the doom of BPL. --- And now the farm radio story: Years after electric lighting and radio broadcasting were common in the USA, many farms and rural areas did not have electricity. In some areas, small local cooperative power systems were built, with varying degrees of success. But in many areas the distances were so great that such systems did not happen. One solution that had a fair following was the windmill generator. Windmills had long been used for pumping water - in fact the artesian well and the water-pumping windmill were major factors in the cultivation of the Great Plains. Companies like Wincharger produced wind-powered electric systems for lighting. Typically these were ~32 volt DC systems with storage batteries for windless nights. The farm folks wanted radio, too, but usually the cost of an electric system just to power a receiver was prohibitive. So AM BC radios were developed to run from the windmill power systems. They used ordinary receiving tubes with the heaters in series and the plate supply direct from the 32 volts, for economy. The resulting low gain was dealt with by an additional stage or two and paralleled audio output tubes. Still cheaper and less trouble than a dynamotor or vibrator supply, and used less energy. These wind-powered radios are rare now because they were only sold in rural areas and became obsolete when rural electrification came through. Plus one more factor: One unusual feature of the 32 volt systems was that they used the same hardware (lamp sockets, outlets, switches, wiring) as 110 volt AC systems. This seemed like a good idea at the time because it eliminated future re-work. But it was risky because if someone plugged the wrong-voltage device in, there could be a lot of smoke released. More than a few 32 volt radios met an untimely demise from such mistakes. Another approach stemmed from the development of low-drain 1.4 volt filament receiving tubes. "Farm radios" designed around these tubes and powered by dry cell batteries were developed for the rural market. Special combination-block dry cell batteries were developed where the cells were sized for a particular set design so that the A and B sections wore out together. They were a staple of rural-area radio- sales-and-repair shops until the electrification came through. Now, 60-odd years later, we are seeing a resurgence in wind power and off-the-grid technology. Everything old is new again. 73 de Jim, N2EY |
#4
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Another BPL?
John Smith wrote in
: These freqs, being opened up for the net, is a very exciting development ... I believe the opportunities and access provided will greatly expand the availability to the net under adverse circumstances, and make greater speeds available to those who were lacking the same ... Hi John. What are the technical aspects of these systems that will do this? I read what they are doing, and what they have done so far to be technically not so good. It appears that the concept is flawed. From what I can piece together, it looks as if the main concept treats the RF spectrum as if it were wired for digital. That will not work. Simple Wi-Fi and other digital transmission setups in use now are not close to the same. The system that comes closest in likely performance is cellular net access. That uses compression rather than frequency agility of course. This is a presumed frequency agile system that won't interfere with other signals already on the band. If it works, one possible outcome is that no available frequency will be found, and no connection made. Failure is a built in option! - 73 de Mike N3LI - |
#5
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Another BPL?
Mike Coslo wrote:
... Hi John. What are the technical aspects of these systems that will do this? I read what they are doing, and what they have done so far to be technically not so good. It appears that the concept is flawed. From what I can piece together, it looks as if the main concept treats the RF spectrum as if it were wired for digital. That will not work. Simple Wi-Fi and other digital transmission setups in use now are not close to the same. The system that comes closest in likely performance is cellular net access. That uses compression rather than frequency agility of course. This is a presumed frequency agile system that won't interfere with other signals already on the band. If it works, one possible outcome is that no available frequency will be found, and no connection made. Failure is a built in option! - 73 de Mike N3LI - Only compression working in conjunction with spread spectrum or other frequency-skipping/efficiency techniques makes any sense what-so-ever .... if the implemented systems do not include state-of-the-art techniques in these areas--they will eventually be forced too, as traffic climbs ... Although it has been months since I have viewed the available/proposed plans, the best plans called for the freqs to be open to all--i.e., rented/leased, etc. from successful bidder(s), and at fair rates. And, included free and open wifi access from points along major traffic routes, cities, etc. through constructive funding methods (ads, city/town/county/state/federal participations, etc.) However, you know as well as I, in this day-and-age--especially, what the pubic wants and sees benefits in are NOT always given major priority. Or simply, we live in a world which maximizes profits for some at the expense of the majority. While this does what it intends and very efficiently at that, the quality-of-living/services for the multitudes suffers greatly ... but then, you have already seen that. (example: my city just ear marked 1,500,000 for "the arts"--and, LARGE holes in the roads are tearing chunks off car tires! Our water system needs a billion+ dollar upgrade ... etc. If you don't believe our politicians, even down to the minor ones in your/my town, are "owned", just where in the heck have you been taking that "Rip Van Winkle Nap" at? Regards, JS |
#6
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Another BPL?
Mike Coslo wrote:
... This is a presumed frequency agile system that won't interfere with other signals already on the band. If it works, one possible outcome is that no available frequency will be found, and no connection made. Failure is a built in option! - 73 de Mike N3LI - Sorry, in my haste I missed making a suitable response to this part of your post. I never see a "failure", so to speak, occurring (other than catastrophic failure and requiring repair of hardware/firmware/software.) And, under peak-loads/hardware-failure/etc., slowdowns may occur. However, this would happen to any/all net traffic under adverse condition. Indeed, you really don't know how the net gets to you, satellite/hard-line/cell-tower/etc. are all being implemented behind the curtains and simply ends up looking seamless to us, the users. The net should not be viewed as a long winded amateur who abuses "key down" time. The net is in packets, these packets are of a sensible size and sent "in turn." There are rules to prevent one or more "glutton(s)" from being able to adversely affect net traffic. From my home wifi router/switch to the data streams off a major backbone, packets are handled this way. Usually some type of First-In-First-Out (or, FIFO) queue is implemented (packets may not always be transmitted "in order", however, they will always carry an id which allows the logical data stream to reconstructed.) Your packet is never "lost" or "ignored", it is simply "waiting in line", like a busy supermarket--your "shopping time" may vary. Regards, JS |
#7
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Another BPL?
On Jul 27, 2:37�am, Mike Coslo wrote:
This is a presumed frequency agile system that won't interfere with other signals already on the band. If it works, one possible outcome is that no available frequency will be found, and no connection made. Failure is a built in option! IMHO: I think this whole business of "overlays", unlicensed users, and such, is not the way to go. I think we (and more important, the FCC) need to step back and get some basic concepts re-established. The whole basis of licensing and regulation is to get the most and best use of a limited resource (the RF spectrum) with minimum interference. That's what started licensing in 1912, and is the whole reason for the radio part of FCC. And for a long time, if you wanted to intentionally radiate RF, you needed at least one FCC license, and had to abide by the rules of that license. If you unintentionally radiated enough RF, FCC would not let you continue doing so. Different parts of the RF spectrum were allocated for different uses. Sharing of the same spectrum between licensed services worked with varying degrees of success. The idea of allowing unlicensed intentional RF emitters to share RF spectrum with licensed ones probably dates back to the first "phono oscillators" that used the AM BC band to let you play records through a radio. That was a marginal idea in its time, but it's turned into a very bad idea today. The big problem of BPL isn't that it could interfere with us hams - lots of things can do that. The big problem was that an unintentional (and effectively unlicensed) RF emitter was and is being given priority over and above licensed users. (See many reports of hams who report interference from BPL, yet the BPL system is allowed to continue operating). The idea that various unlicensed users can "overlay" on top of licensed ones, and that the whole business of licensing and regulation can be relaxed, sounds pretty good at first. But in reality, problems do arise, and then the unlicensed users don't want to shut down. Often they are unaware of the interference. It's just bad engineering and bad planning. If RF spectrum is needed for new technologies, allocate it! License the new technologies to use their own allocations, rather than stepping all over other folks'. And stop permitting so much RF pollution from unintentional emitters. It's just not necessary; the technology exists to do things right. Old-fashioned ideas? Maybe, but that doesn't mean they are bad ideas. I am reminded of the old story of the hobo who was discovered by the train conductor, and who ordered the hobo off the train because he didn't have a ticket. The hobo argued that the train was going to go where it was going anyway, that there was plenty of unused space in the baggage car and plenty of seats with no one in them, so why should he have to buy a ticket? The hobo promised that if the train got crowded he would get off. But barring such crowding, he argued, his presence on the train would cost the railroad nothing. So why throw him off? Why not let him ride free? 73 de Jim, N2EY |
#9
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Another BPL?
A bit of history may be in order.
Going back many decades, international radio spectrum managers (ITU/IFRB) designated several slices of spectrum for Industrial, Scientific, and Medical uses on a regulated-but-non-licensed basis. The most famous of these was the former 11-meter Amateur Radio band, centered around 27.12 MHz (Mc/s in those days) and the 960 MHz and the 2450 MHz bands where the "WiFi" stuff eventually landed. These bands were and to most of us still are considered "electronic garbage cans" and Administrations could allocate uses of those spectrum slices on the basis that the users had to accept any interference from ISM operations. The FCC decided to establish a class of non-licensed low-power operations regulated under what is now Part 15 which could operate in those spectrum spaces. The 11-meter band was allocated to the Citizens Band Radio Service, which at first was a licensed service but became "blanket authorization" when the renegade violators decided to ignore the law and the FCC caved in (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em). At the same time, ISM operations - which in general were high power with lots of harmonics) moved to screen rooms or elsewhere in the spectrum because their harmonics were causing interference in the VHF Aviation band. leaving that portion of the spectrum to the CBers. This more-or-less orderly Part 15 operation lasted for a while until the FCC, in a stroke of lightheadedness, no doubt prodded by equipment manufacturers with product to sell, decided to allow Part 15 operations on other portions of the spectrum allocated to licensing users. There was quite an uproar while that was being proposed, and the objectors were told to "sit down and be quiet". In other words, it was a done deal where politics or ideology overruled competent spectrum management. -- 73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon e-mail: k2asp [at] arrl [dot] net |
#10
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Another BPL?
In article ,
Phil Kane wrote: A bit of history may be in order. Going back many decades, international radio spectrum managers (ITU/IFRB) designated several slices of spectrum for Industrial, Scientific, and Medical uses on a regulated-but-non-licensed basis. The most famous of these was the former 11-meter Amateur Radio band, centered around 27.12 MHz (Mc/s in those days) and the 960 MHz and the 2450 MHz bands where the "WiFi" stuff eventually landed. These bands were and to most of us still are considered "electronic garbage cans" and Administrations could allocate uses of those spectrum slices on the basis that the users had to accept any interference from ISM operations. The FCC decided to establish a class of non-licensed low-power operations regulated under what is now Part 15 which could operate in those spectrum spaces. The 11-meter band was allocated to the Citizens Band Radio Service, which at first was a licensed service but became "blanket authorization" when the renegade violators decided to ignore the law and the FCC caved in (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em). At the same time, ISM operations - which in general were high power with lots of harmonics) moved to screen rooms or elsewhere in the spectrum because their harmonics were causing interference in the VHF Aviation band. leaving that portion of the spectrum to the CBers. This more-or-less orderly Part 15 operation lasted for a while until the FCC, in a stroke of lightheadedness, no doubt prodded by equipment manufacturers with product to sell, decided to allow Part 15 operations on other portions of the spectrum allocated to licensing users. There was quite an uproar while that was being proposed, and the objectors were told to "sit down and be quiet". In other words, it was a done deal where politics or ideology overruled competent spectrum management. -- 73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon e-mail: k2asp [at] arrl [dot] net I remember as a Kid, my doctor had a "Dyeathermy?" Machine on 27.255 Mhz that had an 833 in it as a Self-excited Osc. I often wondered if it took out all the CB Receivers in 20 miles when he fired it up. Had to plugged into 220 Vac. -- Bruce in alaska add path after fast to reply |