Dee D. Flint wrote:
"Eric" wrote in message
...

[snip]
I really do want to become involved in the hobby and hate to ask this
question, but does BPL really have the potential of "destroying" HF

amateur

radio? As someone that is just entering the hobby, should I put
consideration in changes that may be occuring in the near future when I do
start purchasing equipment. (I'm sure I'll learn all this as I attend
meetings, begin studying for licensing, etc, but was curious for now.)

Also, I was thinking (I'm not familiar with FCC regulations yet), but if

the

power companies are modulating an intelligence (internet), putting it on a
carrier, putting that signal on unshielded power lines (which, in essense,
become antennas), then that sounds like "radio" to me? Shouldn't the

power

companies be required to have a radio license to do BPL?

I plan on becoming actively involved on the BPL issue, once I become more
knowledgable. If the BPL threat is as serious as I have been reading, the
people making decisions on allowing it to go forward need to seriously

give

it more consideration. Of course, its all about $$.



One by one, the BPL trials are shutting down with no plans to continue
deployment. They have run into technical issues like interference. I also
suspect the "bean counters" are finally getting a handle on the cost to
deploy and are finding that it is not the economic bonanza that the
advertising "smoke & mirrors" tries to use to convince people. There has
been at least one published article (I've unfortunately lost the URL) by an
independent analyst that shows that BPL simply will not be financially
feasible.

Dee's answer is spot on. I think that BPL is likely to simply fizzle out.

The hidden bugaboo in the BPL equation is that they will have to run
fiber *almost* to the house, then break it out to put it on a HV
powerline before sending it to your house. In practice this means that
in addition to the signal going to your house which needs to isolate
that HV from your computer and the rest of your household items, at the
same time, that fiber will be going past your house.

So lessee he

A danger of high voltage paying a visit in some cases of equipment failure.

The power company will have to run essentially as much fiber as in a
fiber to the house system. And

This signal can wreak havoc on Ham radio, Airplane comms, police comms,
and all the other users of HF spectrum. Presumably the BPL signal can be
"notched out" from those services it interferes with. I personally doubt
that will work. There isn't free space on the HF bands. And it's
important to remember that we are not at the best time in the solar
cycle. when propagation returns, that BPL signal might go worldwide!

And it's important to note that all manner of things interfere with BPL
also.

Its pretty much a non-starter



To compete, BPL would have to have the speed and reliability of cable modem
with the cost of phone modem. It isn't going to happen. Projected cost for
BPL is similar to that of DSL, wireless, or cable. Those people who are
willing to pay higher prices for faster service have already gone to one of
these three services. Those still on phone modems stay there due to cost.
BPL won't change that. Plus the reliability of BPL won't be able to match
the other services. As an HF signal on an unshielded line, it will be
subject to all the interference sources we hams experience such as static
from storms, static from the guy down the street with the welder, static
from a bad transformer in the area, etc. Plus the utilities would have to
clean up their overall powerline noise to prevent problems from that.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE