Well, if any of the tests I have heard about, be prepared for RFI problems. I think that QST a ham radio mag did some articles on it too. not in favor of it at all.
Yep... Word has it, Japan and three other central European countries tested and promptly shut down there BPL test sites due to interference.
Word also has it that one of the air traffic control transmitting beacons in the Pacific Northwest Coast had to be shut down because of BPL interference at a recent test site. The beacon that got shut down wasn't the one that transmits verbal communications, it was one of the homing beacons for navagation (not all aircraft use GSP yet...as I understand).
Heres a couple of links. Below the AudioNote TT-1 Turntable article is one on BPL,
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/1204/joeaudiophile4.htmthen these next two are to thte ARRL, the HAM radio guys
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/http://www.arrl.org/Keep in mind, all of that bandwidth (2-80mHz) gets broadcast over
unshielded power lines. We've all seen the stories about people living near the high power lines and excessive cell phone use contracting bizarre diseases and cancers. Well, we're about to turn our power lines into a huge open microwave (not actually a microwave but you get the idea).
..... and
who is going to police all of this newly created bandwidth?
The FCC? They don't have the budget.
That means companies utilizing this technology will be free to broadcast a signal that
could exceed the FCC's guidlines on amplitude by any amount they wish without
anybody to check them.
Example, a company moves into a new town, sets up a modulating transmitter, starts to broadcast, a new subdivision gets added to the power grid. Rather than adding another low power amplifier to service the grid expansion, they crank up the existing one. They now have just surpassed the 70dB of gain (or so) legally allowed by the FCC and cranked it to 100dB to insure that the far end of the power grid expansion gets it's 70dB of service. What just happened to the guy and his megabuck electronics (not to mention his health potentially) that lives in the house right next to the modulator?
Hypothetical?....... yep......but entirely plausable.
BPL is a
stupendously bad idea. Not the concept but the reprocussions.
Sometimes the Federal Government should be excluded from making important decisions.