said by AnOldGuy :

well - I live about 30 miles from Princeton and the hams that I know there are complaining. Seems that they have experienced interference and as with most of the other BPL trials it has been swept under the table by the FCC.

said by jjeffeory :

HAM radio is ... very useful in the event of a major catastrophic emergency...

said by moonpuppy :

BPL affect more than just HAM radio. It affects frequencies up to 80Mhz.

said by amigo_boy :

Ok, but what I was getting at is: why can't higher frequencies be used for the stated "emergency services" which hobby frequencies are supposed to be protected for?

Mark

said by moonpuppy :

Do you even know what occupies the HF spectrum?

said by amigo_boy :

One question at a time please. That's not what I asked. Why can't higher frequencies be used for the emergency services which we're told is the benefit of hobby radio?

Mark

said by moonpuppy :

As the frequency goes up, the distance goes down. Long range communications are possible in HF and not so much in VHF or higher.

said by amigo_boy :

Relays and nets? It's all relative, right?

Mark

said by moonpuppy :

VHF is line of sight which becomes extremely difficult in mountainous regions.

said by amigo_boy :

That's why there could be a mixture of VHF hobbyists and satellite services.

Mark

said by moonpuppy :

A mobile unit cannot communicate with a satellite easily.

said by amigo_boy :

As I said, I never had a problem with my Iridium phone.

Mark

said by moonpuppy :

Again, how much more in taxes are you willing to spend for this conversion?

said by amigo_boy :

Again, not more than the price of an M16.

Mark

said by moonpuppy :

And again, it costs much more than that.

said by amigo_boy :

And again, you have no idea of the comparative costs. I think what's being established is that you're so biased by your hobby that you're unable to see the validity of *any* reasonable compromise.

Remember, the number of purchased Iridium phones would be much less than the number of M16s. It's not like they'd be issued to every soldier. And, they wouldn't require the special security oversight inherent with weapons (and the public safety issues which arise due to their theft).

I could insult you by saying "try again" or "you need to study more before...". But, I feel no need to since I'm mot a partisan.

Mark

said by moonpuppy :

As for security issues with dolling out weapons, you would know that all communication equipment goes through similar security measures especially since most have cryptographic additions that are more HIGHLY controlled than any personal weapons.

said by amigo_boy :

Aren't you comparing apples to oranges? Why would satellite phones for use during rare emergencies require encrypted communications? They would only be used to augment hobbiests' VHF nets (which aren't encrypted).

Mark

said by moonpuppy :

Military communications are 90% encrypted.

said by amigo_boy :

Non sequitur. We're talking about augmenting the 30 hobbyists who participated after the Washington floods if they are unable to form nets with 2 meter and 70 cm. Remember? It's not for any other use.

Mark

said by CoxCable4 :

who cares about ham radio, emergency services and military- they can be moved to a different spectrum. BPL and the internet is way more important then that crap, out with the old in with the new. we'll put you ham radio guys in a museum

said by Austinloop :

Over a period of time and numerous threads concerning BPL, amigo child has proved that he knows nothing. He has an irrational dislike for amateur radio, for what reason, who knows. It is pointless to discuss anything with him.

said by jjeffeory :

HAM radio is too important to just make the "little HAM radio geeks" go away. It's very useful in the event of a major catastrophic emergency... You know, like hurricanes, large fires, earthquakes, major brown outs, terrorist attacks, etc... 10 years ago I would have laughed at the odds of having 3 of the events happening near the same time, but living through many of them, has changed that thought. You can speak to people very far away with very little power. I think it's stupid to just tell them to go away.
I don't use HAM radio, but for me it is like having a backup plan to communicate across distances in case some other major infrastructure is "fubared". BPL, sounds like crap... If it works and doesn't mess with HAM radio, give it a try, oterhwise it shouldn't be used.