[SEL] Fw: Broadband and the town of Manas , Virginia, USA, a bit OT

Sat Aug 27 03:07:54 PDT 2005

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Pavlinovich" <pjp at steamengine.com.au>
Subject: Re: [SEL] Fw: Broadband and the town of Manas ,Virginia,USA, a bit 
OT

> For a start "broadband" is a very general category and covers hundreds of 
> different transmission methods from copper based land lines, through 
> radio, microwave, satellite and other mechanisms.

Paul,

Thanks for the email and sharing your experience. The main concern seems to 
be interference from the power line grid that is used worldwide for electric 
power distribution.

> You sound like the kind of person who does not have a microwave in their 
> house because of the radiation it gives off (less than the power wires 
> within your walls for those of you that are wondering!).

I can assure you that I do have a microwave oven and other radiation 
creating appliances in my house that do indeed cause less radiation than the 
"power wires". These "power wires" actually do generate a lot of radiation 
so stating that these devises put out less radiation is not saying much. The 
difference is, the frequency and radiation levels is generally such that 
they don't cause interference with other services. I say generally because 
some of these devices do cause interference but can be dealt with by turning 
off the offending appliance when it causes objectional interference. This 
isn't possible with a broadband powerline source.

> this only carries about 300' reliably! Even if every single house 
> installed it it would be no different to every house having a digital 
> cordless phone which happen to use the same frequences plus a couple of 
> others.

I can also assure you that a source of radiation interference within 300' is 
more than enough to cause hugh problems when trying to receive the generally 
extremely low level signals of a distress call from a area that has no main 
line power and is relying on a small power generator or a battery for power 
(which is the case in most of these disaster situations). A radio set up to 
receive these signals is much closer than 300' (usually within inches) of 
the communications gear because it uses the powerline itself.

> None of the broadband methods I've encountered will interfere in emergency 
> communications in any way. It is a bit like using a mobile phone at a fuel 
> station - it will NOT set fire to your car :)... Urban legends, what would 
> we talk about around the beer circle without them!

I beg to differ with you on your opinion that no interference will be caused 
with emergency communication. I'll ask you for the source of that statement. 
Maybe the key to your statement is "methods I've encountered". Is it 
possible that you haven't fully tested this? It has been proven with studies 
conducted by FEMA, ARRL and numerous state agencies that broadband power 
line use has a hugh negative effect on both emergency and routine 
communication.

It's "my opinion" that the big dollar communications industry has funded 
this push for broadband powerline use despite its effects. The money put 
into lobbying for this application is staggering.

I guess this is probably way off topic for the SEL group and do apologize. 
This should probably be debated in another arena.

Tom

> Tom Smith wrote:
>> You need to look closely before you make a decision on broadband 
>> communication. It appears to be cheap but as in most things there is no 
>> free ride.
>>
>> The only downside is the potential for RF interference of others users of 
>> the spectrum. The frequencies used on these systems can and probably will 
>> cause interference to emergency services, amateur radio, and other 
>> commercial users that are on the primary and harmonics of the frequencies 
>> used by the broadband network. Once broadband is established, there is no 
>> way to shut it off in the middle of a natural or manmade disaster when 
>> the lack of health and welfare communications is deadly.
>>
>> The US has several pilot broadband projects that have had very negative 
>> effects on wireless communication. Interference on a average day is just 
>> a nuisance but can have a very negative impact on life and property in a 
>> natural disaster when you can't get health and welfare requests 
>> communicated. There is a better way than jeopardizing our lives in 
>> disasters that seem to be occuring freqently.
>>
>> Be careful.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 19:43:11 +0800
>>  "peter ogborne" <jopeter at omninet.net.au> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "peter ogborne" 
>>> <jopeter at omninet.net.au>
>>> To: <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
>>> Sent: Friday, August 26, 2005 7:11 AM
>>> Subject: Fw: Broadband and the town of Manas ,Virginia,USA, a bit OT
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "peter ogborne" 
>>>> <jopeter at omninet.net.au>
>>>> To: <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
>>>> Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 8:22 AM
>>>> Subject: Broadband and the town of Manas ,Virginia,USA, a bit OT
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> I recently heard a report how the town of Manas [maybe incorrect 
>>>>> spelling] in Virginia were testing a system of Broadband internet 
>>>>> connection via the power grid. To all accounts it was successful. This 
>>>>> would have great implications for our Australian Telstra as their 
>>>>> copper system would not be needed. Most Australian towns are connected 
>>>>> to the power grid ,so the inferstructure is already installed. If it 
>>>>> is a goer then watch out Telstra shares!
>>>>> Maybe someone in the US knows about the Manas system .
>>>>> PS I know there is a Manasa [ The Manasa Mauler] Jack Dempsey or Was 
>>>>> it Gene Tunney?
>>>>> Peter Ogborne
>>>>> Little Grove ,Albany
>>>>> West Australia
>>>>> ''Heart of the Rainbow Coast ''
>>>>> jopeter at omninet.net.au
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>> SEL at lists.stationary-engine.com
>>> http://www.stationary-engine.com/mailman/listinfo/sel
>>
>>
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>
> -- 
>
> pjp at steamengine.com.au
> Emerald, Victoria, Australia
> www.steamengine.com.au
>
>
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