Broadband over Powerlines - A Radio Amateur's Perspective

A radio amateur's tour of the Mt Nelson BPL trail in Hobart, Tasmania.
Audible and Visual presentation of the interference potential of this technology.
More information is available at: http://reast.asn.au/vk7bplwatch.php

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• BPL
• bpl
• Broadband
• Over
• Powerline
• Amateur
• Radio
• Ham
• Hobart
• Tasmania
• Australia
• Mt
• Nelson
• VK7
• Aurora
• Energy
• TasTel

[maciejwrotek]

Could you install a device in ur power socket that generates impulses that disturb operation of this internet ?? Perhaps they would be annoyed and dismantled it.

[maciejwrotek]

@maciejwrotek or if they use wifi, point high gain directional antenna in their antennas and generate blocking signal

[VK7TW]

We undertook testing of the ingress of an amateur radio signal into this system in one of the suburbs that was undertaking the trial. The report can be found at the reast.asn.au website under teh BPL watch page and it's called the RF Susceptibility Tests.

[VK7TW]

@maciejwrotek

You could introduce a "blocking" signal however you would have to be careful not to create more interference.

[Amishman35]

Another thing that obliterates shortwave, but to a lesser extent is cable modems, they load the whole house from 1800 kHz to 20 Mhz with what sounds like AC mains hum, I have to go outside with a Digital Voice Recorder to receive SSTV pictures. But your situation is MUCH worse. You can't even hear the alternator of the automobile, and you're right on top of it (car electronic QRM is REALLY LOUD, and BPL PLC in a far off house knocks it off the air). Ethernet cables kill shortwave too.

[VK7TW]

Thanks for your comments. One aspect that really concerns me about BPL is its ability to blanket whole suburbs with broadband noise. I purposely left the alternator noise in the video. Originally I thought about trying to get rid of the alternator noise but realised it was a good reference.

Fortunately, we no longer have the BPL problem as the power company made a decision in November 2007 to stop the trial and the BPL kit was removed from poles around Hobart in January 2008.

[maciejwrotek]

@VK7TW More interference ? That is the point to create more interference.. To stop this ridiculous high voltage line internet.

[SamInTexas]

The solution is to abandon BPL technology and decommission all BPL systems worldwide. Change to fiber optic, 3G or 4G technology.

[Philovideo]

Wow, That BPL RFI is bad! Until the interference issue is resolved, (If at all possible.) this technology should not be deployed. That kind of RFI cannot be tolerated. At least now I know what BPL RFI sounds like on HF! Thanks for posting this video.

73, Bill, KI7F

[sandaura]

Please google SANDAURA YOUTUBES. YOU WILL HEAR THE MICROWAVE NOISE POLLUTION BROADCASTING IN OUR COMMUNITY. THESE ARE PURE TONES, WHICH ARE A HEALTH HAZARD. WHETHER YOU CAN HEAR THEM OR NOT; THEY ARE IN OUR AIR CONSTANTLY PULSING.

[G1HJW]

Having first hand experience of the effect of these devices on Short Wave, AirBand & Broadband use.

I can say they do block out Shortwave radio Broadcast or Ham Radio, they also make weak Am Airband radio hard to hear & slow down the broadband internet. Having had OFCOM Govement body remove one local to me & seeing the change, I wonder why there not already banned & wonder will it take a Air to Air crash because a pilot or control not hearing traffic.

[A61RJ]

Nice Work 73s