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[RFI] Line noise is more than a nuisance!

To: <rfi@contesting.com>
Subject: [RFI] Line noise is more than a nuisance!
From: w7ti@dslextreme.com (Bill Turner)
Date: Sun, 01 Dec 2002 15:53:02 -0800
On Sun, 01 Dec 2002 20:40:25 +0000, Tom Horton wrote:

>Bill,
>  I'm sorry, but I think you misunderstand what I am saying.

_________________________________________________________

No, I don't.  Your message was based on the premise that power
line noise should be eliminated because of its potential to
disrupt emergency traffic.

I hate power line noise as much as the next guy, but this is a
phony issue IMO, and when it is presented to the folks at the
electric company, will just make them look at us even more
strangely than they do already.  

Put yourself in their shoes:  Some guy calls up who wants us (the
power company) to send out a repair crew because he's getting
some erratic line noise that might someday interfere with
possible disaster communications.  How fast can you say "good
bye"?

A much better approach, IMO, is to present them with some
evidence that the line noise is interfering with your ongoing
regular ham operations, which are licensed by the FCC and which
they are mandated to fix anyway.  Leave the disaster comm stuff
out.  As I said in my original reply, any on-scene disaster
communication is likely to be done by mobile or portable stations
anyway, and off-scene communications can be handled by any number
of other stations.

In other words, the power company is likely to see your complaint
as a "manufactured" crisis and treat it accordingly.  We hams
don't need that.

73, Bill W7TI


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