[RFI] Canal water! (& BPL)

[Hare,Ed, W1RFI]

That about sums it up for me, too.  Much of what "I" do is building on the work done by others, and I am more than pleased to serve as a conduit for that work.  I had an interesting and productive exchange this morning with a fellow about the general tone of ARRL's BPL material. It must serve a wide range of needs, and as pleasing as it would be to create a www.gobpl.com web page, in many cases, the amateurs working a problem locally need something they can use to work with -- not against -- their local utility.  Having relatively neutral material provides just that.  Those that want something a bit more "direct" can go to some of Sumner's editorials (some of which are a lot more forceful than I would write).  By not taking too "direct" a stance, ARRL is able to serve on industry committees and work directly with a number of the involved agencies, another advantage.  All in all, I think that this sort of thing is headed in the right direction.

I appreciate constructive criticism, as many who have offered that to me over the years knows, but when that criticism consists of a blanket statement that no one within ARRL should be allowed to say that something is someone else's job, that is simply not useable input.  I am not sure how to deal with it, because the alternative is not to participate in these on-line fora at all, and that doesn't seem like a good idea, either.

At any rate, tomorrow I am off to one those industry meetings. IEEE is convening its second BPL standards meeting in NJ, and that will pretty much take care of tomorrow. When I get back, I need to get in contact with each of the local groups working BPL across the country, getting updates, offering a bit of advice and getting people signed up for the bpl-local reflector. Hopefully, next week, I can find some time to update the ARRL web page; I have a few ideas that will add a bit to its usefulness. (Suggestions appreciated.)

Ed Hare, W1RFI
ARRL Laboratory Manager
225 Main St
Newington, CT 06013
Tel: 860-594-0318
Internet: W1RFI at arrl.org
Web: http://www.arrl.org/tis
Member: ASC C63 EMC Committee
   Chairman: Subcommittee 5, Immunity
   Chairman: Ad hoc BPL Working Group
Member: IEEE SCC-28 RF Safety
Member: Society of Automotive Engineers EMC/EMR Committee
Member: IEEE 


> -----Original Message-----
> From: rfi-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:rfi-bounces at contesting.com]On
> Behalf Of Jim Jarvis
> Sent: Monday, July 19, 2004 4:20 PM
> To: rfi at contesting.com
> Subject: [RFI] Canal water! (& BPL)
> 
> 
> 
> You guys who seem hell bent on ARRL bashing need to get a grip.
> It's much better coordinated than you're giving it credit for.
> 
> We are 650K licensed amateurs, of whom 170k support the national
> association.  That's a major part of the problem.
> 
> We have little economic impact, principally because we cannot act
> in concerted fashion.  We are threatened by BPL, and we're fighting
> amongst ourselves.
> 
> The core problem here is simple:  Social relevance.
> Is it "chatting with China", or "robust, distributed asset, 
> interoperable
> voice and data emergency communications" which is threatened?
> We need to be clear in our vocabulary, and how we use it.
> WHY are we here?
> 
> As for me...I support Ed Hare and Dave Sumner, and the ARRL staff.
> They're doing a decent job of fighting the war.  Not perfect, 
> but we're all
> human, and in the PR vein, we're dealing with technology 
> ignorant reporters.
> Can they benefit from our support?  You betcha.
> Can WE benefit from a PR kit and scripts?  You betcha.
> 
> Reasoned, rational, measured, vocal--but professional.  That's what we
> need to be.  We hang together, or we hang alone!
> 
> N2EA
> 
> -0-
> Given the magnitude of the threat we face, the ARRL should 
> create within
> itself a single organization responsible and accountable for defeating
> BPL. All activities -- including PR -- should be driven by this
> organization. Anything less is pulling punches, which we can 
> ill afford.
> No one in this organization should ever respond with "not my 
> bailiwick".
> 
>     73,
> 
>         Dave, AA6YQ
> 
>  I posted a request for a press kit on this
> > reflector a couple of days ago specifically
> > for this kind of situation and got no response
> > whatsoever.  I'll contribute money to the ARRL
> > when they tell me they will use it to hire
> > a public relations firm, which is badly needed.
> > I'm glad there are at least 2 of us who understand
> > this problem.
> >
> > Rick N6RK
> >
> -0-
> 
> n2ea
> jimjarvis at ieee.org
> 
> 
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