Topband: Power line communication (PLC) - Trends in Holland

[Brad Rehm]

"There is nothing wrong with being paranoid when there actually is a
crowd behind you with torches and pitchforks and they are gaining on
you...  :o)

"Metaphorically, this is the situation of ham radio today.

"We may have common cause with agencies that rely on radio
communications that affect safety and the delivery of life-saving
services, etc., but it is an open question whether the hams with their
unique charter and practices would mesh well with these other radio
services in the real world of litigation."

David,

I would have to agree with both of your comments.  If one of these
encroachment issues ever got to litigation, we'd have a hard time
defending ourselves.  Our charter really is unique, and I think it
would be difficult to defend in the face of profit-motivated
predators.

But your email also mentions a different kind of threat--the people
who have no idea of what ham radio is and see absolutely no value in
it.  These are the folks for whom putting a ham off the air is
trivially unimportant as compared with the chance of missing a few
minutes of Friends.  Maybe, we should petition to have another
component added to the question pool.  In addition to Rules, Theory,
and Practice, we should have a section about promoting our hobby and
dealing with TVI complaints.

The thought that motivated my original email was that I worry when we
become too jaded.  Sure, we have to keep an eye on things and be
prepared to step up when the bullies are coming down the street.  But
too much negative, "realistic" talk can be demoralizing and even
frightening to some hams.