[Professional Engineer]

It can also severely hamper shortwave, including Ham, radio communications.

[pabianice]

It can also severely hamper shortwave, including Ham, radio communications.

Meaning, what? About .0001% of the population?

[sportutegrl]

ham radio is a mind bogglingly inefficient use of bandwith.

[InfraRed]

For the past six months or so, Mrs. IR and myself have been noticing some sort of interference with radio, TV, and cell phone signals. I've even heard it on a standard POTS line. Now I'm wondering if it might be related to somebody experimenting with this BPL technology.

We keep hearing what sounds like a short (two or three second) burst of digital data which seems to occur randomly. It is picked up and amplified by our TVs, car radios, cell phones, and even the sound systems on our computers. It is obviously not local to our house or neighborhood, because we've heard it on our car radios in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.

I would like to record a sample of it, and attempt to decode the data. Unfortunately, the random nature of the bursts would likely require 24 hour storage and a great deal of effort to catch. If I knew exactly what I was trying to capture, I could probably devise some sort of smart filter to trigger a recording only when the signal is present, but I don't know what the waveform looks like.

I suspect that it's close to a square wave -hence a composite of all harmonics- because it is detected and amplified by tuners operating in bands all over the spectrum. I guess it could also be a low frequency signal which is directly affecting power supplies in the various devices, but if so then it must also be an awfully strong signal.

If anyone reading this post has noticed this interference and knows what might be causing it, please help save me from my own curiosity!

[Nowhere Man]

It can also severely hamper shortwave, including Ham, radio communications.

I know, especially in the shortwave and lower VHF bands, it is said the frequency range most affected is the 2000 kc to 80 Mc (Lower VHF-TV channels) range, some cases up to even 100 Mc (middle FM band). I've heard stories where they tried it in Japan but it is now banned there because of it.

[festus]

It can also severely hamper shortwave, including Ham, radio communications.

Which is ok because as long as power and the internet is functional ham radio isn't needed. But in a true disaster the power grid is down and the hams can save us all without interference.

[Redleg Duke]

Yeah, one of my employees is a Ham and is always complaining about this. At the same time, he lives out beyond the broadband services, so he is caught in a quandry...sorta mixed emotions, like watching your mother-in-law drive over a cliff in your new Hummer.