On 6/21/05, Robin 'Roblimo' Miller <robin@roblimo.com> wrote:
>
> >Not to open a can of worms, but what's up with Florida Power's broadband
> >over power lines?
> >
>
> BPL (broadband over powerlines) is pretty much dead despite much foo
> from electric companies a few years back.
>
> Aside from interference, bypassing all the transformers turned out to be
> a problem everyone... umm... forgot about. And there have been other
> technical problems, like signal attenuation, which would require more
> relay equipment $$ than it would take to put up wireless towers. Plus
> wireless technology has gotten much better since the BPL idea first hit.
>
> There's a company in Ohio that claims to have licked some of these
> powerline problems - except for the "last mile" one from the final
> stepdown xfrmrs, so their deal is to put wireless points on light poles.
> I looked at some of their info, can't see what advantage their stuff
> offers over other transmission paths.
>
Yes, that was where the whole problem came about, having to push a
lot of power into those wires in order to get a little bit to each home
through a lossy system. If that signal is not turning into heat where else
is it going, of course it is being radiated, and I think it is probably born
dead, though we see some of our customers who continue to beat the
horse, I personally just wish it would go away, because it is going to be
a big headache. Think a minute about getting around the transformer...
If they are feeding from the substations then it will rid the primaries out
into the customer areas, but you have to get it across each transformer
and that environment is not pretty, power spikes, lightning, and other
nasties (here in FL we have salt and many climbing animals) so you
really have a setup for a problem. Beside what happens if the thing breaks
down?? They are supposed to be grounded to where that does not happen,
but Murphy makes the best laid plans into a party...
I work with a company that does mobile workforce software for utililties and
so far it has not come on the radar screen and rather hope it does not...
-- Chuck Hast To paraphrase my flight instructor; "the only dumb question is the one you DID NOT ask resulting in my going out and having to identify your bits and pieces in the midst of torn and twisted metal."----------------------------------------------------------------------- This list is provided as an unmoderated internet service by Networked Knowledge Systems (NKS). Views and opinions expressed in messages posted are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NKS or any of its employees.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.3 : Fri Aug 01 2014 - 20:24:36 EDT