League Says Amperion Misrepresenting Facts in Texas BPL Interference Case:

The ARRL has taken issue with BPL manufacturer Amperion's version of events, posted on its Web site http://www.amperion.com/market.asp?id=70 (scroll to "TXU Trial Deployment"), surrounding a Texas BPL interference complaint last fall. Amperion claims that an interference complaint from radio amateurs at a BPL trial operated by utility TXU in Irving, was based "on measurements taken last year but not brought to the attention of TXU or Amperion until March 2005." According to Amperion, that was five months after TXU had completed its trial and decommissioned the system. ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, says the facts stand in stark contrast to Amperion's version of events.

"Amperion's claims that the Irving BPL system was decommissioned in October 2004 and that neither TXU nor Amperion was aware of the interference until March 2005 are blatant misrepresentations," Sumner said.

Setting the record straight, Sumner points out that former North Texas Section BPL Task Force Chair Jory McIntosh, KJ5RM, who regularly commutes through the BPL test zone in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, first logged interference from the TXU BPL system on July 24, 2004. McIntosh said at the time that at a distance of 300 feet from the power line, the interference obliterated normal Amateur Radio signals in the 40, 20, 17, 15, 10 and 6-meter bands.

TXU responded and company personnel accompanied McIntosh to the site the same day. "They observed that the system was producing considerable interference across much of the radio spectrum below 50 MHz," Sumner recounted. Despite system adjustments, the interference remained. McIntosh logged interference from the BPL installation on 11 separate days from August through October, when ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, visited the site and measured interference levels on several frequencies.

Sumner notes that McIntosh filed his formal written complaint with the FCC on November 15, 2004, noting his July 24 visit with TXU representatives. "The complaint was acknowledged, but the only action the FCC took was to refer him back to the system operator," he said.

"It was only after no action resulted from this complaint that the ARRL filed its complaint on March 15, 2005, that included a test report from Mr. Hare," Sumner continued. He emphasized that before filing the complaint the League verified--on March 9--that the interference "was still present to the same extent as previously reported."

Sumner says TXU actually shut down its BPL system and removed the equipment on March 29, 2005, not October 2004, and that the utility advised McIntosh of the shutdown the following day. The ARRL withdrew its now-moot complaint the same day, after McIntosh personally verified that the equipment had been removed.

In a writeup on its Web site, Amperion asserted that TXU decided to decommission the network after it "had already completed its technical trial in October 2004" following seven months of operation. "The decision had nothing to do with the interference complaints that were filed," Amperion stated.

A bill now before the Texas legislature--SB 1748--would amend the Utilities Code to "encourage the deployment of BPL" by electric utilities.

To date, four BPL trial sites using Amperion BPL equipment have shut down in the wake of complaints from Amateur Radio operators.

Source:

The ARRL Letter Vol. 24, No. 19 May 13, 2005

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