Also, consider that once BPL comes around, it probably won't be long before the same company sells digital phone over the same lines. Therefore, there will be internet and phone communications as long as BPL signal is up, and if lines or the signal are down, then ham can cut in.
Ham radio is not only for emergency use. It is primarily a hobby (note: hobby as in volunteer); albeit one that promotes technology, expertise and the ability to provide emergency communications in those times when other communications infrastructures falter or fail.
Hams enjoy their hobby for uncountable reasons but some the most important reasons stem from the freedom and capability of talking to people in other places outside of their own state or country. The High-Frequency (HF) segment of the radio spectrum is where hams have the ability to talk betond line-of-sight for any distance beyond a few miles.
When there is no emergency, hams experiment and practice their art through drills and simulations of various disasters. Also hams encourage goodwill and promotion of knowledge of others through casual world-wide communications.
If we hams are only "allowed" to communicate during an emergency when other communication infrastructures are down, then I can just about guarantee that there will be few, if any, hams there to provide critical and vital communications.
Suppose you could only use your coding skills or perhaps even your computer altogether unless there is an emergency? How well could you jump into the fray and perform efficiently? If you absolutely could not type a line of code unless and until an emergency comes along, how fresh in your mind would be the code and procedures? If you could only use it (voluntarily) would you even spend the time and money building or acquiring the equipment?
During non-emergeny times, hams practice (whether they think about it as such or not) their skills and procedures. They enhance their operating skills and usually improve their equipment and performance.
I am a ham. I regularly talk to people in other countries via the HF segmant of the RF spectrum. That is the main spectrum segment that is threatened by the majority of BPL offerings. If BPL eliminates the use of this segment of the RF spectrum then I, like many, many others, will have no reason to maintain my HF equipment, keep in practice or even spend the money and time to buy or build or improve HF-capable radios or antennas. The emergency needs of the community will have to be provided and paid for by some one else; like government--meaning you--through taxes.
But I doubt Bluetooth is going to reach up to 20 miles without some major (and likely illegal) modifications. One of the big selling points of ZigBee is the range one can get between nodes while keeping the protocol simpler and less expensive to implement than BT.
Admittedly 20 miles would be under optimal conditions, but ranges that can far exceed bluetooth's are easily possible with ZigBee.
"It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's. It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs." -- Oxford University Press, Edpress News
"And building a dedicated railbed and running an AutoTrain would be even easier, far more efficent, and MUCH faster."
The main problem I see with this idea is that, when I travel long enough distances to justify the use of something like a train or bus, I almost always have to arrange transportation at the other end. Some of my final destinations are well off the beaten path and require either a manual-drive car or a taxi. In most of the cases, the destination is far out in rural areas where a taxi fee would be prohibitive. I know for some people there is sufficient public transportation to allow getting from point A to B without a privately owned vehicle is easy but this is not true for all.
The idea of having a POV that would allow me to use a controlled highway during the bulk of the trip but would also allow independent, manual control when public transport is not available or too expensive would be ideal.
"...pesky problems like actually dealing with the one driver who's car is NOT on full automatic drive who INSISTS upon getting into that lane."
The use of cameras and toll-tag like devices will filter the miscreants out. Maybe not instantly but soon enough. Law enforcement and patrols are already well-researched and do function fairly well (while I will be the first to admit there is room for improvement. Maybe a little research is due...
--
There is no need for you to drive me crazy. Insanity is within walking distance.
I can just imagine the size of the gyros and retros we will need to rotate the planet so that this Antarctic telescope can view something interesting from the northern hemisphere.
-- What am I on?? I'm on poverty, it's like life but with less money.
When I worked support desks, I knew the ignorance of the caller was my bread and butter. Ignorance in a user is fine; that can be corrected. Willing and enduring ignorance in a user is unacceptable and should be punishable by slow death.
Since the users I supported were already IT, they were expected by to have some knowledge. If they did not, they deserved no sympathy.
It might be as simple as finding something which will react with toner to make it fluoresce under UV.
An interesting thing happens to most laser/copier toners when the page is sprayed with Krylon Klear Kote. The letters swell off the page, sort of like embossing. I used to make nicely "antiqued" calling and business cards for myself by printing on heavy stock then kleer koting it before cutting to size. Raised letters and an optional crackled finish. I would imagine that this could be a way to defeat GBM.
What I think'd be cool is a DVD you can buy and play in any DVD player, as many times as you like. And it's pricing would be similar to the same movie on VHS except with more goodies included on the disc.
Oh, wait...
--
Linux: Because rebooting is for adding new hardware.
Ham radio operators sometimes work toward meeting the challenges of successful long-range (read miles, hundreds of miles or thousands of miles), low-power (read watts or milliwatts or less) communications. Often this is accomplished with admirable results. While I am a ham I have not moved much beyond bands in the HF and VHF ranges so I would only be of marginal assistance, however there are other radio ops who work around the higher frequencies of--for example--802.11b.
Hams should be prime sources of information for practical aspects antenna placement and more. There should be at least one amateur radio op in your area.
Although you did not say anything about where this school district is, you did make reference to Dollars Canadian so I will point you to Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) as a good starting point to locating a ham in your area.
Additionally, the ARRL in the USA and qrz.com would be other good starting points for information searches.
While what you are looking to accomplish is utterly forbidden to do within the amateur radio bands, the techniques used in those bands would be adaptable to other, more suitable frequencies.
In the 70's I had an IMTS mobile phone in my (high school) car. During the 60's my dad had RCC phones in his cars.
RCC stands for Radio Common Carrier. This service provided the customer, basically, a restricted area from within which he could make and take phone calls. In smaller towns and cities, the coverage was from usually from a single tower site with the repeater pushing 250 watts or more at either 15x.x MHz or 45x.x MHz.
IIRC, there were 13 channels or so available for the area. These were simplex (one way at a time) channels. You talk they listen and vice-versa.
MTS-Mobile Telephone Service (not to be confused with Message Telecommunications Service) was a refinement on RCC including duplex conversation.
IMTS-Improved MTS provided the ability to use trunked radio systems granting longer range and occasionally better quality plus full duplex conversations.
IMTS's limitations were what really pushed Cellular development. The 'Improved' in IMTS was more a state of mind that a reality.
There are several copies of this tome on Alibris, a good site to hit when you're looking for out-of-print goodies.
Looks like the price range is fairly wide, depending on condition.
Slashdot Mirror
Ham radio is not only for emergency use. It is primarily a hobby (note: hobby as in volunteer); albeit one that promotes technology, expertise and the ability to provide emergency communications in those times when other communications infrastructures falter or fail.
Hams enjoy their hobby for uncountable reasons but some the most important reasons stem from the freedom and capability of talking to people in other places outside of their own state or country. The High-Frequency (HF) segment of the radio spectrum is where hams have the ability to talk betond line-of-sight for any distance beyond a few miles.
When there is no emergency, hams experiment and practice their art through drills and simulations of various disasters. Also hams encourage goodwill and promotion of knowledge of others through casual world-wide communications.
If we hams are only "allowed" to communicate during an emergency when other communication infrastructures are down, then I can just about guarantee that there will be few, if any, hams there to provide critical and vital communications.
Suppose you could only use your coding skills or perhaps even your computer altogether unless there is an emergency? How well could you jump into the fray and perform efficiently? If you absolutely could not type a line of code unless and until an emergency comes along, how fresh in your mind would be the code and procedures? If you could only use it (voluntarily) would you even spend the time and money building or acquiring the equipment?
During non-emergeny times, hams practice (whether they think about it as such or not) their skills and procedures. They enhance their operating skills and usually improve their equipment and performance.
I am a ham. I regularly talk to people in other countries via the HF segmant of the RF spectrum. That is the main spectrum segment that is threatened by the majority of BPL offerings. If BPL eliminates the use of this segment of the RF spectrum then I, like many, many others, will have no reason to maintain my HF equipment, keep in practice or even spend the money and time to buy or build or improve HF-capable radios or antennas. The emergency needs of the community will have to be provided and paid for by some one else; like government--meaning you--through taxes.
Enjoy. nn5ks TX USA
But I doubt Bluetooth is going to reach up to 20 miles without some major (and likely illegal) modifications.
One of the big selling points of ZigBee is the range one can get between nodes while keeping the protocol simpler and less expensive to implement than BT.
Admittedly 20 miles would be under optimal conditions, but ranges that can far exceed bluetooth's are easily possible with ZigBee.
Helps make it difficult to find dupes...
--
Nobody really understands sigs.
"It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's,
not its, if you mean it is. If you don't,
it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's.
It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise
yours and theirs." -- Oxford University Press, Edpress News
The main problem I see with this idea is that, when I travel long enough distances to justify the use of something like a train or bus, I almost always have to arrange transportation at the other end. Some of my final destinations are well off the beaten path and require either a manual-drive car or a taxi. In most of the cases, the destination is far out in rural areas where a taxi fee would be prohibitive. I know for some people there is sufficient public transportation to allow getting from point A to B without a privately owned vehicle is easy but this is not true for all.
The idea of having a POV that would allow me to use a controlled highway during the bulk of the trip but would also allow independent, manual control when public transport is not available or too expensive would be ideal.
"...pesky problems like actually dealing with the one driver who's car is NOT on full automatic drive who INSISTS upon getting into that lane."
The use of cameras and toll-tag like devices will filter the miscreants out. Maybe not instantly but soon enough. Law enforcement and patrols are already well-researched and do function fairly well (while I will be the first to admit there is room for improvement. Maybe a little research is due...
--
There is no need for you to drive me crazy. Insanity is within walking distance.
I can just imagine the size of the gyros and retros we will need to rotate the planet so that this Antarctic telescope can view something interesting from the northern hemisphere.
--
What am I on?? I'm on poverty, it's like
life but with less money.
When I worked support desks, I knew the ignorance of the caller was my bread and butter. Ignorance in a user is fine; that can be corrected. Willing and enduring ignorance in a user is unacceptable and should be punishable by slow death.
Since the users I supported were already IT, they were expected by to have some knowledge. If they did not, they deserved no sympathy.
Microsoft's innovations probably lie in the just-that-side-of-legal arena.
I feel it is possible their legal teams have innovated all over the place.
It might be as simple as finding something which will react with toner to make it fluoresce under UV.
An interesting thing happens to most laser/copier toners when the page is sprayed with Krylon Klear Kote. The letters swell off the page, sort of like embossing. I used to make nicely "antiqued" calling and business cards for myself by printing on heavy stock then kleer koting it before cutting to size. Raised letters and an optional crackled finish. I would imagine that this could be a way to defeat GBM.
"Colorful LED Indicator"
Wow! Gosh!
Nothing like a Knight Rider-style light thingy to get my money!
--
Forget the bells and whistles. Can it sing?
What I think'd be cool is a DVD you can buy and play in any DVD player, as many times as you like. And it's pricing would be similar to the same movie on VHS except with more goodies included on the disc.
Oh, wait...
--
Linux: Because rebooting is for adding new hardware.
Hams should be prime sources of information for practical aspects antenna placement and more. There should be at least one amateur radio op in your area.
Although you did not say anything about where this school district is, you did make reference to Dollars Canadian so I will point you to Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) as a good starting point to locating a ham in your area.
Additionally, the ARRL in the USA and qrz.com would be other good starting points for information searches.
While what you are looking to accomplish is utterly forbidden to do within the amateur radio bands, the techniques used in those bands would be adaptable to other, more suitable frequencies.
Best of luck!
Regards, NN5KS
RCC stands for Radio Common Carrier. This service provided the customer, basically, a restricted area from within which he could make and take phone calls. In smaller towns and cities, the coverage was from usually from a single tower site with the repeater pushing 250 watts or more at either 15x.x MHz or 45x.x MHz.
IIRC, there were 13 channels or so available for the area. These were simplex (one way at a time) channels. You talk they listen and vice-versa.
MTS-Mobile Telephone Service (not to be confused with Message Telecommunications Service) was a refinement on RCC including duplex conversation.
IMTS-Improved MTS provided the ability to use trunked radio systems granting longer range and occasionally better quality plus full duplex conversations.
IMTS's limitations were what really pushed Cellular development. The 'Improved' in IMTS was more a state of mind that a reality.
Check out Chapter 4: The Cellular Telephone for a pretty good rundown of the regulatory and economic push for cellular.
There are several copies of this tome on Alibris, a good site to hit when you're looking for out-of-print goodies. Looks like the price range is fairly wide, depending on condition.