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Fair Highlights Emergency Preparedness:

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 04:23 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/29351

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, a disaster-readiness fair that highlighted  
solar oven cooking, water storage, 72-hour emergency kits and HAM radio  
communication demonstrations seemed quite timely. However, planning for the  
Emergency Preparedness Fair began many months ago. The event, hosted by the  
Temecula Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, took  
place on Saturday, Nov. 10, at the LDS church on North General Kearny Road.  
Dozens of tables with information and demonstrations on topics pertinent to  
emergency preparedness were set up in and around the church facility.  
Additionally, two presentations on food storage and earthquake preparedness  
were given by specialists in those areas. Gordon Neuls, of Aguanga, an avid  
HAM radio enthusiast and trainer, manned a booth promoting HAM radio  
certification. In the case of a natural disaster where normal lines of  
communication are interrupted, HAM radios can be used to relay information,  
as well as to send for help and assistance.

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EU Standardises Hamtagonistic Powerline Network Tech:

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 04:22 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/29350

The second vote on EN50561-1, the EU standard for running Ethernet over  
mains circuits, has passed, putting the standard on the books, much to the  
annoyance of the UK amateur radio operator community. EN50561-1 requires  
that all Powerline Telecommunication (PLT) kit, which carries networking  
signals over the mains electrical wires, must avoid the amateur radio  
frequencies; switch off when not in use; and keep transmission power to a  
minimum. All powerline networking kit sold in Europe will have to conform  
to it within the next three years, though it clearly doesn't go far enough  
for some. UK hams, in the body of the Radio Society of Great Britain, have  
long opposed the standard, arguing that existing requirements that no  
device generate undue radio interference should be applied to PLT devices,  
which would make the vast majority of those in use today illegal. Appeals  
to Ofcom and Trading Standards failed to get any traction, with Trading  
Standards deferring to Ofcom while the radio regulator pointed out that it  
has no power to govern devices that were not designed to emit radio  
signals. PLT kit is supposed to only send signals over mains wires, but as  
such wires are unshielded it inevitably leaks out. Ofcom did extend its  
remit for the Olympics, giving itself permission to shut down any radio  
transmission regardless of source, but that right ended with the closing  
ceremony.