Hello Ghery, Thank you for the background information. It is very useful to me and I appreciate it, as well as the challenges faced by the ham community. I have read some very interesting comments from ARRL in my hunting and gathering. With HomePlug AV extending up to 80 MHz, things aren’t getting easier.
I will probably have to query the OET, and suspect some in-situ testing is in my future 😊 Thanks again, Bob Sykes From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2021 2:11 PM To: Sykes, Bob <[email protected]>; [email protected] Subject: [EXTERNAL] RE: [PSES] FCC requirements for in-home BPL devies? CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Bob, IIRC (it’s been many years since I dealt with these) in-home BPL devices are considered to be “carrier current” devices by the FCC. I didn’t work for a manufacturer of such devices, but I was (and still am) involved in the EMC standards writing business. As a carrier current device Home Plug 1.0 (and probably later) devices were subject to a radiated emissions limit of 30 dBuV/m at 30 meters. The Home Plug Alliance took 25 representative homes and found the maximum drive level that they could use and still comply with this limit. They then worked with the ARRL and notched out the use of the amateur radio bands as they figured that the majority of people in the US who would suffer interference and do something about it were hams. Home Plug 1.0 ran from 7 MHz to 22 MHz. I tested some devices for compliance with the FCC and CISPR 22 (at the time) limits for conducted emissions from 150 kHz to 30 MHz. In the ham bands (where they were notched) they met the Class B limits. Outside the ham bands they were 25 to 30 dB above the Class B limits. So I took a pair of them home and compared then against my HF station. I was running a random length end-fed wire antenna with the feed point about 10 feet or so from the corner of my office (and ham shack) at the time, so I figured that if anyone was going to suffer interference, it was me. One unit was located adjacent to the ham station and the other was somewhere else in the house. In the ham bands I couldn’t tell it was operating. Outside the ham hands it was on the air, everywhere. It obliterated everything. WWV, international shortwave broadcasters, everything. That told me that the FCC and CISPR 22 (now 32) Class B limits were plenty adequate but 25 to 30 dB above those limits was unacceptable. You won’t find a BPL device in my home because of these experiments done many years ago. I’m sorry this didn’t answer your question, but I thought some historical information would be useful (like how the Home Plug 1.0 drive levels were derived). I would recommend that you check the FCC Rules to see how carrier current devices are to be tested, check the KDB for any opinions or useful information that the FCC might provide on tis and finally, check with the FCC lab people with any questions that you might have afterwards. Ghery S. Pettit, iNCE From: Sykes, Bob <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2021 8:23 AM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: [PSES] FCC requirements for in-home BPL devies? Worldly Experts, I am seeking information on Regulations and Test Methods for in-home Powerline Communication devices (Broadband over Powerline). Primary interest is U.S. (FCC) emissions. The requirements for Access BPL (as defined in FCC Part 15.3(t)) are well defined in 15.601, but for in-home BPL “homePlug” (as defined in 15.3(gg)) they seem less clear. Does anyone have any experience/information with in-home BPL approvals, particularly test methods/setup, that they can share? I have read FCC 11-160 Appendix D. adTHANKSvance, Bob Sykes Frustrated EMC Engineer ________________________________ Please be advised that this email may contain confidential information. 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