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UNIT 4 Power Line Communication 103

Unit 4 Notes
__________________
__________________
Power Line Communication __________________
__________________
__________________
Objectives __________________
After studying this unit you should be able to: __________________

y Get an idea about power line communication __________________

y Understand the various terms linked with PLC __________________

__________________

Power line communication (PLC), also called Broadband

over Power Lines (BPL), is (Ligament made of metal and
used to fasten things or make cages or fences, etc.) wire line
method of communication using the existing electric power
transmission and distribution lines. The carrier can
communicate voice and data by superimposing an analogue
(any communication that encodes a message) signal over the
standard 50 or 60 Hz AC.

Types of PLC technology

There are two main classes of PLC:

PLIC

PLIC Power Line or Internal Telecoms (also called In-

House BPL): This is using the home grid to establish
telecoms, such as the Home Plug system. PLIC is one of the
technologies used domotics (another is wireless telecoms).
The utilities can offer two wireless middleware, an integrated
PLC and WiFi (A local area network that uses high frequency
radio signals to transmit and receive data over distances of
a few hundred feet; uses ethernet protocol) based structure.

PUA is the PLC Utilities Alliance.

There are also some very low-bit rate power line

communication systems used for meter reading. The X10
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Notes home automation system uses power line communication at

__________________ the zero crossing voltage point in the AC wave.
__________________
PLOC
__________________
__________________ PLOC Power Line Telecoms: This is the telecom between
__________________ the electric substations (a subsidiary station where
__________________ electricity is transformed for distribution by a low-voltage
__________________
network) and home networks (PLC modems). The standard
is ETSI PLT, twenty times faster than ADSL.
__________________
__________________ PLC modem employs 11 (a unit of potential equal to the
__________________ potential difference between two points on a conductor
carrying a current of 1 ampere when the power dissipated
between the two points is 1 watt; equivalent to the potential
difference across a resistance of 1 ohm when 1 a) volts and
transmit in high frequency (1.6 to 30 (One million periods
per second) MHz electric carrier. The asymmetric speed in
the modem is generally from 256 kbit/s to 2.7
Mbit/s.

In the repeater situated in the meter room the speed is up

to 45 Mbit/s and can be connected to 256 PLC modem.

In the medium voltage stations, the speed from the head ends
to the Internet is up to 135 Mbit/s. To connect to the Internet,
utilities can use an optical fibre, very thin fiber made of glass
that functions as a waveguide for light; used in bundles to
transmit images backbone. The part of a network that
connects other networks together backbone or wireless link.

Usage
Broadcasting systems using PLC
PLC is not a new technology, but was already used by
channels decades ago for the spreading broadcast programs
in the long-wave range over current and voice grade. In
Germany this technology became as wire broadcasting, in
which Switzerland calls telephone round saying as a Swiss
and in Norway as Linjesender. In Russia this system was
very common, because it permitted the reception of only
Russian transmitters. Still today this technology is used in
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UNIT 4 Power Line Communication 105
some countries for the broadcast supply. It is based on the Notes
transmission of information with the help of modulated high __________________
frequency currents, which are led over cables for power __________________
installation and in the head actions over special transformers __________________
on the lines are given. In order to prevent uncontrolled __________________
propagation of PLC signals in the high-voltage transmission
__________________
systems, at line branches and in transformer stations special
__________________
check coils for PLC signals - usually in current loops of anchor
__________________
masts or removing portals - are installed.
__________________
Telecontrol and Data transmission __________________
__________________
PLC procedures for decades, for the control of devices e.g.
the road lighting or transformer stations, for the change-over
from the night current tariff to the day current tariff or for
the transmission by measuring data and message
(occasionally also discussions, which will usually transfer in
the procedure of the single-sideband modulation) are already
used. Here different frequency ranges are used. For tasks of
remote controlling, like tariff change-over of counters, which
can be implemented, central frequencies are used below the
long-wave range (approx. 1 kHz), since signals with these
frequencies can be subject to only relatively small
absorptions, which are caused by line inductances and
interconnect capacitances, and reach thus each terminal (see
http://www.vlf.it/polard/rcf.html in English). These plants do
not cause disturbances of the broadcast recording because
of their low frequency.

News exchange between installations of power grid

Broadband over power lines

Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) is the use of PLOC
technology to provide broadband Internet access through
ordinary power lines. A computer (or any other device) would
need only to plug a BPL modem into any outlet in an equipped
building to have high-speed Internet access.

BPL offers obvious benefits over regular (a cable conductor

for transmitting electrical or optical signals or electric power
or DSL generic name for digital lines that are provided by
telephone companies to their local subscribers and that carry
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Notes data at high speeds) or connections. The intensive

__________________ infrastructure already available would allow more people in
__________________ more locations to have access to the Internet. Also, such
__________________ ubiquitous availability would make it much easier for other
__________________ electronics, such as TV a telecommunication system that
__________________ transmits images of objects (stationary or moving) between
distant points, or sound systems, to hook up. The amount of
__________________
bandwidth a BPL system can provide compared to cable and
__________________
wireless is in question, however.
__________________
__________________ Some groups oppose the proliferation of this technology,
__________________ mostly due to its potential to interfere with the radio the
communication system based on broadcasting
electromagnetic waves transmissions. As power lines are
typically untwisted and unshielded, they have essentially
large antennas, and will broadcast large amounts of radio
energy (see the American Radio Relay League's article).

Recently, power and telecommunications companies have

started tests of the BPL technology, over the protests of the
radio groups. After claims of interference by these groups,
many of the trials were ended early, proclaimed successes,
though the ARRL and other groups claimed otherwise. Some
of the providers conducting those trials have now begun
commercial roll-outs in limited neighborhoods in selected
cities, with some level of user acceptance. There have been
many documented cases of interference reported to the FCC
by Amateur Radio users. A video clearly showing the
interference at a site at Briarcliff Manor, NY is available on
the ARRL website. Because of these continued problems,
Amateur Radio operators and others filed a petition for
reconsideration with the FCC in February 2005. Austria,
Australia, New Zealand and other locations have also
experienced BPL's spectrum pollution and raised concerns
within their governing bodies.

New FCC rules require BPL systems to be capable of remotely

notching out frequencies on which interference occurs, and
of shutting down remotely if necessary to resolve the
interference. BPL systems operating within FCC Part 15
emissions limits may still interfere with wireless radio
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UNIT 4 Power Line Communication 107
communications and are required to resolve interference Notes

problems. __________________
__________________
Standards __________________

Several competing standards are evolving including the __________________

HomePlug powerline alliance (which has defined the __________________

HomePlug 1.0 and is finalizing the HomePlug AV high-speed __________________
networking technology), Universal Powerline Association, __________________
and the IEEE. It is unclear which standard will come out __________________
ahead. __________________
__________________
FCC

On October 14, 2004, the U.S. Federal Communications

Commission adopted rules to facilitate the deployment of
"Access BPL" -- i.e., use of BPL to deliver broadband service
to homes and businesses. The technical rules are more liberal
than those advanced by ARRL and other spectrum users, but
include provisions that require BPL providers to investigate
and correct any interference they cause. These rules may be
subject to future litigation.

BPL vendors such as Amperion Inc. and Current Technologies

LLC have begun offering BPL service in limited areas.

Some important terms:

n Something having the property of being analogous to

something else — analogue
n X10 is a communication protocol for remote control of
electrical devices. It uses (cable used to distribute
electricity) for signaling and control, powerline wiring
where the signals involve short RF bursts representing
digital information.

X10 was developed in 1975 by Pico Electronics of Glenrothes,

Scotland, in order to allow remote control of home devices
and appliances. It was the first domotic technology and
remains the most widely available.

A number of higher band width (the maximum amount of

information (bits/second) that can be transmitted along a
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Notes channel) alternatives have been proposed, including

__________________ INSTEON.
__________________
X.10 is an industry standard for communication among
__________________
control devices for home automation.
__________________
__________________ Household electrical wiring is used to send an address and
__________________ a command via a digital signal (any communication that
__________________ encodes a message) signal on 120 kHz (One thousand periods
per second), during the quiet zero crossings of the 50 or 60Hz
__________________
AC alternating Current waveform. More advanced versions
__________________
can also query devices to respond with their status, such as
__________________
"off" or "on" – or even with the temperature or another sensor
(any device that receives a signal or stimulus (as heat or
pressure or light or motion, etc.) and responds to it in a
distinctive manner) reading. Devices usually plug into the
wall, where a lamp, television, or other household appliance
plugs in; however some built-in controllers are also available
for wall switches and ceiling fixtures.

The relatively high-frequency signal cannot pass through a

transformer or across phases of power, so a repeater is
sometimes used with a system. In order to block signals from
getting in or out, an attenuator (an electrical device for
attenuating the strength of an electrical signal) may also be
used.

Protocol and system description

The X10 protocol consists of bit "address" and then bit

"command". For example, you can say “lamp #3” (an artificial
source of visible illumination), "turn on!" – and it happens.
You can address several units before giving a command: "lamp
#3", "lamp#12", and "turn on"! Appliances are generally
plugged into X10 modules or receivers (set that receives
radio or TV signals). X10 makes a distinction between "lamp
modules" and "appliance modules".

Appliance modules supply electrical devices with power and

accept X-10 commands. Appliance modules are capable of
handling larger loads (i.e. coffee maker machine, heaters,
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UNIT 4 Power Line Communication 109
and motors (machine that converts other forms of energy into Notes

mechanical energy and so imparts motion) by simply turning __________________

them on and off. __________________
__________________
Therefore, if you wished to control a light via X-10
__________________
commands, you would plug the light into a light module and
the module into the mains. You would assign it an address __________________

(A1, for example). Now, when you sent the "A1 on" command __________________
down the power lines, the light would turn on. Lamp modules __________________
aren't capable of running heavy loads. __________________
__________________
Each device receiver is set to a certain unit ID (X10
addresses), and reacts only to commands addressed to it. __________________

Receivers ignore commands not addressed to them. X10

allows up to 256 distinct devices (addresses) on a home power
system: 16 unit codes (module numbers), 1- 16, for each of 16
house codes, A-P, (16 X 16 = 256). If 16 unit codes are not
enough, even with sharing unit codes, you might consider
using more than one house code.

The "base station" (transmitter) was a simple control box that

could be programmed to transmit various X-10 commands
down the power lines. Modern methods consist of either using
a RF remote control (that interfaces with a radio receiver)
or via your computer using special software.

All commands are broadcast through the power mains

therefore requiring no additional wiring. There are several
commands, the basic ones being: on, off, all on, all off, bright,
and dim.

In the 60 Hz AC (an electric current that reverses direction

sinusoidally) power flow, a Binary Digit (bit) 1 is represented
by a 1 millisecond burst of 120 kHz at the zero crossing point
(0º, but certainly within 200 microseconds of the zero crossing
point), immediately followed by the absence of a pulse. And
a Binary 0 by the absence of 120 kHz at the zero crossing
points (pulse), immediately followed by the presence of a
pulse. All messages are sent twice to reduce false signaling.
After allowing for retransmission, line control, etc, data rates
are around 20 bit/s, making X10 data transmission so slow
that the technology is confined to turning devices on and off
or other very simple operations.
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Notes In order to provide a predictable start point, every data frame

__________________ would always begin with a start code of "pulse", "pulse",
__________________ "pulse", "absence of a pulse" (or 1110). Immediately after the
__________________ start code, a letter code (A-P) is sent and after the code, comes
__________________
a function code (number code, 1-16, or command code, the
selection of which is determinated by the last bit, 0=address
__________________
number and 1=command). One start code, one letter code
__________________
and one function code is known as a frame.
__________________
__________________ Each signal is also sent two times to make sure the receivers
__________________
understand it over the "noise" of the power lines (for purposes
of redundancy, reliability and to accommodate line
__________________
repeaters).

Whenever the data changes from one address to another

address, from an address to a command, or from one command
to another command, the data frames must be separated by
at least 6 clear zero crossings (or "000000"). The sequence of
six "zero's" resets the shift registers.

X10 clocks
A X10 clock is a electronic clock that sends the actual data
and time to the device (A timepiece that measures a time
interval and signals its end) timers. It generally includes
some batteries to work when the power is off.

Weak points and limitations

One problem with X10 is excessive attenuation of signals

between the two out-of-phase 120 volt lines used in typical
residential construction. Often, there's simply no reliable
path to allow the X10 signals to propagate from one phase
wire to the other; this failure may come and go as large 240
volt devices such as stoves or dryers are turned on and off.
When on, such devices provide a low-impedance bridge for
the X10 signals between the two phase wires. This problem
can be permanently overcome by installing a capacitor (an
electrical device characterized by its capacity to store an
electric charge) between the phase wires as a passive bridge
for the X10 signals. More sophisticated installations install
an active repeater device between the phases.
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UNIT 4 Power Line Communication 111
In Europe, entire houses are typically wired from a single Notes
240 volt mains phase wire so this problem does not occur. __________________
__________________
Other problems: TVs or wireless devices may cause
__________________
spurious off or on signals. Noise filtering (as installed on
computers as well as many modern appliances) may help __________________

keep external noise out of X10 signals, but noise filters not __________________
designed for X10 may also filter out X10 signals traveling on __________________
the branch circuit to which the appliance is connected. __________________
__________________
Some X10 controllers may not work well or at all with low
power devices (below 50 watts) or devices like fluorescent __________________

bulbs that do not present resistive loads. Use of an appliance __________________

module rather than a lamp module may resolve this problem.

X10 signals can only be transmitted one command at a time.

If two X10 signals are transmitted at the same time, they
will collide and the receivers will not be able to decode the
signal commands.

n In AC, the zero crossing is the instantaneous point at

which there is no voltage present. This normally occurs
twice during each cycle, and is the time at which there
is the least electrical noise.

The zero crossing is important for systems which send

digital data over AC circuits, such as X10 home
automation control systems, and Digital Command
Control type systems for Lionel and other AC model
trains. This low noise period, occurring 100 or 120 times
per second, allows the signal to be sent with the least
chance of being corrupted.

Zero crossing is also a method used in speech processing

to estimate formants of speech.

n The European Telecommunications Standards

Institute (ETSI) is a standardization organization of
the telecommunications industry in the Europe, with
worldwide projection. ETSI has been successful in
standardizing the GSM cell phone system.

Significant ETSI standardisation bodies are 3GPP (for

UMTS networks) or TISPAN (for fixed networks and (A
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Notes computer network consisting of a worldwide network

__________________ of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network
__________________ protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange)
__________________ Internet convergence).
__________________
ETSI was created by CEPT in 1988.
__________________
__________________ Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is a form of
DSL (a generic name for digital lines that are provided by
__________________
telephone companies to their local subscribers and that carry
__________________
data at high speeds) , a data communications technology that
__________________
enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines
__________________
than a conventional electronic equipment modem can
provide.

Introduction

ADSL has the distinguishing characteristic that the data can

flow faster in one direction than the other, i.e.,
asymmetrically. Providers usually market ADSL as a service
for people to connect to the Internet in a relatively passive
mode, i.e., able to use the higher speed direction for the
"download" from the Internet but not needing to run servers
that would require bandwidth in the other direction.

ADSL can use any of the variety of modulation techniques,

but the ANSI and ETSI standards use DMT modulation
schemes. It is worth noting that in contrast to the modulation
schemes that baseband technologies like Gigabit Ethernet
(a type of networking technology for local area networks;
coaxial cable carries radio frequency signals between
computers at a rate of 10 megabits per second) use, ADSL
uses primarily analog modulation schemes, so the 'D' in ADSL
is a misnomer -- ADSL is simply a very fast analog connection
(using PPPoE or PPPoA) with much higher symbol rates and
much faster handshaking between modems.

For conventional ADSL, downstream rates start at 256 kbit/

s and typically reach 8 Mbit/s within 1000 feet (300 m) of the
central office. Rates can go as high as 52 Mbit/s within
100 meters (so-called VDSL).
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UNIT 4 Power Line Communication 113
Upstream rates start at 64 kbit/s and typically reach 256 kbit/ Notes

s but can go as high as 1024 kbit/s. The name ADSL — Lite is __________________
sometimes used for the slower versions. __________________
__________________
A newer variant called ADSL2 provides higher downstream
__________________
rates of up to 12 Mbit/s for spans of less than 2.5 kilometers
(8000 feet). Higher symbol rates and more advanced noise- __________________

shaping are responsible for these increased speeds. ADSL2+ __________________

boosts these rates to up to 25 Mbit/s for spans of less than 1.5 __________________
kilometers (5000 feet). ADSL2+ also offers seamless bonding __________________
options, allowing lines with higher attenuation or lower __________________
signal to noise ratios (SNR) to be bonded together to achieve
__________________
theoretically the sum total of the number of lines (i.e. up to
50Mbit/s for two lines, etc), as well as options in power
management and seamless rate adaption - changing the data
rate used without requiring to resynchronise.

Because of the relatively low data-rate compared to optical

backbone networks ATM (a means of digital communications
that is capable of very high speeds; suitable for transmission
of images or voice or video as well as data) is an appropriate
technology for multiplexing time-critical data such as digital
voice with less time-critical data such as web traffic; ATM
runs widely over ADSL technology to ensure that this
remains a possibility.

ADSL service providers may offer either static or dynamic

IP addressing. Static addressing is preferable for people who
may wish to connect to their office via a virtual private
network, for some Internet gaming, and for those wishing to
use ADSL to connect a Web server.

n ADSL radio: An ADSL radio is a hardware device that

can play directly web radio, without using a computer.

ADSL standards
Standard name Standard type Downstream rate Upstream rate
ANSI T1.413 Issue 2 ADSL 8 Mbit/s 1.0 Mbit/s
ITU G.992.1 ADSL (G.DMT) 8 Mbit/s 1.0 Mbit/s
ITU G.992.2 ADSL Lite (G.Lite) 1.5 Mbit/s 0.5 Mbit/s
ITU G.992.3/4 ADSL2 12 Mbit/s 1.0 Mbit/s
ITU G.992.3/4 Annex J ADSL2 12 Mbit/s 3.5 Mbit/s
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Notes ITU G.992.5 ADSL2+ 24 Mbit/s 1.0 Mbit/s

__________________ ITU G.992.5 Annex L ADSL2+ 24 Mbit/s 3.5 Mbit/s
__________________
Additionally, the non-Annex ADSL2 and ADSL2+ support
__________________ an extra 256 kbit/s of upstream if the bandwidth normally
__________________ used for POTS voice calls is allocated for ADSL usage.
__________________
The downstream and upstream rates displayed are
__________________
theoretical maximums. Also note that because DSLAM and
__________________ ADSL modems may have been implemented based on
__________________ differing or incomplete standards some manufacturers may
__________________ advertise different speeds. For example, Ericsson has several
__________________ devices that support non-standard upstream speeds of up to
2 Mbit/s in ADSL2 and ADSL2+.

n Symmetry in telecommunications Some

telecommunication services (specifically data products)
may be referred to as symmetrical or asymmetrical. This
refers to the bandwidth allocated for data sent and
received. Most internet services used by residential
customers are asymmetrical i.e., the data sent to the
server normally is far less than that returned by the
server.

n A repeater is an electronic device that receives a weak

or low-level signal and re-transmits it at a higher level
or higher power, so that the signal can cover longer
distances without degradation. The term "repeater"
originated with telegraphy (communicating at a distance
by electric transmission over wire) and referred to an
electromechanical device used to regenerate telegraph
signals. Use of the term has continued in telephony
(transmitting speech at a distance) and data (a collection
of facts from which conclusions may be drawn)
communications.

n A modem, a word constructed from modulator and

demodulator is a device that modulates an analog carrier
signal to encode digital information, and that also
demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the
transmitted information. Put simply, it turns the digital
1’s and 0’s into sounds that can be transmitted over the
Plain Old Telephone System (POTS), and once received
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UNIT 4 Power Line Communication 115
on the other side, converts those sounds back into 1’s Notes
and 0’s. The goal is to produce a signal that can be __________________
transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original __________________
digital data. Primarily used to communicate via __________________
telephone lines, modems can be used over any means of __________________
transmitting analog signals, from driven diodes (a
__________________
semiconductor that consists of a p-n junction) to radio
__________________
(a communication system based on broadcasting
__________________
electromagnetic waves).
__________________
n Digital Subscriber Line, or DSL, is a family of __________________
technologies that provide a digital connection over the
__________________
copper wires of the local telephone network. Its origin
dates back to 1988, when an engineer at Bell research
lab devised a way to carry a digital signal over the unused
frequency spectrum. This allows an ordinary phone line
to provide digital communication without blocking
access to voice services. Bell's management, however,
was not enthusiastic about it, as it was not as profitable
as renting out a second line for those consumers who
preferred to still have access to the phone when dialing
out. This changed in the late 1990s when cable
companies started marketing broadband Internet
access. Realising that most consumers would prefer
broadband Internet to a second dial out line, Bell
companies rushed out the DSL technology that they had
been sitting on for the past decade as an attempt to slow
broadband Internet access uptake, to win market share
against the cable companies.

As of 2005, DSL provides the principal competition to cable

modems for providing high speed Internet access to home
consumers in Europe and North America.

How it works
The Public Switched Telephone Network was initially
designed to carry POTS calls, as the concept of data
communications as we know it today did not exist. For
reasons of economy, the system passes audio between 300
and 3,500 Hz (the unit of frequency; one Hertz has a periodic
interval of one second), which is regarded as the range
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Notes required for human speech to be clearly intelligible. Dial-up

__________________ services using Modems are constrained by the POTS
__________________ channel's Shannon capacity, which indicates the maximum
__________________ data rate which can be supported by a given amount of
__________________
bandwidth.
__________________ The local loop connecting the central office to most
__________________ subscribers is capable of carrying frequencies well beyond
__________________ the 3.5 kHz upper limit of POTS. Depending on the length
__________________ and quality of the loop, the upper limit can be as high as the
__________________
tens of MHz. DSL takes advantage of this unused part of the
circuit by creating 4.3 kHz wide channels starting between
__________________
10 and 100 kHz, depending on how the system is configured.
Each channel is evaluated for usability in much the same
way an analog modem would on a POTS connection.
Allocation of channels continues at higher and higher
frequencies (up to 1.1 MHz for ADSL) until new channels
are deemed unusable. More usable channels equates to more
available bandwidth, which is why distance and line quality
are a factor. The pool of usable channels is then split into
two groups for upstream and downstream traffic based on a
preconfigured ratio. Once the channel groups have been
established, the individual channels are bonded into a pair
of virtual circuits, one in each direction. Like analog modems,
DSL transreceivers constantly monitor the quality of each
channel and will add or remove them from service depending
on whether or not they are usable.

Once upstream and downstream channels are established,

they are used to connect the subscriber (someone who
contributes a sum of money) to a service such as Internet
access.

Equipment
The subscriber end of the connection consists of a DSL
modem. This converts data from the digital electronic pulses
used by computers into a digital audio stream of a suitable
frequency range for the particular DSL variant in use.

In addition the subscriber may need to install a passive

electronic filter (known variously as a "filter", "micro-filter"
or a "splitter") if using the POTS service on the same line
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UNIT 4 Power Line Communication 117
and possibly also to improve the DSL termination and Notes
prevent echoes. This ensures that the DSL modem and the __________________
telephone only receive the frequencies they are designed to __________________
handle. Subscribers can plug a filter into an existing __________________
telephone socket when using a "wires-only" service; or __________________
alternatively the DSL provider may install it.
__________________
At the exchange a digital subscriber line access multiplexer __________________
(DSLAM) terminates the DSL circuits and aggregates them, __________________
where they are handed off onto other networking transports. __________________
It also separates out the voice component. __________________

Protocols and configurations __________________

Many DSL technologies implement an ATM layer over the

low-level bit stream layer to enable the adaptation of a
number of different technologies over the same link.

DSL implementations may create bridged or routed networks.

In a bridged configuration, the groups of subscriber
computers effectively connect into a single subnet. The
earliest implementations used DHCP to provide network
details such as the IP address to the subscriber equipment,
with authentication via MAC address or an assigned host
name. Later implementations often use PPP over Ethernet
(a type of networking technology for local area networks;
coaxial cable carries radio frequency signals between
computers at a rate of 10 megabits per second) or ATM (
PPPoE or PPPoA, also known as PPPoATM), while
authenticating with a user ID and password and using PPP
mechanisms to provide network details.

DSL technologies
The reach-restraints (line length from Central Office to
Subscriber) reduce as data rates increase, with technologies
like VDSL providing short-range links (typically "fibre to the
curb" network scenarios).

n The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) was founded

in May 1914 by Hiram Percy Maxim.

The ARRL serves as the primary representative of Amateur

Radio operators (hams) to the (North American republic
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Notes containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North

__________________ America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the
__________________ Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved
__________________ independence in 1776) US government. It performs this
__________________
function by lobbying the US Congress and FCC or (an
independent government agency that regulates interstate
__________________
and international communications by radio and television
__________________
and wire and cable and satellite) Federal Communications
__________________
Commission.
__________________
__________________
ARRL is run by an elected board of directors who are
responsible for setting League Policy. Each director serves
__________________
a 3-year term and represents the members within their
particular region of the US. There is also a field organization
of volunteers which are supported by professional league
staff.

The Field Organization of the ARRL is organized into 71

"sections" with each section having a "Section Manager." The
Section Manager is elected by the members living within his
section for a two year term. The Section Manager has several
different volunteers which serve as his local cabinet. The
Section Emergency Coordinator, Official Observer
Coordinator, Technical Coordinator, Section Traffic Manager
are some of the cabinet members.

The Section Emergency Coordinator is responsible for the

Amateur Radio Emergency Service, or ARES operation
within the section. This is the largest single part of the field
organization consisting of any volunteer who wishes to help
with emergency and Public Service communications.
(Participation is not restricted to league members.)

The Technical Coordinator is responsible for assisting local

amateurs with technical problems.

The Official Observer Coordinator runs the Amateur

Auxiliary program within a section.

The Section Traffic Manager organizes the National Traffic

System operations within the section.

The ARRL provides several services to its members including

the publishing of QST, the official journal of the ARRL,
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incoming and out-going QSL bureaus, publishing of technical Notes
and training books, sponsoring various contests, and support __________________
of the field organization. In addition the ARRL operates __________________
station W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, __________________
as a living memorial to the "Father of Organized Amateur __________________
Radio". W1AW is located at the ARRL headquarters in
__________________
Newington, Connecticut. Among its many services, W1AW
__________________
transmits Morse code (a telegraph code in which letters and
__________________
numbers are represented by strings of dots and dashes (short
and long signals) for those wishing to learn. __________________
__________________
The ARRL's symbol consists of a vertical parallelogram with
__________________
the initials ARRL arranged in a clockwise fashion around
the symbols for antenna, coil and ground to earth.

The ARRL sponsors a multiplicity of contests throughout the

year with the biggest of these being Field Day. Generally,
the purpose of a contest is to create activity on a given band
or group of bands. The basis of competition varies from
contacting the most number of people in a given period of
time, to contacting the most number of regions (which may
be national or international.)

As an example, there are multiple VHF and UHF contests

where the purpose is to contact as many "grid squares" as
you can. The ARRL uses the six digit form of the Maidenhead
Locator System to describe the different grid squares.

In international contests the competition usually involves a

number of "countries" you can contact within a given period.
For radio competition purposes and various awards
programs, countries are not just politically boundaries, but
are more related to distance. Even though they are part of
the United States, Alaska and Hawaii are considered
separate DX countries for competition purposes because of
their distance from other geographic and political entities.

Recently, the ARRL has opposed BPL, (Broadband over

Power Lines,) making the case that the power lines will
radiate interfering radio energy, impeding Amateur Radio
activities. The League has filed several interference reports
with the FCC.