Colin,

That's a great idea.  I think that's the only way we'll be able to afford 
those stations and towers that Alan has.

Steve
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Colin McDonald" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2014 3:24 PM
Subject: Re: Radio airwaves get buzzed from pot


> Being the curious fellow I am, I've actually researched a bit about 
> starting
> a legal grow operation...it can be hugely lucritive, in the order of 
> 200,000
> bucks a month once you are up and running.
> About 200 G's to get started and a bunch of paper work, but they don't
> refuse permits to anyone here in Canada as long as you send in the correct
> paper work.
> and the market is in need of another couple hundred large production
> suppliers right now in this country.
> I don't use it myself, but I can certainly see the up side of growing it 
> for
> proffit.
>
> 73
> Colin, V A6BKX
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Pat Byrne" <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2014 1:18 PM
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Radio airwaves get buzzed from pot
>
>> Damn; will have to re-evaluate my career path!!
>> Pat, K9JAUAt 01:49 PM 6/5/2014, you wrote:
>>>BlankRan across this in USA Today.
>>>
>>>Radio airwaves get buzzed from pot By Trevor Hughes,
>>>
>>>A few years ago, retired electrical engineer Tom Thompson noticed it was
>>>getting harder and harder to hear his friends across the country talking
>>>to
>>>him on their ham radio sets. So Thompson built a portable antenna system
>>>to
>>>track down whatever was interfering with his radio transmission.
>>>
>>>The culprit? Marijuana grow operations, whose powerful grow lights can
>>>emit
>>>interference blocking radio broadcasts on the ham and AM spectrums.
>>>
>>>The first grower he encountered wasn't pleased to know Thompson, now 73,
>>>could tell what was going on. "He said, 'What are you going to do, call
>>>the
>>>cops?' Thompson said. "And I said, 'Well no, it's a federal matter.
>>>
>>>' With 22 states and the District of Columbia allowing medical marijuana,
>>>and Colorado and Washington permitting recreational use, there's been an
>>>explosion in the number of people growing their own pot, much of it
>>>indoors.
>>>With that growth has come increasing interference from the grow lights,
>>>which suck down huge amounts of electricity to shine upon budding
>>>marijuana
>>>plants. Growing pot indoors is usually more secure and gives the grower
>>>more
>>>control over light, water and insects, which results in higher-quality
>>>plants commanding a premium price.
>>>
>>>The interference problems from one type of system have gotten so bad that
>>>the amateur radio association, ARRL, filed a formal federal complaint on
>>>behalf of the country's 720,000 licensed ham operators. The problems are
>>>worse in Colorado and California, said Sean Kutzko, an ARRL spokesman.
>>>
>>>The interference is caused by what are known as "ballasts," electronic
>>>systems controlling the grow lights. Unless they're properly shielded, 
>>>the
>>>ballasts can throw off a wide range of interference. "We're seeing
>>>numerous
>>>cases ... and that's causing us a problem," Kutzko said. "We just want to
>>>make sure the manufacturers are in compliance with FCC laws. The FCC has
>>>the
>>>power to regulate anything that interferes with licensed radio
>>>transmissions, such as ham sets, but also cellphones and AM radios.
>>>
>>>Steve, K8SP