Thomas Womack wrote:

I'm slightly surprised that people aren't doing that already; or is
it not reasonable to detect at a couple of parsecs out a signal beamed
with a three-kilowatt signal from an antenna costing $5000 (figures
picked
to make it just about realistic as a hobby for a merely reasonably
wealthy radio amateur - 3kW is about $3000 a year at the price I pay
for
electricity, and I thought radio transmitters were pretty efficient).

I can't figure out on the Net what kind of directional antenna you get
for $5000.

Or will the FCC shut you down if you try?

I would hope the rest of the inhabitants of the planet might object to
such unilateral action.

-- 
   Erik Max Francis && max@alcyone.com && http://www.alcyone.com/max/
 __ San Jose, CA, USA && 37 20 N 121 53 W && &tSftDotIotE
/  \ Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious.
\__/  Oscar Wilde