November, 2004 | |
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WIA seeks to stake a claim at 500 kHz
The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) has announced plans to request the Australian Communications
Authority (ACA) to establish an experimental amateur allocation at 500 kHz. "500 kHz was the international
maritime Morse code distress frequency for most of the 20th century," noted WIA Director Glenn Dunstan,
VK4DU, a former ship's radio officer. Following the introduction of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety
System (GMDSS) in 1999, 500 kHz use has declined rapidly, Dunstan said. China, the last official user of
the frequency, plans to discontinue operation there next year. Dunstan says that since 500 kHz has been
instrumental in saving tens of thousands of lives over the past century, it's fitting to preserve the
frequency as a "spectrum national park," as he put it. "The best way to do this is to establish a small slice of
spectrum around 500 kHz--probably 495 to 510 kHz--as an Amateur Radio band," he said. "The band would
also provide a unique opportunity for experimentation with antennas, propagation, advanced narrowband
modulation techniques and receiver digital signal processing." Dunstan concedes that since 500 kHz
remains allocated to the Maritime Service, gaining a permanent amateur foothold there is "some way off,"
but the WIA is hoping that Australian authorities will grant access to some spectrum there in the meantime
for experimental use. The ARRL and the RSGB have expressed some interest in a 500 kHz Amateur
Radio allocation. The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 and various US amateur
long-wave groups are actively pursuing experimental use of 500 kHz. The IARU also favors a worldwide
Amateur Radio band at 135.7 to 137.8 kHz and is seeking support for such an allocation at World
Radiocommunication Conference 2007.
RSGB proposes 500 kHz amateur band for UK
The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) has proposed allowing radio amateurs in the UK to operate
either 501-504 kHz or 508-515 kHz at a power of 10 W EIRP. "The allocation, if accepted, would extend
amateurs' experimental work on other low and medium frequencies and thus aid understanding of
propagation in those parts of the spectrum," the RSGB said. The RSGB proposed the two band options
since they are no longer used for maritime telegraphy in the Western Hemisphere, their usage for
nondirectional aeronautical beacons is being phased out and the frequencies also are not likely to be
reallocated to another service anytime in the near future. The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA)
recently announced plans to request the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) to establish an
experimental amateur allocation at 500 kHz. The RSGB says its proposal was drafted in consultation
with the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 500 kHz Working group, formed following
World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) by the RSGB and chaired by the Union of
Belgian Radio Amateurs UBA. The Working Group includes representatives from all three IARU regions.
The IARU also favors a worldwide Amateur Radio band at 135.7 to 137.8 kHz and is seeking support for
such an allocation at WRC-07. Further details of the RSGB 500 kHz proposal are on the RSGB Spectrum
Forum Web site.
New World Record on 47 GHz
On September 19 during the ARRL 10 GHz and Up Cumulative Contest, Frank Bauregger, W6QI, and Gary
Lauterbach, AD6FP, claimed a new world distance record on 47 GHz after they completed a contact over a
distance of 290 km. W6QI operated from Shuteye Peak (DM07gi) just south of Yosemite, while AD6FP
operated from Frazier Mountain (DM04ms) north of Los Angeles. Although it was officially still summer, W6QI
had to brave 30-degree temperatures and snow while modifying the radio in order to complete the contact.
Signal margins were 40 dB on the W6QI end and about 8 dB on the AD6FP end. The contact was completed
using a combination of narrowband FM and CW. The two reported weather conditions were quite unusual for
September with scattered rain showers in the central California Valley between Shuteye and Frazier.
November, 2004 | |
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