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Dear LF group,
recently we find the "transatlantic waterhole"
around 137.777 kHz quite busy. Several Europeans have started beaconing within
this segment. And there has been some fast (QRSS3 or 10) activity, with wide
traces covering up possible transatlantic DX signalling
frequencies.
During the last years, we have attempted
to split the frequency bands for both directions of transatlantic
work. Traditional segments were around 137.777 kHz west-to-east (for
Americans transmitting towards Eu), and around 136.320 kHz east-west (for Eu to
stateside). Slow modes (QRSS or DFCW, 60
second and longer) were used almost exclusively there, and several stations
were able to successfully cross the pond in either direction.
The situation has become a little more intricate
as more stations from other parts of the world (eg. Asia, China, Japan) are
joining the game with sensitive receivers and good signals. But I still think it
would be helpful to separate RX and TX bands within each area as much as
possible.
My suggestion would be to stick with the
east-west versus west-east allocation of the two slots. Taking into account
the path of mutual darkness, this would mean that all stations should transmit
in the lower band during their evenings until local midnight, and then QSY to
the lower band for the rest of the night. Receiver settings would of
course be vice versa.
I'm aware that this scheme cannot be perfect
and universal. It won't cover North-South hauls, and would not
protect signals during early or late openings. But it's simple enough, and I believe it would still be very
useful. Please don't get me wrong - I do not want
to discourage anyone from putting out a signal, and certainly reject
the notion of anything reminiscent of a "band police". I just
think a little coordination may help all of us to be successful on
this challenging and fascinating band.
Let me have your thoughts...
73 de Markus, DF6NM
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