Hi, not being an active transmitter I may claim to have no 'axes to grind'.
I think that from some of the postings there is maybe some misunderstanding
of what has been proposed.
As I see it, there is no intention of imposing any particular frequency
splits on others using the band. If you have 8 big stations within 10kms,
you have a different viewpoint to another whose nearest neighbour is over
100kms away. We have a fair amount of activity in the UK and often there can
be many traces on the screen.
I think the intention of the Windsor workshop, was to enable operation and
the working of weak signals with the minimum amount of mutual interference.
QRS ( or visual CW) has migrated to the upper 200Hz and there doesn't seem
to be much problem there. It may be that in some parts of Europe, local
conditions preclude the use of this area, we dont know. I see no reason, nor
heard comment, why hand speed (or normal speed) CW cannot, or should not,
use anywhere in the rest of the band as is the case on the HF bands. There
are those that would like to experiment with aerials and put up short period
beacons, and those who would like to try other communication modes, PSK31,
Hell. The intention of declaring a 'suggested' segment was steer these
experiments to a section of the band where others would expect them. I do
not think there was any intention to put inviolable walls round blocks of
frequencies. The most enjoyable part of being involved in 136 is that it is
full of patient well-mannered operators who all all enthusiasts. The
'guidelines' (bandplan sounds too official) discussed at Windsor were, to my
mind, to help us avoid inadvertently upsetting other operators with our
experiments. It is essential as more and more operators join our ranks that
we have some agreed way of using the band, so that we may extract maximum
enjoyment out of the use of our small allocation. If there is nobody using
the SSTV section for last 10 mins or so then send a QRL and try CW
there......we all listen before transmitting...... don't we?
So let us not worry too much about exactly which 50Hz of the band is
'allocated' to what mode....get the PA fired up, the aerial peaked, and get
the brass going up and down (or sideways ) .... and let's hear the signals
on the band.
Cheers de Alan G3NYK
[email protected]
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