Hi All.
I have made the point before on the reflector that 500 khz band is still in
use by the marine services. The band seems to be very busy at times.
I have recently heard traffic lists from Costal Stations and ships operating
on the band.
This activity is mostly Middle East and Far East lines. These lists
sometimes are quite long indicating that the band is far from obsolete.
There is virtually no European activity but I have been on a few ships in
recent times and the HF equipment is still installed and tested
periodically.
A lot of Radio Officers have re-trained for other Electronic maintainence
jobs plus radar but are still competent cw operators on ships equipped for
HF and MF plus Satellite.
The bulk of marine traffic is now via satellite but 500 khz band is still
retained for marine use and will be for some time possibly years.
To prove the above observations listen on the band and find out what is
going on for yourself. You must be able to read morse at 20 wpm upwards.
You would wonder how they manage without qrss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It would be great to get a slot on the band for ham radio but it looks like
we will have to wait a long time.
Do not believe everything that you hear via the media it is usually part
fact and part fiction.
G3KEV