----- Original Message -----
From: "Andre Kesteloot" <[email protected]>
To: "Tacos" <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, September 16, 2006 2:49 AM
Subject: LF: More on 500 kHz
> >ARRL GRANTED EXPERIMENTAL LICENSE FOR 500 KHZ RESEARCH BY RADIO AMATEURS
>
> The FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology on September 13 granted
Part
> 5 experimental license WD2XSH to the ARRL on behalf of a group of radio
> amateurs interested in investigating spectrum in the vicinity of 500 kHz.
> The two-year authorization permits experimentation and research between
505
> and 510 kHz (600 meters) using narrowband modes at power levels of up to
20
> W effective radiated power (ERP). ARRL Member Fritz Raab, W1FR, of
Vermont,
> will serve as experimental project manager for "The 500 KC Experimental
> Group for Amateur Radio" <http://www.500kc.com/>
>
> "I'm kind of excited to see how we can apply modern technology to a
'classic
> part' of the radio spectrum," Raab told ARRL this week. He pointed out
that
> 500 kHz - the traditional maritime emergency frequency - is roughly
> geometrically halfway between the 136 kHz experimental band and the 160
> meter amateur allocation.
>
> "In contrast to 160 meters, 500 kHz is low enough to offer good groundwave
> propagation, but in contrast to 137 kHz it is high enough to allow us to
> engage in real communication with realistic equipment." Raab eventually
> would like to see at least a secondary 600-meter amateur allocation from
495
> to 510 kHz.
>
> "Besides the opportunities for experimenting at low frequencies, that
> frequency is well suited to regional groundwave communication," Raab said.
> He envisions eventual use of the spectrum to provide Amateur Radio
emergency
> communication via groundwave, without having to deal with the vagaries of
> the ionosphere or causing interference to other services.
>
> For about a century, the 500 kHz region was an important band for maritime
> communication, emergency and otherwise. The band is occasionally used by
> "heritage" commercial maritime stations, such as the Maritime Radio
> Historical Society's KPH on the West Coast, on special occasions. 500 kHz
> remains designated as an official maritime emergency CW frequency,
although
> the vast majority of maritime users have shifted to satellite-based
systems.
>
> In addition to experimentation and regional emergency work, Raab says he
> believes that the 505-510 kHz spectrum could serve as "an historic band"
> that could support various commemorative special event-type operations.
> Proposals are under consideration in the UK and Ireland to establish an
> experimental Amateur Radio allocation in the vicinity of 500 kHz.
>
> The WD2XSH project calls for operation from 21 discrete fixed sites spread
> throughout the US. Participants all are electrical professionals, many
with
> maritime radio backgrounds, Raab said, adding that operation already has
> begun. The group eventually will be seeking reports from non-participants,
> he said.
>
> Raab says the gear participants will use represents "every kind of antenna
> and equipment you can imagine," including surplus vacuum-tube maritime
> units. At his Colchester, Vermont, location he's using a 42-foot vertical,
> but others are employing inverted Ls, loops and Marconis, among others.
>
> Raab was a co-author of the article "A 100-W Class-D Power Amplifier for
LF
> and MF," which appeared in the March-April edition of QEX
> <http://www.arrl.org/qex/2006/03/toc.pdf>
I cannot download this article, do I have to be a member ? or what
de G3KEV
. He's using an amplifier of that
> design for his WD2XSH operations.
>
> The FCC turned down a 1998 petition from the ARRL to create an Amateur
Radio
> "sliver band" in the vicinity of 136 kHz, but some US amateur licensees
have
> obtained FCC Part 5 Experimental licenses to research the possibilities of
> LF, including transatlantic and transpacific propagation. Amateur Radio
> licensees in Europe and elsewhere already have access to 135.7 to 137.8
kHz,
> and several hams in Canada have authorization to operate there using
Amateur
> Radio call signs.
>
>
>
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