ARRL has asked the FCC to allocate a new, secondary contiguous band at 5 MHz to the Amateur Service, while also retaining four of the current five 60-meter channels and current operating rules, including the 100 W PEP effective radiated power (ERP) limit. The federal government is the primary user of the 5 MHz spectrum. The proposed action would implement a portion of the Final Acts of World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) that provided for a secondary international allocation of 5,351.5 to 5,366.5 kHz to the Amateur Service; that band includes 5,358.5 KHz, one of the existing 5 MHz channels in the US.
“Such implementation will allow radio amateurs engaged in emergency and disaster relief communications, and especially those between the United States and the Caribbean basin, to more reliably, more flexibly and more capably conduct those communications [and preparedness exercises], before the next hurricane season in the summer of 2017,” ARRL said in a January 12 Petition for Rule Making. The FCC has not yet acted to implement other portions of the WRC-15 Final Acts.
The League said that 14 years of Amateur Radio experience using the five discrete 5-MHz channels have shown that hams can get along well with primary users at 5 MHz, while complying with the regulations established for their use. “Neither ARRL, nor, apparently, NTIA is aware of a single reported instance of interference to a federal user by a radio amateur operating at 5 MHz to date,” ARRL said in its petition. NTIA — the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which regulates federal spectrum — initially proposed the five channels for Amateur Radio use. In recent years, Amateur Radio has cooperated with federal users such as FEMA in conducting communication interoperability exercises.
“While the Amateur Radio community is grateful to the Commission and to NTIA for the accommodation over the past 14 years of some access to the 5-MHz band, the five channels are, simply stated, completely inadequate to accommodate the emergency preparedness needs of the Amateur Service in this HF frequency range,” ARRL said, adding that the five 2.8-kHz wide channels “have not provided sufficient capacity to enable competent emergency preparedness and disaster relief capability.”
Access even to the tiny 15-kHz wide band adopted at WRC-15 would “radically improve the current, very limited capacity of the Amateur Service in the United States to address emergencies and disaster relief,” ARRL said. “This is most notably true in the Caribbean Basin, but the same effect will be realized elsewhere as well, at all times of the day and night, and at all times of the sunspot cycle.”
In its Petition, ARRL also called upon the FCC to retain the same service rules now governing the five channels for the new band. The WRC-15 Final Acts stipulated a power limit of 15 W effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP), which the League said “completely defeats the entire premise for the allocation in the first place.”
“For precisely the same reasons that the Commission consented to a power increase on the five channels as recently as 2011 [from 50 W PEP ERP to 100 W PEP ERP], the Commission should permit a power level of 100 W PEP ERP, assuming use of a 0 dBd gain antenna, in the contiguous 60-meter band,” ARRL said. “To impose the power limit adopted at WRC-15 for the contiguous band would render the band unsuitable for emergency and public service communications.”
ARRL pointed out that the ITU Radio Regulations permit assignments that are at variance with the International Table of Allocations, provided a non-interference condition is attached, limiting the use of such an assignment relative to stations operating in accordance with the Table.
The League asked that General class or higher licensees be permitted to use the band. The FCC will not invite comments on the League’s Petition until it puts it on public notice and assigns a Rule Making (RM) number. – Source: ARRL
Antenna
There is no shortage of ways to deploy a Chameleon Hybrid-mini/micro antenna! In this video, I will show you some of the most common ways to deploy a Chameleon Antenna. Chameleon AntennaTM Hybrid – Mini / Micro Portable High Frequency... Read more
Recent Posts
TI9A DXpedition to Cocos Island
From February 2nd until February Feb 7th, a group of four operators will be active from Cocos Island, using the callsign TI9A. The QTH will be Chatham... Read more
Win4Icom Lets You Control Your Icom from Your Computer
Win4IcomSuite is a windows control program for the Icom IC-7100, IC-7300, IC-7600, IC-7610, IC-7700, IC-7800, IC-7850/51 and IC-9700 transceivers sup... Read more
Australian Regulator Reinstates US Amateur Radio License Reciprocity
The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) reports Australia’s communications regulator ACMA is reinstating the reciprocal arrangement for US Amateur R... Read more
They’re Taking Away Our 2 Meter VHF Band 144-146MHz, HELP!!
“Sign the petition below. I was just made aware of the meetings in progress to repurpose 144-146MHz for Aeronautical use in ITU region 1. The li... Read more
HAARP Open House this weekend !
About HAARP: The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) was an ionospheric research program jointly funded by the U.S. Air Force, the... Read more
Recent Posts
My Wife Bought More Radio Gear On Wish and Ali Express
My wife surprised me at the end of 2020 with a new random box of goodies from Wish and AliExpress. Today we unbox some of these ODD radios and radio a... Read more
YAESU M-90D Desktop Microphone: UNBOXING
Yaesu M-90D Desktop Microphones utilize a finely tuned dynamic element to deliver rich low to mid frequency response, desirable for a clear and concis... Read more
ARRL Tells FCC to Restore Balance of Modes on 80 and 75 Meters
In comments filed on March 23 on its Petition for Rule Making (RM 11759) seeking changes to 80 and 75 meters, the ARRL has told the FCC that its prima... Read more
CW Skimmer Developer Alex Shovkoplyas, VE3NEA, Receives RAC Radio Amateur of the Year Plaque
Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) has honored CW Skimmer developer Alex Shovkoplyas, VE3NEA, as its 2014 Radio Amateur of the Year. He received th... Read more
Best Black Friday Deals for 2020 for HAM RADIO
Best Black Friday Deals for 2020 for HAM RADIO Read more
Recent Posts
Amateur Radio Volunteers Assisting in Italian Earthquake Response
Radio amateurs are taking part in the response to the 6.2 magnitude earthquake on August 24 in central Italy, International Amateur Radio Union Region... Read more
8J17CALL by 7-CALL Amateur Radio Club, Japan
Hello! This is 7M4VQJ, Satoshi from Tokyo. I am a president of 7-CALL Amateur Radio Club (JS1YEY), Tokyo based club station organized by 7-CALL amateu... Read more
ICOM IC 7300 was stolen from the ARI Ferrara IQ4FA
“We received this ugly surprise; in detail an ICOM IC 7300 was stolen, of course, of course the freshman of the apparatus has already been repor... Read more
Bill Introduced to Designate April 18, 2022, as National Amateur Radio Operators Day
Arizona Congresswoman Debbie Lesko has reintroduced a resolution with bipartisan support to designate April 18, 2022, as National Amateur Radio Operat... Read more
How Does An Inexpensive Transceiver Compare to An Expensive Transceiver
Jim W6LG plays recordings of an Elecraft K3s and a Yaesu FT-450. Which sounds best to you? Vote for receiver #1 or receiver #2 and give a very short d... Read more