Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) HF Manager Ian Greenshields, G4FSU, says the noise floor continues to rise on the HF bands in the UK. He included that observation in his report to the October 29 RSGB Spectrum Forum.
“The threat of PLT [power line telecommunications] for the last 10 years has largely been superseded by noisy electronics, in particular switch-mode power supplies in lighting and solar PV [photovoltaic] arrays, and broadband Internet delivery systems such as VDSL2,” Greenshields said in his report. “A further potential threat from wireless power transfer systems (WPT) is being closely monitored at the ITU [International Telecommunication Union].”
Greenshields noted that several countries have begun implementing the new 5 MHz band agreed to at World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15). “We will continue to work towards the goal of achieving a harmonized band plan at 5 MHz across all regions,” he said. Greenshields said that operation on the new 15 kHz band segment by and large has been orderly. “The main problems continue to be out-of-band operation by some operators,” he said, adding that the RSGB is working with telecommunications regulator Ofcom and the Ministry of Defence to secure access to the new band next year — while retaining access to the existing 5 MHz channel frequencies.
In his VHF/UHF Spectrum Forum report, VHF Manager John Regnault, G4SWX, pointed out that, earlier this year, Ofcom revised the noise-floor criteria used to calculate coverage areas for certain business radio users. The change from the previous figure of –104 dBm to –92 dBm “recognizes the increase in man-made noise in this part of the spectrum,” Regnault said. “The change resulted after surveys and pressure from business users of this part of the spectrum.”
Regnault said this should come as no surprise to users of 6 meters and 4 meters [70 MHz] in the UK, who already understand that the noise floor on those bands is primarily from man-made sources. “Unfortunately, this degradation of the RF spectrum is unlikely to feed through into EMC [electromagnetic compatibility] standards that are sadly very poor above 30 MHz,” he added.
Source:ARRL
Review
RTL-SDR VS SDRPlay
A Comparison between the rtl-sdr and sdrplay across different frequencies and settings. Measuring the signal to noise ratio and graphing results.... Read more
Wouxun KG-D2000 DMR HT Radio
Wouxun KG-D2000 DMR HT Radio “The second model of DMR HT from Wouxun is dubbed the KG-D2000. Still a monoband UHF radio (VHF version might also... Read more
Retevis RT52 Dual Band DMR Radio
“The newest Dual Band DMR HT from Retevis is the RT-52. With a dark screen and white fonts, this radio has a unique look from the start. The cod... Read more
FTdx10 vs IC-7300 Comparison
This week Jonathan compares the new Yaesu FTdx10 and the Icom IC-7300. What are your comments on either? Read more
VHF
OM Power OM3006 50MHz 6m 3kw Linear Amplifier
OM Power The linear amplifier OM3006 is designed for 50 MHz amateur bands from 50 till 52 MHz and all modes . It is equipped with a ceramictetr... Read more
Successful VHF QSO between ZS3 and ZD7
Kobus van der Merwe, ZS3JPY reports that between 19:45 and 21:45 UTC on Wednesday 7 November 2018, a QSO took place on 2 metres between St Helena Isla... Read more
Overview of 50 MHz status in ITU Region 1 (2016)
IARU Region 1 has issued a new version of their Overview of 50 MHz Status document dated Feb 13, 2016 It shows which Region 1 countries currently have... Read more
Antenna
The repeter antenna of the ISS
The repeter antenna of the ISS Source: URE Read more
Active Wideband Receiver Antenna for your SDR 50-2000MHz
Software Defined Radio (SDR) has finally reached a much broader mass of people, who wanted to play with RF technology, but didn’t find the time... Read more
SteppIR UrbanBeam and SDA 2000 – full review (HF antenna)
SteppIR UrbanBeam “This is a full review of the SteppIR UrbanBeam (multiband HF antenna) with the SDA 2000 controller (OptimizIR). It’s part 3 o... Read more
G3TXQ 6 Band Hexbeam 40m single element add on kit
G3TXQ 6 Band Hexbeam 40m single element add on kit Some of you may remember the 7 band Hexbeam that was in production a few years ago. Due to the comp... Read more
App - Mobile
SatSat for IOS version 1.4.11 has been released
SatSat, by Fabrice Aneche is a satellite tracking software, for radio amateurs, scientists or hobbyists. It displays current and next passes for any s... Read more
The RS-MS1I APP is now available via the iTunes store
Description Functional overview of the application DR functions You can use some transceiver’s DR functions. Share pictures Send and receive vo... Read more
Shortwave radio distributes smartphone apps
Imagine being able to download an app…without the internet. Well, it’s finally happened, thanks to shortwave radio. Broadcasting Board of Governors (B... Read more
Free Digital Mode Android App
First Formal Release of AndFLMSG! AndFLMSG is a combination of Fldigi and Flmsg for portable devices running Android. The main objective of this devel... Read more
Equipment
$760 Ham Radio Shack From Aliexpress?
$760 Ham Radio Shack From Aliexpress? Read more
Radioddity Raddy RW3 Go-Kit-Type Radio AM/FM/WX, Phone Charger and More
Radioddity Raddy RW3 Go-Kit-Type Radio AM/FM/WX, Phone Charger and More [Small Size But All-Purpose] Unlike other FM/AM/NOAA radios, the RW3 is a Blue... Read more
PANADAPTER For Any Radio DC – 160 MHz SDR Antenna Switch
PANADAPTER For Any Radio DC – 160 MHz SDR Antenna Switch Read more
Yaesu M-70 | Desktop Microphone
The Yaesu M-70 is a new desk top microphone from Yaesu, it is ideal for the new FT-DX10 model but will function with other Yaesu Models. More info so... Read more
New! Wattmeter HF/50 MHz FX773 3/5 kWatt
Technical Features VECTOR SWR/POWER METER METROPWR FX773Coverage 1.8/55 MHz 160/6mtHF/55MHz Measure Power AVG, PeP, dBm, R, Z, |X| , SWR, FrequencyWid... Read more
PA500 ultra-compact RF amplifier with tuner
PA500 linear amplifier with integrated automatic antenna tuner for your next adventure.The complete solution to conquer limitations unique form-factor... Read more