[ADXA] Shame of US Radio Amateurs - 60 Meters

[Dennis Schaefer]

Joel,

Very good comments - people need to be more careful about this stuff.    I worked VP6R on practically every mode and band and decided to try them on 60M FT8 on the last day or so.  I normally use a Yaesu FT-991 for my infrequent HF FT8 efforts.  I have flushed most of the gory details out of my memory banks, but I remember reading and studying about things like whether a stated frequency was the carrier frequency or the center of a 3 Khz channel width.  Both methods are  used.  Any signal must be in the center of the 3 Khz channel (once you figure out where it actually is) so FT8 F/H mode is technically illegal any way you look at it.  More than one signal in the channel is too many.  

CW is doable, and SSB is easy, but digital modes are hard to figure out.  However, as much as I struggled with it, I could not make my FT-991 would  transmit on a legal frequency for digital modes on 60 meters.  I’ll have to revisit that someday and see if I was right, but I discussed it with John Evans, who is an FT8 guru, and I think we both reached the same conclusion.   I tried my Kenwood TS-590S and it seems there was a frequency problem with it also.   I think part of the problem was that WSJT-X would not allow me to set a frequency that would result in a legal transmit frequency with the FT-991.  Maybe WSJT-X frequencies assumed carrier frequency and the FT-991 dial read center channel frequencies.  Both were designed to “protect you from yourself” and ended up being incompatible.   Perhaps I could have done it by turning off CAT control - it’s been too long to remember if I tried that.

Makes my head hurt to think about it.  I’ll stick to 6 and 2 meters for FT8, with an occasional foray onto the HF bands (but not 60 meters).

Dennis



> On Nov 18, 2020, at 9:42 AM, w5zn at w5zn.org wrote:
> 
> Greetings ADXA Folks,
> 
> 7Q7RU appeared on 60 meters FT8 last night with a nice signal and several USA stations are in their log. Normally, this would be a good thing however last night was an embarrassment and a shame for amateur radio in the United States. Why? Because 7Q7RU was operating on 5354 KHz and that is NOT a frequency authorized for use in the USA. I don't know if 7Q7RU is aware of this or not, nor do I know if they are even allowed to operate from Malawi on 5357 KHz which is where US radio amateurs can operate FT8. I was monitoring 5354 KHz and the first two stations I saw calling are, to be blunt, stations who do not care about the FCC rules and in fact don't care about any rules as one of those stations was disqualified from the DXCC program some years ago.
> 
> Sadly, the good followed the bad and eventually a number of other US hams began calling on 5354 KHz and the ones I saw calling should have known better. I was in an email exchange with a buddy of mine down in south Texas about it and sadly even he, after a while, said "to hell with it, everyone else is calling so I'm going to as well". I told him that wasn't the case because I wasn't calling and did not intend to unless they move up to 5357 KHz.
> 
> So what makes this particularly egregious? This is a shared band. Amateur radio is not a primary authorized user on 60 meters. Now, you may say "well, I don't hear anyone else there so the primary user's must not be using it". That is an extremely flawed position because the band is in fact used by the United States government and they are watching us!
> 
> Allow me to give a little background. As I have stated before, the United States was the first country in the world to obtain authorization to use 5 MHz. I was ARRL First Vice President at the time and Jim Haynie, W5JBP, was ARRL President. The FCC came on board with allowing amateur radio use rather quickly however the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the Executive Branch agency that is principally responsible for advising the President on telecommunications and information policy issues, was staunchly opposed to it due to ongoing use by government. The process drug on for several years and finally we were able to obtain the five discreet frequency channels with the power limit we have today.
> 
> Now, you are also aware that during the World Radio Communication conference in 2015 (WRC-15) that amateur radio obtain a small allocation at 5 MHz which the United States has not yet adopted. We are not allowed to use the new WRC15 allocation until the FCC authorizes it. Let me give you a bit more "inside info". ARRL was the driving force within IARU at WRC-15 to make this happen but the United States government refused, on several occasions, to sponsor the agenda proposal or to support it. Guess which IARU society was able to convince their government to sponsor the item and get it on the agenda.....CUBA! Yea that's right, our own government wouldn't support the effort.
> 
> Now, think about this for a second. The United States government did not want radio amateurs on 5 MHz. They were opposed to a 5 MHz allocation for the amateur radio service at WRC15. They still have NOT adopted the WRC15 allocation at 5 MHz so now amateur radio operators in the USA are giving the US government a good reason to NOT do so! And to top it off it is not a bunch of unruly CB operators who obtain an amateur radio license doing this.....it is a group of well season Morse examined Extra Class DX'ers doing so!
> 
> Shame on them. The 5 MHz amateur allocation in the United States could well be in jeopardy.
> 
> So, is there any good news in all of this? Yes there is and ADXA folks are to be commended. We refrained from the temptation to violate the amateur radio rules. I did not see any of you calling. That takes a good bit of will power and also shows the integrity each of you have as a radio amateur, and DX'er and an ADXA member.
> 
> Keep it up, ADXA !!!
> 
> 73 Joel W5ZN
> ADXA President
> 
> p.s. 60 meter contacts are not allowed for any DXCC credit so you really didn't miss anything!!!
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