[ARC5] T-17 on eBay - 600 meters...

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

On 3 Aug 2014 at 8:06, J Mcvey wrote:

> What can you do with the transmitters below 160 meters?

Quite a bit, actually, it turns out.

> The FCC hasn't 
> blessed anything except 1 W into a *VERY* short antenna on 2200 meters and
> "grovel status" applications on 600 meters.

I don't quite understand what you mean by "grovel status". Please explain.

> I just bought  a 600 meter R-23 to
> monitor the experimental stations, but that's about all we can do at the moment.

Not quite true...

> When the time comes, a T-15 could be de-tuned a bit lower for this band. Are any
> of you guys running 600 meter experimental stations?

Well, I was heavily involved in getting the first 600 meter license back at 
least 10...maybe 15 years, ago...

I have a forum, somewhat like this one, the 600 Meter Research Group 
(600MRG) set up for those of us who have experimental licenses. At the 
moment, there are over 100 members of the "list" in many countries. I have 
not counted them lately. I just manage the list.

There is also a website run by Ralph Hartwell, W5JGV, 500kc.com.

> If so, how long did it take
> for approval?

Once the application was sent in to the FCC, it takes about 3 months to get 
the license.

> What was involved in getting it?

Filling out a bunch of paper work, one of which, and possibly the most 
important, was explaining what you intend to do with the license. The 
process is actually fairly easy, and we have complete examples posted to the 
500kc.com website on how to do it.

Authorized power output has been requested, and authorized, from 1 W to 1 
KW ERP. Even 1 W ERP requires several hundred watts out of the amp into 
the antennas, since the antenna systems we are able to erect on city-sized 
lots are horribly inefficient.

Most active stations are using top-loaded verticals of one kind or another.

Ranges achieved are, at least to my mind, "unusual" in the extreme. Some of 
our stations have been consistently copied in such places as Europe and 
even Oceania.

One active station in Alaska is consistently copied on the U.S. East Coast. 
He is authorized 1 W ERP.

Most countries have authorized their amateurs to operate in portions of the 
600 meter band.

And, the ARRL is actively pushing the FCC to release that band fo regular 
amateur use.

In the meantime, everyone I know of who has applied for an "Experimental" 
license to operate in that band has been issued one.

I am part of the second series of experimental licenses issued in which 
something like 35 of us were authorized to operate on the same license. My 
call there is WD2XSH/24.

In fact, when I first applied back many years ago, the FCC was MOST 
supportive of having that band in operation by amateurs.

The only "fly in the ointment" was the USCG, which, despite having no funds 
authorized for it, and no real plans, has wanted, for many years, to install 
some sort of high-accuracy GPS system in that band.

There is a lot of activity going on there, and we expect the FCC to release 
the authorized portions (the last WARC conference authorized all member 
countries to do so) to regular amateurs in the near future.

Ken W7EKB