[BCVHFA] Interference to satellite operation on two meters

[Ernie Howard]

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-085.01
ARRL Band Plan

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 085.01
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
March 26, 2006
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-085.01

Recently, we had the wonderful happening of "Suitsat" that spurred the
interest of many young minds. The frequency of 145.990 is in the OSCAR
sub band (145.800-146.000) as indicated by the ARRL in their Well
publicized band plan.  Many interlopers find their way into this clear
portion of 2 meters unknowingly using these sub bands causing headaches
to those that were straining to hear this event. Even using nearby Freqs
cause problems when the super ears are listening for the birds.

Also, 145.800 the ISS downlink, is in this same sub band and is being
used in many metro areas for chit-chat and other experiments. We must
remind each other that the band plan was put in place to assist us in
utilizing the spectrum effectively.  Those that just hear nothing and
start a QSO should be reminded about how wide their signal is and that
they are causing many well intentioned hams trying to make contact with
these satellites and happenings unintentional interference.  There may
not be a satellite signal every minute of the day in these sub bands but
when they are there, terrestrial stations are not listening with big
enough ears as someone with an OSCAR caliber setup.

Point these sub bands out to all at your next club meeting or get together.