[MRCA] The guardian of the pass band

[Christopher Bowne]

60 meters is a good band for mil
radios.  Moose and Squirrel Net originally was primarily a military radio net, especially for people using field radios and pack sets.

Checked into the Short and Sweet  Net on Channel 2 on 60 tonight from my mobile.  Nice net,  propagation at 1700-1800 Eastern very good.  Later wanted to try for a casual CW QSO on 60 from the mobile around 1900z.  Channels 1, 2, and 3 all were QRL with CW POTA ops…surprised to see operations like that on a band with only 5 channels. Isn’t POTA more or less a contest, and the IARU has declared that the WARC bands and 60 meters are to be contest free?

73 de Chris AJ1G
 Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 9, 2025, at 19:06, Michael St. Angelo via MRCA <mrca at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
> 
> The problem with 40 meters is that it is a popular NVIS band without the noise and D layer absorption of 80 and 40 meters but its is a narrow band. In addition it is shared with Broadcasters.
> 
> I know some cruisers who travel or deliver boats up and down the East coast. They make use of the waterway 40 meter net in the morning but the band is busy in the afternoon and evening. One cruiser got his Commercial Maritime Coast station license and runs a net on the 8 MHz Maritime SSB band. Yes, they use Maritime SSB transceivers, mostly ICOM.
> 
> If the purpose of this morning military radio net is to run SSB rigs I would recommend trying the 60 meter band if 40 is busy.
> 
> Mike N2MS
> 
>> On 04/09/2025 3:56 PM EDT sbjohnston--- via MRCA <mrca at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The concept of a "calling frequency" or "mode window" is handy for encouraging niche modes and guiding newcomers to the right place to work people with similar interests, but none of it has any basis in regulation or even mutual agreement. I love to operate AM, but there is no place it is exclusive.
>> 
>> One could just as easily say that the 7295-7300 kHz range is the "USB-on-40m" window, or the "Military equipment window" and it would mean just as much.
>> 
>> If someone is seeking to enforce limiting a part of a band to one niche mode, they are simply wrong. This issue comes up in regard to the digital operation in in the CW band, variously from both digital and CW operators with a beef.
>> 
>> It is interesting that on both 75 and 40 meters the AM activity is spreading out across the phone band. I first learned about this trend through AF4K Crystals customers who were buying crystals on other frequencies for use with vintage AM transmitters. They needed additional frequencies to be able to move to the other freqs with their friends.
>> Steve WD8DAS
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