[NLRS] 902 MHz topic for the MRC band plan meeting

[Doug Reed]

TWIMC:
Just another reminder that the next Minnesota Repeater Council band plan
meeting will be this Friday. There are a number of issues left over from
our meetings last spring and a new issue that has cropped up. This question
is of interest to the weak signal community and I'm forwarding this email
to them as well. 
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Date & time: 6:30PM Friday Nov 22, 2002.
Location: Ramsey County Emergency Services EOC, same as last year.
Address: 3383 N Rice Street, Shoreview, 55126

Directions: The EOC is located in the basement of the Public Works garage
in the south-west corner of the intersection of I-694 and Rice Street in
Shoreview. If you are on I-35E, take I-694 west bound and Rice Street is
the next exit from the freeway. If you are on I-35W, head east on I-694,
past the Shoreview towers to Rice Street. Go south on Rice Street from the
freeway exit. When you turn into the parking lot from Rice Street, continue
the turn and drive north along side the building to the inner parking lot.
The entrance is on your left in the corner next to the chain link fence.
Just look for all the cars in that corner and the large decal on the door. 
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Paul K0LAV forwarded some email to me regarding 902 MHz band plan changes
around the country. There is a request for repeater coordination in Duluth
using the new band plan but MRC hasn't even discussed it yet. The facts are
that certain 900 MHz commercial equipment is starting to become available
on surplus that makes it fairly easy to get FM voice users in the 902-928
MHz band. But the equipment will not run with the 12 or 20 MHz spreads
common to the current ARRL/MRC/Wisconsin band plans. 

Several repeater coordination groups around the country have started
changing their band plans to accommodate the new equipment using a 25 MHz
split. That means they use frequencies around 927.5 MHz for repeater
outputs and frequencies around 902.5 MHz for repeater inputs. The output
frequencies were chosen to be below the range commonly used by the vehicle
locator systems that are primary users in the band. 927.5 is within the
area already allocated to FM simplex and links in the MRC band plan. The 25
MHz spacing is built into the radio hardware and that forces the input
frequencies to be within the 1 MHz range reserved for weak signal. 

My understanding is that the new allocation is for about a dozen 12.5 KHz
channels pretty much centered between the active weak signal areas of
902.1, 903.1 and the EME frequencies. Using the low end as the input means
the signals will typically be 25 watts or less from a mobile or portable
station and usually over 300 KHz away from the most used weak signal
frequencies. 

I'd like to have some people more knowledgeable about weak signal than
myself available to discuss the options and decide if it is likely to be a
serious interference issue. I haven't had much time to research the issue
myself and have only a few emails from Ohio to explain the proposed
changes. If you want to start looking for info, two places to start are the
SERA band utilization plans and the AR902 repeater list. 
	http://www.sera.org/freq0101.html
	http://ohioaprs.net/ar902/
The SERA site gives their new 902 MHz band plan. The AR902 site shows what
states are coordinating repeaters on the new frequencies. This will give a
list of states to check for further information. If anyone knows any
operators in other states that are affected by the new repeaters, I'd like
to hear about it. I'm most interested in confirmed interference reports. 

I expect I'm going to hear more cries of outrage that FM voice is taking
over the world but what I really want to see is more activity on the upper
bands. I'm banging on the old "use it or lose it" drum. It doesn't sound
like the suggested changes would have serious impact on any existing
operations. And surplus equipment has always been a sure-fire way to get
more people active on a band. 

But I'd certainly like to hear from the people most clearly impacted by the
possible change. Please consider yourself to be invited to the meeting
Friday night. If we have  40-50 people it will be a miracle as well as
getting a little crowded..... And I'll take this opportunity to offend some
people by saying that I'm looking for people who want to discuss the
options, not just rant and yell. Please stay home if you are incoherent
with rage and send somebody else in your place...... 

I hope to see many of you at the meeting.

73, Doug Reed, N0NAS