According to the RSGB website, from January 1st our access to 5 megs will be substantially increased to the following sub-bands:
5258.5 to 5264…5.5 kHz width
5276 to 5284…8 kHz width
5288.5 to 5292…3.5 kHz width
5298 to 5307…9 kHz width
5313 to 5323…10 kHz width
5333 to 5338…5 kHz width
5354 to 5358…4 KHz width
5362 to 5374.5…12.5 kHz width
5378 to 5382…4 kHz width
5395 to 5401.5…6.5 kHz width
5403.5 to 5406.5…3 kHz width
100 watts max power with a maximum of 200 watts EIRP. Maximum antenna height 20 metres agl.
Access to this superb band will continue to be available only to holders of the Advanced license, probably the best single reason to upgrade!
Good to see they finally got around to implementing the changes but I would have thought OFCOM would have at least notified existing NoV holders of the impending changes.
It is also good to see the existing channels actually fit in the new scheme.
Possibly great news, BUT, when cold & wet on a hillside the channelised situation we have right now is much better. Why on earth have they got not only weird frequency ranges but also silly “notched” segments.
Guess it was designed by committee! I would have to carry an “aide memoire” to ensure I kept within the mini band edges unless, as was said, some agreement on “preferred channels” is arrived at.
We also need to see how it interleaves with other 5MHz allocations around the globe.
Oh well, something for the long dark evenings when the bands are unusable due to the noise from BT Vision and other QRN generators!
I wonder if it’s still going to be channellised and if so how they will
name/number them
No doubt this is under discussion by the 5 Megs glitterati right now, Colin, but I note that four of the segments are only 3 to 4 kHz wide, and that all of our present channels are included in the new segments - in fact one segment has two of them, so until something trickles down from above I will leave the current channels in the memories. As in many ways this is the ideal band for SOTA (I have crossed the pond with 5 watts SSB in the wee small hours!) I hope that the extension of the band will re-invigorate it!
73
Brian G8ADD
PS Barry, the segments seem odd - well, they ARE odd, but that is what they were able to wheedle out of the primary users!
In reply to GM4TOE:
Now I can use my ‘drifting’ transmitters without due concern (:>)
Me thinks I’ll just stick to the existing channels that I have in memories. Lot easier to monitor/call on.
Anyhoo. Looks like a 5MHz band is in the making. Though I must admit I do like this ‘channelised’ HF concept. Maybe possible to keep a section as channelised in the future?
And you can put a similar label on me, and add GOM as well.
I might as well send my NOV back, now. I will not pay a local (relatively) emporium 2 hours work to mod my FT857, and I’ve no idea how much it would cost to put the new frequencies in my base station (FT950). I’ll wait until the RSGB negotiate a sensible slot before I spend any money.
Before anyone asks, the family name is said to have originated in lowland Scotland, where we were rumoured to survive on cattle/sheep rustling and a little highway robbery (Reevers?)
Regards, Dave, G6DTN (Mean, retired, Cold, skint and GOM)
Dave, I opened my FT817 in less than half an hour, most of that time spent in taking out and replacing screws! I used a battery soldering iron and a magnifying glass, and although my hand is nowhere near as steady as it used to be it was a straightforward and quick job. I should add that all the current 8*7 family mod the same way.
I know nothing about the 950 but it would be worth looking in mods.dk, some rigs only need a wire cut or a diode removed.
Like you Brian, I will be keeping the current channels in memory. The success of SOTA on 5MHz has partly been due to channelisation. Calling on FE (or FM when FE is in use) often quickly establishes a QSO and a spot. My opinion is that we will need to decide on a frequency that will unofficially become “the centre of SOTA activity”. Whether we keep using FE or choose a new frequency centrally within one of the larger segments is open to debate, but what we don’t want to end up with is a fluid situation where chasers are having to trawl the entire allocation to find activators. The other issue is that as an activator, I do not want to have to refer to a frequency chart to ensure I am within the allocated segments, particularly in dire weather conditions. If you can memorise the entire allocation, you are a better man than I Gunga Din!
What I am thinking of doing is putting the LF end of each segment into the memories, and if the bigger segments are channelised adding those channels, too. The idea of a SOTA-preferred segment is attractive, but I wonder if it will just make it easier for the QRM pests - and the GM that calls CQ on CW on top of activations sometimes - to find us. One suggestion that I might make is to make 5362 our calling channel with three QSY channels in that segment, but I’m sure that such a nice slice of contiguous real estate will attract attention in other quarters!
One idea for the multichannel segments is to put the HF edge in a memory next to the memory with the LF edge so that you can click the memory channels to see if you are still in the segment - but most people will probably follow the folk guitarists and put stickers on their gear to remind them!
I’m sure there is someone local to you who will unsolder the link from your 857 so it will TX from D.C. to daylight. You need to add a link for the 950.
I don’t know the absolute number of links that need tweaking on the 857 but it’s not diffcult if you have sufficient soldering competance. I can understand anyone who doesn’t regularly build stuff and work with modern electronics to be reluctant to even consider trying this. Or those who don’t think their eyes are up to the job any more.
