Hi all,
I am sure most know this so this is just a gentle reminder.
The UK 60M allocation is different to the Eu WRC-15 allocation. Fortunately there are some overlaps. However, if you choose to operate below 5354 or between 5358 and 5362 then UK hams cannot chase you.
There was an example this morning. Arthur, HB9CEV, started his 60M activation of HB/SZ-016 on 5353.5 (d’oh, I can hear him but I cannot chase him!) then shortly afterwards he QSY’d to 5354 (now successful chase).
73
Andrew G4AFI
Well you could scream “S-p-l-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-t. S-p-l-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-t”.
Or call him with a fake non-G call and ask him to QSY up a bit. I have been called by mysterious GI calls a good few yeas back when on 60m channels not available in EI and asked to QSY, if you get my drift. 
I like to try 60m when out activating, and usually stick to between 5354-5358 kHz, or more particularly 5354.5 kHz. I usually mostly use CW.
73’s
David
And I know I keep banging on about it and it probably isn’t SOTA operators doing it but I still regularly see out of band transmissions from UK stations so once again if you operate 60m FT8 on 5357kHz make sure you set your offset frequency so that the upper edge of your signal is completely within the UK allocation - ie about 950Hz* or below to be sure - AND check the Hold Tx Freq box so that your transmit frequency doesn’t scoot off up the band to that of the continental station you’re working…
Hi Andy,
Well he was on CW but I guess I could have adjusted my rig to produce horrible amounts of key clicks in the hope he would hear me 500Hz HF …
73
Andrew G4AFI
Or disconnect one of your jars - that’d have done it
Obviously you’d put your signal enough above the UK bandlet edge to keep things clean below it, but how much above is enough? I figure I’d aim no lower than 5.3542 to be safe, but I’ve sometimes seen wider CW signals…
I think I might have had that once or twice when I was on 5.395 MHz USB because 5.3985 MHz USB was otherwise engaged…
Chased by you, Andrew?
If you called him back on USB then your output would have been completely within the 5354.0-5358.0 UK sub-band. Or, if you worked him CW split frequency with you on, say 5354.5 [my favourite 60m frequency], that would be fine too. But if you used 5354.0 CW half of your output would be out of [sub]band.
I’ve been requesting WRC-15 EU stations to use the overlap with UK for some time. There is now more activity recently in the overlap section but not probably coz they read the SOTA reflector but because it’s getting busier.
73 Andy
That caught me out on a simple radio whilst on 60m and luckily Phil @G4OBK sent me a quick email to alert me to the fact I was transmitting out of band.
Its a very innocent mistake and ideally the channel would be better suited to be wider at 5357kHz
to agree with the full FT8 usable bandwidth
OK for some, at least you have a 60m allocation. I doubt we’ll ever get one here in Austria. I read that Russia was also dead against any allocation at 60m…
73 de OE6FEG
Matt
Indeed. It’s a good band for SOTA (though this morning it was playing deep QSB games for me)…
And it allows antennas to be cut for 60/30/15m rather than the usual 40/20/10m. Whilst my 20m Windom does work on 30m, it would be nice to try a full wave rather than a 2/3 wave.
73 Matt
I added 60m extensions to my SOTAbeams 40/30/20 linked dipole which works very well but it needs my 9m pole to support it. Maybe it’s an age thing or I’m lazy but as my KX2’s internal ATU loads up so well on 60m using my 40/30/20 EFHW [on a 6m pole], for most activations I would prefer the weight/volume reduction of the EFHW/short pole over a marginal improvement in antenna performance.
Why does it need such a high pole? I use a 5m pole with a 30/40/60 dipole. It has approx 3m end ropes that go to my walking poles to keep the ends elevated or to fence. That’s about 16m in total length, 13m wire, 3m rope. Seems to work over UK ground, never tried abroad but now France has 60m, I will try it when (WHEN???) I next get to go there.
I don’t use walking poles so if there’s no handy fence(s) or tree(s) [usually the case] with my mid-sized pole [6m] the 60m extensions are too close to the ground to be effective even with string extensions… And with all that wire weight [even using SOTAbeams UltraLite wire] I can’t use the top 1m of the 6m pole as the sections bend too much. The lighter EFHW can go near the top of the pole in an inverted vee or sloper configuration.
BTW: Been using CW on 60m for a few years. One of first SSB QSOs on 60m was with you Andy @MM0FMF using my 40/30/20 EFHW. As I recall you gave me a good report until my pole fell over in the wind due to lack of soil for the guy strings pegs on a rocky summit. You assumed it was a SID or something but I could still hear you (probably 5/2) with the EFHW wire all lying on the ground.
So, height isn’t everything! Moral of the story: forgotten to bring your pole – try using the antenna on the ground.
On one or two occasions where I have wanted to work a station below 5354KHz, I have posted a spot on the DX cluster asking something like, “please listen for UK stations 5354.1KHz”. It worked! Can’t recall if they were SOTA or not. Of course, if you post a request on cluster/SOTAwatch, it’s hit and miss if the op sees it. Maybe worth a try though? Nothing ventured…