Hi all
Maybe this was discussed before, sorry for that 
— Why don’t use the CMR15 (5351,5 à 5366,5 kHz) for 60m SOTA QSO’s ?
15:52 W4RRJ on W4C/CM-080 5.3715 ssb
16:13 W1PTS on W4T/SU-005 5.346.5 ssb
This is not a good example but maybe an antenna problem 
— Why using 14.285 if in this frequency we have daily SV net ?
I don’t have any response, just need one or two !
73 Éric
Hi Eric,
Most counties with 60m now have the WRC15 defined band (5351.5 to 5366.5 kHz) but those countries who had 60m before the WRC conference often had (and still have) either spot channel frequencies or mini-bandlets as is the case with the US and the UK. They do not have the WRC15 60m band that the rest of us have. The frequencies used by activators in the US or the UK are channels that they have used for a long time and don’t look to use overlapping frequencies unless they expressly want to try to get continental Europe contacts. Considering just SSB, 5357 kHz is a common spot frequency between the US and all WRC15 countries. 5355 or 5363 kHz are overlapping frequencies between the UK and WRC15 countries.
Why do activators use 14.285MHz ? beacuse it’s the international QRP SSB centre of activity frequency. What you need to be asking is why is there an SV net on that frequency in conflict with IARU guidelines?
73 Ed.
Since 13/02/2020 (60m start in France) I worked 89 countries, 26 states of USA and 25 WAZ zones on 60m ! Still difficult to work daytime to NA but in Europe it’s easy !
Éric
Thank’s Ed
Dear Ed,
I fully agree, 14.285 should be kept clear for QRP-stations. Having a SV net there is a bad idea. But I even want to question whether SOTA activators with the ability to selfspot should use 14.285. Many chasers are not working QRP and a SOTA pileup can easily wipe out other QRP activities. Having the possibility to guide the chasers to any frequency, activators should use this.
The drawback is, we are demotivating chasers monitoring 14.285 and not only waiting for spots appearing in SOTAWatch.
Seems there is no simple answer to this simple question.
73 de Michael, DB7MM
Eric, if I can get out next Sunday to activate I will try for either split-frequency 60m operation or try to operate in the part of the CEPT window UK hams can activate. Keep your eyes open for an alert from me. But it depends on UK WX and outdoor restrictions.
When I lived in Australia, I would leave one radio on 7.090 and the other on 14.285 and this would normally catch most of the SOTA HF SSB activators without needing their self-spot. This would NEVER work in Europe!
73 Ed.
I don’t accept your logic. If a SOTA station is QRP then 14.285 is a reasonable place to be. Firstly because it lets him work other QRP stations, which is always satisfying, but he is there to work other stations and if they happen to be QRO they still count. If I am operating QRP I am happy to work anyone and it doesn’t matter to me if they are using 500 watts or 500 milliwatts, they are still contacts. As for wiping out other QRP operations, a SOTA contact is often complete in under a minute, the transmission time of the QRO station can be measured in seconds, so if QRP stations are actually trying to work on top of each other, big deal!
Actually, I do a lot of my chasing on HF with my FT817, it is satisfying to work the activators on equal terms!
As for wiping out other QRP operations, a SOTA contact is often complete in under a minute,
Brian, a SOTA pile up of qro stations on 20m usually lasts 20 minutes.
How do you know that they are QRO? I often get 58 or 59 from my 5 watts. Anyway, that is still a good haul of contacts for the QRP SOTA op, even if it is a mixed bag of QRP and QRO. Nobody says that 14.285 is a QRP to QRP channel, just a QRP channel and the incumbant is in fact QRP, if the channel holder is QRP then I think the channel occupancy is honourable.
The QRP groups have requested that QRO stations don’t work QRP stations on the QRP frequencies for the reason that the QRO stations may affect other QRP stations close by. It’s a reasonable request that is best met by QRP stations operating nearby but not on the QRP frequencies. i.e. a QRP SOTA station calling on 7.030 will attract a range of chasers using QRP and QRO powers and will cause problems to QRP stations trying to operate close by. Operation that would be successful if there were no QRO stations. Moving 2kHz or so away (up or down) gives sufficient breathing room from QRO stations especially when simple less selective QRP receiver designs are employed.
It’s not rocket science, difficult to implement or particularly restricting to all stations involved. To me, it seems polite and in the gentlemanly spirit of amateur radio to operate near the QRP frequencies without having to operate right on top of them such that as a QRP activator, I’m in the right rough area of the bands without my cohorts of QRO chasers descending on the true QRP centres like marauding Mongolian Hordes.
Eric,
FYI
Here in the USA we are limited to 5 specific frequencies (or channels) on 60m:
5.330.5
5.346.5
5.357
5.371.5
5.403.5
As to 20m, on 14.285 for QRP is just not working for me. Too many nets and high power stations on or close to that frequency. I seem to have better luck a little higher on the band.
73
Tom ~ W1PTS