Wireless Network Operator suggests to revoke Amateur Radio 9cm and 13cm bands in Brazil.

Then hams need to be convincing county commissioners to require 50% of home building be NON-HOA housing. For your information, some areas have 0 (zero) non -hoa housing.

 

Originally, amateurs were allocated all wavelengths shorter than 200 meters, because those frequencies were considered to be "useless". Technology changed and we lost access to most of those frequencies. We were allocated our current microwave bands at a time when they were considered "useless" for any practical purpose. Today, commercial interests will pay big money for frequencies above 400 MHz. We need to ensure that we are utilizing our 1.25 M, 70 cm, 33 cm, and 23 cm bands to the fullest, so that we do not lose part or all of those allocations. In the USA, we are fortunate that our 70cm band is 30 MHz wide, it is "only" 10 MHz wide in most of the world. We may as well face it, amateur activity on the bands above 23 cm is almost non-existent. Those frequencies are highly desireable to commercial interests and we will almost certainly lose access to much, if not all, of those allocations. The days of experimentation and "advancing the state of the art" are long gone. Today's average ham is an "appliance operator", who, at best, has a vague understanding of the technical aspects of his hobby. Our current allocations up to and including the 23 cm band will probably provide us with all of the spectrum that we may need for future satellite operations or new technologies that may be developed. The bands above 23 cm don't have the propagation characteristics for terrestrial communication beyond that which would be possible only by the installation of relay stations comparable to the current cellular telephone system, and hams don't have the financial resources (or the inclination) to install such a system. In my opinion, the loss of our bands above 23 cm is inevitable, it is just a matter of time.

 

Are you trying to make me feel old--or just marginalized?

Funny...I feel neither.

 

I'll reserve judgement about advancing the state of the art, but experimentation? I'll never be an 'appliance operator'.

One does not need to design FPGA based circuits to be an experimenter, a 'lousy' new wire antenna qualifies.

 

I did qualify my remark as referring to the "average" ham. Obviously, there are hams out there who are far above average.

 

I did qualify my remark as referring to the "average" ham. Obviously, there are hams out there who are far above average.

 

I understand your point, and it certainly feels like pushing a rock up a hill sometimes, but we really need to encourage the"average" hams as well. (BTW I think the ARRL does a decent job of that.)

One of the main points of ham radio is that it is an access for anyone without a formal technical background. No BSEE, BSCS, or Ph.D. needed. Innovation usually comes from end-users, and we have them in the hundreds of thousands

Its important that we not formalize a culture of discouragement. I dealt with that for decades with many hams. I pushed back. I got attacked for pushing back. I pushed back some more. Some of this played out on the Zed; its easy to find. Now some of this was commercial interests trying to kill a disruptive technology, using ham radio as a surrogate. But not all of it.

Was pushing back the right response? It didn't make friends, and was painful,but from a technology standpoint, I have to admit it was. Pity, for me, it destroyed the 'come as you are' sense that I entered ham radio, as a kid. But I go passed it.

I don't think its a coincidence that the lack of use of these bands corresponds to a lack of 'playing'. If we welcome it, more people will venture out--and take risks.

I'm glad you brought up the monkey on our back, and wish you well

73
Chip W1YW

 

IMO it has more to do with PROFIT than the 'common good.' What you mean is suddenly there are billions of dollars to be made selling Smart Phones and Cell Service to the masses.

Other than a few business people and some government officials most people are not really important enough to necessitate a Smart Phone or Cell Phone.

Hams will have to give up part of their band space so kids can play video games, their moms can yak with their friends while grocery shopping, and most importantly the telecoms can make billions? How is this 'the most efficient use of natural resorces?'

Dan KI4AX

 

I agree on all points, Chip. I think that it can be summed up thusly: The Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic was built by professionals. You also made a good point about "a culture of discouragement". A defeatist attitude is usually one's worst enemy.

I've also encountered ridicule and disdain when I have pointed out technical inaccuracies in popular beliefs. People tend to side with the majority, right or wrong. They would rather believe the beautiful lie than the ugly truth. If someone wants to "un-friend" me because we disagree on a technical matter, they probably weren't a true friend to begin with.

Keep up the good work. 73, Dennis

 

that's fine but 99% of radio hams aren't important enough to necessitate a radio licence either. i am certainly not important.

to me, this is about considering other people who want to use the radio spectrum for similar reasons to the reasons i want to use it, namely - for fun.

 

personally, as someone who is (a) a cellphone user who is sometimes frustrated by slow download speeds due to overcrowding and (b) a radio ham who is aware of how underused some of the higher frequency ham allocations are, i have sympathy for a shift in utilisation emphasis.

 

I never hear about the higher bands. Is there ever any events or awards on those bands to draw activity? Like foxhunt events perhaps. Maybe we could structure a club award for most counties with a successful fox hunt, to encourage clubs or communities to get together and innovate and use these higher bands. Requiring the fox to be independant, such as from a separate county/city/club from the club gaining the reward would make it competitive.

 

Sure - i'll just place an order with Down East Microwave - and start listening for the tune of a grand or so. I think that one must remember that those bands are niche bands - and are pricey in general for most hams to use. Still worth trying to save what we have, even if most of us can't afford the gear to operate there, none the less.

 

ARRL VHF Contest. ARRL UHF Contest. ARRL EME Contest. DUBUS VHF Contest. ARI EME Contest.

 

I don't really understand why a ham would even think about moving into a place that they are told upfront NO ANTENNAS ..