160 meter band plan use and abuses!!

Lionel Remigio, KC4CLD writes…


"For the past months I have been watching the 160 meter band. If somebody tries to operate SSB below the DX Window, around 1,842 Khz, lots of CW operators would like to kill you. Some people will say "Because you can't be here since THIS is only for CW".



In the past 2 or 3 contests, CW users DO NOT respect the SSB users and I hear many stations going thru 1,852 and some believe they "own" the band because they are CW users. They are WRONG.


I really know that many guys here will bash me. I will get lots of nasty replies. I really don't care. If we, SSB users, MUST respect that " Gentleman’s Agreement" for the 160 meters band plan.... CW users also MUST respect that band plan or.....suffer the "intrusion" of SSB users in their " premises".


I don't care if there is a contest. I care about a Gentleman’s Agreement, I care about a band plan. I don't care about excuses that this is " only for one day, etc". I care about what the ARRL already defined as a " Volunteers or Gentleman’s Agreement Band Plan or whatever you want to call it...


If there is a band plan and is a volunteer band plan, WE MUST agree or just shut up when " intruders" are messing with the "wrong mode, in the wrong frequency".


Enough is enough. SSB users also need to be respected. The best example is tonight. Go to 160 meters and my dear fellow ham radio operator...see for yourself. CW is over 1,842. I hear one station CQ'ing in 1,850 and...was there for long time .


Is this fair?


Happy New Year to all of you!!!


Thanks

Lionel, KC4CLD"

 

(maybe a few words), CW is allowed by Part 97 on
any amatuer frequency. If the CW ops start using
a frequency that is already occupied, then that is another matter.

So in a word get used to it......

73 de Ronnie

 

There is a reason why they allow CW on all frequencies... That is for EMERGENCIES , and that does not mean casual QSOs. What I think the author here is trying to say is that we need to try to stick to the band plans and gentlemen's aggreements. I also think he is trying to show the hypocrisy of CW ops chewing SSB ops out for using CW frequencies, but then they go and use voice segments of the band. So, unless you are in an emergency, there is no need to use CW outside of the CW subbands.



73,
KC0ICH

 

Oh, no! Not again! Mr Editor, please give us a break!

 

AMEN!! If they aint pi--in and moaning about CW and license requirments they yell about where each should be on the bands too.

 

There is a reason why they allow CW on all frequencies... That is for EMERGENCIES , and that does not mean casual QSOs.


This is not true. In a real emergency you can use any means of radiocommunication at your disposal (§97.403). You can use CW anywhere (in our bands) for any reason because the band plan calls for it. However, you must not interfere with other stations.



So, unless you are in
an emergency, there is no need to use CW outside of the CW subbands.


There are no CW subbands, but we do have phone and data sub bands. Please look at the band plan again.



Terry

 

Howdy,


Just a thought. Is it possible that, since CW has better "range" than SSB that the CW sender never hears the SSB QSO that he/she is interfering with? A 100W CW signal has a lot more "presence" than the same 100W SSB signal. Perhaps the interference is unintentional.</P>


73</P>


Mike,
WM5LL </P>

 

There are no CW subbands, but we do have phone and data sub bands. Please look at the band plan again.



Ok... the band plan I have says "CW/FSK"... Maybe subband was the wrong word? How about "band segments" or maybe "portions of the band", "allocations"? Can you understand yet?

The point I am conveying is that there are portions of the band where voice is NOT allowed, and that is where most of the CW work should go on. I am not trying to bash anyone here, I just think that if voice is not allowed in the "CW band portions" then the CW ops should stay there unless they have a good reason. Likewise, the SSB ops should stay in their part of the band.



73,
Alex/KC0ICH

 

Yup! This KC4CLD character is probably the biggest whining cry baby ever seen on here.
He's going to p**s and moan about something no matter where he is. He and we all would be better off if he were OUT of this tent. This
guy's p**s is really beginning to smell!

 

As a top bander since 1959...
If you look closely, you'll see that CW is allowed over the entire band. You'll also see that there is no legal prohibition for SSB lower in the band. Therefore, contesters use whatever band they have. But they only do that 6 weeks out of 52, maximum.
Suggest you visit www.w8ji.com and see what a weak signal op does for antennas. If you don't measure up....and I don't....it's kind of hard to get into a pissing contest.
But you're always welcome to share my frequency, should you find me on the band!
73, N2EA/Jim

 

Ok... the band plan I have says "CW/FSK"... Maybe subband was the wrong word? How about "band
segments" or maybe "portions of the band", "allocations"? Can you understand yet? The point I am conveying
is that there are portions of the band where voice is NOT allowed, and that is where most of the CW work
should go on.



Agreed, there is a place on the band allocated just for CW operations. However, there is no such allocation for phone on ANY band. Please review this ARRL frequency chart. I know what you are getting at, strictly following the detailed band plan, it appears that there are phone only portions of the band. That band plan is voluntary. According to the FCC rules §97.305 subpart A, "An amateur station may transmit a CW emission on any frequency authorized to the control operator."

I am not attempting to flame you. I hope that I am educating you (and myself) to the rules.


The original poster asked, "Is this fair?", I say yes it is. If no one is using those frequencies, the CW ops have every right to use them.


Terry KE4PJW

 

Lionel, the ARRL bandplan for 160 meters does not restrict CW to below 1.842 at all. Every reference to the bandplan says CW from 1.8 MHz to 2.0 MHz. Maybe you had not noticed this, but the ARRL bandplan for 160, just like the FCC regulations for all other bands, permits CW on all frequencies. It is only SSB that is restricted.

There's a perfectly valid, completely technical reason for this, and today's technology makes it even more true. If you're listening to an SSB signal and a narrowband CW signal shows up, you can adjust the notch filter or passband tuning on your receiver to get rid of it. Therefore, CW on top of SSB is not much interference. However, an SSB signal is too wide to notch out with such a filter.

Also, cross-mode (CW and SSB) contacts are more common than you might think. Therefore, there must be a part of a band where both are acceptable. And this has always been that part of the band where SSB is permitted, either by law or gentlemen's agreements.

I often listen to rachews on 40 or 75 meters. Sometimes, propagation gets poor for 10 - 20 minutes. It's not uncommon for a few operators who know they have weak signals to switch to CW so they can be heard, until propagation resumes. They couldn't do this if the SSB portions were exclusively for SSB.

I'm sorry it upsets you that someone is calling CQ on CW at 1.850 MHz. But that is not in violation of the bandplan at all. I hear CW CQs on 40 meter above 7.150 MHz on occasion, and that is not in violation of a law or bandplan either.

Here are the two webpages with the 160 meter ARRL band plans:

http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/conop.html

and

http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/bandplan.html

They both show "1.800 - 2.000 CW" and they both show "1.843 - 2.000 SSB, SSTV and other wideband modes".

If you know of ANY band plan that does not permit CW in the "SSB frequencies", then please let us know. I think that 99% of all CW operators would abide by those rules if they exist.

73,

Doc

 

160 is not the only band that it requires a pair of gentlemen to get along on....10Fm is just as bad with QSO's and even links to the Internet on 29.6 which by agreement is supposed to be a Calling Fequency....I used to enjoy 160 but I may not even put my 160 antenna back up since it is getting very hard to find a gentleman CW operator who might stand by for a couple minutes while a SSB Station works a DX Station on 1839 or a Gentleman SSB Op who would standby for a CW station to work DX at 1845...This discourtesy toward each other is why I do not try to hold a QSO on 75 Meters anymore and rarely work anything but DX or FM

 

BUT FOR NOW IT IS PERFECTLY LEGAL Did I ever say it was illegal? I sure don't remeber saying that.


SO, YOU ARE WRONG, ADMIT IT, AND GO AWAY, THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER FREQS TO OPERATE ON. SORRY. I also do not remember complainig about not having enough frequencies to operate. As for the GO AWAY, gladly, I really do not feel like repeating myself again, and I don't think it is worth my time to get into an argument here.

And good luck with the stuck caps lock problem there.



73 es CUL,
Alex/KC0ICH

 

Also, if it helps people understand what I mean, when I refer to CW band portions, I am not talking about 160. I am talking about the whole spectrum. I KNOW 160 IS NOT 'CUT UP'. Maybe you people should read postings carefully before you go calling people idiots.



73,
KC0ICH