Experimental 8-Meter Research in the U.S. - Soon Expanding to 4 Meters I have been actively conducting 40 MHz / 8-meter propagation research in the United States under FCC Experimental Authorization WQ2XDM. Because U.S. amateur operators do not have normal amateur operating privileges on 8 meters, this work is being done under an experimental license, with the goal of learning more about real-world propagation on this very interesting part of the spectrum and documenting openings that many operators may not realize are possible. Why 8 Meters? The 8-meter band sits between 10 meters and 6 meters, in a part of the spectrum that can show unique propagation behavior. It is a fascinating middle-ground band that has generated growing interest in other parts of the world, especially where limited amateur access has been authorized. Here in the U.S., opportunities to explore 40 MHz are very limited, which makes every signal report, monitoring report, and reception confirmation especially valuable. What I Am Doing I am operating on 40.680 MHz using weak-signal digital modes, primarily FT8, to test propagation and gather reception data. The goal is not casual operating. The goal is research. Each transmission period is intended to help identify: · Regional propagation · Longer-haul openings · Sporadic E possibilities · Seasonal and daily trends · Differences between 10 meters, 8 meters, and 6 meters Reports from stations outside my immediate area are especially helpful, but even local and regional observations matter when trying to understand how the band is behaving. In the coming weeks, I also expect to begin running this same operating schedule on 4 meters, allowing for additional propagation comparison between 10 meters, 8 meters, 6 meters, and 4 meters. One of the goals will be to better understand how openings on these bands relate to one another, and whether 8 meters behaves more like the band above it, the band below it, or shows its own unique propagation characteristics. Current Operating Schedule My current operating activity on 40.680 MHz FT8 is scheduled for: · 8:00 AM · 10:00 AM · 12:00 PM · 2:00 PM · 4:00 PM · 6:00 PM · 8:00 PM In addition, I transmit at the top and bottom of the hour for approximately 8 minutes. All times are EDT. I recommend watching for my posted updates. What Kind of Help I Need This is where the amateur and monitoring community can make a real difference. 1. Monitor for My Signal If you have equipment capable of receiving around 40.680 MHz, I would appreciate any monitoring effort. 2. Send Reception Reports I am interested in reports including: · Date · Time · Frequency · Mode · Signal strength or decode level · Grid square · Receiver location · Equipment/antenna used 3. Watch PSK Reporter I track my signals on PSK Reporter, those reports are extremely useful for tracking where the band is opening because the information is easily downlead. 4. Share Cross-Band Observations One of the questions I am trying to better understand is how 8-meter propagation lines up against activity and openings on the bands above and below it. 5. International Monitoring Operators and SWLs outside the U.S. are especially welcome to monitor and report. Even if two-way communication is not permitted in your country on this frequency range, reception reports alone can still be extremely valuable for research. Why Your Reports Matter There is still much to be learned about 40 MHz propagation in practical, day-to-day operation. Every confirmed decode or reception report helps build a better record of: · Band openings · Geographic reach · Propagation patterns · Time-of-day behavior · Seasonal trends Over time, this data can help show whether 8 meters deserves more serious consideration by the amateur and experimental radio community. Follow the Project You can follow my ongoing 4-meter and 8-meter research, live results, and station updates here: Website: www.WQ2XDM.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WQ2XDM/ Email: WQ2XDM.fl@gmail.com Final Thought 8 meters remains one of the most interesting and underexplored areas of VHF spectrum. I am grateful for every operator, listener, experimenter, and radio enthusiast willing to monitor, decode, report, and share observations. With enough data, we can continue building a clearer picture of what 40 MHz can really do. If you can hear me, decode me, or even just help spread the word, I would greatly appreciate it. 73, John Sokol WQ2XDM
This is a very intriguing proposal - one normally doesn't think of 40 MHz as a DX band. Indeed, many law enforcement agencies used to use 40-something MHz - as I recall, Indiana State Police, in particular, were among these. These agencies have largely abandoned this range - one reason being that they got too much DX activity - couldn't talk to their own patrol cars because they were getting signals from 3 states away!
Well, that shows it can be a DX band. I have had reports from all over the US, the Caribbean, South America, Africa, New Zealand and Europe. It seems to more strongly favor 6 meters than 10 meters so far.
Well, that shows it can be a DX band. I have had reports from all over the US, the Caribbean, South America, Africa, New Zealand and Europe. It seems to more strongly favor 6 meters than 10 meters so far.
Nebraska State Patrol and other State/County agencies used 42mhz, among other low band frequencies exclusively for many years until early 2010's Most had a PL/CTCSS tone and some didn't and would hear DX across the country. Those were great times back in the day listening to Low Band. I'll be listening for you.
I'm sharing what I was able to hear yesterday. Antenna is a G5RV Jr. Good enough for voice early on. Noise hear is bad, not as much the higher the freq. What's the transmit power?
Hi there! Ill set up my rtlsdr out there to see if I can get anything in my shack. Don't expect anything from me in NorCal.
Since World War II and the development of the low band VHF Business Band, and that's over 80 years, there's been a lot of activity in the 40 megahertz range. I can remember band openings on the low band Business Band in the 1960s. Many State Highway patrols operated in those ranges. Remember the 1950s TV show Highway Patrol with Broderick Crawford? F lay, sporadic E, & tropo openings. No surprises there, just like 6 or 10 meters. 73 from, Steve https://www.k0uo.com/k0uo "Rhombic Antenna Farm & test range" Miles of Wire In the Air and On the Air Daily.
I keep a Bearcat scanner in the shack with a outside VHF low band vertical, Many times I hear the California highway patrol at 42 Mhz... It's a great way to get a heads up 6m may open... So yes, 40 Mhz is open much more than most would believe! Sorry, but I don't do FT8.
Years ago, here in NYC I remember the city buses had telephone handsets up by the driver. It was used for communication to the depot. They were somewhere around 30-34mhz, pretty close to 40mhz. They were unusable sometimes as the band would go long making it impossible to “work” the depot lol
Old timers told me they would listen for the sync buzz of pal TV in Europe to find if 6m was open. Also, Our channel one on the TV was scrapped because it fell in this area and people couldn’t watch it if there was a band opening.
Great project. Good luck! Since 6m has been open and lively lately, I tuned down to your 8m frequency and immediately got decodes. Of course we are not too distant from each other, about 100 miles direct, so this is probably not iono-skip but rather regional tropo scatter propagation. Still quite a good signal for your 15 watts! Some deep QSB but peaked -4 dB. My receiver is a IC-7300 and antenna at present is only a 20m dipole wire at about 30ft AGL fed with lossy old RG8X. Since this is within the ISM band, can unlicensed transmission be made legally if kept under a power restriction? Presently my rig is not configured to xmit on that frequency. However, I am curious, would you're auto CQ's be answered if a loud enough station replied? 73, John, WØPV PS - I could not get the link to the website to work (blank white page).
