<< ..and what should those criteria be Doug? >>
Tom,
I posted two days ago that <>
The criteria, IMO, should be 1) the avoidance of unnecessary interference to
stations who are following the ARRL (and other similar) bandplan(s) and 2)
avoidance of unnecessary interference to other local 160M operators. I agree
that QRSS would sound just like a intermittant carrier, with a short contact
taking and hour or two or more! That's why I suggested the bottom or top 5
KHz in the band. Because a very loud carrier only 25 or 30 KHz removed from
the DX window area might cause interference to one's DXing neighbor, I said
the top 5 KHz is the better idea. My remarks about bandwidth may be
incorrect if stations are running high power or even medium power QRSS on
160M. The 136 KHz band in Europe where QRSS has been used for over a year,
and in the U.S. Lowfer band (160-190 KHz) where QRSS is also the dominant
mode, signals are almost always weak. Upon reflection, many dozens of
stations could not operate in a 5 KHz segment on 160M where stateside signals
would be strong. Our receivers (and perhaps the QRSS software) can not
tolerate many dozens of strong signals in a 5 KHz bandwidth. So, if QRSS
ever becomes popular on 160M, which I doubt, it would make sense for stations
on one continent to all operate on one 5 KHz segment of the band and stations
on another continent to operate on a different 5 KHz segment. The two 5 KHz
segments should be far removed from each other and from the DX window area of
1820-1845 IMO. I really doubt that QRSS will become popular on 160M, but it
surely will be an important mode on our new 136 KHz band where we are limited
to 1W ERP, and virtually all signals will be weak, many of them too weak to
copy by ear, but good copy with QRSS. IMO, QRSS is no longer an experimental
mode; like the WSJT modes on VHF, it is well established and the best mode
for some VERY weak signal conditions which occur when any practical antenna
is a very small fraction of a wavelength, as occurs in the LF band. Your
suggestion, Tom, that QRSS is not a QSO mode is incorrect. On the Lowfer and
136 KHz bands, it's often the ONLY way to make a QSO. I encourage everyone
to become familiar with QRSS receiving and transmitting software and to use
it, not on 160M, but on 136 KHz when we are finally granted that amateur band.
The Europeans have been using QRSS on 136 KHz for over a year and, no doubt,
have more insight about these issues than most of us on this side of the pond.
In closing, I very much agree with Tom's conclusion << It makes sense to keep
such modes in less populated areas of the
band. Everyone benefits.>>
Doug W0AH QRSS30 beacon on 187.591 KHz
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