The ARRL has filed a petition with the FCC to replace the current symbol rate
limits with a bandwidth limit. If accepted, digital
modes as wide as 2800 hertz would become legal for use by US hams on HF bands.
Pactor 3, which is legal under the current symbol
rate limit, is 2200 hertz wide.
If the ARRL?s petition were accepted, automatic (unattended) digital mode
stations currently using Pactor 3 could be upgraded to
wider modes. Many automatic stations lack the ability to forego transmitting on
a busy frequency, and thus interfere with ongoing
QSOs. If automatic stations are permitted to use modes with bandwidths up to
2800 hertz, the incidence of this interference will
increase significantly.
While US-based automatic stations using digital modes wider than 500 hertz are
restricted to specified sub-bands (e.g. 10,140 ?
10,150, 14,095 ? 14,099, 14,101-14,112, 21,090 ? 21,100, 24,925 ? 24930), these
frequencies are shared with QSOs between live
operators. Furthermore, the WinLink network now claims that its automatic
stations are actually under the control of the remote
stations that invoke them, and are therefore no longer restricted to these
sub-bands. This network now advertises US-based automatic
stations running Pactor 3 outside the automatic sub-bands ? automatic stations
that could be upgraded to 2800 hertz modes if the
ARRL Petition is accepted.
Allowing automatic stations to use wider digital modes without first taking
steps to reduce the interference they cause to ongoing
QSOs is a recipe for increased conflict and ill will ? the opposite of what?s
needed. In the interest of continued innovation, we
should allow the use of wider digital modes on HF bands ? but in a manner that
reduces interference and conflict, rather than making
it worse as the ARRL?s petition would do.
I therefore urge you to oppose the ARRL?s petition by filing comments with the
FCC before December 17. Don AA5AU has provided
instructions for doing so:
<http://aa5au.com/fcc/how-to-comment.html>
73,
Dave, AA6YQ
Member, ARRL
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