It seems to me this has been debated here before. The
conclusion this Op came to back then was that dividing it up
would create another 40M. What a mess! Canadians and
Europeans working the world below 7150 on SSB and we in the
US just sit and watch. >>>
That's not true Ford for several very good reasons.
Reason 1
160 is primarily a local and moderate distance band.
Planning the band for the occasion rare SSb or even the more
common CW DX is foolish and selfish, because it means we are
putting the special interests above general interests of
most operators.
Reason 2
Simplex DX is only good on bands like 20 meters and higher,
where large areas of the USA are in a skip zone. When people
on lower bands work simplex DX, it slows the contact rate
down. As a matter of fact in big contests I consistantly
hear "big guns" on 160 (even W3's) calling endless CQ's
right on top of stronger Europeans. The DX also has a
similar problem preventing the DX that can hear from
actually hearing stateside.
Reason 3
Our radios aren't that good, and no one seems to be
concerned about it. Many of our radios are now around -30dB
PEP for IM3 and maybe -45 dB for IM5. Worse yet, some DXers
and Contesters get inside the already bad radios and crank
on the power limit controls. A strong signal on SSB will
often cut at least a 5-6kHz swath, sometimes wider if the
radio is "peaked up" or is driving a typical modern tetrode
amplifier.
Reason 4
Narrow signals of ALL types, including PSK, need protection
from wide signals. The reason for this is very simple. A
narrow signal can be easily removed from a wide signal
without hurting much of the information content of the wide
signal. A wide signal cannot be removed from a narrow
signal. This is why we have segments in the first place.
Reason 5
40 meters is loaded with foreign broadcast outside the USA,
and THAT is what makes split work on 40 a problem. 160 is
not loaded with megawatt ERP AM transmitters every few kHz.
Any comparison of the two is totally illogical.
There isn't any logical reason to let wide mode stations to
have unlimited bandwidth where ever they like. It just opens
the door for intentional abuse, and DX that would be 100%
workable is hopeless at both ends.
Pushing a "split" button is not all that difficult if you
like to work SSB DX. What having the Europeans and USA share
frequencies means is everyone loses. Especially people who
like DX, but it also includes people who don't.
Of anyone in the USA, I would think the inland stations
would most logically want split operation on 160 and 80 SSB.
73 Tom
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