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Re: [RTTY] Topband: 160m in RTTY Contests

To: "KL7RA" <kl7ra@ptialaska.net>, <w0yk@msn.com>, "'RTTY Reflector'" <rtty@contesting.com>, <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [RTTY] Topband: 160m in RTTY Contests
From: "Jeff Blaine AC0C" <keepwalking188@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:21:24 -0500
List-post: <rtty@contesting.com">mailto:rtty@contesting.com>
Gentlemen,

I am confused at the comments of "narrow band" - and considering that 160m 
is 200khz wide.  These two ideas do not seem to go together.

So I wonder if there exists an assumption is that the RTTY contest MUST run 
ONLY in the 1.800-1.810 segment - as is suggested by the ARRL band plan.

Perhaps there is some FCC regulation that prohibits RTTY operation across 
the entire band?  Or some other international agreement prohibiting 
operation beyond this point?

Assuming that there exists no official (meaning legal) prohibition on 
operation, then we should rethink this assumption.  Why?  SSTV and other 
"wide band" transmissions are allowed all the way up to 2.0.  RTTY is a far 
more efficient use of bandwidth than SSTV by definition.  And as such, it 
seems to me that there exists no logical reason to restrict operation to 
only a 10khz band segment.

In fact, I believe that a big RTTY contest run in a segment similar to that 
occupied on other bands in big contests would provide minimal disruption to 
the other activities running on the band as it is.  For the typical RTTY 
contest considering 20m (the meat-and-potatoes of contest bands), stations 
are typically running from about 14.075 - 14.120 or so roughly.  Smaller 
contests, there is less of a spread with most action focused in the 
.080-.100 range.  Due to the nature of what it takes to get a signal out on 
top band, I think even a big rtty contest would have most of it's action 
confined to a 20-30khz band spread.

Unless I have made an incorrect assumption, it seems to me that the question 
could be reshaped as:

1. Assuming a gentlemen's agreement existed which had an operation band of 
approximately 1.860-1.890 and with 1.875 assumed to be center point where we 
"start here and look up/down to find an open freq" philosophy,

2. then would you support RTTY contesting on 160m?

73/jeff/ac0c


--------------------------------------------------
From: "KL7RA" <kl7ra@ptialaska.net>
Sent: Monday, October 26, 2009 10:53 PM
To: <w0yk@msn.com>; "'RTTY Reflector'" <rtty@contesting.com>; 
<topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [RTTY] Topband: 160m in RTTY Contests

> Hi Ed
>
>>I'd like to hear your thoughts on this topic, pro and con.  In particular, 
>>I'm
>>thinking about the CQ WPX RTTY and CQ WW RTTY contests.
>
> Having operated RTTY in the WPX and WW and of course CW in all
> the topband contests I vote, "No". In fact I also vote to get rid of SSB
> on topband but that may be pushing my luck.
>
> 160 has a narrow cw band and the two modes don't blend well.
>
> How about above 1950 to 2000 in the next rtty contest as a test. That
> should warm up a few shacks as the cheap tuners catch fire.
>
> 73 Rich KL7RA  (new guy on rtty contesting, don't run me off)
>
>
>
>
>
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> 

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