[RTTY] ARRL attack on current RTTY users

[N4BE_Jim]

Not sure what ARRLs motivation is.  Maybe get more boat owners to become hams so they can use the mail boxes, maybe sell more ads for special modem equipment or software,... But ham radio is (or at least was) intended to be for public service such as emergency communications, message traffic, education, etc.  many of the contests, such as FD, are intended to stress people and equipment to test readiness in emergencies.  The various contests do the same but use very short exchanges which may or may not be realistic in an emergency when local entities need to pass larger messages or files.  The MARS emphasis on modes such as WINMOR (WL2K) and interoperability are for local agency support in emergencies.  Mailbox stations exist for that purpose on dedicated frequencies.  The gov't is pushing for interoperability between MARS services as well as amateur, and using both internet and RF. The objective is to provide some level of comms if the internet should go down.  So the FCC would probably be leaning toward this objective. Collecting RTTY contest certificates helps ensure equipment, but can old school RTTY serve local agencies sending volumes of traffic larger than typical RST and number?  

So with that as an objective, I could see defining a handful of specific frequency channels in the ham bands for wider bandwidth comms, much like MARS uses fixed frequencies.  You couldn't deviate from those specific frequencies much.  Mailbox stations would be assigned to these channels based on geographic location for example.  Propagation prediction software would select bands and channels based on time and solar conditions (WINMOR already does this).  And to make things more convenient, the frequencies chosen could be those that are accessible by entry level licensees, which might move them further up the bands.  So there wouldn't necessarily be point to point "chat" QSOs on 3khz modes at any arbitrary frequency.  Enforcing frequency usage to only allocated channels could be a challenge however, but it is doable.

My 2 cents worth.

Jim N4BE. NNN0PIJ

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