Topband: 160M Band Plan questions

[Dinsterdog@aol.com]

I was listening to a station work 9M2AX this morning on CW, then switch to 
SSB on the same frequency, around 1.832MHz where he asked the station to move 
up to 1.843MHz for SSB QSO's...a nice gesture but it didn't work and it 
didn't comply with the new volunteer plan, It also messed up my chance to 
call the station on CW- oh well- but why call the FCC- it was a common sense 
situation- 

Soap Box
A lot of DX stations, and stateside stations, have antennas tuned for DX'ing 
lower on the band.  Thus lies in the problem with split operations.  Most 
back yard antennas have 5-20KHz of usable bandwidth on 160 meters.  Are we 
not discounting the little guns here to operate with efficient antennas?  If 
they hunt CW DX around 1.820-28MHz, paying attention to the volunteer band 
plan, show courtesy for the DX window at 1.830-35MHz, they don't have much 
bandwidth left to go up above the proposed SSB floor above 1.843MHz. 

 I think the idea of split operation is not bad, but then these hams tune for 
above 1.843MHz and lose out on hunting DX in the CW window.  Now it becomes a 
band like 80 meters where stations have to decide on working SSB, or CW, due 
to antenna bandwidths of most backyard installations.  

Having an antenna with bandwidth, I like the idea because it gives a lot of 
us a better chance of being heard, assuming the DX station is listening up 
and moving their VFO around a bit......but again, as contesters, how many 
back yard stations are we going to miss due to the antenna issues mentioned 
above?  We can lose out on a lot contacts...........

My old Butternut HF2V had about 7KHz of bandwidth and that means I would be 
on the extreme edges of bandwidth to comply with the proposed changes and 
have very little room to work contestors if I want to stay tuned for working 
DX.

I don't have answers, but I'm am taking the advice of others and writing the 
FCC to support the petition filed by K1ZM and W4ZV found at 
http://users.vnet.net/btippett/rm_petition.htm because without the teeth of 
official rule setting for a band plan, all the proposed volunteer and 
traditional windows have not, and will not, work 100% of the time. 

 There will always be stations that push the envelope in contests, there will 
always be stations that go to SSB to speak to a CW contact, there will always 
be exception after exception to gentlemen rules until it is in black and 
white from the FCC.  And since no one is breaking any laws here, how can any 
of us really jump on the ops who do waiver from volunteer bands.  Most are 
going to have legitimate reasons, unless it's your QSO that gets messed up- 
right? har...........

We are not talking about 2MHz here, we are mostly speaking of 70KHz, because 
that's what most of our antennas can cover and that's why we are in the lower 
portion of the band.  Of note, I find it interesting that over 60% of our 
space on 160Meters is used by the same 50 or so ragchewers who seem to be 
never bothered by contestors-  Yet 15% of the entire spectrum is what we use 
for DX'ing and if we don't out number these 50 or so ragchewers by 15:1, I'd 
be surprised-  They obviously have a good lobby group-

I think all one has to do is look at 80 meter DX'ing to see where this is all 
going.  The great majority of DX'ers on this live inside the 10KHz of phone 
window space- Its supposed to be 25KHz but we all know the story here- 
ragchewers prevail at 3.787MHz and 3.801MHz and no one really goes below 
3.780MHz to DX, excluding occasional contacts or in contests.  Yet the CW 
window offers the best chance for working DX in marginal conditions.  But 
since it takes most of us to have two antennas to work this band effectively 
as DX'ers, the majority of us have decided to hang out in the phone window-  

Two antennas for 80 meters is tough, two antennas for 160 meters is tougher, 
thus the idea of working split.  But what about the confusion of frequency 
allocations in other countries for topband?  Can anyone, or does anyone, have 
a breakdown of country allocations on the topband to know just how much a 
volunteer plan of narrow modes below 1.843 vs wide modes above 1.843 is going 
to effect someone in BV, 9V, EP or JA?  It's confusing-

73  Paul  N0AH