Topband: FCC Upgrades Topband Frequency Allocations

[Donald Chester]

                                      The FCC has raised the secondary Amateur Service allocation at  1900 to 2000 kHz to primary.
Up until now, we were "secondary" users in that segment, with the Radiolocation service having priority.
As high-resolution GPS service became available to civilians, radiolocation beacons gradually disappeared
from 160m.  The FCC proposed to upgrade the amateur allocation a couple of years ago in a NPRM,
inviting comments from the public.

Although this won't have much immediate impact on our daily operation on
the band, it strengthens our hold on the entire band since we in the USA are now
primary and nobody else can easily displace amateurs in the top end with some new technology
that could fall into the category of "radiolocation".  An unlikely threat? Recall the so-called
"washing machine", the Canadian OTH radar signal that almost completely wiped out 1900-1930
for several days this past winter, and which still occasionally reappears on the frequency.

This is a clear example of how it is wise to  pay close attention to  FCC issues, consider all
possible consequences and submit comments. The 160m proposal was only a small sub-section of
what was a large, omnibus rulemaking proceeding issued a couple of years ago, involving numerous
other services besides amateur radio, so the 160m issue might have gained little attention.
I attempted to drum up interest amongst amateurs and particularly 160m operators, but the response was
disappointing at best. Posting information on the this Reflector appeared to draw scant interest
and generated only one or two replies while most were pre-occupied with what DX stations
were being heard at the moment and upcoming contests.

Granted that CW, DX and contest enthusiasts who largely inhabit the Reflector pretty much
stay in the lower half of the band, but were we ever to lose all or part of 1900-2000 to some new form
of radiolocation, many if not most of those who presently populate the high end would be forced to move
below 1900, making 1800-1900 more congested, which would indeed adversely affect weak signal, DX and
CW operation.

Even more incredibly, my efforts were actually derided by some hams.  A read-only announcement
of the FCC's proposal in another amateur radio website was so poorly worded that some hams interpreted it
to mean that the FCC was "reallocating" 1900-2000 and taking it away from amateurs. When I attempted  to
clarify the issue, one response was that this was of little interest to him because he found 160m so boring
that the QSOs on the band put him to sleep. Another added that he thought amateur radio would
be just as well off if the FCC took away 160m altogether.

Although the total number of submitted comments to the 160m proposal totalled only 34, it appears that our
efforts paid off.  To see the pertinent section of the FCC's R & O, go to

http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment/view;ECFSSESSION=XpxJVQlHZsLr63dPQq2WvZpN8VfLT5JS9B5bG5Q9wb1pWsphb4Lc!9955362!-1420975216?id=60001030136
If a line break disables the link, manually copy and paste the entire URL directly into your browser.

Scroll down to Paragraph 30 on Page 15, and continue through Paragraph 44 on page 21.

Don k4kyv