Topband: FCC Upgrades Topband Frequency Allocations

[Gary Smith]

Don,

I too reflect Jeff's thoughts and appreciation.

Thank you.

73,

Gary
KA1J

> Hi Don,
> Thanks for the interesting link, and for your efforts on our behalf.
> Regards,Jeff W6JK
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>      On Wednesday, April 29, 2015 12:15 PM, Donald Chester <k4kyv at hotmail.com> wrote:
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>                                       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
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