[UK-CONTEST] 50MHz UKAC and the new bandplan

[Robert Chipperfield]

Hi Tim,

My single contact last night was just below .200. (It turns out that an 
HF OCFD doesn't work too well on 6m when you've also got S4 noise - only 
other station I could just about hear was G3MEH, and he couldn't hear me...)

Whilst the new band plan does list .100-.200 as "international 
/preferred/", in the situation where there was little chance of such 
propagation, a very empty segment of the band from .150-.200, and a very 
full segment from .200-.300, it seems to make sense to me that activity 
be allowed to descend below the .200 boundary.

I appreciate the desire to have an "international preferred" segment, 
and for general operation when the band is not congested, then it makes 
some sense for people to stick to it. However, given the choice between 
causing someone QRM by trying to squeeze into a not-big-enough-hole 
above .200, or making use of the completely empty 50% of the spectrum 
below .200, it seems silly not to choose the latter, as long as you're 
not inconveniencing anyone who is genuinely trying to make international 
contacts.

I'm not sure what the status of "preferred" in with regard to the 
contest rules (which specify that the band plan "must be observed) - it 
seems to me that applying a little common sense would allow operations 
such as yours.

(Full disclosure: I normally operate with G3PYE/P; I wasn't last night 
due to other commitments, but I know they made some QSOs below .200)

73,
Rob, M0VFC

On 25/01/2012 11:07, Tim Hugill wrote:
> I might as well start this one ....
> Last night was the UKAC 50MHz contest, and we had a lot of fun at G4TSW in
> Devon, working 60+ QSOs, and mostly operating on 50.137 or thereabouts.
> We were aware of the new 50MHz bandplan which took effect on 1st January,
> but after some debate at the club, we didn't think that it would effect
> normal contest procedures.
> So we are rather concerned to find that some are saying that contest
> activity should be conducted above 50.200.
> No-one that called us during the event mentioned this at the time, but there
> a lot of "regulars" missing from our log, who may have not ventured below
> 50.200.
> Have we missed an RSGBCC rule, or a general announcement, or mis-interpreted
> the bandplan ?
> But regardless of whether we get DQ'd or not, it was good fun, and certainly
> blew the cobwebs out of the equipment.
>
> 73
> Tim G4FJK
> at the Tiverton club G4TSW
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