At one time you knew where in the USA a station was located by its call area. No longer. A W6 can be in New York and a W1 in California. In my view this is a very backward move. Although it has been the case for a few years, it is now beginning to become a major problem.
Is this an FCC issue? They do seem to be so behind. 472-479kHz is still not allocated in the USA whereas we've had access to the band for 1.5 yrs now here in Europe. I don't think they yet have the 136kHz band even!
As an occasional user of the USA customs service, I wonder if the FCC uses similar people? The USA customs officers seem to be a "rum lot" with absolutely zero sense of humour. Where do they find these people?
23 Jun 2014
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7 comments:
Seems to me that if it weren't for the US you'd be addressing your comments in the German language.
Sorry Bernie but I don't understand?
Perhaps the comment was too dense for you. I do, however wish you would spend less bandwidth complaining about everything in general.
Bernie, this is a serious issue if you ever work stations in the USA. The USA customs service and FCC are wonders to behold. Yes, maybe I am dense but I'm sure lots of other readers would be equally confused or "dense".
Finally, most readers enjoy the mix. You are not forced to read it. :-)
Bernie, there is very little complaining on my blog. Can you tell me where (apart from in this post) you've had a problem?
I agree about the call sign areas. I thought I was working some real DX when I landed a K2 on 40M QRP, only to find out he was here in 6-land with me, and not all that far away either. Here in the states we do have the 160-190kHz band, but we are limited to 1W input and 15 meters combined length for feeder AND radiator. It would be nice to join the rest of the planet on 136 and 472 tho.
73 Steve N6QBQ
Thanks Steve. It is certainly confusing about call areas. Still unclear why it takes so long in the USA to get the LF and MF amateur bands released, especially with the Part 15 160-190kHz (1W input) band available. They could release both new amateur bands (initially) with the same restrictions as for the Part 15 band and on a non-interference basis. Seems the FCC needs a kick.
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