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| Simple, small, 472kHz transverter |
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/mflf/472khz_tvtr .
4 Jun 2015
472kHz (630m)
This is a fascinating MF band. I am truly amazed how slow the FCC has been releasing this band and the 136kHz band in the USA. Do they sleep all day?
Even with just 5mW ERP from a just a short baseline earth electrode antenna (earths 12m apart) I have been copied on WSPR more than 1000km away. Copy at shorter range is very easy. I use my transverter with the FT817. The ARRL was due to publish the circuit over 2 years ago, but are still waiting for the FCC release. For goodness sake wake up FCC! You look total fools to the rest of the world!
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/mflf/472khz_tvtr .
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/mflf/472khz_tvtr .
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3 comments:
The less attention that the FCC pays to the hobby, the better off things are. If they could find a legal way to off-load all regulation to a private consortium, they would do it instantly.
To be fair, they are vastly more concerned with cable and broadcast television mergers, commercial satellite and terrestrial radio, cell phone companies and shady service re-sellers, and broadband internet. Regulating amateur radio is like the CEO of Microsoft investigating how many paper clips are being used in the mail room every week, and whatever "insight" they would bring to the situation would probably only make things worse.
Also, with activity declining across the board on the existing bands here, hams aren't exactly screaming for more spectrum. There's plenty of screaming, to be sure, but not about more spectrum.
Sounds a bit like OFCOM here in the UK. The only new bands released to the radio amateurs are those not wanted (for now) by the communities who pay money. They are far more interested in satellites,PMR, broadcasters and similar. I am still amazed that YEARS have past without those in the USA gaining access to these LF and MF allocations. To those of us outside the USA the FCC look inept.
Well, that ineptness works in the hobby's favour often. For example, UPS wanted the 220-222 spectrum that the hams had in the '90s for a digital trunked network. It took so long for the FCC to act, that by the time hams lost the allocation, UPS had made other plans on a different band. Even though hams lost, the message was clear: it's not worth the effort to wrest spectrum from amateur allocations.
There are a lot of companies that would love the 1.2 GHz amateur band, but they aren't going to put a decade (or more) into lobbying so that they can get it for their specific purpose.
To those inside of the USA the FCC looks inept as well. They almost completely destroyed the UHF GMRS service by overlaying an unlicensed service (FRS) on top of it, for example. Most of the time when they act, they end up only making things worse for everyone involved. The lesson is that you don't go to the FCC with a proposal, because they will muck everything up. That goes for both amateurs and industry.
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