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 Previous: ARRL In Action: What Have We Been Up To Lately? | ![Next (later) Story](/images/sty-up.gif "40-Meter "Realignment" Tops WRC-2003 Amateur Radio Issues"){kind=small} Next: 40-Meter "Realignment" Tops WRC-2003 Amateur Radio Issues |
NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 3, 2003--The new five-channel 60-meter amateur allocation becomes available to US Amateur Radio operators at midnight (12:00 AM) local time on July 3. The FCC Report and Order (R&O) granting the allocation was published in the Federal Register, which announced the effective date today. The local time designation means that amateurs in the US territory of Guam likely will be the first to get a crack at the new band.
The new band will be a secondary allocation--federal government users are primary--and the first on which the only permitted mode will be upper-sideband (USB) phone (emission type 2K8J3E). The FCC last month announced it would grant hams access five discrete 2.8-kHz-wide channels in the vicinity of 5 MHz instead of the 150 kHz-wide band ARRL had requested--and which the FCC initially proposed more than a year ago. The ARRL remains optimistic that Amateur Radio eventually may be able to enjoy a band segment with multiple mode privileges at 60 meters, but ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, has said that in the meantime hams will have to be on their best behavior when taking advantage of the limited channelized allocation.
"In terms of Amateur Radio spectrum, we usually say, 'Use it or lose it,'" he said. "The watchword for 60-meter operators should be, 'Misuse it and lose it.'" Sumner has predicted that, over time, amateurs can and will "develop a record of disciplined, responsible use of the five channels in the public interest that will justify another look at these rather severe initial restrictions."
The FCC has granted amateurs 5332, 5348, 5368, 5373 and 5405 kHz--the last channel common to the amateur experimental operation under way in the United Kingdom. The channels will be available to General and higher class licensees. In terms of day-to-day operation, use of the new band is expected to resemble the sort of channel sharing typical on local repeaters.
A lengthy period of experimental operation on 5 MHz under ARRL's WA2XSY Part 5 license preceded the May R&O. Last-minute opposition last fall to the granting of a band segment at 5 MHz came from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which cited the ongoing spectrum requirements of federal government licensees having homeland security responsibilities. The NTIA administers spectrum allocated to the federal government. A compromise between the FCC and the NTIA resulted in the limited allocation at 60 meters.
The NTIA selected the channels the FCC authorized to minimize the possibility of interference to federal government users. The NTIA also dictated the use of USB only as an interoperability convenience, so that federal government users--who also use only USB--could readily identify amateur stations if necessary.
ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, says hams hoping to operate on the new allocation need to be very careful if they're considering modifying their current transceiver or transmitter. The ARRL recommends that members check with the manufacturer of their equipment regarding specific modification information. Some modifications not only might void the warranty on a piece of equipment but could affect or alter a transmitter's operation in unpredictable ways.
"Hams need to be sure that any modifications put them right on the desired channel," Hare said. The FCC, following the lead of the NTIA, has said that the channel frequencies in the R&O are all "channel-center frequencies."
"Most hams are used to just having to think about band edges, so on other bands, if a mod were a bit 'off,' all operators would need to ensure is that they are not transmitting outside the band." But, Hare recommended, on 5 MHz, amateurs must be within "a few tens of Hertz" of suppressed-carrier accuracy, and, he points out, amateurs have a mandate not to have any of signal occupy spectrum outside the assigned 2.8 kHz channels. Additionally, hams need to make sure before they go on the air on 60 meters that any mods they've made do not have unintended consequences, such as spurious emissions on non-amateur frequencies.
The NTIA advised in a letter to the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) that users of 60 meters should set their carrier frequency 1.5 kHz lower than the channel center frequency, according to this NTIA chart:
|
Channel Center |
Amateur Tuning Frequency |
|
5332 kHz |
5330.5 kHz |
|
5348 kHz |
5346.5 kHz |
|
5368 kHz |
5366.5 kHz |
|
5373 kHz |
5371.5 kHz |
|
5405 kHz (common US/UK) |
5403.5 kHz |
Noting that high-frequency audio response can vary considerably from radio to radio, Hare has suggested a more conservative approach. He suggests restricting audio bandwidth to 200 Hz on the low end, and 2800 Hz on the high end--for a total bandwidth of 2.6 kHz. Hare notes that some transmitters that the Lab has looked at are capable of bandwidths of 3.0 kHz or greater.
In its letter to the FCC, the NTIA also stipulated that radiated power should not exceed "the equivalent of 50 W PEP transmitter output power into an antenna with a gain of 0 dBd." The FCC R&O set the requirement at 50 W ERP and said it would consider a typical half-wave dipole to exhibit no gain.
Hare said that
amateurs' willingness to adhere to the channel-bandwidth and power constraints
imposed on 60 meters will be an important factor in ham radio's use of this
band--now and in the future.
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