For those of you that have not operated 222 before or reluctant to purchase
equipment for that band, you need to reconsider. For a long time now that
band has been under pressure to be taken over by another service. Since 222
is not commonly sold on the many 3 or 4 band VHF/HF rigs, it has remained in
the lower activity status. The propagation conditions on 222 compare more to
144 mhz than it does on 432. You can actually work aurora and meteor scatter
on 222, where as on 432 it is extremely rare.
I heard comments like, "its just another band to take" and "not enough
activity" for years now. I think it is time for the ARRL to actually do
something positive to enhance operation on 222 by increasing the contact
points enough to make it worth the time for stations to get on and be active
during the contest. I know many will disagree and would simply allow the
band to disappear, but isn't that band worth fighting to keep in the ham
spectrum?
Ron W4WA
_______________________________________________
VHFcontesting mailing list
VHFcontesting@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
|