I looked thru the FCC regs and discovered that the 'J3E' designator is a
requirement for voice and sound (not telegraphy or digital data)
transmission exclusively. That is why even though it is possible to
transmit CW via audio soundcard, and even though CW and the various HF
digital modes would allow many times more hams to use the narrow allocations
than could with SSB, it isn't legal on the 60m band.
I was hoping that the ARRL would be able to establish a band plan that would
designate one of the channels exclusively for HF digital and one exclusively
for CW, and leave three others for any HF mode. Wouldn't that have been a
good usage for these channels?
Whose dumb idea it was to exclude the HF digital modes and CW from this
band, I don't know... but I know that I have far less of an interest in
using 60m than I did before I understood this. This has to be the
absolutely most stupid decision made concerning the ham bands that I am
aware of.
Of course, with only five 2.8k channels and the restrictions on the modes,
only a couple of dozen hams at most can use the band rather than the many
hundreds who could have with CW and PSK31. I doubt many hams will be using
60m and perhaps that is the intention of the FCC and NTIA.
- jgc
John Clifford KD7KGX
Heathkit HW-9 WARC/HFT-9/HM-9
Elecraft K2 #1678 /KSB2/KIO2/KBT2/KAT2/KNB2/KAF2/KPA100
Ten-Tec Omni VI/Opt1
Alinco DR-605TQ
Icom T90A
email: kd7kgx@arrl.net
|