A PROPOSAL FOR USA 40 METER PHONE BAND EXPANSION

 

To:  ARRL New England Division Director

 

From:  CTRI Contest Group

 

Background:  The successful elimination of the vast majority of foreign broadcast in the 40 meter segment of 7100 – 7200 has been a very welcome development for day-to-day SSB DXing and casual ragchews.  There has been an unintended consequence to contesting however – not all good – which dominoes to impact negatively on non-contesters as well.

 

The most noticeable effect has been during DX phone contests.  Previous to a couple of years ago, foreign broadcast dominated the 7100 – 7200 KHz segment so that split operation ruled the day.  DX stations would call CQ below 7100 and listen for US stations in whatever holes they could locate above 7125.  It was aggravating to say the least when the DX station would only listen on his own transmit frequency.  This would promote violations by US stations who would call (and sometimes work) the DX station out-of-band or would say “listen up.”  Both are violations.  Some stations were known to send on CW ‘UP” or “USA” which sometimes worked.

 

With foreign broadcast vacating the 7100 – 7200 segment, split operation has for all intense and purposes has now gone away with the DX stations now working the USA “on frequency” between 7125 and 7200.  This has created a new problem.  With the big multi DX stations plus the big USA multi stations all calling CQ in the 75 KHz segment, there is virtually nowhere for the more modest and even well equipped USA station to find a free run frequency to work more modestly equipped DX stations.  The band is incredibly overcrowded. It’s almost worse than when one had to contend with the broadcast stations. Seventy-five kilohertz is not nearly enough room to accommodate the activity.

 

Band Breakdown:  Here is the breakdown of the percentage of band available for phone operation compared to the entire band available per license class.  Note that it is understood that CW operation is permitted throughout the entire bands cited but the percentage is based on the amount of band where CW/digital is normally used.

 

80M     E = 80%

            A = 80%

            G = 72.7 %

 

20M     E = 57%

            A = 58%

            G = 50%

 

17M     EAG = 60%

 

15M     E = 55.6%

            A = 56%

            G = 50%

 

12M     EAG = 58%

 

10M     EAG = 57%

 

40 Meter Breakdown:  Forty meters is a bit more complicated in that foreign broadcast still is a problem from 7200 to 7300.  Here’s the percentage using the ratio as above.  The Advanced ratio appears better than Extra only because their phone privilege is the same as Extra but they do not have access to the bottom 25 KHz for CW – thus the whole pie is smaller.

 

40M     E = 58%

            A = 63.6%

            G = 55%

The rub comes during DX contesting because for the most part operation is below 7200 thus effectively eliminating 100 KHz of spectrum because of foreign broadcast. True, stations do try to sneak in between heterodynes of foreign broadcast stations with some success.  Calculating a percentage of the mostly usable band – that is eliminating the top 100 KHz – the story is telling:

 

40M     E = 37.5%

            A = 42.8%

            G = 20%

The modest to even well equipped Extra/Advanced Class USA station has a huge QRM obstacle to overcome with only 75 KHz of space to maneuver successfully. Actually USA Extra/Advanced Class stations may only operate LSB phone as low as 7128 to allow for sidebands to stay in the band.  Unfortunately, not everyone understands this, as it is not unusual for a DX station in a phone DX contest to receive answers from US stations while calling CQ on say 7125.  Oh for the days of ARRL Official Observers and FCC “pink slips” to invoke contest disqualification.  

 

What’s the average of spectrum allocated to phone operation?  It appears that using the 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10 meter bands as a guide, the percentage of spectrum allocated to phone operation is about 57 or 58 %.  Eighty meters seems a bit of an anomaly as the percentage is considerably higher.  Remember that it was quite a surprise when the FCC

expanded phone all the way down to 3600.  Far less was proposed and expected. 

 

Forty meters is the real problem especially during DX contests – exacerbated by foreign broadcast in the 7200 – 7300 segment.   

 

What’s going on between 7100 and 7125?  Extensive monitoring day-to day and during contests subjectively reveals that this segment is underutilized.  Few DX stations operate there on a day-to-day basis. During DX phone contests, few DX stations operate there.  During RTTY contests, most of the operation is below 7100. During CW DX contests, there is some activity above 7100 but mostly below.

 

The proposal:  Expand USA phone operation to 7100 for Extras and Advanced.  Forty meters will continue to be a QRM problem during contests no matter what.  But expanding USA Extra and Advanced Class phone privileges to 7100 would be a significant improvement.  Presumably General Class operators would then be allowed to operate from 7150 KHz instead of 7175 as presently. This is how the percentages would then break out with the first number based on the whole band and the second based on not considering the top 100 KHz of foreign broadcast dominated spectrum:

 

E = 66.6%/50%

A = 72.7%/57% (Not permitted to operate 7000 – 7025)

G = 66.6 %/40% (Not permitted to operate 7000 -7025)

 

Actually this club would not be adverse to allow General Class operators the same phone privileges as Extra and Advanced.  There is still a 25 KHz incentive at the bottom of the band for CW/digital.

 

This is put forward as a proposal from the CTRI Contest Group to the ARRL New England Division Director for his appropriate motion to be made at the next ARRL Board or Executive Committee meeting.

 

Respectfully submitted as approved by its membership at its meeting of October 22, 2011 – CTRI Contest Group

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

I hope youse guys new to 6 meters have been monitoring the band on a regular basis looking for openings especially to Europe.  Yesterday afternoon, Saturday 6/18, we had probably the best opening of the season to Europe with many many signals both SSB and CW.  I had a run going on 50.162.5 where I had to sort out the many callers from G, GM, DL, OZ, SM, I, F, etc which didn’t quit for a couple of hours.  I may have missed some of it as I came in from outdoors doing a home project around 3 PM and checked the band and it was wide open.  I proceeded to find a clear frequency and call CQ and then the fun started.  A bunch of callers each time I stood by.  I didn’t slow down til about 5:30 when I think I was running out of stations to work…as I still heard EU stations calling for North America.  I didn’t count the number of contacts but it was well over 100.  I did hear Will K6ND who was on.  A guy in Plymouth, MA who was portable at a campground called in to say he had worked some EU with a marginal setup….so it apparently didn’t take much to make it across the pond.  Hope some of you caught it….and keep an eye on 6 meters for DX.    BTW, it’s been open to the Caribbean often late in the afternoon …if you can hear the C6 beacon on 50,040 you know something is cooking.  Look for PJ4E, HI3TEJ, a bunch of FGs.  GL!

— John, W1XX

NEQP:  “It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over” – Yogi Berra

 

After all the hoopla, cheers, and pouring of champagne for apparently reaching the club goal of 1 million points, we are not yet finished.  The goal will not be reached until:  [1] your log is submitted to the sponsor; and [2] you credit your score to CTRI Contest Group in the header. 

 

Logs must be submitted by June 7 as an e-mail attachment to:

logs@nullneqp.org

Subject line: Callsign used in the contest only. 

 

Cabillo is the standard submission format that all logging programs will produce.  Now I know most of us know all this, but this NEQP was to get as many members active as possible.  That includes several who are not necessarily that well versed in all this stuff.  Right after the contest, I got the nicest e-mail from John, K1JSM, of Bristol, who made what I presume to be an initial effort at contesting with very modest results.  He kept a paper log.  Kudos to John.  He made the effort!  I told him CTRI would help him in making an e-submission log. 

 

Anyone else that made the effort and wants some help in submitting the log (no matter how small a score), contact me and we’ll get you some help in submitting your log in Cabrillo.  Do not be afraid to ask.  E-mail:  w1xx [at] cox [dot] net.

 

I think having the highest total number of entries for the club is just as important as the final score.   

 

Congratulations to all on a job well done.  Please post your score results on this website, the Yahoo reflector, or if you prefer, e-mail the club Contest Manager at the above e-mail address. 

 

73!  de John, W1XX, Contest Mangler

 

 

 

 

 

This is probably a case of overthinking, but working each CTRI member on the 10 bands/modes could add to the QSO count.  To possibly facilitate easy and quick QSY to other bands, here’s a suggestion on frequency using the “low end of SSB” and “high end of CW” format.  Print it and have it handy for quick reference.  Maybe it will help. X = Xtra Freq.  G = General/Advanced

Band                 SSB                        CW

10                    28,305                  28,295

15                    21,205  X               21,195

                        21,230 G

20                    14,155 X                 14,145

                        14,180 G

40                    7130  X                    7120

                        7180 G        

80                    3605 X                     3595

                        3805 G                     

 

 

NEQP: Phone vs. CW

In our continuing saga to focus attention on the upcoming New England QSO Party (May 7 – 8), please bear in mind that these topics are just one man’s opinion. So tailor them to your own taste. Today’s topic for your consideration is phone vs. CW.

At first blush the choice should be obvious: CW contacts are worth 2 points, phone 1. And for many of us, the choice is obvious: CW prevails. But there are other considerations. First of all if CW is simply not your mode, then work phone. But before giving up altogether on operating some CW, consider this. NEQP has traditionally been more of a CW exercise than phone. All the mobiles in New England work almost exclusively CW. But because of longer skip, you may not work that many NE mobiles. Activity has gradually shifted over the years from CW to more phone. So which is it: phone or CW? If you can certainly operate CW in the 20 wpm range, some CW should be in your plan. Speeds will be moderate. It’s not like trying to copy what sounds like a near-RTTY station in the CQWW DX Contest. If you send CQ at a speed comfortable for you, return calls will likely be at the same speed. It’s almost impossible to beat the 2-points of a CW contact.

Before we leave the attributes of CW, what about digital? Digital counts the same as CW: 2 points. Historically there has been very little RTTY activity. But last year I believe there was some activity. It’s probably worth a shot if you don’t waste too much time if it’s not panning out.

If you operate a lot of CW or exclusively CW, you WILL eventually see your rate drop significantly. You will basically run out of CW contacts at any kind of decent rate. That of course is the time to switch to phone. If you have a big signal, you will never run out of Qs on 20 meter SSB. In 2009 (I was QRP last year, so the numbers are not indicative) I worked 955 stations on 20 meter phone. No matter how many times I came back to that band, there were a new slew of callers. Low power with wires or low tri-bander should still find a ready supply of phone contacts. Remember, we are the “hunted.”

So what’s the answer? First, operate the mode with which you are most comfortable. If you feel a bit marginal on CW, try it anyway. You may find you will do better than expected. When you run out of CW contacts on a given band, switch to phone. Or switch bands. In 2009 I operated twice as much phone as CW and came in second in New England to W1UE who operated more CW. Last year I won the QRP category for New England with a near even split between CW and phone… eking out a victory over a station who operated only CW. So you see, it all depends! Best answer: probably shoot for an even split. But be ready to modify or go with the flow on the fly.

Recommendation on best way to start: CW on 20.

Look for our next topic in a few days: New England mobiles.

73 and happy NEQP planning.

— John, W1XX

CTRI Contest Mangler

Legendary callsign W1FH will live again during the New England QSO Party TNX to Trustee Bob, W1YRC, and Will, K6ND, who will host the operation.  Old time DXers will recognize Charlie Mellen’s famous W1FH callsign at the head of the Honor Roll for decades.  See QRZ for more W1FH history.

W1FH will be a multi-single operation at the well equipped K6ND (& K6NDV) Mendon, MA QTH — just over the state line from Cumberland.  NB1U will also be in the chair possibly making a serious challenge to perennial multi winner K1TTT.  Will is looking for more operators.  With W1AN in Ledyard, CT, this makes two CTRI multi stations that will be open for anyone in the club to operate who does not now have a station.  Contact John or Will if you wish to join in the multi fun.

CTRI is out to set the NEQP club record.  The focus is to get ALL club members QRV — whether from home or from a multi station — with big scores, medium scores, little scores all.  Especially if you’ve been inactive of late, CTRI wants YOU to heed the call.  See the post: “NEQP: 1 Million or Bust” for details.

CTRI now has several members with out-of-district callsigns, e.g. K6ND.  This may be a disadvantage in NEQP.  Members also hold a bunch of “club” 1-land calls that may be borrowed for NEQP.  W1xx [at] cox [dot] net is the clearing house for both calls made available by trustees and stations seeking 1-land calls.

If you have not as yet advised the club’s contest manager (same e-mail address as above) of your NEQP “QRV-ness,” he anxiously awaits to hear from you.  NEQP is May 7 -8.  Make your plans now.

73 & GL!

— John, W1XX

 

I see K3IU has listed a Heathkit SB-220 amplifier — apparently with few hours on it and nice upgrades — on Swapmeet.  This is a wonderful amplifier when converted for 6-meter DXing.  Those who have visited my shack have seen that I use one on 6-meters with great results.  Mine was converted by K1JX for use during VHF mountaintopping days….so it has made a lot of VHF contesting QSOs.  It puts out a KW easily on the Bird wattmeter.  If needed I  can probably get the details of how mine was converted.  I think there is a guy in CT who does it for a price (Google it).  Anyyway, when 160 craps out soon, you will see 6-meters start to open up.  Making DX contacts to Europe on 6-meters is pretty exciting.  During the peak summer season you will find the band open to CT3 and EA8 almost every day.  Then there is the ARRL June VHF Contest and CQ VHF Contest in July that gets a lot of stations QRV (and they both count for the CTRI Championship).  GL with the sale, Ken! 

The equinox period is a good time to hear and work the VKs on Top Band.  For example, this morning starting at about 6 AM EDST, the following VKs were heard:  VK6GX, VK6HD, VK3ZL.  These are regulars on 160 with good signals. VK3ZL answered my CQ at 6:30 local.  But VK6HD was a real 599 at 6:30.  I have no doubt that 100 watts would make it through at this time of the year.  Also for the first time, I was nearly astonished to hear BU2AQ on 1810.5 from 6:45 – 6:55…the first time I have heard him on Top Band.  I called but my experience with hearing him on 80 before is that he does not hear very well.  AA1K — a virtual beacon on 160 every morning — called him but AQ kept getting his call as K1AA.  Too bad!  I’ll listen again tomorrow and see if there is any hope of getting through. We probably only have another week or two of DX condions to the Pacific, so if any of you have Pacific DX aspirations on Top Band, start listening about 6 AM local or even a little earlier.  Things peak up about 6:45 AM.  GL!!  3/23/2011

 

 

Contest occurs: May 7 – 8, 2011

Attention all CTRI members: This is a call to arms for an all out assault on the all-time club score in the New England QSO Party (NEQP). To be successful will require the effort of each and every club member to contribute to the best of his or her ability.

Why NEQP? The New England QSO Party is our QSO Party. Stations outside of New England look to work us. It’s the closest thing to being rare DX as you can get. NEQP has a great following of hams stateside and DX that will be looking for you.

What’s the present club record? Actually, CTRI still holds the club record from 2004 with 8 entries and 418,603 points. Since then NEQP has grown much more popular. We can do much better than that.

What’s the goal? With the support of all club members we can score a total of one million points to set a new club record. What about YCCC? YCCC is considered “The Home Team” and is not in the club competition. We have several club members who have in the past posted very big scores in this contest. They are committed to giving it a full effort for CTRI.

But I’m a little pistol. To make the one million points will require we all pull together: Big guns and Little Pistols alike. You can operate SSB phone, CW/digital or both. See the attached rules.

I have trouble staying in the chair. That’s the beauty of NEQP. It starts at 4 PM EDT Saturday (May 7) and runs until 1 AM EDT Sunday (May 8). Then there is an off time when you can go to sleep. It opens again at 9 AM Sunday morning and runs until 8 PM EDT Sunday night: A maximum of 20 hours.

I don’t have an HF station. If your HF station is equipment challenged or you have limited contest experience, NEQP is just the right ticket for you. CTRI will run a multi-operator station as W1DX at the W1AN QTH, Ledyard CT which will be open to you. NEQP is ideal for gaining contesting experience. And W1AN’s is the ideal no-pressure venue. Please advise John (W1AN) on the reflector if you intend to operate at his QTH. This will help the club score immensely to reach its goal. No club member should have any excuse not to participate in this club venture.

What’s the exchange info? Signal report, county and state. Send 59 or 5NN to everyone. See the attached list of county abbreviations. You can work anyone, either in or out of New England. Stations outside New England will send you signal report and state/province or “DX.” Work stations once per band per mode [but no CW/digital QSOs in the phone bands].

I don’t have a logging program. You have enough time before the contest to get yourself a logging program. Ask any club members for their recommendations. Probably the simplest to learn in the short term is: http://www.n3fjp.com. If you still don’t get one, keep a paper log. After the contest, someone in the club will transcribe it into an e-submission format.

Where do I get more info? An NEQP package of rules etc. will be distributed at the March and April CTRI meetings. Please try to make at least one of these meetings. You don’t want to miss the “pep” talk. Any questions can then be answered. You can download the same material on www.neqp.org, if you can’t make a meeting.

Notice to members with non-1-land calls: If you think it would be advantageous to use a 1-land call, there are club members who are trustees of club calls that may be available. For example, if someone in Rhode Island would like to use KA1RI that can be arranged. Post on the reflector the availability of calls or if you desire one.

Will you commit to operate? As the club’s Contest Manager, I respectfully request that you let me know that you are with us for NEQP. Please e-mail me at:
w1xx [at] cox [dot] net
If you would like to indicate how much you expect to operate, that would be fine too. If you have any needs such as equipment, advice, etc., we’ll see what we can do for the club to help. Don’t hesitate to ask. This will be a fun event. And remember, it’s ONE MILLION OR BUST and bust is not an option! 73!

— John Lindholm, W1XX
CTRI Contest Manager

3/7/2011

1. Objective: The 21 major contests of the year feature a club competition. To maximize the CTRI standing amongst other clubs, the CTRI club member(s) who contributes the most points in the 2010 – 2011 contest-year to the club’s credit is the CTRI Contest Group Champion. A champion will be recognized in the High Power, Low Power, and QRP categories in accordance with the specific rules which follow. An additional category, The Tenderfoot Award, initiated this year recognizes special effort as outlined below. Authorization for the continuation of this program from its initial 2009 – 2010 year was by club vote at its Sep 18, 2010 meeting.

2. Scoring:

A] An individual’s submitted score will be used for “keeping score.” If at the end of the contest year there is a very close race for determining champion, then the official published scores will be used.

B] The score must be submitted to the sponsor for CTRI credit. Repeat: You must submit your score for CTRI credit in this competition.

C] To be eligible for a champion award, at least 5 of the contests (see list) must have a submitted entry (Tenderfoot exempted).

D] If a club member submits scores in different categories (HP, LP, QRP), his category for champion will be the highest power used unless at least 5 are in a single lower power category.

E] A member participating in a multi-operator effort gets individual credit as follows: total score divided by number of operators.

F] After each contest, a member gets credit by either posting his score on the CTRI Yahoo reflector (or equivalent on the new website) or submitting the score to:

ctriscores [AT] cox [DOT] net.

A running tally sheet (or leaderboard) will be posted on the reflector periodically so that members can see individual progress and standings.

3. Contest season: The yearly contest season runs from September 1, 2010 through August 31, 2011. The following contests which have a club competition component count for champion credit:

Sep: ARRL September VHF QSO Party

CQ WW RTTY Contest

Oct: CQ WW SSB DX Contest

Nov: ARRL November Sweepstakes CW

ARRL November Sweepstakes Phone

CQ WW DX CW Contest

Dec: ARRL 160 Meter Contest

ARRL 10 Meter Contest

Jan: ARRL RTTY Roundup

ARRL VHF Sweepstakes

CQ WW CW 160 Meter Contest

Feb: CQ WPX RTTY Contest

ARRL CW DX Contest

CQ SSB 160 Meter Contest

Mar: ARRL SSB DX Contest

Russian DX Contest

CQ WW SSB WPX Contest

May: New England QSO Party

CQ WW CW WPX Contest

Jun: ARRL June VHF QSO Party

Jul: CQ WW VHF Contest

4. Awards: A suitable plaque will be awarded in each of the four categories in which there are qualified entries. The plaque will indicate champions in memorium of all past CTRI Contest Group members whose keys now remain silent (SK).

5. Resolution: In the event of any dispute over the results of this program, a panel of three members selected by the President shall review the matter with its decision final.

6. The Tenderfoot Award: This is a special category that recognizes individual effort by a club member who has made substantial progress in improving his/her contesting effort usually with somewhat less than top-of-the-line equipment or vast prior experience. It may be a so-called “rookie” effort from someone new to contesting or from many years of dormancy from operating. It may – but not necessarily – be someone newly licensed. Making due with basic equipment and wire antennae are often the sign of a potential Tenderfoot winner. There is no minimum number of contests to be entered. The winner is selected on the subjective judgment of a panel of club officers, and is only awarded when one is found truly worthy. An individual can win this only once and cannot repeat in subsequent years.

7. Errors or Omissions: In codifying these rules, any obvious errors or omissions may be corrected.

When adding the radials to my 160 T-vertical (72 ft vertical + 56 ft top loading t-wire on each side for a total electrical length of 128 ft) I kept notes on the SWR as I added 3 – 4 radials.  As predicted I had a very good direct feed match starting with only 4 radials…e.g. between 1814 – 1824 the VSWR = 1.1: 1.  But the reactive part of the load X = 8.  According to the books we have not reached anywhere near  peak efficiency.  As I added groups of radials the numbers appeared to get progressively worse…but I believed the experts that the efficiency was getting better.  But with 10 radials X = 0 over much of the band and the SWR was generally 1.2:1. Skipping all the in-between measurements, when I reached my goal of 32 radials (I could only expect 0.3 dB gain going to 120 radials the nirvana)…the VSWR was now  a flat 1.7 – 1.8 between 1800 – 1900…but X = 0 over much of that range….so the load impedence was almost all resistive (R).  On the MFJ 259B R = 38 – 26 over the same range.  But the VSWR being somewhat higher than I would like, I researched putting a 1.56:1  UNUN (unbalanced antenna to unbalanced coax) right at the antenna base.  This would match 32 olms impedenace of the antenna (almost all R ) to 52 ohms of the coax.  Balun Designs, LLC makes baluns of all types and  can  handle  up to 2 KW.  At $69 I thought I would try this approach for the first time.  It took a couple weeks to get it.  Sent USPS Priority.  Looked nice and installed it today.  VSWR is now 1:1 on 1820 and > 1.5: 1 from 1800 – 1870.  At 1900 it’s 1.8:1.  The MFJ will also measure Percentage of Transmitted Power (a backhanded way of stating VSWR) and it peaks at 99% and drops only to 90% at 1900 kHz. I worked ZL8X this morning BEFORE installing the UNUN.  I suspect that this mod will make little difference if any in DXing.  But it would appear practically  all the watts are now going into the antenna.  I think this is probably a good thing.   — W1XX