Johnny -
I can give you some general ideas about the "why" of the 60 meter band in the USA. First, the allocation was granted in response to a petition requesting a new band in the 5 MHz range. The primary justification offered was that the propagation characteristics of the 60 meter band would be expected to be useful when either the 75 meter band or the 40 meter band was not optimum for the traffic to be passed. The increased flexibility would be useful in time of emergency. The FCC agreed that this was a valid reason for the allocation. Second, the band was "channelized" to 5 discrete spots, as opposed to the "anywhere in the band" method used for all other bands. Because the band is available on a shared basis, and the amateur service is not the primary user, the FCC stated that the use of discrete channels was the only way they could guarantee that interference to other users would be as low as possible. Apparently, the "sharing" of frequencies on the 30 meter band (another band where amateur radio is a secondary user) had generated some complaints. I don't know how true this is, perhaps it is just a rumor. But, in any case, the 60 meter band ended up as a "discrete channel" operation. There have been occasional reports that the FCC is considering "opening up" the band to other modes. As things stand now, 60 meters is the only USA allocated HF band where CW operation is prohibited. In fact, the only mode permitted is USB voice, which is somewhat at odds with normal amateur practice, where all bands below 7.3 MHz use LSB for SSB operation. Perhaps someday we will see other modes, VFO operation, and even a somewhat expanded frequency allocation, but there is no way to know if this will ever happen. Another quirk is the power limitation, 50 watts PEP maximum ERP, an unusual requirement to be sure. This is possibly another accommodation to the primary users of the band. The power limitations have proven problematical for some who attempt to use the band, as higher power levels are often useful when attempting to overcome the effects of poor propagation. All these things together have operated to make the 60 meter band rather less used than some had originally expected. I suspect that when and if the rules are relaxed a bit, we will see more use. Jim, KL7CC Johnny Siu wrote: > Hello Group, > > It is off-topic. > > I understand that there is 60m channels in USA. Could any of you advise what > is the rationale behind of 60m band allocation? Is there any propagation > advantage or ARES requirements related to 60m band allocation? > > Could you please direct me to the right web-link for my further reference? > There is NO 60m channels allocation in Hong Kong. > > Thank you for your help in advance. > > 73 > > Johnny VR2XMC > > > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > > > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
