John, I would be perfectly content to leave things in the status quo. If the ARRL really wants wider digital signals on HF, then I would prefer they not penalize those of us who operate narrower modes such as many in the digitalradio group. I would prefer they move up higher in each HF band. After hitting the send button, I realized many ssb operators would not like my proposal. It would make more sense for wide bandwidth digital to share spectrum with the new HF digital voice users than to share it with narrow band modes.
The recent changes to allow pictures to be transmitted with MFSK16 is a case in point. Images and data are segregated under the current rules. SSTV transmits images and has traditional been in the phone sections. Yet now SSTV is evolving into digital which is an image assembled into data. That is why I think these wider digital signals belong up with digital voice. They have more in common. I am undecided if wide bandwidth digital even belongs in HF anyway. There is a lot more room in VHF/UHF for such things. As frequency is increased, a given bandwidth is a lower percentage of the operating frequency. That is why bands above 30 MHz have much larger allocations. I have been a long time ssb operator on HF since the 70s. It has only been since 2000 that I actively started using HF digital modes. OK I used AMTOR briefly in the late 80s even TOR modes were still keyboard to keyboard. I jumped on the PSK31 bandwagon and then MFSK16 and Oliva. Being apartment bound at the time, I wanted an efficient narrow band mode for the little guy who did not want to mess with CW. The narrow modes speak to these kinds of operators. I don't want to see them squashed. In the past six months I have tried CW for the first time in my ham career. I am not that good at it, maybe 13 wpm tops. I wanted an efficient mode that did not require a computer to use it. It is a fun mode and not for everyone. I am not that upset over the dropping of morse testing. But I am disturbed by the reduction in spectrum for CW and other narrow band modes, especially PSK31. These modes need a safe haven. My initial comments were based on compromise and not my ideal. My ideal would be to leave the rules alone. My compromise would be to allow wide band HF digital modes to mingle among the HF digital voice users. The ARRL has not proposed a compromise. They have proposed hardships on narrow band users. 73, Steve N6VL
