Grimeton is planned to be on air Christmas Eve, 24 Dec at 0800 UTC on 17kHz. http://www.alexander.n.se/transmissions.htm signing SAQ
I remember being woken at 3am by the 500kHz auto-alarm while off Western Sahara from an SOS in the English Channel. So much for short distance ! David G3UNA > An interesting footnote for some of the newer Hams: > > Historically, the reason 500 kHz was chosen for emergency calling (SOS) > was > that such a high frequency was considered of little use for long range > communications. Back before WWI, "everyone knew" long range communications > required lower frequencies and some of the most powerful shore stations > operated at frequencies as low as 17 kHz. The whole plan for disaster > communications at sea was to alert *nearby* ships to provide aid, so a > higher frequency with its shorter range was ideal. All ships subject to > SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) rules were required to carry a calibrated > radio direction finder in the wheel house to "home in" on a 500 kHz signal > to locate a lifeboat or ship in distress. > > Along the same thinking, the local AM Broadcast band was put above the 500 > kHz frequency - roughly 550 to 1500 kHz - where high power stations would > have a range of perhaps some tens of miles, the experts said, suitable for > bringing newfangled "broadcasting" into local households. And, of course, > those pesky "Amateurs" can have the frequencies above roughly 1500 kHz > (200 > meters) and will certainly never get out of their own back yards on such > high frequencies. > > Fortunately, that was one more time when all the experts were wrong. > > Ron AC7AC > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
