Finally the long wait is over! The LF 2200m band and the MF 630m band have
finally arrived for amateurs in the USA! I'm sure most of you have read the fine print regarding deployment of the two
bands, but if not,
here is the ARRL's recent announcement.
It has been a very long wait for the FCC to
implement these bands after they were approved for amateur use in 2007 and 2012 at
the World Radiocommunication Conferences in Geneva. Canadian amateurs have had 630m since 2014 and 2200m since 2009 ... in
the meantime, we have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of American amateurs
to liven things up and to garner new interest in these bands.
Before operating
on these bands, amateurs in the USA are required to register their intent
via a simple web form found here on the Utilities Technology Council's website. Then follows a 30 day waiting period during which the
UTC will check out your location to be sure that you are not located within
1km of any power lines that might be carrying LF or MF PLC (Power Line Carrier) control signals. If you hear
nothing back from UTC within 30 days, you are good to go.
A positive
outcome of registering via the UTC form is that there can be no PLC signals implemented on the lines near you at a later date! By registering your
intended operating location(s), you are locking-in these spots for no further
PLC development. If you have an EOC or Field Day site that you think you may want to operate from at some point, register these as well.
I think it is important that even if you
do not intend to
operate on either of these bands or perhaps a few years down the road, that you
register
as soon as possible ... the fewer PLC signals operating close to or
within the amateur radio spectrum, the better, and this is one way of furthering
that goal.
There has already been a vast amount of published information
on both of these bands, describing transmitters, receiving systems and
transmitting antennas so I won't go into much detail here regarding these topics
... and besides, it's always very interesting to search these things out
yourself, learning as you go. Be assured that either of these bands will present interesting new challenges not encountered in typical HF operation, but all of the basic principles you
are used to still apply ... it's just that things are much bigger down below the
broadcast band!
Far and away, the best source
of information for US amateurs can be found on John Langridge's (KB5NJD)
NJDTechnolgies website. John has been operating on MF for several years already
with an experimental licence (WG2XIQ) and is more than an expert on this
topic.
His daily blog includes a detailed account of worldwide activity
on 630m and makes for fascinating reading. His website provides all of the information and valuable links
that you might need to plan your own LF or MF station. The information on his site, if printed out, would make a wonderful LF / MF Handbook!
My own blog and
website also contain
much helpful material, with a particular emphasis on Canadian activity on these
bands. All of my blogspots dealing with 630m
can be found here and contain
enough bedtime reading to keep you busy for many nights.
If you are
thinking of getting on either of these new bands, particularly 630m, here is a
short Q & A that may help you through the initial planning stage of how to
get started.
What modes are commonly used on these bands?
At
present, due to the low level of two-way amateur radio activity, the
WSPR mode has
been dominant. This is a weak-signal 'beacon-only' mode so most two-way contacts take place either on CW or on the weak signal
JT-9 mode. JT-9 has been specifically
designed for HF and LF / MF weak signal two-way work and can dig as deep as
-27db into
the noise to provide a contact that could never be completed on other
conventional modes such as CW.
With the influx of new activity on these
bands, particularly on 630m, I expect that most two-way work will equal or surpass
the amount of WSPR activity and that JT-9 and CW will do most of the
heavy-lifting.
How far can I work on these bands?
Although the
erp limits appear to be QRP-sized, this is somewhat misleading ... it is astonishing what can be done. Don't think that '5W eirp' means that you can only run a transmitter capable of
generating 5W. Because antennas are so inefficient on these bands, it is often
necessary to run several hundreds of watts in order to achieve the legal eirp
limits. The bigger and more efficient your antenna, the lower the power needed
becomes. On many nights, 5W eirp will get you clear across the country on MF.
However, if you build something for 630m that only produces 25W of power,
you will still have the capability of working many stations in other states on most
winter evenings or mornings, as propagation, the 'great equalizer', can be amazing at times.
Presently, most stations operating on WSPR will often be
detected from one coast to the other and those with excellent locations near the
coast will soon be working stations down under or in Europe, either on CW or on
JT-9. If you can, design and build for the maximum eirp, 1W on 2200m and 5W on 630m.
What type of
transmitter do I need?
If your interests are only in CW, then the sky is
the limit when it comes to design. There are numerous simple solid state
transmitter designs out there, using inexpensive FETs to generate power. I'm
hoping, along with many others, that there will be a considerable amount of CW
activity on 630m and even a simple 25-watter should provide you with lots of fun. There may
also be some appetite for
QRSS CW which can give the weak-signal digital modes a
run for their money while still using a simple transmitter.
If you are interested in
digital modes, such as WSPR or JT-9, the easiest way is through the use of a
transverter to take care of converting your HF transceiver's capabilities to LF
or HF. There are presently a few commercial transverter options available and
can be found on the
NJDTechnologies links page.
A good choice is the
inexpensive
630m transverter produced by John Molnar, shown below and available
both as a kit or prebuilt. It works well and is very popular.
 |
| 630m Transverter - John Molnar WA3ETD / WG2XKA |
Although not available commercially, another popular 630m
homebrew design is
one from G3XBM which will also provide a way to get on the
digital modes. He also has a
2200m design, should your interests be focused on
that band.
 |
| G3XBM -630m Transverter |
Any of these simple transverters are capable of controlling a
higher-powered switching FET amplifier as your station progresses.
If you
want something in the 'Collins category', the tranverters (both 2200m and 630m
models) produced by
VK4YB's Monitor Sensors provide around 70W output and are incredibly
well designed and built. I have been very happily employing a 630m model for well
over a year now ... my
review of the transverter can be found here.
 |
| VK4YB - 630m Transverter |
I suspect that we may soon see more commercial products become
available over the next year but if you are handy with a soldering iron,
building your transmitter will all be part of the 630m challenge!
I would
like to put on a beacon. What do you suggest?
The best and most
informational type of beacon is a WSPR mode beacon. A WSPR beacon operator can always determine where
his beacon is being heard, in real time, along with how well it is being heard,
by watching the uploaded 'spots' of his beacon on the
WSPRnet. You will have much better coverage with this weak-signal mode beacon compared to one on CW ... for every CW report received, you would likely get ten times or more that number on WSPR.
Although WSPR is a great mode for checking out propagation, it's very easy to
get into the habit of nightly beaconing and not developing your station any
further. If you do run a WSPR beacon, be sure to try some of the other two-way modes
such as CW or JT9 and call CQ regularly ... ham radio is all about making
two-way contacts!
I don't have
enough property for the large antennas required, so I won't be able to use these
bands.
Even if you are limited in space, you can still enjoy these
bands. There are many examples of stations on small city or suburban-size lots
that are consistently heard across North America on 630m. If you have the room
for an 80m or 40m dipole or inverted-L, that will be enough space to work these
bands. An inverted-L for example, can be base-loaded and tuned to resonance.
Along with several ground radials, even a small antenna system like this will
allow you to work skywave DX or be heard across the country when propagation is
good. I'm constantly amazed at how well these bands propagate with very low
amounts of erp. Don't let living on a small lot stop you from exploring these bands!
All I hear is noise on these bands ... how can I use them
if I can't hear anything?
Growing noise floors are common to everyone and
this is often the biggest challenge for LF and MF operators, especially those in
densely populated regions. Armed with a little knowledge and investigation,
oftentimes seemingly impossible QRN can be substantially reduced if not eliminated entirely ... even easier when the noise source is found to be in your own home! While some amateurs just
give up at this stage, most will see it as an interesting challenge to be
overcome and part of the many learning experiences offered by these new
bands.
In addition to the informational links provided above, I have just
added a new
'Getting Started On 630m' page to my website. This page has a
two-part article that I recently wrote for
The Canadian Amateur, our national
amateur radio journal. The articles describe a simple way of getting on 630m CW
as well as providing some basic antenna information and ideas.
This blog
also has extensive writings involving 630m over the past few years, describing
equipment used and suggestions for new operators, much of it involving
homebrewing. There are several links on the right that will take you to specific
blogs dealing with 630m.
For present LF and MF operators here in Canada, the arrival of our
American friends to these bands is generating much excitement and anticipation.
The opening of these bands in the USA will pump new life into this part of the
spectrum for all North American participants and the opportunities for
homebrewing and experimenting are boundless. It should be a very exciting
winter!
If you have not taken the 60 seconds required to register your
station on the UTC webpage, please don't neglect to do this via the link provided above. There have,
reportedly, been thousands of amateurs doing this already, as it effectively
locks-out their locations for any future PLC deployment that might keep them off
these bands at a later date.
See you in mid-October on 630!
