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-LF news past....2007.

• December

  • SAQ Christmas transmission. Listen out for historic station SAQ from Grimeton Sweden at 17.2kHz CW on Christmas eve at 0800 utc repeated at 0815. http://www.alexander.n.se/.

  • 6/12. CT1DRP is back on 136kHz. After a move Brian is back and already has some trans-Atlantic reports. The new QTH is screened by hills but has a clear take-off out to sea and across the Atlantic.

• November

  • 21/11. First VE/UK X-band on 500. Mal G3KEV reports that he made a cross-band QSO with VE1ZZ last week. Mal received a 549 report on his 502.5kHz transmission, Joe was 599 on 3533kHz.
    Mal often listens for cross-band QSOs around 3533.

  • 16/11. Hope for a "500kHz" allocation. The WRC wrapped up today and there is an item pledging "to consider an allocation of about 15 kHz in parts of the band 415-526.5 kHz to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis, taking into account the need to protect existing services". This may mean that more administrations will look favourably upon applications to use part of the MF spectrum for amateur experimentation. I think that's in part due to our delegation... well done chaps!

  • 14/11. Trans-Atlantic QSO on 500. Jay Rusgrove reports:- "Just completed an aural cw contact between GI4DPE and WE2XGR/2. GI4DPE was transmitting on 501.3 kHz and WE2XGR/2 on 506.5 kHz. Distance, according to grid square calculator, 4890 km / 3039 miles. Although QRN on XGR/2 end made copy somewhat difficult at times there were several exchanges of call signs, signal reports and other 'pleasantries'. Finbar appeared to have excellent copy on his end."

  • 9/11. WRC OKs 136kHz. Good news from the world radio conference in Geneva "a secondary allocation of 135.7-137.8 kHz to the Amateur Service was approved on first reading in Plenary on Friday afternoon, November 9" says the ARRL. This opens the way for those countries such as Ireland, the USA and Canada who hadn't allocated 136kHz as a full amateur band to do so.

• October

  • 8/10. GI to VE on 100mW. GI4DPE on 501.316 khz was copied in FN85ki by Vernon VE1VDM on Oct 8, 2007 @ 0211utc. Transatlantic conditions were very good at the time with the Irish DGPS station in Mizen Head copied as well as Irish NDB FNR-402. Receiver - R75 Antennas - 2000' unterminated wire E/W and a 1000' unterminated wire N/S.

• September

  • 22/9. ZM2E this weekend. Operation is for ZL Saturday and Sunday nights, 22 and 23 September. ZL sunset is 0615z, sunrise 1815z. ZM2E is likely to consistently use 0.2 Hz FSK with 137776.2 and 137776.0 Hz emission.

  • 22/9. G 500k signals in Finland. Paul-Henrik, OH1LSQ, has been listening on 500k for some time now. He has often received the DL beacons but recently conditions were good enough for him to copy G3WCB, GI4DPE and GM4SLV on CW. The distance to GI4DPE is over 1800km!

  • 5/9. More U.S. 505kHz activity. 6 experimental permits under the call WE2XGR have been issued by the FCC. They can run 200 Watts ERP on 505-515 khz using CW, SSB, and data modes. The permits run for 5 Years and the stations operating under it are: WE2XGR/1 (K2ORS), WE2XGR/2 (W1VD), WE2XGR/3 (W1TAG), WE2XGR/4 (Bill Ashlock in Andover, MA (no ham call)), WE2XGR/5 (Bill Ashlock in Ellsworth,NH) and WE2XGR/6 (W2ZM). Coupled with the existing WD2XSH group there should be quite a bit of 600m activity stateside, and if any of the 'XGR crew actually acheive 200w ERP we should certainly hear them!
    Info from K2ORS, who is also permitted to run mobile on 505...

• August

  • 17/8. OK0EMW on 505kHz. Thanks to the Czech Telecomms Office - Department of Frequency Spectrum Management and the director of that office, Lubos OK2BVG has obtained permission for experimental operation of beacon OK0EMW on 505.060kHz. Power is 1W ERP, Location is Breclav JN88KS, modes CW at 6WPM and QRSS3. The message is "Beacon OK0EMW JN88K" in CW followed by repeat of call and QRA locator in QRSS3.
    Note: 11/9. He has now been copied by GM4SLV on Shetland at 1700km.

  • 6/8. Italians get 4 metres! Not LF but interesting. Italian amateurs have limited use of the 4M band until the end of the year. See here.
    Info from Lawrence 9H1AV / 9H9MHR

• July

  • 29/7. Brittany on 137kHz. F6CWA/P is active from Brittany (IN78WA) from 29 July to 02 Aug. Activity times will be 09h00 utc and 19h00/21h00 utc using QRSS 3" on 137.7.

  • 18/7. New "Get on" page. Clicking on "Getting On" now takes you to a choice of two pages with useful information and links concerning either 136 or 501kHz bands. Your choice! (You may have to press "Refresh" to see the new pages.)

  • 12/7. Night of Nights on 500kHz. Tonight starting at midnight gmt several US coastal stations will be active on 500kHz in a commemorative event. See here for details.

  • 10/7. Rugby silent. The 100kHz Loran transmission from Rugby radio has shut down so 136kHz is much quieter in the midlands. I believe that this was the only service still broadcast from the station so expect the remaining 1927-vintage 250m masts to come down soon. Loran will re-start from Anthorn in Cumbria on 1st October.

• June

  • 29/6. New 500k TX design. Jim Moritz has designed a new 500k TX which uses a complimentary pair of mosfets in the output and pays special attention to reducing harmonics.

• May

  • 31/5. Loran goes North. Transmissions of Loran on 100kHz from Rugby are to cease at the end of July this year according to this press release from the UK General Lighthouse Authorities. Transmissions will resume from Anthorn in Cumbria later in the year.

  • 11/5. No 500kHz for Holland. Dick PA0SE has been refused permission to experiment on 500k. The arguments are that the band is not an internationally allocated amateur band and is still being used for emergency, urgent and safety traffic!

  • 1/5. Third DL on 505. Uwe, DJ8WX, joins the group on 505.1095 with his experimental station DI2BE. He calculates his ERP as 9W so the signal should be easily copied in the UK.

• April

  • Beacon "MP" closes down. Mitch VE3OT has shut down MP as his special permit has run out. It seems that all Canadian 137kHz permits will expire this year and, during the present WARC negotiations they are unlikely to be renewed. It is unclear how this will affect the 500k application.

  • 2/4. Quartz Hill report. VY1JA's signals from Whitehorse Yukon were received across the Pacific at over 1200km. He copied some of the ZM2E's transmissions very well but the openings were not long enough for a QSO. No signals made it over to VO1NA on the East coast. The path to UA0AET and RX9BS was better and their signals were received well in ZL but no QSO took place.

• March

  • 16/3. New 500k page & G4FGQ's s/ware. New on the site is a page about getting on 500kHz with useful tips and links. I have also added the late G4FGQ's pages in case his old BT Internet site goes away.

  • 15/3. ZM2E final fling? Quartz Hill club are to conduct some trans-Pacific tests on March 31st for three nights. The previous frequencies of 137.7886/137.7890 kHz 0.4 Hz FSK, with "DFCW" coding, will be used on TX. They will try for QSOs with VO1NA and RU6LA if conditions are good. This could be the last test from the site near Wellington as a wind farm is to be constructed there.

  • 14/3. Applying for a 600m permit. The RSGB have issued some guidelines for applicants. From what I've heard, Ofcom are particularly interested in how you intend to ensure that your ERP stays below -10dBW! ON7YD's aerials page might help you there.

  • 8/3. 600m news. So far about half a dozen stations have received NOVs and the first QSO on the band took place between G3KEV and G3YXM on the afternoon of 3rd March. Since then we have received reports from as far away as Spain and Sweden so it seems that the little signals go a long way, especially at night.

• February

  • 28/2. 600m here we come! Ofcom have started issuing notices of variation for a "special research licence" to operate on 501 to 504kHz in the UK. The NOV's retain the applicant's own callsign and are valid for one year commencing 1st of March. Unfortunately only 100mW ERP is allowed.

  • 12/2. First T/A QSO of 2007. Mike G3XDV had a QSO with VO1NA this morning on the 136k band. Here's a screenshot of Joe's " Roger, Thankyou" to Mike:

    

  • 7/2. G3XDV "O" copy in CT. Jay Rusgrove (WD2XNS) got a perfect copy from Mike's beacon test last night. Well worth fixing the aerial Mike!

    

    Also see here for information on the WD2XNS TX antenna. Very impressive.

• January

  • 3/1. "e-Loran" out to tender. Trinity house in the UK have put the contract to broadcast e-Loran signals on 100kHz out to tender. The facility must be in the UK and is to be operational in 2010. e-Loran is a development of the current wide-bandwidth pulsed system radiated from Rugby which causes a lot of QRM on 136kHz. The augmented version has even more sidebands! Info here.

  
  

On to 2008.---Back to 2006.