137 kc/s ham band

[kf2vm]

Hi Guys, I am interested in any information/websites regarding the new 137 kc/s ham band. It's my understanding we are allowed 200 watts, but with some antenna and I believe mode restrictions. Has anyone been doing any experiments down there.

[V73WJ]

Google VE7SL and VK5BR for some info, also check the British 137 KHz band sites (Yahoo groups) on the web you will find a lot of information re antennas and schematics as well as inductors and variometers there.
Also try the following calls for a lot of information G3YXM, G0MRF, EI0CF, ON7YD and G3LDO. The British and Europeans have done a lot of work on this band and there is plenty of infor available for those interested.
Good hunting.

Bill V73WJ

[ve6pg]

..FORGET HIS CALL, BUT THERE IS A HAM IN LONDON, ONTARIO DOING THIS..
..ANYWAY, DO A SEARCH ON YAHOO GROUPS, THERE ARE A FEW GROUPS THAT DEAL WITH LF, AND I KNOW THEY HAVE COVERED THIS...LOWFERS, ETC....TIM...sk...

[The Slab Bacon]

If I recall correctly, Bob (W2ZM) and Warren (K2ORS) are playing with that stuff. You might try contacting one of them. I think you have to apply for special lisencing and callsigns for down there. I believe there are also a lot of restrictions as well.

                                                     the Slab Bacon

[Bacon, WA3WDR]

Right now, longwave operation in the USA is either part 15, or on special experimental licenses.  Amrad did experiments around 137 KHz a few years back, but that experimental license expired, and the FCC did not make a ham band down there, because of pressure from the electric utilities who argued that amateur operation on those frequencies might interfere with their extremely safe, terrorist-proof control network (right).

But there may yet be a US amateur longwave band.  K2ORS Warren is running experimental station WD2XGJ on 137.7796 KHz now, and he had a two-way contact on the 137 MHz band with John, W1TAG/WD2XES.  And there is also some experimentation going on around 500 KHz.  In fact, there is a lot of interest in those bands.

http://www.w4dex.com/wd2xgj.htm
http://www.w1tag.com/qso.htm
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/11/18/1/?nc=1
http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~jcraig/lfex.html

European experimenters are way ahead of us in this.  They have been routinely making distant contacts and beacon/reception work around 137 KHz since the late 90s.  Much if not most of the DSP development and experimentation in this area has been European as well.  The popular DSP mode PSK31 was developed by Peter Martinez, G3PLX, a British ham who also developed AMTOR many years back.

[WU2D]

I honestly believe that it (137 kHz) or 500 kHz will be a ham band eventually. Right now you must have an experimental license to transmit on ay LF band except the Part 15 segment.

I used to run a beacon in the 160 - 190 kHz segment at 1 Watt input power into a "50 ft" vertical in the woods out back. I could copy my beacon by ear using my hombrew RX in my vehicle, 30 miles away going 55 MPH. My RX antenna was a converted CB mag mount which was an active whip around 30 inches long.

Going under power lines was a nasty experience! But still - pretty amazing propagation at these frequencies!

Mike WU2D

[W1VD]

Further information that you can check out...

www.LWCA.org
www.w1TAG.com
www.W1VD.com
www.w3EEE.com

and others...

I've been licensed as WD2XNS for over a year and have been active on all modes on 137 kHz. All modes being cw, QRSS (very slow cw - 30 second and longer dot lengths), Hellschreiber, various PSK variants - low and high data rates, FSK, MSK, WOLF, JASON etc. Run 400 watts rf to a 90' high Marconi with a 10' X 90' top hat strung between two towers. The setup produces about 1 watt ERP which is the limit on my current license.  Also have extensive receiving setup for monitoring other beacons or two way contacts. Let me know if you have questions or need additional information.

Jay W1VD 

[k4kyv]

I understand that there is a proposal to create a world-wide longwave amateur band on the agenda at the upcoming World Radio Conference.

Also to make 7100-7200 kHz exclusive amateur worldwide.

[AF9J]

A very fascinating band.  Transatlantic QSOs were achieved only a short time ago on it.  Even in Europe it is a very small allocation, and as Jay mantioned, virtually all operating is done on very low baud rate digital, and QRSS CW (mainly read visually on a waterfall display).  Antennas are interesting  - verticals, with huge loading coils wound around 5 gallon pails are pretty common (after all, how many hams have space for a quarter mile or longer antenna). Amplifiers (pretty much needed because of the typically very low antenna effciencies) - oftentimes audio PA amps are used to amplify the RF, eventhough you're operating way above their spec. freqs.  I've listened down there, but haven't heard much, with all of the powerline noise I have. QST or CQ Magazine had an article about 137 kHz a year or two ago.  They profiled some British ham station setups.  Interesting stuff.

73,
Ellen - AF9J
On vacation again

[WA1GFZ]

Now if they would just allow spark!

[The Slab Bacon]

Now if they would just allow spark!

Only if you are using a rotary chopper. It gives the signal such a nice "sing" when it comes out of the coherer!!

[AF9J]

Those things are seriously funky!  We had one of those laying around the shack at W9YT (the Univ. of WI club station), when I was there in the mid 80s.  The thing was about a foot in diameter.  We spun it up by hand, and put a volt meter on it.  That thing had some serious voltage across the leads!

73,
Ellen - AF9J

[The Slab Bacon]

Ellen,
       You must have had the dynamo. That would be a cool find to latch onto. The "rotary chopper" was a motor driven wheel with a bunch of points around it. It was a rotary spark gap. They would "sing" when you applied the spark voltage (hit the key). they had one set up for demo at a meeting of the antique radio club a while back. With spark being long outlawed it was kind of a dare to see who had the ba's to send their callsign with it. I think it was only myself and the Derb that did it.
                                              the Slab Bacon

[k4kyv]

The better ones used a synchronous rotary gap, so that the chopping rate was synchronised with the a.c. line voltage frequency.

If ARRL's bandwidth proposal goes through, spark would once again become legal if you could get the bandwidth down to specs.  Morse telegraphy can be considered a form of digital data transmission, and if the proposed 3 kHz bandwidth limit for digital is approved, it should be possible, cascading several sufficiently high-Q tuned circuits between the spark gap and antenna system, to keep the spark signal within that bandwidth.

I remember when Docket 20777 was in the proceeding stage, someone pointed out that it would once again make tone modulated CW legal on the lower frequency bands.  At one of the FCC forums hosted by Johnny Johnston, someone brought up the subject, and stated that this would be a step backwards since CW operators had over the years always taken pride in the purity of their CW notes.  Johnston replied that the purpose of the forum was not for venting opinions, but to give FCC personnel the opportunity to answer questions posed by the amateur community.  So the person re-phrased his statement into question form, "Would MCW be allowed?"   Johnston kind of sheepishly answered, "yes".

[Sam KS2AM]

I understand that there is a proposal to create a world-wide longwave amateur band on the agenda at the upcoming World Radio Conference.

Also to make 7100-7200 kHz exclusive amateur worldwide.

Don,

7100-7200 should be clear of broadcasters in March '09 according to the WRC-03 agreement
7200-7300 is up for discussion this year in WRC-07 and one of the proposals is to have the region 1&3 broadcasters vacate this area also, but this may not be an easy sell.

The 137 kHz allocation is up for discussion at WRC-07.  There are about 20 countries where amateurs can use this allocation now ... but there is no official allocation in the US ... the FCC has rejected previous petitions from the ARRL for an allocation here.


Sam / KS2AM

[N3DRB The Derb]

Frank,

do you remember the MARC PICNIC years and years ago when the old buzzard brought that 250 watt spark tx with the thordarson transformer built on a board. Had a ant ammeter? I heard it from across the field and ran like hell because I knew it was a spark rig.  I dont know how I knew, I just knew.

for years I tuned my HB rig tuner just using the ant ammeter. didnt need no stinking wattmeter or coax.

[WA1GFZ]

The guys at work have been bugging me to build a solid state transient generator we needed for running different tests. Without breaking a sweat it makes an easy 3 KW pulse.
In the process of finding the right shaping network I simulated some cool damped sine generators but not with a spark it was making me dream of it though.
I worked aM in the '60s but hung on CW till some joker want AM eliminated motivating me to join in.
Spark comes back...watch out slop buckets

[N3DRB The Derb]

The one thing that would get me back on CW is if I could run something cool like a quenched rotary gap, state of the art in 1919. Build a Deforest audion clone rx. or a amrad 1 tuber...or maybe a Grebe. I get serious wood from such things.

[The Slab Bacon]

Frank,

do you remember the MARC PICNIC years and years ago when the old buzzard brought that 250 watt spark tx with the thordarson transformer built on a board. Had a ant ammeter? I heard it from across the field and ran like hell because I knew it was a spark rig.  I dont know how I knew, I just knew.

for years I tuned my HB rig tuner just using the ant ammeter. didnt need no stinking wattmeter or coax.

Timmy,
            read my post a few posts up from yours, i mentioned that very episode at the MAARC picnic. That was one of the last times that they had it up at Ed's farm!!