November 2000 QST

THE AMERICAN RADIO
RELAY LEAGUE INC
The American Radio Relay League Inc is a
noncommercial association of radio amateurs,
organized for the promotion of interest in
Amateur Radio communication and experimentation,
for the establishment of networks to provide
communication in the event of disasters or other
emergencies, for the advancement of the radio art
and of the public welfare, for the representation of
the radio amateur in legislative matters, and for the
maintenance of fraternalism and a high standard of
conduct.
ARRL is an incorporated association without
capital stock chartered under the laws of the State
of Connecticut, and is an exempt organization
under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986. Its affairs are governed by a Board
of Directors, whose voting members are elected
every three years by the general membership. The
officers are elected or appointed by the directors.
The League is noncommercial, and no one who
could gain financially from the shaping of its affairs
is eligible for membership on its Board.
“Of, by, and for the radio amateur,” the ARRL
numbers within its ranks the vast majority of active
amateurs in the nation and has a proud history of
achievement as the standard-bearer in amateur affairs.
A bona fide interest in Amateur Radio is the only
essential qualification of membership; an Amateur
Radio license is not a prerequisite, although full
voting membership is granted only to licensed
amateurs in the US.
Membership inquiries and general correspondence
should be addressed to the administrative
headquarters; see page 10 for detailed contact
information.
Founding President (1914-1936)
Hiram Percy Maxim, W1AW
Officers
President: JIM D. HAYNIE,* W5JBP,
3226 Newcastle Dr, Dallas, TX 75220-1640;
(214-366-9400); w5jbp@arrl.org
First Vice President: JOEL M. HARRISON,*
W5ZN, 528 Miller Rd, Judsonia, AR 72081;
(501-729-4152); w5zn@arrl.org
Vice President: KAY C. CRAIGIE, WT3P,
5 Faggs Manor Ln, Paoli, PA 19301; (610-993-9623);
wt3p@arrl.org
Vice President: JOHN C. KANODE, N4MM,
1741 Old Chapel Rd, Boyce, VA 22620;
(540-837-1340); n4mm@arrl.org
International Affairs Vice President:
RODNEY STAFFORD, W6ROD, 5155 Shadow
Estates, San Jose, CA 95135; (408-274-0492);
w6rod@arrl.org
Executive Vice President: DAVID SUMNER,* K1ZZ
Secretary: DAVID SUMNER, K1ZZ
Treasurer: JAMES McCOBB Jr, W1LLU
Chief Financial Officer: BARRY J. SHELLEY, N1VXY
Staff
Technical Relations Manager
Paul Rinaldo, W4RI
Legislative and Public Affairs Manager
Steve Mansfield, N1MZA
General Counsel
Christopher Imlay, W3KD
PUBLICATIONS
Manager: Mark Wilson, K1RO
Advertising Department
John Bee, N1GNV, Manager
Circulation Department
Debra Jahnke, Manager
Katherine Capodicasa, N1GZO, Deputy Manager
MEMBERSHIP SERVICES
Manager: Wayne Mills, N7NG
FIELD & EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
Manager: Rosalie White, K1STO
VOLUNTEER EXAMINER DEPARTMENT
Manager: Bart Jahnke, W9JJ
Business Staff
Business Manager: Barry J. Shelley, N1VXY
Comptroller: LouAnn Campanello
Information Services: Don Durand, Manager
Office Manager: Robert Boucher
*Executive Committee Member
“IT SEEMS TO US…”
Forty Meters: A Gordian Knot
On this page in August we explained how
the 40-meter band got the way it is, with amateurs
having to compete with powerful broadcasting
stations outside the Americas in the
upper two-thirds of the band. We reported that
WRC-2000 in Istanbul had recommended that
the realignment of the amateur and broadcasting
services allocations around 7 MHz be
placed on the agenda of the next such conference,
in 2003.
As expected, the ITU Council accepted this
recommendation. Also on the WRC-2003
agenda are two related items: Changes necessary
to implement digital modulation techniques
in HF broadcasting, and examination of
the adequacy of HF broadcasting allocations
between 4 and 10 MHz. Inclusion of the latter
item is something of a surprise. It was on a short
list of items that WRC-2000 had recommended
if additional budgetary and conference resources
could be provided, but few thought that
Council would be able to do so in the prevailing
“no budget increase” environment.
The long-standing IARU objective is an exclusive,
worldwide amateur allocation of no
less than 300 kHz in the vicinity of 7 MHz, as
was the case prior to 1938. While the WRC-
2003 agenda offers the possibility of achieving
this objective, let’s not kid ourselves: It will
not be easy. Inclusion of the other HF broadcasting
items makes it more difficult to resolve
the 7-MHz issue. Here’s why.
This will be the third attempt to fix 40 meters.
The first, in 1979, was a part of a bottom-to-top
review of the international radio regulations
and the table of frequency allocations. Several
administrations proposed separate 7-MHz amateur
and broadcasting allocations at WARC-79,
but most of these proposals required reductions
in the adjacent allocations to the fixed service.
At the time, the international broadcasters encountered
strenuous opposition to expansion
from developing countries, many of whom relied
on HF fixed links for basic telecommunications
services. The failure to find a 40-meter
solution satisfactory to amateurs and broadcasters
was not unique; international broadcasters’
gains at WARC-79 were limited to the bands
above 9500 kHz, which are less useful for domestic
fixed services. Below that frequency,
they were shut out.
Broadcasters were only slightly more successful
in 1992. At that conference, they obtained
future access to an additional 200 kHz
below 10 MHz: 5900-5950, 7300-7350, and
9400-9500 kHz. However, the new bands came
with strings attached. They (along with an additional
590 kHz above 10 MHz) were only to
be used for single-sideband (SSB) emissions.
HF broadcasters were also required to complete
the transition from double-sideband to SSB
with all double-sideband transmissions to cease
by the end of 2015.
The SSB envisioned for broadcasting was
not the same SSB that has been the dominant
amateur HF voice mode for the past 35 years.
Instead of completely suppressing the carrier,
broadcasters were to transmit a pilot carrier at
a level about 12 dB below peak envelope power.
The plan was for receiver manufacturers to
design and market SSB receivers with synchronous
detectors.
That was the plan, but somehow it never quite
came together. Most broadcasters’ hearts were
never in it. They didn’t like the idea of having
to buy new transmitters (HF transmitters have
an extremely long service life) and they didn’t
like listeners having to buy new receivers in
exchange for what they generally regarded as
marginal improvements in reception quality. A
WRC-2000 report said: “No SSB receiver
equipped with a synchronous demodulator has
been identified in the price range up to $200.
Even in the price range from $200 to $600, only
15% of the HF receiver models identified are
equipped with a synchronous detector.” While
exact figures are not available, it is clear that
only a tiny percentage of the estimated 500
million to 700 million HF receivers in the world
are equipped for SSB.
In recent years, some HF broadcasters have
become enthusiastic about digital modulation.
An international consortium, Digital Radio
Mondiale (DRM), has made considerable
progress toward developing a proposed worldwide
standard for digital sound broadcasting
below 30 MHz. An ITU Task Group meeting in
Geneva in mid-October (around the time this
issue of QST is mailed) is expected to approve
such a standard. This will set the stage for its
early adoption as an ITU-R Recommendation
as well as for WRC-2003 proposals to abandon
the mandatory transition to SSB in favor of
digital. No doubt some broadcasters will argue
that WRC-2003 should drop the mandate entirely
on the grounds that no one knows how
quickly digital receivers will be available at
reasonable prices.
Thus, HF broadcasters go into WRC-2003
with three objectives. The first is similar to
ours: Separating amateurs from broadcasters at
7100-7300 kHz. For this to be achieved, broadcasters
will have to be accommodated above
7350 kHz or amateurs will have accommodated
below 7000 kHz (or both).
While they (and we) seek concessions from
fixed and mobile interests (including the military)
above 7350 kHz and possibly below 7000
kHz, broadcasters also will be seeking access
to other bands below 10 MHz. Fixed and mobile
interests will be less willing to cooperate to
solve the 7-MHz problem if they feel they are
under the gun elsewhere.
On top of that, HF broadcasters will be defining
their spectrum requirements to include
both digital and double-sideband. And while
there may be advantages to digital broadcasting,
narrow bandwidth is not among them: The
DRM system envisions a bandwidth of 9 or 10
kHz, with 18 to 20 kHz for stereo. The objective
of the transition to SSB was to reduce the
bandwidth required for each HF broadcast; it
remains to be seen whether the rest of the world
will sit still for this objective being turned on
its head.
All this notwithstanding, fixing 40 meters is
not an impossible mission. It is an exceptional
challenge—one that is worthy of our best efforts,
now as in 1979 and 1992. May the third
time be the charm!—David Sumner, K1ZZ
November 2000 9