XPost: rec.radio.amateur.moderated

VE9KK Blog

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Seems the IARU has been busy......

Posted: 28 Sep 2021 06:09 AM PDT http://ve3wdm.blogspot.com/2021/09/seems-iaru-has-been-busy.html

Below is a cut and paste from the QRZNOW.COM site which by the way is a
great site for news and reviews in the ham radio world.
Over the past 18 months, a proposal for an IARU HF Digital Mode
reorganization has been undertaken by representatives of all three IARU RegionsIARU-R1 reports:The objective was to review the data modes usage of
the Amateur Radio HF spectrum and propose changes that:• Reduce inter-mode conflict between dissimilar operating modes; and
• Facilitate the expansion of new technologies.In conducting the review, it was realized that it was necessary to update the manner in which the IARU creates its band plans. Accordingly, the IARU’s band planning definition toolkit has been redefined, and additional data mode definition
characteristics have been added to help separate activities that are fundamentally incompatible within the data mode family.With the band
planning process updated, the proposal then revised the band plans of all
three IARU Regions, focusing on the data sub-bands and taking into consideration:• Popularity and capacity requirements; and
• Existing band users and inter-mode compatibility assessments.The team
also took the opportunity to harmonize the band plans of all three IARU
Regions to the greatest extent possible, of course.The proposal is now
being discussed with the relevant committees.


As I read the piece, I was excited to see their purpose:
• Reduce inter-mode conflict between dissimilar operating modes; and
• Facilitate the expansion of new technologies.
Whether we like it or not (I like it) the digital modes are getting the
IARU's attention and their proposal is to give them more room on the bands.
For me, it's great news for Amateur radio op's whether you are a supporter
of data modes or not because as a whole it's a win for the community for
the IARU to recognize the need for expansion! I like reading this as
opposed to our community is aging, and it's going to die off along with the hobby.
In the proposal, some in the community are not going to like giving up some bandwidth for the Date modes. Both CW and Phone segments are mentioned. For
a full run down of all 3 IARU regions and the proposed bandwidth changes,
here is a link Once on the page click the "X"'s to remove the
congratulations notifications. Then, from the list, click on the "input"
file folder. Scroll down the presented list to the PDF document 4th from
the bottom of the list and this will give you information regarding the
band plan proposal.
The proposal is now being discussed with the relevant committees, and the translation I got from this is:
1. Nothing is going to happen anytime soon.
2. Don't get your feathers ruffled as things in the proposal can change.



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My ham radio adventure continues.

Posted: 27 Sep 2021 12:47 PM PDT http://ve3wdm.blogspot.com/2021/09/my-ham-radio-adventure-continues.html





Around this time last year, I registered for the CWops intermediate CW course. The CWops is a worldwide group of radio ops that support the
operation of CW. On top of this, they want to help up-and-coming CW ops as
well as those (like me) who want to improve their speed. As for me, I
wanted to improve my speed and learn how to head copy morse code. For me, I found when receiving around 20wpm and up it's very hard to write things
down and keep up with the conversation.
So as I was saying last year around this time I applied to join the CWops intermediate CW class. With joining they ask for a commitment to 1 hour a
day of practice time and once a week taking part in an online zoom style
class time. I was accepted and as the time came near to begin the class
COVID had my wife working from home. This meant our hobby room was also doubling as her office. This was a huge problem as she is always doing
video conferencing as well as Webex phone calls. Her office hours were all
over the map as she works with counterparts in many world time zones. I
ended up cancelling my placement in the CWops class as I wanted to leave it open for someone who was sure they could dedicate the time needed.
Well here we are a year later and my wife is now basically retired and I
have lots around the house on the go but I still wanted to get my CW speed
up and nail down this head copy biz. I ended up going to the CWops website
and downloading the study material and I made a commitment to set aside
time each day and go through the drills, studies and practice..... but on
my own. I am happy to say that I have been going full tilt for the last 18
days and things are coming along.
I am now starting to get the head copy gig, not a hundred percent yet but I
am on my way. My other goal is to get to the point that in a CW contest I
can start calling CQ contest and not have to search and pounce for
contacts. My issue with not calling CQ contest at this point is I feel my
CW speed is not up to par. I feel that I will just be a frustration to
other operators in the contest who are trying to complete a contact with me. Here is a link to the CWops website. Pay them a visit and look around at
the links even if your not interested in moving up the CW speed ladder. You
can learn CW with them or pick up some great links to other CW-related information.
Well, I press on in my continual CW adventure!

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