Here in Cuba we do not have those "freebanders", but sometimes I can hear them on 7000, 10000, and even 14103 yesterday, with quite coarse language.
Here in Havana we get quite strong QRM from the european broadcasters starting on 7105 since a bit earlier of sunset until sunrise in Europe, which leaves just a few clear patches to use up to 7300. I guess it is the same situation along the East Coast (W4, W3, W2 and W1). Those living more to the west are somehow "shielded" from that QRM, but here it is strong during the evening and night. I was already a ham when Radio Tirana ueed to broadcast on 7065. It was a great relief when both Radio Tirana and the "woodpecker" (soviet OTHR) stopped operations. Lets see how it goes when broadcasters move up....I do not remember exactly the timetable but they must move above 7200 and clear the lower frequencies on "41 meters" sometime before 2010. And it is good that Bonnie reminds the group how life goes where there is no telephone and no Internet...the world is far from uniform development, something that is forgotten quite often. 73, Jose, CO2JA --- expeditionradio wrote: >> Danny Douglas N7DC wrote: >> >> I was trying to do some RTTY QSOs last night, >> ... >> some South American QRM on SSB came up right on top of me. >> Tuning around I found at least a dozen Spanish QSOs >> between 7.050 and 7.01. >> ... Now, I know the rest of the world HAS to use that portion >> for SSB, but Region 2 does NOT. They go there for a couple of >> reasons: Less QRM from stateside stations above 7.1, and to >> keep stateside stations from calling them. > > Hi Danny, > > You are correct that 7000kHz-7300kHz is allocated to hams in ITU > Region 2 area, including North/South America... but... > > I have operated 7MHz SSB extensively in South America over many years, > so I must point out that you are incorrect regarding each country's > ham band for 7MHz. > > The 40 meter ham band in many countries of South America and > Central America is only 7000kHz to 7100kHz. That is the entire ham > band. Hams there cannot use 7100kHz-7300kHz, and even if they could, > it would be extremely difficult for them. Here is the reason... > > In South America, 5MHz to 10MHz is filled with non-amateur SSB > stations using converted ham or marine transceivers. Some of the > non-amateur HF SSB stations are licensed, most are not! > > The hams of each country on 40 meters run daily SSB nets in the > 7050kHz-7100kHz part of the band. The hams unite as a group on net > frequencies, they must band together to protect a frequency every day > from the "pirates", and it is not easy. The most popular "pirate" > frequency is 7000kHz USB and LSB voice. It is like CB Channel 19 on > steroids. On a side note, last year, when IARU in Europe proposed > 7000kHz-7003kHz as an international amateur radio emergency frequency, > I had to laugh! There is no way this frequency would be usable for ham > operation in South America! > > For many years, especially in the jungle and remote mountain areas of > South America, non-amateur HF SSB has been one of the main methods > used for all types of family and business communications between > villages, ranchos, and outposts. The lack of telephones or the high > cost of telephone precluded most common people from using it. Mobile > phone has somewhat changed this, but not much. > > The governments of South America mostly do not stop the HF SSB > "pirates", because their country would come to a grinding halt if they > put these stations off the air. Each village has a little store front, > with a radio operator running a 100W SSB transceiver on a car battery > with a broadband folded dipole. Each village monitors a specific HF > SSB frequency. To call a another village, you dial their frequency on > the VFO and say the village name. They send a runner out to bring the > person back to the radio. They charge a small "message unit" of money > to the person. Some stations have phone patches. I have personally > used this vast loosely-organized network, and I must say, hams could > probably learn something from it! There is more daily Emergency > Communications traffic and medical traffic on the "pirate" HF SSB > stations in South America than I have ever heard on ham radio. > > Bonnie KQ6XA > OA4/KQ6XA, OA8/KQ6XA, OA9/KQ6XA __________________________________________ V Conferencia Internacional de Energía Renovable, Ahorro de Energía y Educación Energética. 22 al 25 de mayo de 2007 Palacio de las Convenciones, Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba http://www.cujae.edu.cu/eventos/cier Participe en Universidad 2008. 11 al 15 de febrero del 2008. Palacio de las Convenciones, Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba http://www.universidad2008.cu
