Andy,
Just two-cents worth here. ALE400 forces the user into one software package
and operating system at the expense of others. Of course, there is
virtualization technologies to help with that, but unless ALE400 gets more
widely adopted it likely isn't the answer as a specified signal of interest
in any amateur band.
Of course, I like where you are going with thatI'd much rather see
multiple channels of narrow-band ALE in the bandwidth of one normal ALE
signal.
Another proposal might be to limit the ALE (and Pactor III that was
proposed) to only one of the 60m channels, while allowing voice on all the
others. I think PSK31 was also proposed, but I suspect that it was included
simply to throw people off of the trail of ARRL's 60m EMCOMM grab.
The problem with trying to setup 60m as an EMCOMM band (supporting ALE,
Pactor III and the like) is that on 60m, we are second class citizens. The
same characteristics that make 60m attractive to hams during an emergency
make it attractive to the government as well. As long as we have to operate
on a not-to-interfere basis, 60m will never be a viable EMCOMM band. FEMA,
DHS, MARS, and others will grab all of the spectrum and there will be no
room left for amateurs during a true regional or nationwide emergency. We
already see that with the request to move one of the 60m frequencies due to
continuing interference from a permanent station on the freq. I'm sure all
of our other frequencies have government-authorized users that WILL show up
during an emergency, effectively removing one or more channels on a regional
or even nationwide basic.
Dave
K3DCW
www.k3dcw.net
Real radio bounces off of the sky
On Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 9:00 AM, Andy obrien k3uka...@gmail.com wrote:
I see the brief mention in the latest QST about 60M and new band
proposal for USA stations. The article suggests that the FCC is
encouraging consideration of ALE for that band. That part slipped my
attention when we discussed this topic last month. I'm an ALE fan ,
but not ALE as unsuccessfully advocated by HFLINK (although they have
had more success with their ideas, than I have had with mine!). I
wonder if the request for comments is an opportunity to promote the
concepts of ALE 400 for 60M? Seems to me that 60M would be an ideal
band for any ALE but especially for ALE 400.
Andy K3UK
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