All - I want to publicly thank the 50 or so of you who gave me input on the issue of what to do about the new 630 meter band with respect to this reflector.
There were many good comments received. I think the answers pretty much favored one of two actions: - Allow some discussion here - and eliminate it when it becomes "too much" as activity increases. - No 630 meter discussions here on Topband. I didn't keep a count of the "votes" - but I believe the second choice above would have had the most. However, both of these choices seemed to indicate that at some point, a different place would be needed to discuss the 630 Meter band - it was just a matter of when. It seems that that many of the technical subjects discussed here on Topband will likely not be very applicable to the new band. Most stations won't be able to put up a full sized antenna of any kind. The concept of measuring EIRP is new to most of us. Likely - there will be LOTS of discussion amongst a small group of people - with the majority of this list not really interested in the topic (see the recent LOTW discussion for a clear example of this). It is possible that the new band will mostly employ computers to make QSOs. This is very different than how most of us operate on Topband. Therefore - it now seems obvious to me that Topband should stay focused on 160 meters. There is a "Lowfer" list that might be more appropriate for discussions relating to this band. I have contacted the list owner and he is fine with that. You can find more information about this list here: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/lowfer. Also - at least one person who responded to the question was willing to setup a new reflector focused on 630 Meters. I will let him step forward and do that if he decides he still wants to do that. If you are interested in both 160 meters and Topband - it shouldn't be too inconvenient to subscribe to two lists instead of one. The flip side of this is having the majority of people on Topband having to delete the large amount of traffic the interest in this new band is likely going to generate. I realize this "decision" might not be to everyone's liking - but I think most will agree - having a clear direction so everyone can know what to expect is probably a good thing. I will now take the reflector back off of moderation. I have deleted the few 630 meter messages that were in the cue. I ask everyone to try and be sensitive to the situation and not over-do postings on non-topband related subjects. A little is okay - but some issues quickly turn into a firestorm (again - see the recent LOTW discussion). Those who can't seem to moderate themselves will likely end up having some help with that. 73 Tree N6TR Net Control - or "It's a ditry job... but somebody has to do it". _______________________________________________ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK