7 MHz Propagation Research

There continues to be strong propagation on 7 MHz in our post-sunrise period.

Congestion and multiple-occupancies on many frequencies is commonplace, with little effective coordination evident.

Note that ALL broadcasting services will be required to vacate the 7100-7200 spectrum by March 29, as that band area will be exlusively allocated to the amateur service worldwide from that date.

This is a sample of spectrum occupancy, showing the dominant transmissions, in the 7100-7200 range as observed here in Melbourne on Jan 9, 2009, between 1900 and 2000:

7100 N. KOREA R. Pyongyang, operating illegally s its lower sideband falls within the existing ARO exclusive allocation.

7105 ENGLAND BBC Rampisham
7110 CHINA CRI
7115 RUSSIA VOA-Moscow
7120 MADAGASCAR RN-Talata
7125 ROMANIA RRI
7130 CHINA CRI
7135 THAILAND IBB-Udorn
7140 ROMANIA RRI
7145 ENGLAND DW-Wofferton
7150 CHINA CRI
7155 RUSSIA VOR-Samara
7160 ----
7165 IRAN VOIRI
7170 CHINA CRI
7175 ----
7180 ALBANIA CRI-Cerrick
7185 ----
7190 TURKEY VOT
7195 RUSSIA VOA-Moscow
7200 RUSSIA CRI-Moscow

That's a lot of broadcasting services which will have to be cleared out of 7100-7200 by March 29!

The next meeting of the HF Coordination Conference (HFCC) will be in Tunisia, Feb 2-6 2009, at which time the master schedule for the A09 season will be developed. This will be a joint meeting with the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) and the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU-HFC).

The HFCC is a body endorsed by the ITU.

No doubt, that meeting is aware of the need NOT to allocate ANY broadcasting operations in the 7100-7200 spectrum beginning March 2009 A09, and it will be interesting to see how this meeting of over 150 people will respond to these new ITU regulations!

Good listening!