An extra 1MHz on 2-Metres?

The problem with the 'all-mode' section is that it is littered with dedicated 'channels'.

Well put, we in the UK don't have enforcable band plans (unlike elsewhere) nice to be polite on the bands though.

[Alan Stepney]

If it happens, and I gather it is not yet decided, then I am sure that those who enjoy digital modes would like some more space.

The other possible use would be for AM, as it is a simple method to get working, and home brew could become fashionable again.
I am sure that many of the "old-timers" would enjoy using their older equipment once again.
(I certainly would!)

So, half for digital the other half for AM would be my preference.

[G0HZU_JMR]

Originally Posted by SiriusHardware

I agree that VHF would have been technically / useably a much better band for CB radio originally (as typical performance and usage on 2 metres illustrates!), but it would be hard to argue that there is any enthusiasm among the wider public for a new general radio service now.

I was thinking along the lines of a method to get extended range wifi access to the internet albeit at reduced data rates. i.e. something along the lines of a dstar gateway for the general public. This would allow free internet access for the public in remote areas. There would be room to allow maybe 20 channels of CB as well. The CB wouldn't get used much but would be a lot better than 27MHz for those that would use it. eg for mobile.

Giving it over to ham radio would be a complete waste. Hams could still use the above system. Where I live the 2m band is hardly used at all. If the local 2m repeaters vanished overnight I'm not sure how many people would notice as they never seem to get used.

[WaveyDipole]

A few years ago I remember some in our radio club having 2m handhelds (I could never afford one) and I used to regularly see hams perched on the hill at the local wildlife park. Although I was able to acquire an old AR8000 scanner a couple of years ago and I scanned the 144Mhz-145Mhz frequency range several times from within the city and from my rural location, I never once picked up a signal. These days I don't see anyone with radios on the hill either.

In the end I sold the scanner as my main interest is HF, but I did wonder what happened to the 2m enthusiasts!

The rural internet extension idea sounds interesting, but it would also have to allow for adequate user contention.

[Radio Wrangler]

The material carried over the internet extension would probably have to comply with the general licence conditions on content, if anyone asked the powers that be.

The wildlife park may have decided that ring-tailed lumurs would be a better attraction than a group of radio amateurs...

David

[Junk Box Nick]

I was active on 2m thirty years ago. Mainly on SSB and CW but occasionally on FM. The SSB end was always quieter but I enjoyed chasing the DX when there was a lift on and worked some hefty distances on what was basically a QRP set up. In normal conditions there was always activity in the evening. There were a number of regulars who became a group of good friends but 'life' took over and people moved on and by the late 80s it seemed a very different band. The last time I listened - which is several years ago and I no longer have the facility - the band seemed very quiet.

[Andrew2]

My first foray onto 2m was with a homebrew FM TX with a mighty 750mW output into a home-made vertical. The receiver was my SX200 scanner, now that's what I call making do! After a few weeks of local contacts I began to wonder if there was anything else I could do with it and someone mentioned Horizontal FM. I cadged an old 5 ele beam and stuck it on a rotator on the chimney and found I could work similarly-equipped stations all over the country. The antenna gain gave me a decent ERP but the main thing was that people were actively searching for signals rather than just casually listening on a vertical.
Since then I've tried to avoid omni verticals if I can. On a vertical, if a signal is weak there is nothing you can do about it, but a rotatable yagi gives you a chance to improve things. Another knob to twiddle.

[Skywave]

Originally Posted by SiriusHardware

If you prefer to tune around in 1Hz steps there's still the 'all mode' part of the band.

Originally Posted by G8HQP Dave

1Hz steps? I prefer to have continuous tuning. In the good old days of 2m., my receiver was a home-brew MOSFET convertor feeding a home-brew 28-30MHz hybrid receiver . . . Although I used FM, this was stable enough to receive SSB with just an occasional tweak.

The problem with the 'all-mode' section is that it is littered with dedicated 'channels'.

Agreed on all points. Years ago, I also used a home-brew convertor feeding an Eddystone 888A tuning 28 - 30 MHz. I also found that tuning and resolving SSB was not a problem, either. With a Microwave Modules convertor, I also occasionally ventured onto 70 cm., using a tripler / amplifier (QQV03/20As) from the 2m. exciter, running reduced power output, as the driver. Again, receiving SSB (not that there was much about on 70 cm. in those days) was not a problem. It was the introduction of repeaters that largely killed my interest. For me, part of the fun of 2m. was how far you could get under your own power. To me, the concept of a 'repeater' just seems to kill the spirit of Amateur Radio and 'electronics D-I-Y'.

Over the past ten years, I have occasionally listened on 2m. around here - south Worcestershire - using an Icom R7000 and a wide-band conical antenna. Usually I can receive the local relay - but all I hear is its ident. call in Morse, never anyone using it. Nor anyone anywhere else in the band, either, come to that. Now and again, I have heard the odd heterodyne or swift burst of carrier, but that could be from anything, including spurii, breakthrough, image, etc. If the proposed band extension was to be set aside for A.M., spot-freq. use, (perhaps call it the Vintage AmRad 2m. extension ) I would soon dig out my old 2m. gear from the attic and fire it up: I'm sure I wouldn't be alone.

Al.

[dsergeant]

This thread is drifting way off its title...
The additional of 156-147MHz is as set out in the Ofcom document, linked in the first post:
"1.7 As demand for both operational and potential future services in the short to medium term is likely to be low we are also proposing to permit temporary access to 1 MHz of this spectrum (146 to 147 MHz) for Amateur Radio use, until such a time as it is
needed by Business Radio or other services. Should additional spectrum be needed
to meet operational requirements, we will remove the temporary allocation. Amateur
Radio use of this frequency will be on a non-protection/ non-interference basis and
will be subject to some geographical restrictions to ensure that there is no
interference to neighbouring countries. We propose that the authorisation will be
implemented by an individual Notice of Variation (NoV) to the Amateur Radio licence."

As such we should be seen as making good use of the existing spectrum. 1MHz of AM when there is already provision for AM at 144.55MHz (see https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/2am) is probaby not such. It remains to be seen how the RSGB and the amateur community does use it, there has been little discussion yet.

Here is Berkshire there is plenty of activity on 2m, FM repeaters and simplex at most times, SSB in the monthly UKAC events and contests. I hear plenty of stations from those areas of the country said to be 'dead' by commentators on here.... Not very active myself though, outside our local club net, but I am basically an HF DX operator.

Dave G3YMC