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K4YZ wrote:

This IS a minor matter and it IS an "...academic exercise in future
band planning..."

Yup. And FCC should do what ARRL suggests, IMHO.

The ARRL USUALLY goes out of it's way to get the FCC to allow
"Gentleman's Agreements" and other "good Amateur practice" to establish
how Amateurs divy up the spectrum.

Now it wants the FCC to micomanage spectrum allocations.

The whole re-farming episode has been in the mill for three years
now, and there's no reason to gunk-up the works at H-Hour.

I don't think you understand the issue, Steve. It's about an obvious
error in the Report and Order that will outlaw automatic RTTY and data
modes from the 3500-4000 kHz band.

Under current FCC Part 97 rules:

1) RTTY and data modes are not allowed in the "phone/image" HF subbands

2) "Automatic" RTTY and data operation in the 3500-4000 kHz band is
only allowed from 3620-3635 kHz.

3) The lower edge of the "phone/image" HF subband of the 3500-4000 kHz
band is at 3750 kHz.

If the current FCC Report and Order goes into effect on December 15:

1) RTTY and data modes will still notbe allowed in the "phone/image" HF
subbands

2) "Automatic" operation in the 3500-4000 kHz band will only be allowed
from 3620-3635 kHz.

3) The lower edge of the "phone/image" HF subband of the 3500-4000 kHz
band will be at 3600 kHz.

IOW, the "automatic" RTTY/data subband will be in the 'phone/image
subband, where RTTY and data modes are not allowed!

All ARRL is asking is that the dividing line be at 3635 instead of
3600. Problem solved.

That's not micromanaging. It's fixing a simple but important error in
the Report and Order.

Would you rather that automatic RTTY/data be completely banned from
3500-4000? That's what will happen if the Report and Order goes into
effect as written.

--

The ARRL did not ask for the lower edge of the 'phone/image subband to
be at 3600. Nor did they ask for 100 kHz of Extra-only 'phone/image
bandspace.

73 de Jim, N2EY