Tuesday, November 19, 2013

ARRL Files Symbol Rate Petition with FCC

The ARRL has asked the FCC for a rules change to delete the current symbol rate limit in part 97.307(f) of the Amateur Service rules. In its place the League wants the regulatory agency to replace it with a maximum bandwidth for data emissions of 2.8 kHz on amateur frequencies below 29.7 MHz.
According to the League’s petition, the changes proposed would relieve the United States Amateur service of what ARRL terms as outdated, 1980s era restrictions that presently hamper or preclude experimentation with modern high frequency and other data transmission protocols. The proposed rule changes would also permit greater flexibility in the choice of data emissions.

Current FCC rules limit digital data emissions below 28 MHz to 300 baud, and between 28 and 28.3 MHz to 1200 baud. The petition notes that transmission protocols are available and in active use in other radio services in which the symbol rate exceeds the present limitations in part 97 but the necessary bandwidths of those protocols are within the bandwidth of a typical High Frequency 3 KHz single sideband transmission.

Symbol rate represents the number of times per second that a change of state occurs, and should not be confused with data or bit rate. The two are separate and distinct entities.

The ARRL petition was filed November 15th. The FCC has not yet assigned an Rule Making number nor has it put the petition on public notice. As such, at this point there is no way for the ham radio community to file comments until that happens.

My Stamp Collecting Blog

Counter Added January 1, 2011

free counters

HOW TO READ PROPAGATION NUMBERS

The A index [ LOW is GOOD ]

  • 1 to 6 is BEST
  • 7 to 9 is OK
  • 11 or more is BAD

Represents the overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere ("Ap" if averaged from the Kp-Index) (an average of the eight 3-hour K-Indices) ('A' referring to amplitude) over a given 24 hour period, ranging (linearly) typically from 1-100 but theoretically up to 400.

A lower A-Index generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; a low & steady Ap-Index generally suggest good propagation on the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

SFI index [ HIGH is GOOD ]

  • 70 NOT GOOD
  • 80 GOOD
  • 90 BETTER
  • 100+ BEST

The measure of total radio emissions from the sun at 10.7cm (2800 MHz), on a scale of 60 (no sunspots) to 300, generally corresponding to the sunspot level, but being too low in energy to cause ionization, not related to the ionization level of the Ionosphere.

Higher Solar Flux generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; Solar Flux rarely affects the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

K index [ LOW is GOOD ]

  • 0 or 1 is BEST
  • 2 is OK
  • 3 or more is BAD
  • 5 is VERY VERY BAD

The overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere ("Kp" if averaged over the planet) over the past 3 hours, measured by 13 magnetometers between 46 & 63 degrees of latitude, and ranging quasi-logarithmically from 0-9. Designed to detect solar particle radiation by its magnetic effect. A higher K-index generally means worse HF conditions.

A lower K-Index generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; a low & steady Kp-Index generally suggest good propagation on the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

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