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FAQs:This page contains answers to common questions handled by the Working Group, along with some tips and tricks that we have found useful and presented here as questions. If you have a problem that isn't addressed below you can e-mail the 5MHz Working Group (mailto:5MHz_Working_Group@rsgb.org.uk) who will post their answer to this FAQ page for the benefit of all - not least to try and reduce the workload of sometimes answering similar questions for different people!
I hear some amateurs using military-sounding procedure, for example "any station, radio check". Do I have to do thus or is it OK to use normal amateur procedure such as a CQ call?
Will I lose my NoV if I do not do any experiments or if I don't submit a report on the experiments I do?
The NoV says I must only send messages about propagation experiments, but most of the contacts I hear on 5MHz are not like this. What's this all about?
The only experiments I can think of are already being done by someone else. What kind of experiment should I be doing?Don't worry that someone else is already doing what you would like to do. There's no need to do something unique and it doesn't matter whether you combine forces with others to produce a joint effort, or go your own way. There's no need to limit yourself to propagation experiments, but we would prefer to see experiments that are specific to 5 MHz rather than, for example, experiments that could just as easily be done on some other band. The most popular area for study is that of antennas for 5 MHz near-vertical-incidence skywave. The "5MHz Experiment", which a "mega" type of experiment, coordinated by the RSGB 5MHz Working Group, that requires a great number of contacts with stations spread all over the UK to build up a coverage map for each hour of the day/night. Simply giving signal reports, using the SINPO code, to as many stations as possible and submit your reports will be a valuable contribution.
What are the Foxtrot channel designators for? Do I have to use them or is it permitted to talk about actual frequencies on the air?When we were first planning for the start of 5 MHz, we knew that the cadets used two-letter designators for their own channels and were not permitted to mention actual frequencies on the air, so we chose to label our 5MHz channels so that the cadets could use these designators when talking with amateurs. But it's now clear that the cadets are permitted to refer to our channels by frequency, so there is no need for the Foxtrot designators. It's up to the individual how to refer to the channel frequencies on the air. In the case of narrow-band modes, for example PSK31, most operators will refer to the actual emitted signal frequency. SSB operators may refer to the centre frequency, for example 5280, because it's easier to say than the dial frequency of 5278.5. The Foxtrot designators are still used in the 5MHz Experiment, as they are a shorter way of referring to the channel in the log database.
The NoV says that I must operate in a controlled net, but this does not seem relevant, for example, for two-way contacts or one-way propagation tests. What is the purpose behind this clause?This comes back to the desire of the authorities to see 5MHz used in a "serious" context. They are concerned that there might be congestion if the number of active stations was high, and wanted to make sure there was no "chaotic" activity (like pile-ups for example). In this context a two-way contact or a one-way test is sufficiently "controlled" for the purpose. In the unlikely event that an operator wanted to start a contact and there were no free channels, he should do so by joining an existing contact or net in a controlled way rather than attempt to start a new contact "over the top" of another. It doesn't matter whether the net has a control station or is a round-table.
I have only heard one or two cadet stations and I am not sure what I can and cannot talk to them about. How do I conduct a contact with them?The cadet stations are not permitted to give their names or precise locations, but will often give an approximate location such as "South Lancashire" or "West Midlands". At most Air Cadet Stations the operators may have an Operator Number which you can request so that you can recognise if you have spoken to the operator before. You can give them your name and location and there is no limit on what you can talk about. Some operators will be instructors who will already be familiar with amateur radio and some may be licensed. Although they are not permitted to tell you their amateur callsigns, they will be happy to talk about equipment, antennas, etc. Other operators may be cadets and although they may have listened to the amateur bands, they may only have operated on the cadet channels using their military procedures. We suggest you use the traditional amateur contact style as there is no requirement to copy the cadet operating procedure. You can ask them about the equipment they are using as most cadet stations will have a short script from which they will be working, which will include this basic information.
I hear stations exchanging SINPO codes, but I find these difficult to grasp. Do I have to give SINPO reports or can I just use the normal RS or RST report?You can give signal reports in any way you like but the 5MHz Experiment can only make use of QSO reports that use the SINPO reporting method. The reason for this is that in setting up the 5MHz Experiment we wanted to record the degredating effect of noise, interference and propagation disturbances on the quality of the QSO. With RS(T) reporting whilst the R figure gives an indication of the overall impact of these factors on quality of the QSO it doesn't differentiate between the three factors, and the information about whether noise, QRM or propagation is the problem has to be conveyed verbally or by text within the QSO. Such messages would be very difficult to process in a computer, hence the reason for adoption of the SINPO numerical reporting method. The text that is in the 5MHz Operating Practice document, which relates to SINPO reporting, was taken from ITU document SM.1135, shown as current in the February ITU-R List of Recommendations and Reports. It gives all the required information in a simple format of 5 numbers, each from 1 to 5. 1 is poor, 5 is excellent quality. For the 5MHz Experiment we request SINPO reports to be exchanged and logged, and also that signal reports for non-reception should be included with S recorded as 1, when it is known that the station that isn’t received was actually transmitting. If exchanging SINPO reports doesn't come easy to one or both of the stations in the QSO, we suggest that you merely exchange an RS(T) report, but log your view of the overall SINPO of the station(s) in the QSO at the end of the contact. The 5MHzlog program allows this to be done and sends creates a suitable log file for the purpose of sending for inclusion in the 5MHz Experiment database.
My transceiver will not operate on 5MHz at the moment, but I believe there are modifications that can be done to make it work. Can you tell me what these modifications are?No,
we can't. Your first port of call should be the manufacturer or UK importer of
the equipment who may be able to tell you if the transceiver can be
re-configured for use on frequencies outside the normal amateur bands, or if
there is a set of "official" modifications that can be done. The
manufacture cannot do these mods for you because it will invalidate the
declaration of conformity (e.g. with UK Interface requirement 2028) that must be
given if the equipment is to be sold within Europe. Failing this, there are Internet user groups for most kinds of equipment where "unofficial" information may be published, but in these cases the individual user must bear the responsibility of ensuring that such modifications do not compromise the performance of the transceiver, especially in respect of unwanted emissions.
I have had a couple of contacts with Cadet Stations and these have been very short. Is there a reason for this?Firstly, cadets are trained, like the Armed Forces, to keep all contacts short and concise and not talk about their selves or activities. Secondly, a typical parade evening for a cadet unit is only a couple of hours and the time available for operating is even less. It would be an idea to invite the cadet station to exchange a radio check with all stations on net before they have to leave the net.
I am wanting to do some experiments on 5MHz but don't hold a 5MHz NoV - can I apply and how do I do it?Details of the process and Application Forms for download are available elsewhere on this website, see link "Application for NoV".
What is the current status of the 5MHz Beacons?There are three identical propagation-studies beacons operating on 5.290MHz. GB3RAL has been operational since mid-2003, and is located at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories, Oxfordshire, at IO91IN. GB3WES, located in Cumbria at IO84QN, went live on 30th October 2004 and GB3ORK located on the Orkney Isles at IO89JA, went live at 0000z on 3rd December 2004. For further information see Beacon Reporting.
Why and how are RSGB News Broadcasts being carried on 5MHz?Broadcasting the GB2RS News on 5MHz is allowed in order to provide a regular transmission and focal point for contacts in order to promote further activity between existing NoV holders. Ofcom's rules for this operation are unchanged from those used for other GB2RS broadcasts. That is that they require the Newsreader to be licensed for the band of the transmission, thus the 5MHz Newsreaders have been selected from existing holders of NoVs for the band; the GB2RS license is the authority for that station to make the transmission a broadcast. GB2RS is operational on 5405kHz every Sunday at 12.30pm local time. Each bulletin lasts about 20 to 25 minutes, after which the newsreading station will be seeking reception reports over the air in SINPO code, plus QTH locators, from NoV holders on 5MHz. Furthermore, at 13:00pm local time GB5RS will also call on or near 3645kHz and 7045kHz for similar reports on the 5MHz transmission from non-NoV holders. Short Wave Listeners, in addition to submitting log files generated by the 5MHzLog program, are invited to send written SINPO reports, preferably including their QTH locators, direct to G3LEQ, QTHR.
What is the position with regard to two-way contacts with US or Irish Amateurs on 5MHz?US General Class Amateurs have have access to 5MHz channels that approximate to our own from 3rd July 2003, and Amateurs in Eire have had access starting in November 2007. In addressing the issue of such contacts we need to be mindful of the MoD's intent in agreeing to give us temporary secondary status on these channels. This is to enable propagation and equipment experiments to be undertaken to assess and optimise intra-UK links, rather than to provide additional spectrum for general amateur operation. This position does not change with the allocation to US and Irish amateurs. Thus, contacts with overseas Amateurs on 5MHz need to be carried out in the context of experimentation and care taken to maintain transmissions within the channels allocated to UK amateur usage. Of course having the ability to include contacts with Irish amateurs will greatly add some more western paths of data being collected for the 5MHz Experiment's database, and it is hoped that the Irish amateurs will provide SINPO reports. However, as mentioned in FAQ 8 where these reports are not given the 5MHzLog program provides for you to log your assessment of SINPO as well as recording the normal RS(T) report for your own records.
What is the position with regard to contacts with Amateurs purported to be operating from various countries other than the USA, Eire?The 5MHz Working Group is only aware of amateur access to 5MHz as follows:
As with the question concerning contacts with US and Irish amateurs on 5MHz we should be mindful of the MoD's intent in agreeing to give us temporary secondary status on these channels. This is to enable propagation and equipment experiments to be undertaken to assess and optimise intra-UK links, rather than to provide additional spectrum for general amateur operation. Thus, contacts with amateurs outside the UK on 5MHz, where they occur, must be carried out with amateur stations authorised to use 5MHz and any contacts should be in the context of experimentation. Care must be taken to maintain our own transmissions within the channels allocated to UK amateur usage.
Does my 5MHz NoV allow operation from CEPT Countries other than the UK?Holders of 5MHz NoVs are reminded that CEPT Recommendation TR61-01 does not apply to 5 MHz and licenced radio amateurs operating from TR61-01 countries are subject to the licence conditions laid down by that country. UK NoV holders heard operating on 5 MHz from outside of the UK risk not only the loss of their 5MHz NoV but also the revocation of their licence. These frequencies have been granted to the UK amateur service by the Ministry of Defence for a specific period, please do not risk the loss of these facilities.
What is the guidance for Summits on the Air (SOTA) operation on 5MHz?Over the last year or so there have been some excellent operations carried out by SOTA enthusiasts on the 5MHz channels. In conjunction with those who manage the SOTA programme we agreed early on a set of guidelines for those amateurs who hold a valid NoV for 5MHz operation and who wish to experiment under the SOTA programme. The guidelines for SOTA activators have been published on Summits Yahoo! Groups files area, see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Summits/files and on the SOTA website (http://www.sota.org.uk and navigate using the SOTA Documents link). The main difference for regular users of the 5MHz channels, who are supporting the 5MHz Experiment, is that the SOTA activating stations will be giving a Summit Reference number, rather than a QTH locator. The 5WG has decided that this is quite acceptable as the SOTA "Summit Reference" number can be converted into appropriate location data as a part of the uploading of the logs to the main 5MHz Experiment database. The 5MHzLog program allows that to be entered as an alternative to the QTH Locator. The difficulties of operating on a remote hill or mountain top cannot be underestimated so it is understandable if some SOTA operators do not feel that they can provide or log SINPO exchanges. Whilst SINPO exchanges are still encouraged, if they are not actually exchanged we would still like a SINPO reception report to be logged by the station not on the hill / mountain top and submitted for inclusion in the 5MHz Experiment's database. The 5MHz Working Group is keen to support all experimental activity on the 5MHz channels and encourages all who participate to either submit their logs and/or their experimental findings to the 5MHz Working Group. Whilst SOTA activation and the award programme may not appeal to all 5MHz NoV holders, all are encouraged to enter into QSO with SOTA stations, to exchange SINPO and location information, and to submit those reports to the 5MHz Working Group as a part of their 5MHz logs. The fact that SOTA activators operate from some of our wilderness areas will help give us a better picture of propagation from such locations, under fairly extreme conditions and often using experimental aerial arrangements. FE used to be designated a calling channel. What is its current status, and what if any are the guidelines for other channels?When the Fivemegs experiment was launched and the first NoVs were issued the guidelines for Operation Practice did stipulate FE as a calling channel. In mid-July 2003 a significant revision of the Operating Practice was announced on GB2RS News, stating that downloads of the updated procedures could be obtained from the RSGB HF Committee's website*, or for those members without Internet connection paper copies could be obtained from RSGB HQ. Amongst a number of changes to the original procedures, the concept of a designated calling channel was dropped. The main changes relating to the 5MHz Experiment were included in a RadCom article published in September 2003. Now that we have three propagation studies beacons operating on FC, which are allowing a number of stations to send reception logs into the 5MHz Working Group, it would make sense if only narrow-band modes were to share the use of FC. In doing so interference with the beacon monitoring would be minimised if the power from narrowband activity was offset from the frequency used by the beacons (5290kHz). Users should take care that their transmissions are contained within the 3kHz wide channel. * Note that following the demise of the RSGB HF Committee at the end of 2003, this document and all other information relating to the 5MHz Experiment and the work of the RSGB 5MHz Working Group was transferred to this website. Are there any preferred channels or frequencies for CW QSOs?CW operators, particularly those running QRP have occasionally found that their QSOs are interrupted with SSB QSOs starting up on channel. In an effort to avoid this problem, to make better use of the spectrum available to us, and to make it easier for CQ QRP operators the 5MHz Working Group suggests that the edges of Channel FC could be used for such contacts. If either 5.289 or 5.291MHz is used for CW, the transmissions should not affect the beacon monitoring and any CW CQ calls would be easily monitored by any casual listeners in SSB mode. On either of these frequencies the transmissions would be 500Hz from the FC channel-edge so sidebands from the CW transmissions would be suitably contained within the channel. CW transmissions should not go closer to 5.290MHz, as this could upset the beacon monitoring.
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