Hi, all.

Perhaps this is now old news, but here is an article from Pat Tice (Handiham 
Manager" about the new 60-meter band specifications and priveleges from the 
FCC.  I, for one, was surprised about the new CW possibility!

Tom Behler: KB8TYJ

"On March 5, 2012 the latest version of the United States Amateur Radio 
Bands chart from ARRL became effective.  If you will recall, last November 
the FCC made some changes to the 60 meter band, and this new chart brings us 
up to date.  Of course that will mean that you will want the latest version 
on your computer or in your ham shack for reference. Prior to this week, 
only upper sideband operation was allowed on the channelized 60 meter band. 
Few of us had actually made the move to 60 meters and made contacts, partly 
because of the odd restrictions in frequencies and modes, but also because 
many antenna systems just didn't tune on 60 meters.  Even so, those who were 
adventuresome took the plunge and were delighted to find that propagation on 
60 meters made it quite a useful alternative to 75 and 40 meters since it 
has characteristics of both of those popular bands. This morning I was 
surprised to be listening on 5.330.5 MHz and hear a station in the 
southeastern United States calling CQ using CW at around 30 words per 
minute. He called off and on for perhaps 15 minutes, obviously using a 
programmed keyer before he was finally answered by a station somewhere on 
the East Coast. I have to admit that 30 words per minute is too fast for me 
to copy comfortably, so I had to listen up to make sure I was hearing 
correctly. After all, only upper sideband operation was allowed on the 60 m 
band. When I was sure I was copying the call sign correctly, I decided to 
check the frequency chart on my wall just to confirm that only upper 
sideband operation was allowed. The chart confirmed this, but then I 
recalled the changes that the FCC had made and decided to check the ARRL 
website for a new frequency chart. Sure enough, a new version was available 
and had been released just two days ago!

The difference is pretty significant, because the effective radiated power, 
the modes of operation, and even one of the channelized frequencies have 
been changed.  Let's go over the "new" 60 meter band as shown in the ARRL 
Frequency Chart.  Here is the new information for our blind members in an 
easy to listen format:

The 60 meter band is also known as the 5.3 MHz band.  Only General, 
Advanced, and Extra Class licensees may use 60 meters.  All of these license 
classes have full band privileges.

The five channels available on a secondary basis with a maximum effective 
radiated power of 100 W PEP relative to a half wave dipole are:

5.330.5 MHz

5.346.5 MHz

5.357.0 MHz

5.371.5 MHz

5.403.5 MHz

Some readers and listeners may find it odd that we have listed two decimal 
points in each frequency. I decided to do it that way because this preserves 
the concept of the "5.3 MHz band". The ARRL chart lists kilohertz, so that 
the frequency would read 5330.5 kHz, for example. On my ICOM IC-7200 
transceiver the readout follows our listing in megahertz and has two decimal 
points.

Only USB suppressed carrier voice, CW, RTTY, and data such as Packtor 3 
transmissions are allowed on the 60 m band.

There is a bandwidth restriction on 60 m.  Bandwidth is limited to 2.8 kHz 
centered on 5.332, 5.348, 5.358.5, 5373, and 5.405 MHz respectively. (For 
example, you will be on the right frequency if you use upper sideband and 
tune to 5.330.5 MHz, which is the carrier frequency.)

All things considered, the 60 m band has been improved by these changes. It 
is still quite unique in its channelized nature, but the addition of new 
modes of operation do increase its versatility and will make it more 
attractive to a wider variety of users. Although there is no restriction on 
which mode of operation may or should be used on which channel, I did hear 
the CW station on 5.330.5 MHz, perhaps because that is the traditional 
lowest frequency spot on the band where CW operators might decide to 
congregate. Perhaps at some time in the future there will be at least an 
informal band plan beyond the more or less agreed upon use of 5.403.5 MHz as 
a DX frequency. The increase in power from 50 W to 100 W makes the band more 
useful still, especially during summertime band conditions when more power 
is likely to be needed to be heard above thunderstorm static.

I hope you will consider giving the 60 m band a test drive if you have a 
General Class license or above and an antenna that can be tuned to 5.3 MHz. 
I think you will be surprised and delighted with the propagation 
characteristics on 60, and will likely add it to your regular list of useful 
frequency bands.

For Handiham World, I'm...
Patrick Tice, [log in to unmask]
Handiham Manager"