At 04:36 PM 9/21/2007, Nate Duehr wrote:
I was on the "stop doing that kids, it's illegal" bandwagon up until the rule change, now I'm still on the "please, put your favorite toy on 222, UHF or higher, kids! VHF is kinda "full" in most big cities, even if you stick to the bandplan" bandwagon.
That's the case here too now. I'm glad I decided to do something different and make my 2m output SSB, as that and D-STAR are really the only options available here, without reading on someone's toes. And as much as I'd like to run a D-STAR gateway, my budget will only cover one D-STAR capable radio, not two.
The manufacturers really make this above-mentioned situation so much worse by selling VHF-only radios as "cost" or "loss leader" products to entice new hams into buying them. They really need a better marketing plan that doesn't stuff VHF so full to the gills that interference can't be helped. Please support and applaud any manufacturer who's UHF single band radios (if they even have any) are as inexpensive to purchase as their VHF's. Right now, I don't think a single manufacturer of ham rigs meets that, or has even given a thought to what they're doing to VHF.
Dunno if it's the same in the States, but 2m has such a long history of club nets and other groups that users have spread right through the band. It's literally very difficult to find a frequency that doesn't have some sort of use. Fortunately, everyone steers clear of the satellite allocation. The only free space now is in the SSB segment and now on D-STAR, which can fit in between our FM channels.
As a major volunteer for IRLP, I would remind folks that if it turns out to be something like IRLP, EchoLink etc... please don't taint your viewpoint of these technologies, or get overly-emotional about the "source" being one of those networks... the networks are just linking technologies, but many hams really don't know when and where it's appropriate to link things into simplex FM -- especially on 2m FM simplex.
The best approach is to play Elmer, calmly explaining what's happening and offering advice, and perhaps inviting them to work satellites. I once modified my IRLP node to act as a crossband repeater with an output in the satellite band, so I could have more power on the uplink of UO-14, to help overcome the severe Asian QRM on its input. I used another band besides 70cm, so I didn't desense my downlink. :-)
Also keep in mind that if someone does copy something and reports it here to the list, the voices/callsigns they hear might not even be the callsigns of the operator of the "incorrectly placed" link/ Auxiliary Station.
It's not a bad idea to make contact with those people though, they may know the node owner and may pass on your concerns. Sometimes that can reap rewards. In any case, they may know someone that uses the offending link, who can pass on the message. Networking sometimes bears fruit.
The only thing you might know for sure if you listen to 145.85 locally and hear something that's not a satellite transmission, is that the transmitter actually causing the interference is in your area... from that point, some knowledgeable and experienced sleuths may be required to help figure out what exactly it is... and of course, a good DF'ing crew doesn't hurt either!
Dfing certainly helps, that usually yields a location that can be used for a callsign lookup and hopefully an email address to make contact, assuming the owner isn't able to come up on the air (do that between passes! :D ).
73 de VK3JED http://vkradio.com