Low Power (QRP), Near Incidence Vertical Skywave (NVIS), and the 60 meter band looks more and more to be intended for use in Emergency Communications (EMCOMM). I've touched on all of this over the last few presentations, so all I'm really doing here is putting it together.
The recent changes to the 60 meter band embrace the use of QRP on that band. What was the third channelized frequency in the 60 meter band has been eliminated, the frequency spectrum in consumed, and the adjacent portions of the band between the 2nd and 4th channels is now VFO tunable - with the caveat that operation must be QRP (9.15W ERP). The remaining channelized frequencies may still operate at the previous 100W (ERP) level.
The Federal government has set aside portions of 60 meters for inter-agency use as part of their "worst case scenario" plan. Not coincidentally, portions of the band are also allocated for use by various NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) and critical infrastructure entities via SHARES (SHAred RESources) HF network. Amateur Radio was/is allowed to use the band on a secondary basis in deference to these other uses.
Amateur Radio's use of the band along with these other users was by design, and with the intention, to create interoperability between Federal, State, and Local Emergency Management and NGOs with the aid of Amateur Radio operators whose skills are often used by the NGOS and Emergency Management Agencies.
While the "professionals" may have access to resources like generators and virtually endless supplies of fuel, Amateur Radio operators will often be required to be very frugal in the use of their resources at home. Transmitting at 5W-20W will extend the life of our power sources, but won't be very effective if we're competing with others who are running 100W-1KW.
Enter the QRP portion of the 60 meter band. Here we have a range of frequencies that are set aside to operate at minimal power. No competing with those higher powered stations. This will hopefully "level the field" for QRP Emergency Communications. Digital and Voice modes can now be operated for DX effectively at QRP levels w/o being blotted out.
60 meters also occupies a "sweet spot" in the bands, between 40 and 80 meters. 80 meters is usually marginal at best during the day. 40 meters is mixed in performance, often losing its NVIS capability as the day goes on, and also lacks the QRP allocation and associated benefit outlined above.
60 meters, on the other hand, is reputed to function more reliably using NVIS throughout the day, and also has the QRP portion of the band. This can't be an accident.
We'll be testing 10, 20, and 40 meters during our next NVIS exercise, but I very much look forward to testing our new 60 meter non-channelized QRP portion of the band to see how well 60 meters will perform at QRP levels using NVIS.
