QRP, NVIS, and 60 meters in EMCOMM
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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.
The New 60 Meter Band
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Recent NVIS tests we conducted showed, at least for early daytime hours, 40 meters worked best for NVIS, although both 10 and 20 meters did perform, just not as well as 40 meters. As one might expect, 80 meters did not work well in daytime for NVIS.
Some of us discussed 60 meters, the channelized band, as a possible NVIS candidate. An indication it might perform well is the fact the Federal Government uses it as part of their emergency communications system and SHARES, a public/private emergency communications network.
During those discussions we considered executing a NVIS exercise that included 60 meters. Coincidentally, the FCC has made changes to the 60 meter band, eliminating one of the channels and replacing it with a non-channelized segment that can operate QRP (9.15W ERP / 15W EIRP).
As a result, we have the opportunity to test 100W on the channelized frequencies and 9.15W on the non-channelized segment. Odds are you can just round up to 10W (or more) output due to losses on the way to the antenna.
The changes in 60 meters takes effect February 13th, 2026. So any NVIS test would take place later than that date.
Some radios may not have transmit access to 60 meters or may require a modification to access the band, so I'd ask everyone who would be interested in participating to please check. Keep in mind your rig may tune to the band (5 mhz), but it may not transmit. Remember, 60 meters is a USB band.
About the 60 meter changes
The FCC has updated the 60-meter (5 MHz) amateur radio band, effective February 13, 2026, by removing one of the five previously existing channelized frequencies (#3) and replacing it with a new contiguous segment from 5351.5 to 5366.5 kHz.
This 15 kHz segment allows for VFO, non-channelized operation, limited to QRP operation at 9.15 watts ERP, supporting modes like USB, CW, and digital (e.g., FT8). The four legacy channels (5332, 5348, 5373, and 5405 kHz) remain, allowing 100 Watts ERP.
Amateur Radio has secondary user status, meaning amateurs must not interfere with government and other primary users. 60 meters is part of our national emergency communications plan and is also utilized for SHARES.
Antenna Polarization
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Our recent NVIS (Near Incidence Vertical Skywave) experiments brought to light a discussion of antenna polarization. Does it matter? Does it impact NVIS? Absolutely and absolutely.
First, lets talk about polarization on VHF. We all generally run vertical antennas when running VHF-FM. It works well when reaching out to repeaters or attempting point-to-point simplex communications. However, if two operators are attempting to communicate VHF-FM and one is horizontal and one is vertical, they will have issues. The E-fields are oriented perpendicular ("cross-ways", so to speak), and the loss of 10db-20db, signal degradation to 1/10th to 1/100th, is the result. It's just the nature of how radio signals are picked up by the antenna. In this case, compatible orientation is vital.
Know Your Gear
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We discussed standardizing channels in a previous ARES net (and also at a recent WGARS meeting). Why? Consistency makes for an easier time dealing with unusual circumstances; not having to spend time and mental effort finding the right channel.
Even more important is to understand how to operate the radio. Here are a few items to be sure you know how to do:
Power
Obviously the most important thing to know how to do.
The Display
Do you know what all those little symbols on the display mean? At least the important ones? It's a good
Amateur Radio, ARES, and RACES
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In previous ARES presentations I have made reference to other entities that either provide Emergency Communications services, or need the ability to utilize them during an emergency.
While we focus on the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), sponsored by the ARRL, for providing emergency communications, the only entity recognized formally in FCC regulations is the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES). So what is RACES, and why do we hear so little about it?
QRP And Amateur Radio
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While many operators tend to operate using the 100W or 200W their radio provides, and yet others use external amplifiers to run hundreds, even more than 1KW, there are others who operate at the other end of the spectrum, 5-10 Watts.
QRP operation is often practiced by operators participating in Parks On The Air (POTA) or Summits On The Air (SOTA), who are often hiking or backpacking their equipment to the operating location, carrying their power source with them. Naturally, packing a Marine Battery would be a bit of a challenge, so smaller and lighter batteries with lower power capacity are used.
Due to limitations in available power the operators naturally run less power, usually 20W or less. QRP is generally considered 5-10W, but even 20W is possible with more efficient modern equipment and Lithium batteries.
Disaster Preparedness Month 2025
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September is National Preparedness month, and we'll continue our discussion of preparedness. It is fitting we cover the topic as a group, but even more so at home with your family.
Recent discussions have included a variety of people volunteering information about their preparation efforts (or lack of). The most recent West Georgia Amateur Radio Society (WGARS) featured a discussion between Sierra (K4SBE) and John (WD8LQT) regarding her deployments to disaster areas. That discussion focused on catastrophic events where, quite frankly, there is little any of us could do beyond wait for help (i.e. houses destroyed, infrastructure inoperable, etc). Probably the best advice for these types of events, especially if we know they are coming, is to wear a full set of clothes, even when going to sleep - so if something does happen you have some basic personal protection from the elements! We hope to have a video of that discussion available soon.
Third Party Traffic
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When we discuss Amateur Radio and handling traffic, either formal or informal, we tend to think of actual Amateur Radio Operators at the microphone, key, or computer passing information. However, particularly when moving tactical traffic, it may be beneficial to let the third party have the microphone, or type the message into a Winlink email.
Section 97.115 provides for allowing third party traffic as long as the control operator, a licensed Amateur Radio Operator, is in control of the station and monitoring the activity. All requirements that would apply to a typical contact would apply (identifying at proper intervals and at end of communication, use of non-coded communication, avoiding profanity, etc).
Will We Or Won't We (Deploy)?
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During Field Day (2025) a discussion of work being done outfitting the WGARS communications trailer digressed into a debate of whether Amateur Radio operators would ever really be deployed in a local emergency. One operator insisted it would never happen, while another acknowledged the probability was low, but it was not outside the realm of possibility.
The discussion was mostly centered around the fact that post 911/Katrina government communications systems are better integrated, allow various levels of inter-department and inter-agency communications
Deployable Antenna Support Systems
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We've spent a lot of time discussing training for deployment, what personal supplies we'd bring to a deployment, and what radio gear we would bring along, but what to do for antennas?
Yes, roll-up or J-pole antennas have been discussed often for years; to a lesser extent we have discussed low-flying HF (NVIS) antennas. We never know where our deployments may send us, and in many cases trees or other antenna supports may be some distance away, so extra coax and/or rope will be handy in those instances.
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