1996 Conference Annex F

Revision of the 145 MHz Bandplan

NOTES ON THE 144 - 146 MHz BANDPLAN

1. IARU REGION 1 BANDPLAN

   The following notes are part of the officially adopted IARU Region 1 bandplan, and all member societies should strongly promote adherence to the recommendations made in these notes.

   1. General
      1. In Europe no input or output channels of FM repeaters shall be allowed to operate between 144 and 145MHz
      2. Except in the part of the band allocated to the Amateur Satellite Service it is not allowed to use input- or output frequencies in the 145 MHz band for repeaters with in- or output in other amateur bands (Miskolc-Tapolca 1978)
      3. No packet-radio networks will be set up in the 145 MHz band and no access from the 145 MHz band to networks on other bands will be allowed

         It is recognised that in some parts of Region 1 the introduction of packet-radio may require the use of access frequencies in the 144 - 146 MHz band for a limited time (Düsseldorf 1989).

         Note. The parts of Region 1 meant are those parts with low amateur population and/or those at the periphery of the Region, where exceptions can be tolerated as these do not harm the orderly use of the band in the parts of Region 1 where there is a greater pressure on the available spectrum space. In the latter part of the Region the second paragraph of the footnote should never be used to justify ignoring the first part for a considerable time.

      4. Beacons, irrespective of their ERP, will have to be situated in the beacon part of the band.
   2. Footnotes
      1. Telegraphy is permitted over the whole band, but preferably not in the beacon band; Telegraphy exclusive between 144.035 - 144.150 MHz.
      2. Within IARU Region 1 the frequencies for beacons with an ERP of more than 50 Watts are coordinated by the IARU Region 1 Beacon Coordinator (see section IX).
      3. If there is a real need for more repeater channels (see section VIIIa ! ), it is recommended that Societies or Repeater Groups consider setting up a repeater network on the higher frequency band(s)

         Further to this subject the following recommendation was adopted in De Haan, 1993:

         For FM repeater and simplex operation in the 144 to 146 MHz band IARU Region 1 will change to a genuine 12.5 kHz channel spacing system, i.e. a system with bandwidth and modulation such that stations in close proximity can use adjacent channels without mutual interference.

         Furthermore in Tel Aviv, 1996 it was decided that societies shall promote the use of the 12.5 kHz channel spacing standard for NBFM channels in order to effectively implement the 12.5 kHz system .

         For the numbering of NBFM channels, see recommendation J

      4. Established simplex frequencies on repeater output channels may be retained.
      5. In view of the important public relations aspect of amateur satellite activities, it was decided at the IARU Region 1 Conference in Miskolc-Tapolca (1978) that:
         1. AMSAT will be allowed to use the band 145.8 146.0 MHz for amateur satellite activity.

            This decision was re-confirmed at the IARU Region 1 Conference in Brighton (1981).

         2. At the IARU Region 1 Conference in Cefalu (1984) the following recommendation was adopted:

            Repeater channels R8 and R9 will be removed from the 144 - 146 MHz bandplan. Existing repeaters using R8 and R9 shall be moved to other channels as soon as reasonably possible.

            As most of the R8 and R9 repeaters had been moved, at the IARU Region 1 Conference in Noordwijkerhout (1987) it was decided to add the old R9 input channel as simplex channel S9 to the bandplan.

            At the IARU Region 1 Conference in Torremolinos (1990) a recommendation was adopted, emphasizing that R8 repeater channels should be moved as soon as possible, in view of the fact that future satellite projects planned to use this frequency.

            At the IARU Region 1 Conference in De Haan (1993) the old R8 input channel was added to the bandplan as simplex channel S8.

         3. see also footnote p
      6. No unmanned stations shall use the all-mode segment
      7. Attention is drawn to section 1.1. point iii of these Bandplan notes!
      8. Network stations shall only operate in the part of the 145 MHz band allocated to Digital Communications and will be permitted only for a limited time. Such network stations should also have access ports on other VHF/UHF or Microwave bands and should not use the 144 MHz band to forward traffic to other network stations. In view of the time limitation the set-up of new network stations is not encouraged (De Haan, 1993).

         Unmanned packet radio stations are only allowed in the segment 144.800 - 144.990 MHz. Outside of this segment the signal level produced by those stations shall be not larger than 60 dB below the carrier level (measured in a 12 kHz bandwidth). Any other unmanned packet radio and digital access points must cease operation not later than 31 December 1997.(Tel Aviv 1996).

      9. For a limited period - and never longer than novice stations in The Netherlands are only allowed to use SSB between 144.440 and 144.490 MHz - SSB and Telegraphy operations are also allowed in the 144.440/144.490 MHz part of the beacon band.
      10. All beacons shall move from the 144.850/144.990 MHz segment to the 144.400/144.490 MHz segment before 1 July 1997. When coordinating frequencies the beacon coordinator shall try to place well known DX-beacons in the 144.400144.440 MHz segment. Digital communications shall not use the 144.850/144.990 MHz segment before 1 July 1997. (Tel Aviv 1996 )
2. USAGE

   The following notes are referring to the Usage column in the bandplan. As already set out in the introduction to section IIc, in the right amateur spirit operators should take notice of these agreements which are made for operating convenience, but no right to reserved frequencies can be derived from a mention in the Usage column or from the following notes.

   At the meeting of the VHF/UHF/Microwaves Committee in Vienna, March 1992, the following recommendation was adopted:

   Societies should publicise the use of 144.140 - 144.160 MHz as an alternative for EME operation. The results of this test should be monitored with the aim of incorporating this segment as EME alternative into the Usage part of the bandplan if successful.

   1. Footnotes
      1. See procedures set out in section Vb
      2. Publicity should be given to the usage of frequencies around 144.600 MHz by RTTY stations , in order to keep these frequencies clear from other traffic and to avoid interference with RTTY stations.
      3. For NBFM voice communications with manned spacecraft it is recommended to use 145.200 MHz for simplex operation or 145.200/145.800 MHz for split-channel operation (Vienna 1995/Tel Aviv 1996).
      4. In order to make worldwide operation of the SAREX project possible in its initial phase and facilitating the conversion towards use of higher frequency bands, the frequency 144.490 MHz can be used for uplink communication using NBFM for a limited period but not after 1 Octoober 1999 (Tel Aviv 1996 ).