[DogParkList] Band plans

[n1zj]

Hi again, Don,

On Feb 8, 2009, at 5:52 PM I said (off list):


>> and I wonder if there is any way as yet that I can customize the  

>> band plans.


And you replied:


>> I don't see the need - the band plans are tied to reality but you  

>> can use the Mode Mapping preferences to change what the modes are  

>> displayed and logged as.




OK.  Let me try to explain.  The problem isn't so much what is logged  
as what is sent to the transceiver.   Actually, we had a discussion  
something like this a while back and you said:



> January 2, 2008

> Sub-bands are more of a convention than a rule but you can customize  

> the sub-band limits and place the modified file in a Band_Plans  

> folder in your log folder.


I agree!  I see several reasons for customizing band plans:

1.  The included band plans aren't right.  For example in both the  
current v5 and v4 editions the US 80m plan has CW extending only to  
3580 and RTTY extending up to 3620.  In fact RTTY is only legal up to  
3600 and SSB is a question of one's license class.  There are also  
errors in the 40M table.  Actually, as I pointed out last year, they  
have never really represented the real US allocations, but that misses  
the point because ...

2.  The band plan one wants to have in MLDX is, as you suggested, a  
question of what convention you subscribe to.  Not only are there a  
lot more than 4 allocation schemes in the world, e.g. New Zealand, but  
individuals may wish customize the band plans according to their  
typical usage, or even their projected usage during a contest.  For  
example, I may wish to temporarily widen the RTTY band, because I'm  
going to be in a RTTY contest one week, and reduce it for a CW contest  
the next.

3.  If the value of the band plan is that when I click on a spot I get  
the frequency and mode set on my transceiver, then the MLDX should  
send the right frequency and mode to my rig.  In my case, I use AFSK a  
lot.  That means that when I click a spot in the CW or RTTY part of  
the band, I want the log to show CW or RTTY or PSK etc, but I want the  
transceiver to go to PKT-L.  Someone else might want his transceiver  
to go to FSK and PKT-L, or maybe PKT-H and CW.   I might even get  
fussy about PSK and want to define a small sub-band between 14070 and  
14073 that logs PSK and selects PKT-L.  I actually do much (but not  
all) of that in v4, thanks to a flexible scheme and the Band_Plans  
file.  I'd hate to lose that.

So, I guess what I'm asking for is that the band plan be pushed out to  
a plist or some such thing that I could edit (the Plist editor would  
be fine), and that the scheme allow me to select separately what is  
logged and what is sent to the transceiver for each sub-band and that  
I be able to change the sub-band boundaries.

John, N1ZJ