[DogParkList] Band plans

[Don Agro]

Hi John,

On 09-02-2009, at 9:14 PM, n1zj wrote:


>  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,


Errors or omissions can and will be corrected, I am counting on people  
to let me know when they find them.


> 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,


Band plans can be added easily - but it speaks to your argument that  
no one ever asked for a new one in V4 and very few errors were  
reported over the years. Not because there were no errors, but because  
obviously no one thought it important enough to report. They can,  
after all be updated instantly online.

The band plans are a convenience for the computer to guess what mode  
is being used on a frequency. We assume that a human operator actually  
KNOWS what mode is in play - it's not a choice - the QSO is already in  
progress in a specific mode.


> 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.


This whole issue only applies to modules in the software that set the  
radio (like a dxcluster spot) and then try to derive a mode to set  
based on the frequency.

I am assuming that there is an operator sitting at the computer that  
knows what mode the QSO is in. Sometimes the DX Spot will report the  
mode "RTTY" etc. but not always.


> 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.


Big flaw in that argument - the station that posted the spot, and the  
QSO being reported are not likely to share your preferences.

So someone reports a QSO on a certain frequency where you like to work  
a certain mode - the problem is that they aren't working that mode.

Just select the actual native radio mode that you use to work the mode  
they are working and let the mode mapping take care of the display and  
logging of that mode.

This is a DX Spot after all - reporting real time QSO's using a  
specific mode - which may or may not conform to the band plan for  
their - or your country - but the likelihood of it corresponding to  
your personal mode preferences is less likely than it corresponding to  
a band plan.


> 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.



I think what we have in V5 is less confusing, more transparent and  
easier to understand than what we had in V4. That's why I spent many  
long nights designing it that way.

The mode popup shows the actual native radio mode that your radio is  
set to. The mode mapping translates that into the proper name of the  
mode for display and logging.

All you have to do is choose your mode mapping once and then click the  
mode popup to choose the mode you want to work.

When a spot comes in and you are using Auto Tuning - which is the only  
time this whole argument even applies, you have to choose if you want  
to work it - and you have to work it in the mode they are using - not  
the one in your personal band plan, or in MacLoggerDX's band plan.


73 Don Agro VE3VRW