At least it's welcomed by me :-)

Since I moved here a long time ago, 40m has been a really bad ham band. In the
US/Canada, etc, it goes from 7.000 to 7.250 mHz, with 7.000 to 7.150 resticted
to CW only in the US.

Here it was only 7.000 to 7.100 for everything. 7.100 up was a SWBC band loaded
with s-meter pinning SWBC stations. While it was common for hams to work
split frequency operation, for example listening to US hams on 7.175 mHz and
responding on 7.075, it was almost impossible as the SWBC stations were
every 5kHz apart from 7.100 on up. You would need one heck of a receiver to
hear between them.

If propigation was good, I would hear three or four stations on the same
frequency. If propigation was bad, I'd hear nothing, not SWBC, not hams.

7.100 to 7.200 was approved as a ham band a few years ago, and the SWBC
stations were to vacate it, eventually.

Last night, I was listening around midnight local time (2200Z) and found
7.100 to 7.200 with only one SWBC station (7.105) and loaded with hams.

:-)

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson N3OWJ/4X1GM
To help restaurants, as part of the "stimulus package", everyone must order
dessert. As part of the socialized health plan, you are forbidden to eat it. :-)