Special Permit!
Operation on spot frequencies in the 5MHz band has been granted to UK Amateur Radio operators by OFCOM by means of a special permit known as a "Notice of Variation". I applied and was lucky enough to be granted one in October 2002.This NOV expired on July 31st 2006, but the experiment has now been extended so I applied to renew my NOV. I received the new permit on 1st August, which now lasts until 30th June 2010. This new NOV includes two additional spot frequencies.
Operation is permitted on the following 3kHz-wide channels, within ±1.5kHz for the centre frequency:
| USB carrier point kHz |
Centre
kHz
|
|
|---|---|---|
| FA |
5258.5 |
5260 |
| FB |
5278.5 |
5280 |
| FC |
5288.5 |
5290 |
| FK |
5366.5 |
5368 |
| FL |
5371.5 |
5373 |
| FE |
5398.5 |
5400 |
| FM |
5403.5 |
5405 |
The channels are known by their letter names e.g. "Foxtrot-Alpha". Foxtrot-Charlie is used by the beacons and for narrow-band modes such as PSK31. (It would be appreciated if stations did not transmit on FC during minutes 14, 29, 44 and 59 as this period is used by the automatic logging program to measure the average background noise). Foxtrot-Echo and Foxtrot-Mike are the most popular calling/working frequencies for USB.
Further details on the "FiveMegs" Experiment can be found at the RSGB Spectrum
Forum website.
FiveMegs Beacon reception
I have put together a system for monitoring the beacons on 5290kHz, GB3RAL,WES and ORK, using a monitoring program written by G3PLX. A full description can be found on the Beacon reception page. Click on the image above to view the latest real-time screen grab (updated approx every 60 mins) or you can download my LOGFILE in text format. You can also see the readings on the Latest Beacons page.
Portable Operation
Living in the middle of a large housing estate is not good for HF
radio
operation as noise levels are high and space is limited for aerials.
I've put together a portable setup which can be quickly deployed and
operated from the car. For a
description and some pictures see the Portable
Operation section.
I must
remember to add a torch to the kit as it can get very dark out
in the wilds!
5MHz Links
Other sites you may find full of interesting FiveMegs info:
- OFCOM - extension announcement
- OFCOM - 5MHz NOV Application (PDF).
- RSGB Spectrum Forum
- Alan G4ZFQ's Beacon Monitoring and other pages.
- Rob MM1RAH's 5MHz Info Pages. Includes comprehensive details of other countries on 5MHz.
If you would like your site adding please use the contact form.
© Nick B. G4IRX. Last update: 04 February 2008 18:13 UTC.