A new edition (v9.00) of the free IARU VHF Handbook covering the bands at VHF and Above is now available for download.

It contains all the decisions regarding the bands at VHF and Above that were made at the 2020 IARU Region 1 virtual General Conference.

The band plan on page 46 (PDF 47) covers the 145 satellite allocation and page 50 (PDF 51) shows the changes to 436-438 MHz.

Download the free PDF at
https://www.iaru-r1.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/VHF_Handbook_V9.00.pdf

IARU Region 2 Executive Committee 2019-2022

The 20th General Assembly of IARU Region 2 in Lima Peru ended on Wednesday, October 3, 2019.

Participating in the Assembly were a total of twenty member societies, fifteen of them present and the other five participating via proxy, as follows:

Present:
Canada, United States, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia,
Trinidad & Tobago, Curacao, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Argentina,
Honduras, Uruguay, Peru

By proxy:
Dominican Republic, proxy to El Salvador
Costa Rica, proxy to Honduras
Venezuela, proxy to Peru
Panama, proxy to Guatemala
Ecuador, proxy to Canada

During the third plenary, the presidents and secretaries of the different working committees presented their proposals, which were analyzed and discussed and voted by the delegates.

In administrative matters, the main issues addressed were the proposed modifications to the IARU Region 2 Constitution and Bylaws, which were all approved by the participating member societies to comply with current banking requirements.

Regarding band planning, the recommendation that 21,125 to 21,450 kHz in the 15-meter HF band be used for satellite communications on a non-exclusive basis was accepted, which will be aligned with the allocations in the other regions and will be used for uplinks. The satellite coordination group proposed:
a) the creation of a Satellite Communications Workshop;
b) that a representative of the Satellite Coordination Panel be present in this Workshop;
c) that the Panel maintains communication with all IARU R2 member societies.

The Financial Committee analyzed the financial documentation and issued a favorable verdict regarding the approval of the financial statements and the approval of the budget for the next three years of operation.

Proposed by Radio Club Argentino, and voted by the General Assembly, Buenos Aires will be the venue of the 21st General Assembly in 2022.

At the end of the meeting, the General Assembly carried out the election of Executive Committee members, and the following persons were elected for the next three years:

Officers:
President Ramón Santoyo, XE1KK
Vice-president José Arturo Molina, YS1MS
Secretary George Gorsline, VE3YV
Treasurer John “Jay” Bellows, KØQB

Directors:
Area A Director George Gorsline, VE3YV
Area B Director John “Jay” Bellows, KØQB
Area C Director Ramón Santoyo, XE1KK
Area E Director Tommy Chen, 9Y4T
Area F Director Gustavo de Faria Franco, PT2ADM
Area G Director Carlos Beviglia, LU1BCE

This Executive Committee will start its functions on November 15 of this year.

In the photo above are the new Executive Committee: Left to right: Carlos Beviglia, LU1BCE; Jose Arturo Molina, YS1MS; Ramon Santoyo, XE1KK; Jay Bellows, KØQB; Tommy Chen, 9Y4T;
George Gorsline, VE3YV; and Gustavo de Faria Franco, PT2ADM.

The General Assembly thanked Radio Club Peruano for hosting the Assembly and for their excellent organization and the help provided.

In a subsequent Executive Committee meeting, outgoing President Reinaldo Leandro, YV5AM, thanked Noel Donawa for his more than 20 years of volunteer service and Ernesto Syriani for his contribution as Area G Director, both will not continue as Executive Committee members. Then, he welcomed new members, explained them about the current working methodologies and encouraged member societies to participate more actively in the organization. He also thanked the coordinators and volunteers that cooperated so that the 20th General Assembly of IARU-R2 was successful.

More information is available in:
http://www.lima-2019.net/
http://www.iaru-r2.org/

Joaquin Solana, XE1R
Editor de Noticias – News Editor – IARU R2

As the global federation of national associations of radio amateurs in more than 150 countries, the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) for many years has provided frequency coordination services for amateur satellites free of charge.

Often these satellites are constructed by students at universities and other institutions as a part of their educational experience. In general, they have been licensed to operate in the amateur-satellite service, which is defined by the Radio Regulations of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as having the “…purpose of self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations carried out by amateurs, that is, by duly authorized persons interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest.”

Some administrations have issued experimental licenses for such satellites operating in amateur-satellite frequency bands. The IARU has coordinated these satellites as well, to reduce the possibility of harmful interference that might result from uncoordinated operation. Since 1 July 2014 it has not been possible to coordinate experimental satellites in the 144-146 MHz band because of the high probability of harmful interference in this heavily used band.

Educational satellite projects have grown in popularity as launch opportunities have increased. In 2012 the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference took note of the proliferation of what in Resolution 757 (WRC-12) it called “nanosatellites and picosatellites” and invited WRC-18 (now scheduled for 2019) to consider steps to facilitate their deployment and operation. Two Reports, ITU-R SA.2312 (09/2014) and ITU-R SA.2348 (05/2015), are instructive regarding the characteristics, definitions, spectrum requirements, and notification procedures of and for such satellites, which generally must use spectrum below 1 GHz for operational reasons.

At the following WRC in 2015, in place of Resolution 757 the Member States of the ITU adopted Resolution 659 (WRC-15) in which it was noted that the use of 144-146 MHz and 435-438 MHz by non-amateur satellites is not in accordance with the definition of the amateur-satellite service in the Radio Regulations. Resolution 659 cites the two reports mentioned above and makes it clear that the spectrum needs of what are now called “non-geostationary satellites with short duration missions” should be met either within the service in which the space station is operating or within the space operation service. Further, if new or upgraded allocations to the space operation service are required, studies should be limited to the frequency ranges 150.05-174 MHz and 400.15-420 MHz.

Accordingly, effective 1 August 2017 the IARU will be following revised guidelines for satellite frequency coordination.

The strong preference is for all satellites using spectrum allocated to the amateur and amateur-satellite services to operate under amateur licenses and within the definition of the amateur-satellite service and the service-specific Article 25 of the Radio Regulations. The IARU believes the definition is sufficiently broad to encompass nearly all educational satellite projects that include giving students hands-on experience with radiocommunication and are conducted under an amateur license.

The IARU will only coordinate a non-amateur satellite if an administration directs in writing that it be operated in an amateur-satellite band under an experimental or other non-amateur license.

Satellites with combined amateur and non-amateur missions will continue to be coordinated.

IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination http://www.iaru.org/satellite.html

IARU Satellite Coordination Status pages http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/