-=> Joe Delahaye wrote to Tony Langdon <=-

 TL> Here, they gave us UHF, then 18 channels of AM/SSB with a unique band
 TL> plan, and finally American style 40 channels AM/SSB.

 JD> Originally it was 23 channels.  When the 40 channel sets came in, it
 JD> became illegal to sell the older sets.  Not sure why.

Australia had this unique 18 channel setup.  It only lasted a couple of years
though, before we went 40 channels.  2 of the old channels weren't in the 40
channels, so people would hide away on "Aussie 3" or "Aussie
7", away from
everyone else, as only the old 18 channel sets could go there.

 TL> A bunch of us in the sticks used to hang out on both bands. Having 2 bands
 TL> at our disposal, we were able to setup ad-hoc links manually (speaker to
 TL> microphone!), and cover quite a wide area. Took a little thinking who had
 TL> to transmit on which band for the links to work (UHF simplex and 27 MHz
 TL> SSB), but it was quite effective for linking wide areas without a
 TL> traditional repeater.

 JD> Igineuity   We used to practice CW on Sideband 

Yes, it was ingenious, and it worked really well.  We'd chat for an hour or
more, away from the masses on the repeater across an area well beyond normal
local range.  I think we covered distances up to 100km that way.  I was one of
the stations with both bands, who was capable of relaying traffic. :)


... 24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence?
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