At 09:08 AM 1/3/96 -0600, you wrote:
As a ham, too (N7IJS) I recognize your implicit selection of 2m or 450 MHz. But I gently object to this, for reasons that I think will be obvious.
I was thinking of the itenerant frequencies around 151 MHz, but the bandwidth would be limited. I wasn't thinking of amateur frequencies, but my fingers sometimes have a mind of their own ;)
Interestingly enough, my primary objection was NOT really commercial encroachment on an existing amateur structure (though that is an important consideration!); rather, it was the fact that because we're talking really short-range communication (way less than a kilometer, in most cases) using frequencies below a gigahertz would be a counter-productive shame. Here, we WANT "line of sight"! And, of course, the bandwidth issue is inherently better: It would be FAR easier to get 100 MHz width at around 2.5 GHz than under 1 gig!
First, technology has been marching on in the last 10-20 years, and communications frequencies of 2 GHz and more are technically do-able and comparatively empty. (and with modern IC technology, even easy)
I'd love to see plans (or used commercial gear) able to do this - I've got a point-to-point application that I'd love to set up ...
I get a free (bingo-card) magazine industry magazine called "Microwaves and RF," which is sort of the EDN for the high-frequency communication crowd. You'd be amazed at the level of technical (chip) development there. Chip sets that do frequency synthesis/full RF/IF on surface mount chips. Jim Bell, N7IJS (BTW, I use Eudora, and I have PGP. Could somebody explain how to PGP-sign messages, ideally EASILY?)