CCARC Guidelines on Hotspots

Hotspot usage by amateur radio operators has previously caused known interference with AMSAT operations utilizing the UHF band. To facilitate efficient use of the limited resources allocated to the Amateur Radio Service, the Colorado Council of Amateur Radio Clubs (CCARC) has made the following recommendation for frequencies to be used with hotspots.

“The Frequency Coordinator for the CCARC recommends that hotspots (Examples include: OpenSpot, ZumSpot, JumboSpot, Nano-Spot, Nano-Node, …) be deployed in the 70 cm band using one of the following frequencies to minimize interference with other users in the Amateur Radio Service:”

Hotspot ChannelFrequency
1438.4500 MHz
2438.4750 MHz
3438.5000 MHz
4438.5250 MHz
5438.5500 MHz
6438.5750 MHz
7438.6000 MHz
8438.6250 MHz
9438.6500 MHz
10438.6750 MHz

These frequencies are intended for short distance operation using low power (<1W) devices. Use of high-power transmitters, amplifiers and high-gain antennas are discouraged to minimize conflicts with other users.

Colorado ARES recommends to our members operating hotspots that they check the configured frequency on their equipment and reprogram the hotspots (and radios used to interface with hotspots) to ensure alignment with the CCARC recommendation.

The CCARC website is available at: http://www.ccarc.net

Their website provides a wealth of information including the coordinated repeater pairs and recommended simplex channels for use in analog and digital communication in the VHF and UHF bands.

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