JA1OGZ, Mr. Kaneko ‘s group of SHF antennas mounted on his tower

An editorial staff member of FB NEWS asked Mr. Kaneko, JA1OGZ, who is actively operating in the SHF band in the Tokyo area, which is expected to be in the spotlight in the future. We asked Mr. Kaneko about the current status of the 5.6 GHz band and how to enjoy it. The content of the interview is described in the three sections below.

Recently, an announcement was made on Icom's website about a project to develop amateur radio equipment for the 2.4 GHz and 5.6 GHz bands under the title of "ICOM SHF Project – Super High Frequency Band Challenge"

Quoted from the company's news release on Icom's website

Mr. Kaneko's portable operation on the SHF band.

The 5.6 GHz band is the introductory SHF (microwave) band

In the past, the 2.4(2.3) GHz band was the introductory band for the SHF band, but with the widespread use of wireless LAN and Wi-Fi on the band, the 5.6 GHz band is now becoming popular as the introductory band due to the effects of interference from these wireless devices in Japan. There are no commercially available complete radios for this band, and many stations use transverters for operation. We have heard that there are also many people who want to move up from the 5.6 GHz band to the higher SHF bands such as 10 GHz, 24 GHz, 47 GHz and so on.

As a reference, amateur radio licensing in Japan requires two licenses: One is an operator license and the other one is a station license for the equipment and antennas at either a fixed station, a mobile/portable station, or you can get both, one for each type of operating location. Even if you pass the amateur radio exam, it does not mean that you can immediately operate on any band. If you want to operate in a band, you have to apply for your station license to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, in addition to having a radio operator's license. Mr. Kaneko has a station license for the 47 and the 77 GHz bands, and as of December 2021, he holds Japan's longest distance communication record on both the 47 GHz and 77 GHz bands (JARL has certified the communication distance of 225 km).