VHF LEERN GONE?

[gtaman]

Happend to be listening to my radio and heard a call over the ohio LEERN tlkgrp on the Columbus system. I went to check vhf and heard nothing. And to now I haven't heard anything on the VHF LEERN.
Did they change freqs or abandon the VHF system. Or did I just not recive it.

[W8RMH]

VHF LEERN was recently narrowbanded and is alive and well. Remember it IS simplex. You won't hear everything like with a repeater. The Columbus talk group just re-transmits what is received in the Columbus area. You will rarely hear mobile units. If they had changed frequencies or abandoned the system you wouldn't have heard anything at all.

[wa8pyr]

Originally Posted by W8RMH

VHF LEERN was recently narrowbanded and is alive and well. Remember it IS simplex. You won't hear everything like with a repeater. The Columbus talk group just re-transmits what is received in the Columbus area. You will rarely hear mobile units. If they had changed frequencies or abandoned the system you wouldn't have heard anything at all.

In addition, the Columbus LEERN base (which is patched to the 800 system) has pretty good 'ears' so it will hear things from a county or two away which you won't hear. Hamilton County Comm Center "All County Broadcasts" typically come in well enough to understand, although since narrowbanding not as clearly as before.

Aside from that, VHF LEERN is very much alive and well in most places.

[quarterwave]

I can still hear the hourly tests for District 8 and 9 on my mobile. I haven't heard much action on LEERN for a long time, but I thought the same thing as OP for a while. One issue is that where I used to hear more traffic, through time many agencies where I am do not even have a VHF radio now.

Our S/O used to have a base, and mobiles in the cars...our local PD had LEERN and 155.370 Intercity in their base they used a control base for their repeater, and they could talk locally and reach the next city (15 miles away) on 155.370 when needed....but they went to MARCS and were on UHF for a while before that, and now have no VHF at all. I was told the old c-base was still running at the office, but no one uses it.

So with narrowbanding, many agencies have not updated or retained their gear (much of which was given to them way back in the day of GE MASTR II 100 watt units)...and now, many of the same have NO INTEROPS with their peers.

I have flat out told people here locally they are silly for not having a simple dash mount 50 watt VHF mobile with mutual aid channels programmed. Money...no one has it...and sometimes it's brains...harder to find them too.

[gtaman]

Thanks guys for the info. I must of not been catching it in time. Or I just don't have reception Ill put it in my ht1000 and see if I can hear it better.

[dizwiz]

i am a field engineer (for an unrelated product) and drive the entire state of ohio.

I have heard LEERN in the following area:

Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus/ Delaware, New Philadelphia/ Dover


Outside of those areas I never hear anyone using it.

Not to say they dont, but I suspect (for example) in NE ohio (where I live) that no radios have it programmed in anymore. I just never hear it aroudn akron (where I live).

The only exception used to be aircraft speed monitoring, where they woudl use it to communicate with non-OSP units? (who arent on MARCS).

However, I havent heard any aircraft units in the past year using it.

[Ed_Azalea]

Thursday I heard traffic on LEERN in NE Ohio. A couple days later I heard aircraft speed enforcement. And there is always the popular stuck mike.

[gtaman]

Originally Posted by dizwiz

i am a field engineer (for an unrelated product) and drive the entire state of ohio.

I have heard LEERN in the following area:

Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus/ Delaware, New Philadelphia/ Dover


Outside of those areas I never hear anyone using it.

Not to say they dont, but I suspect (for example) in NE ohio (where I live) that no radios have it programmed in anymore. I just never hear it aroudn akron (where I live).

The only exception used to be aircraft speed monitoring, where they woudl use it to communicate with non-OSP units? (who arent on MARCS).

However, I havent heard any aircraft units in the past year using it.

Narrowbanding has played a factor on coverage. Some places it's weaker now. LEERN is also used for AMBER alerts I hear them all the time on it. Sometimes the LEERN patch is what you hear on the tv when an amber alert goes off.

[wdz]

I've never understood the push by some folks to get rid of LEERN. I get technology has made interoperability easier then ever but when the chips are down, and in the event of a catastrophe, a simplex frequency that everyone has access to would still work when a multimillion dollar trunking system has failed.

[quarterwave]

Originally Posted by wdz

I've never understood the push by some folks to get rid of LEERN. I get technology has made interoperability easier then ever but when the chips are down, and in the event of a catastrophe, a simplex frequency that everyone has access to would still work when a multimillion dollar trunking system has failed.

I concur. But, if BSSA or the State isn't "giving" them (Sheriff's, Police Dept's) VHF radios, like they did back in the MASTRII days, they won't maintain having them.

No one has any money (except to spend on fancier light bars, and digital radios that don't always work, and isolate them from their peer agencies in some cases) so they won't buy their own. I know one agency that religiously keeps up their VHF, but others around them think they don't need it.

When all the fancy stuff fails, coverage won't let you talk, or whatever....a 50 watt VHF mobile in each vehicle is a cheap backup. Our local S/O killed their 2R-T2 LEERN base that was on a 400 ft tower and talked all over the place (was also being used a simplex fire base, hence the configuration) in favor of making it a Fire repeater. Sad part is they no longer have any VHF, so they can't even go to the county's Fire system for an emergency backup to their own stuff either. Not real smart.

[gtaman]

Originally Posted by quarterwave

I concur. But, if BSSA or the State isn't "giving" them (Sheriff's, Police Dept's) VHF radios, like they did back in the MASTRII days, they won't maintain having them.

No one has any money (except to spend on fancier light bars, and digital radios that don't always work, and isolate them from their peer agencies in some cases) so they won't buy their own. I know one agency that religiously keeps up their VHF, but others around them think they don't need it.

When all the fancy stuff fails, coverage won't let you talk, or whatever....a 50 watt VHF mobile in each vehicle is a cheap backup. Our local S/O killed their 2R-T2 LEERN base that was on a 400 ft tower and talked all over the place (was also being used a simplex fire base, hence the configuration) in favor of making it a Fire repeater. Sad part is they no longer have any VHF, so they can't even go to the county's Fire system for an emergency backup to their own stuff either. Not real smart.

Welcome to the world of radio where the more expensive digital stuff is better than plain old analog.

[LZ56]

Originally Posted by Ed_Azalea

Thursday I heard traffic on LEERN in NE Ohio. A couple days later I heard aircraft speed enforcement. And there is always the popular stuck mike.

Every now and then (a few times a month) I hear local chatter on 154.935, but nothing like it used to be. 10-4 on the stuck mic. And the Phantom Farter is still active (there's a local PD unit that likes to fart in the mic on 154.935) LOL !!

[sspnelson]

sitting here April 10 around 10 am hearing OSP working railroad crossing violators with Plane 9. Only problem I can tell is most of the units on thedetail don't have LEERN in the cars. They had to relay through Post 12 to ground units to MARCS, plane got tired of lengthy delay and called it off. .Then he went to Dayton and had no one working detail with him.But it was fun while it lasted, kinda like the old days working speed control, oh wait they encrypted that!!!

[radioscan]

Over here in the Dayton area they are using ECOMM 10 Tg. This is all in regards to the Operation Lifesaver train working the NS Dayton District from Columbus to Sharonville today.