Narrowband Changeover.

[Allan_Love_Jr]

I didn't know what to do on this matter. So. I had to copy and past this info. This just in from the Railscan Yahoo Group. Here it goes.

Narrowband Changeover.

I just read the Public Notice from the FCC about this, which was released December 11, 2009. The narrowband requirement must be complied with by all persons and entities in certain Private Land Mobile Radio services, including Industrial/Business and the Public Safety Radio Pool. The first deadline is approaching, in which the FCC will no longer accept applications for new wideband operations or modification of existing wideband stations that expands the authorized interference contour.

This excerpt is from the FCC's Public Notice No. DA 09-2589, dated December 11, 2009:

"As of January 1, 2013, the Commission's rules will prohibit Industrial/Business and Public
Safety Radio Pool licensees in the 150-174 MHz and 421-512 MHz bands from operating with wideband
channels (unless their equipment meets the narrowband efficiency standard), even if the license still lists a
wideband emission designator. Operation in violation of the Commission's rules may subject licensees to
enforcement action, including admonishments, monetary forfeitures, and/or license revocation, as
appropriate."

Granted, this will not affect Amateur Radio as it is considered by the FCC as an experimental radio service, but as you can see by the frequency ranges, it will affect more than just the railroads. Marine communications will also be affected, although to what extent I do not know (commercial AND private, or just commercial?), as well as most business and public service communications in the aforementioned frequency ranges. There will be some exceptions, of course, but generally, most communications services in these ranges will be affected.

So it looks like that, within the next few years, we will all have to start investing in some new radio receiving and scanning equipment that can scan all of the narrowband frequencies as well as the wideband channels.

I didn't see anything that affects the General Mobile Radio Service (CB, FRS, etc.), so it might be a pick and choose kind of thing.

One of my fellow members at the Florida East Coast Railway Society asked me if I would be interested in setting up a monitoring station. If the railroad goes to narrowband I might not be able to do it as I am about two miles from the track.

 

[puzzleriddle]

DPD Productions - Railroad Frequencies: New 12.5 kHz / 6.25 kHz AAR Radio Plan

 

[W2NJS]

Allan,

Whether the radio signal is wideband or narrowband won't have all that much effect on people who only listen. As far as being two miles from the track narrowband won't make much, if any, difference. What affects the signal is your distance from the source and power being used and narrowband or wideband is not a factor.

You might want to do a search on this board and other boards as the subject has been literally beaten to death for the past couple of years or so. Latest effective date for commercial users is 2013.

 

[Thunderknight]

You need to look at more than just the frequency ranges.

"Industrial/Business and Public Safety Radio Pool licensees "

i.e. Part 90 licenses. There are other services in that frequency range that are not Part 90 and not affected by this particular narrowband requirement. They may be subject to other narrowbanding requirements with different dates. But just because a user falls in that range does not automatically mean they are subject to narrowbanding. They also need to be "Industrial/Business and Public Safety Radio Pool licensees" (i.e. licensed under Part 90).

 

[FLA2760]

Will the current scanners be able to monitor when the switch to narrowband takes place? My daughter listens to NYPD on Staten Island with a Uniden BC340CRS and she wants to know if she will need a new scanner.

 

[davidgcet]

your scanner will still pick them up, BUT the audio will be lower and possibly you could hear adjacent channel interference if someone starts to use one. it may happen soon after the change or it may happen years after, all depends on the public safety need for new channels in your area. if your scanner is only a couple years old, it may already have NB capability. if so then all you have to do is tell it that channel is now NB and it won't hear the adjacent channel and the audio will be at normal level..

as stated above, it is most part 90 freqs only that have to change. dedicated paging does not, marine band does not, federal gov use does not, nor do amatuer licensees, etc...

also to clarify the part about still using wideband channels if your equipment is certified for NB, you MUST switch to NB but you can just have the emission designator changed on your license and keep the old former WB freqs. you cannot still use it as wideband!