Narrowbanding Question

[scannerowner]

Ok my local PD is supposed to go to Narrowband next Week, Dec 6th, and the Police Chief has been providing me with info, but it seems they are getting new frequencies and tones, is this always true when you narrowband or what?? We have PL tones now and he said they will change to DPL as far as he knows . . . I've searched the FCC website, and no new licenses, but now I'm puzzled, wondering what to do until he gets back with me on the frequency changes and DPLs hopefully!!

 

[N8IAA]

Ok my local PD is supposed to go to Narrowband next Week, Dec 6th, and the Police Chief has been providing me with info, but it seems they are getting new frequencies and tones, is this always true when you narrowband or what?? We have PL tones now and he said they will change to DPL as far as he knows . . . I've searched the FCC website, and no new licenses, but now I'm puzzled, wondering what to do until he gets back with me on the frequency changes and DPLs hopefully!!

The neat thing about the 396 and 996, is that they receive narrowband frequencies You may want to set up a search in the frequency range that your local PD uses now. I can set my GRE/RS scanners to auto on the mode type, and search for the PL/DPL/NAC. This way you can find the frequencies before the chief gives them to you Not familiar with your scanners, but I know that you can do this.
HTH,
Larry

 

[davidgcet]

some depts do that when they change just to throw off all the private radios programmed to the system. many individuals refuse to pay for their personal radio to be reprogrammed, and the depts change the PL so they can no longer access repeaters until they do it. plus they usually send out a nice little letter to all area radio shops saying NOT to reprogram any radios without express written permission-seen this a couple times already because current admins want to know for a fact who has a personal unit on the PS repeater.

it is totally not required to do this, just some depts choose to do it.

 

[rdale]

some depts do that when they change just to throw off all the private radios programmed to the .

I think most radios need to be reprogrammed from wide to narrow anyways, so I doubt that was the sole cause?

 

[davidgcet]

what i mean is that on conventional analog systems anyone can get a radio from teh internet and have it shipped in already programmed. since the dept has no clue WHO has these units they change the PL just to cause those folks issues. so long as nothing else changed a WB radio will still hear and talk on a NB system, just it hears real low and to others it may sound distorted due to excessive deviation.

it won't stop the private owners, they just get them reprogrammed and are back in service. but at least this way they cause them a little headache and possibly some of the unauthorized ones are just dumb enough to open their mouths and complain, thus exposing themselves. i know a couple of volunteer firemen who were specifically forbidden from having a personal radio on a FD repeater. when the PL was changed they griped to the chief and were kicked off the dept for breaking his orders! they were lucky he did not prosecute them for illegally use of a PS freq, he almost did but was talked out of it.

 

[ecps92]

Converting an existing system to NB, does not always involve new frequencies [all thought the pencil pushers might not know this] and can be done on many of the exisiting channels, with reprogramming.

If you dont see any new licenses, it's probably just that, convert from WB to NB and then change from PL to DPL.

Ok my local PD is supposed to go to Narrowband next Week, Dec 6th, and the Police Chief has been providing me with info, but it seems they are getting new frequencies and tones, is this always true when you narrowband or what?? We have PL tones now and he said they will change to DPL as far as he knows . . . I've searched the FCC website, and no new licenses, but now I'm puzzled, wondering what to do until he gets back with me on the frequency changes and DPLs hopefully!!

 

[radioman2001]

It is not necessary to change Frequencies or PL to go narrow band.Some departments, mine included felt it was a way to determine if a radio was narrow banded, and force that radio to be reprogrammed. As a result of extensive testing of all the different brands and radios, I convinced my department it wasn't necessary to do that. The RX band width on all of our radios with the exception of digital radios, can handle a wide band transmission on a narrow banded programmed RX channel without any degredation.

 

[LtDoc]

'NB' is what all Part-90 radios will be in the coming year. How that's done depends on the particular radio brand in use. Some can be made NB easily, some can't be at all. Very basically, that 'NB' will mean more usable frequencies, more licensees, etc.
It's going to mean a 'glut' of 'WB' radios on the market, so if you may have use for them, don't be in too much of a hurry, they will get cheaper pretty quick.
- 'Doc

 

[radioman2001]

The only radios that are not narrow band capable are those 20 years or older. While there is no way to legally make a wide band radio narrow, I suspect that is what will happen for quite a few years. Same thing happened when band width went from 60kc to 25 kc. As far more usable frequencies, dream on, while the FCC will allow it, the coordinators have come together and said NO. No additional frequencies will be licensed until very narrow is implemented someday. At least on VHF.