why don't more VHF trunking systems exist? Sorry if this is a dumb question. Is it a technological reason or have to do with the FCC and frequency crowding? I'd think a 400 MHz trunked system would be a good compromise between the two but I'm no radio expert.
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Well you pretty much have it figured out. Coordination wise, except for certain circumstances VHF is pretty much fair game for any users. There is also no band plan where inputs and outputs are sperated by x amount of distance, (5 meg UHF, 3 Meg T-Band, 45 Meg 800) propagation is better over longer distances, VHF narrow-band still has adjacent channel overlap problems. Essentially this all adds up to a very difficult time obtaining VHF spectrum for trunking. Ironically some of the same problems that make VHF hard to trunk on at a local level, make it desirable at a state level, adding to that certain frequencies are for state police licenses ONLY, so it can sometimes be eaiser on a statewide basis.
UHF doenst have the same extent of coordination issues, and doesnt suffer from adjacent channel overlap, Many counties in New York State are implimenting UHF trunking systems, you will have to examine frequency availability for your region.
There is no technolgical limitation to trunking in any frequency band, trunking protocols are essentially frequency agnostic, the limits are hardware (does someone make a radio?) and regulatory.
You are right in your assumption about frequency vs coverage. UHF is generally a good compromise, and is praticularily effective in urban areas. UHF also more easily gets into and out of masonary/steel buildings. As with any radio system design, it all comes down to design, a poorly designed system will operate poorly.