70 cm Narrowbanding

[topgun1986]

Passed my technician exam 2 nights ago! Now I'm in the market for a good, used, cheap VHF/UHF transciever, if such thing exist. I have (2) questions I need some help with...

#1) I'm concerned about the narrowbanding that is going into effect Jan 1, 2013. How will it effect 70CM band for Ham radios? Should I be looking for a dual band that says "narrow band ready"?

#2) I've been told my local repeater requires P.L. tone to open the repeater. How will I know if a transciever has this such tone capability? Most just say CTCSS or DCS. Is P.L. tone a form of one of these?

Thanks to everyone in advance!

 

[ecps92]

Narrowbanding DOES NOT have an impact on Amateur Radio other than it will open up a flood of used radios.

Narrowbanding affects PART 90 licenses VHF High and UHF
Narrowbanding - The RadioReference Wiki

AS for PL, read the wiki
Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System - The RadioReference Wiki
DCS - The RadioReference Wiki

Passed my technician exam 2 nights ago! Now I'm in the market for a good, used, cheap VHF/UHF transciever, if such thing exist. I have (2) questions I need some help with...

#1) I'm concerned about the narrowbanding that is going into effect Jan 1, 2013. How will it effect 70CM band for Ham radios? Should I be looking for a dual band that says "narrow band ready"?

#2) I've been told my local repeater requires P.L. tone to open the repeater. How will I know if a transciever has this such tone capability? Most just say CTCSS or DCS. Is P.L. tone a form of one of these?

Thanks to everyone in advance!

 

[W2NJS]

CTCSS and PL are the same thing. This is a sub-audible tone that is transmitted.
DCS and DPL are the same thing. This is a digital signal that is transmitted.
Unless your radio is very, very old, like more than ten years, it probably has the capability to do both forms of encoding. If you don't have the manual for the radio you can probably Google it on line.
FCC Part 90 covers the commercial frequencies and bands. FCC Part 97 covers amateur operations.
There are a lot, and I mean a lot, of narrowband subject posts on this Board if you wish to read up on the subject.

 

[topgun1986]

Thanks for the help. I believe I am confusing narrowbanding with narrow band.

As far as the new narrowbanding requirement, in my shack I currently have a Radio Shack Pro 163. From what I have read, I will have to download some sort of new firmware/software for the narrowbanding that is coming in a few months, to the scanner itself. If I am wrong, someone please correct me.

Thanks for the clarification on the CTCSS tones, regarding the P.L. tones. The course instructor mentioned that the local repeaters required a P.L. tone to open, then I noticed all the receivers I've come across never mentioned this P.L. tone (only DCS or CTCSS), which just added to my confusion.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[N5TWB]

As far as the new narrowbanding requirement, in my shack I currently have a Radio Shack Pro 163. From what I have read, I will have to download some sort of new firmware/software for the narrowbanding that is coming in a few months, to the scanner itself. If I am wrong, someone please correct me..

For the best answer, you ought to take this inquiry to the Radio Shack forum on this board. There are probably already posts there on this subject.

Thanks for the clarification on the CTCSS tones, regarding the P.L. tones. The course instructor mentioned that the local repeaters required a P.L. tone to open, then I noticed all the receivers I've come across never mentioned this P.L. tone (only DCS or CTCSS), which just added to my confusion.

Thanks again for the help.

PL/DPL are Motorola trademarks so that's why the general reference to just the generic terms, CTCSS/DCS, especially in print by another manufacturer. Doing otherwise just results in having to pay money to Motorola.

A sidenote/helpful hint: given your location in SE MO and assuming that means some proximity to the "throwed rolls" place, with an offer to take an experienced amateur radio operator out for dinner and some coaching on ham radio topics (the term is "Elmering"), you can shorten your learning curve. Add in a membership to the area radio club and you'll have a support system that can take you anywhere you want to go in the hobby. Someday, you can then enjoy the experience when somebody new asks you to join them for dinner and conversation about the hobby.

 

[Rt169Radio]

Do you want a handheld or mobile radio? I like Yaesu so check these out.

Yaesu FT-60, Yaesu FT60R 2 Meter HT

Yaesu FT-7900R, Yaesu FT7900 Amateur Transceiver

Yaesu FT-8800R, Yaesu FT8800

http://www.rffun.com/catalog/ht/3003.html

http://www.rffun.com/catalog/ht/3008.html

 

[topgun1986]

Thanks everyone for the help.

Was informed to spend a little extra and get a dual band transciever for my first radio. So after weeks of searching, I finally settled on a used ICOM IC2400A. Should be arriving this week.
I already have a VHF/UHF centerfire discone antenna, which I bought expecting to use on my base CB radio; Which after some research, finally figured out why my SWR meter kept pegging out at 4.

So hopefully my discone antenna and ICOM keep me happy for awhile.

 

[topgun1986]

N5TWB... I am in close proximity to the "throwed rolls" place. So offering to take an elmer out to dinner there, in exchange for some much needed knowledge, is a great idea!