800 MHz Rebanding Impact on Uniden Scanners

[UPMan]

800 MHz Rebanding Impact on Uniden Scanners

March 21, 2005

Background Information

Beginning in the late 1990’s, the FCC and industry began studying interference problems on public safety communications systems in the 800 MHz band. The root cause of most of the reported issues was interference from high-powered business radio systems on channels adjacent to relatively low-powered public safety radio systems.

In early February 2005, the FCC issued a Report and Order directing that certain actions be taken to reduce or eliminate the conditions that have resulted in this interference. These actions include:

· Moving current non-public safety licensees out of the 806-809/851-854 MHz band.

· Moving public safety licensees into the 806-809/851-854 MHz band.

· Changing the current 800 MHz channel plan.

The relocation of licensees should help to isolate critical public safety bands away from interference-creating services, but will require that users reprogram their scanner with the new frequencies.

The change to the 800 MHz channel plan will have the greatest effect on scanner operation. Most scanners use this channel plan to determine the voice channel frequency for Motorola Analog or mixed systems. Users with scanners that rely on this channel plan will need to reflash their scanner in order for it to continue to properly track Motorola Analog or mixed systems. Scanners that cannot be reflashed will need to be replaced.

These two changes (relocating licensees and changing the channel plan) are together referred to as “Rebanding.”

More information on Rebanding can be found at http://www.800ta.org and from the links on that site.

Impact on Scanning Receivers

Rebanding is a mixed blessing for scanner users. The same interference sources that have affected public safety users have also affected the use of scanners, sometimes to a greater degree. Rebanding should greatly improve scanner operation for the same reason that public safety radio operation will improve: less interference from unwanted sources.

However, as rebanding occurs on a system, scanners will need to be replaced, reflashed, or reprogrammed in order to continue to track the trunked systems in the 800 MHz band. The following table summarizes this impact on Uniden’s current product line.

Model   Motorola APCO 25  Motorola Analog/Mixed   EDACS          LTR
BCD396D Reprogrammed      Reflashed               Reprogrammed   Reprogrammed
BC246T  N/A               Reflashed               Reprogrammed   Reprogrammed
BC296D  Reprogrammed      Reflashed               Reprogrammed   Reprogrammed
BC796D  Reprogrammed      Reflashed               Reprogrammed   Reprogrammed
BC898T  N/A               Reflashed               Reprogrammed   Reprogrammed
BCT8    N/A               Reflashed               Reprogrammed   Reprogrammed
Older Models N/A          Replaced                Reprogrammed   Reprogrammed

End users will be able to reflash the indicated models using a PC cable and a software download from Uniden’s web site. All future Uniden trunktracking models are expected to either incorporate the Rebanding requirements or be flash upgradeable to do so.

The first public safety systems could be rebanded as early as April 2006. Uniden’s goal is to have a firmware update available for each compatible model by this time, but final testing and release of the update will depend on the actual implementation of these changes. Uniden plans to announce firmware updates for each model as they become available.

This statement is based on the current rebanding plan, as accepted by FCC and industry. Future changes to this plan could affect Uniden’s response or its ability to respond. Nothing in this statement should be construed as any type of promise or warranty. Uniden reserves the right to make changes to its rebanding response policy at any time.

 

[JoeyC]

Fresh off the presses, this deserves a sticky!

 

[Wes]

Dumb question.... I understand what "reflashed" means. However, what exactly does Uniden mean by "reprogrammed" regarding Motorola APCO digital, EDACS, and LTR?


Thanks,
Wes

 

[Jay911]

Forgive my being unclear on the data here. Let me mention my scanners and what I think will have to be done with them, and UPman, can you please confirm if I'm right?

BC245 (qty 2): Un-upgradeable. Must be replaced with new receivers.

BC250D: Un-upgradeable. Must be replaced with new receiver.

BC796D: User upgradeable, with a software patch downloaded from Uniden.

Also, may I ask, how does the 'flash upgradeable' feature of the newer receivers get around the issue of the American laws that, if I'm understanding the law right, prohibit such a thing? It's my understanding that any way of allowing the user to modify a receiver to access the spectrum not normally available to it is illegal. Am I wrong?

 

[mikey60]

Dumb question.... I understand what "reflashed" means. However, what exactly does Uniden mean by "reprogrammed" regarding Motorola APCO digital, EDACS, and LTR?

It means you'll have to reprogram the system into your scanner with the new frequencies.

Mike

 

[pro92b]

Also, may I ask, how does the 'flash upgradeable' feature of the newer receivers get around the issue of the American laws that, if I'm understanding the law right, prohibit such a thing?

Flash upgrades are not illegal since they do not enable cell band reception. Encryption of the flash binary is enough to prevent code modification. The BC246T, BC796D, BC296D, BC898T, and BCT8 have all had flash upgrades issued already. All older models either have no flash capability or are not supported with flash upgrades.

I think the Motorola analog column header should actually be Motorola 3600 since digital P16 systems are affected too.

 

[Jay911]

I guess I'm confused about what the rebanding is all about, then. I was under the impression that all of 806-896 was being thrown to the cellular and PCS companies/formats (i.e. NEXTEL/iDEN) in exchange for the major players (i.e. NEXTEL) subsidizing the migration of public safety to the 700mhz band.

A quick search of the TAFL (Canadian equivalent of the FCC lists) tells me that the iDEN system in my area uses freqs from 851.0 to 865.9875. That, to me, is all but 3 mhz (866.0-868.9875) of the so-called "business band" available to commercial trunk/conventional radio systems.

In other words, where are the current 800mhz users being moved to, if not 700mhz, and not in the 'cellular band'?

Please feel free to simply direct me to a document somewhere, if that's available.

 

[rdale]

Read the very first post in this thread, or click the link.

 

[loumaag]

Fresh off the presses, this deserves a sticky!

Ask, and ye shall receive.

 

[scanfan03]

Now we just need one of these for the Radioshack scanners. Also what about like Spectras and MTX 8000s, can they be flash upgraded, also GX 5800Ts, if not i need to sale them while they are still worth the money!

 

[doctordave]

Thanks for posting so promptly, UPMan....we appreciate you keeping us in the loop.

 

[loumaag]

TO: UPMan

Paul,

For those of us who move around a lot, or may travel, would it be wise to get the current upgrade from the site now, and then when the new one gets published keep both on hand?

Let me clarify. During the tranistion period, which may last for several years, someone may spend part of the time in a place that is or has already changed to the new plan, and at some other point may move to an area that hasn't started the transition period. The real question then becomes, once flash upgraded can (say a 796D) be returned to the current status with the older flash software?

 

[poltergeisty]

I hope that uniden's engineers are reading all this and will make the flash updates wisely. Another thing about flash updates is they require allot of testing. I hope they test the crap out of them before release. Don't need a 500+ paper weight.

Why oh why did the -FCC- allow 800 MHz for public safety? What a pile. :x

 

[rdale]

"I hope that uniden's engineers are reading all this and will make the flash updates wisely"

The original post IS from Uniden...

 

[joelincoln]

If a system is currently working in the 800 MHz band, will they necessarily have to change their frequencies as a result of this rebanding? Or will this only impact new/future systems?

 

[loumaag]

If a system is currently working in the 800 MHz band, will they necessarily have to change their frequencies as a result of this rebanding?

If they are in the affected portion, yes.

 

[fireant]

Maybe I missed it somewhere what are the freq ranges going to be rebannding effect in the 800 mhz band?

 

[mikey60]

Rebanding will effect anyone in the 851.0125-854Mhz range, and anyone above 862Mhz. There may also be some limited ripple effect on those that are in the 854-862 range, but that would probably be limited to those that have some frequencies in the other affected ranges.

Mike

 

[Jay911]

Maybe I missed it somewhere what are the freq ranges going to be rebannding effect in the 800 mhz band?

I found it in the documents provided by UPman's quoted segment, but it was a long and circuitous route to find them, so let me summarize.

851.0 - 854.0 will be for Public Safety only.

854.0 - 860.0 will be for "Public Safety B/ILT Non-Cellular SMR" - which essentially means all the 'business' trunk systems.

860.0 - 861.0 is an "Expansion Band".

861.0 - 862.0 is a "Guard Band". I presume there will be no licenses allowed here.

862.0 - 869.0 will be exclusively for NEXTEL and other such providers (TELUS iDEN in Canada, etc).

 

[Voyager]

Now we just need one of these for the Radioshack scanners. Also what about like Spectras and MTX 8000s, can they be flash upgraded, also GX 5800Ts, if not i need to sale them while they are still worth the money!

PRO-(20)96: REPROGRAM - REPROGRAM - REPROGRAM - REPROGRAM

Any other model with 6 table capability wil be the same.

As for the Motorola radios, look at the links in the rebanding thread. Only the newer stuff will have SW upgrades/flashes available. MTXs, GTXs, and Spectras are too old. XTSs and XTLs are OK.

Joe M.