900mhz repeater deviation and hearclear

[kb5udf]

Hi all,

I am new to the band and will be traveling up to the Huntsville hamfest shortly. I see about 4 repeaters listed
through my area of travel, including birmingham, hoover and huntsvillex2. Are these repeaters 2.5khz or 5khz deviation? Should I enable hearclear?

Thanks

 

[zz0468]

I realize you're in Louisiana, and I'm not, but no one has yet answered your locale-neutral questions yet. I'm active on 900, so I can render a few locale-neutral opinions...

Most (but not all) commercial grade 900 MHz gear is limited to 2.5 KHz deviation, as that's what Part 90 rules allow. It's a safe assumption that is what is used in most local repeaters.

Hearclear is a Motorola trade name for compandering. Does this mean you're using a Motorola 900 MHz radio? If so, I am unaware of any Motorola models capable of 5 KHz deviation on 900 MHz, so the decision may have been made for you.

As to whether or not to use Hearclear, that seems to be a personal choice. 95% of the 900 repeaters I've encountered in several states don't use Hearclear. Enabling it on a channel where it isn't actually used can make it sound pretty odd. Not enabling it where it IS in use is not nearly as objectionable, so I never enable it.

 

[kb5udf]

Gear with 5khz

Thanks for the response. I have on the cheap, acquired an mtx9000, a lot of mts2000's, and a couple
MCS2000 model 1. All of them appear in software to support deviations of 2.5, 4 and 5khz.

Some of the Quantars sold on ebay are advertised as supporting 5khz. So I know some gear does support wideband b/c mine does.

Thanks for the reply

 

[cmdrwill]

'900 band' was always 2.5 k deviation. Still is...

 

[kb5udf]

thanks guys

I am aware that commercial entities have been always NB 2.5 on 900. But we hams, happily are not limited by
that. Given the way nb sounds with limited high frequency response, I wonder why hams would choose it, outside of densely populate areas, given the option to go wb/5khz.

If i get bored this week, I'll do a comparison with a few radios simplex, with 2.5khz and hearclear, vs 5khz.

 

[KG7PBS]

i have my Motorola XTS2500 on 900 MHZ P25 in WB 25khz as i talk now.