CDF Low Band?

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BirkenVogt

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Is the CDF low band system (31.18 and 33.80) coming up or fading out? I am not aware of anybody using it around here at least. Does anybody have any information on it?

Birken
 

digitaljim6

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These are the "Chief's nets". At some point a few years ago, the command level decided they needed their own systems separate from the existing highband stuff. Each ECC has capability on at least one of them.

31.18 is licensed on:

Cahto Peak
Mt. Vaca
Loma Prieta
Bloomer Hill
Mt. St. Helena
Box Springs Mtn.
Elsinore Peak
Widow Mtn.
Chuckwalla Mtn.
Sanzta Rosa Mtn.

and 33.80 is licensed on:

Pine Hill
Lyons Peak
Strawberry PEak
Banner Mtn.
Woodson Mtn.

BirkenVogt said:
Is the CDF low band system (31.18 and 33.80) coming up or fading out? I am not aware of anybody using it around here at least. Does anybody have any information on it?

Birken
 

BirkenVogt

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Has anybody heard any activity on it yet? Do the CDF BCs have the radios in their trucks? Or is it for higher-ups than that even? I have not seen the antennas for it on the vehicles yet...

If they expect our local government overhead to use it too, that will mean we will have to scrounge up Syntor X's since all the other low band here is in the 45 MHz range...

Birken
 

Kirk

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Must only be for some ranger units. No coverage into SLU with those hilltops.
 

BirkenVogt

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If it is up and coming rather than going, then they have not gotten the sites all rolled out yet. And likely will be very slow about it because that is the way CDF has always been, and the budget is especially tight these days.

Birken
 

EMSJUNKY

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Those nets are rarely used if ever. as cellular phone access becomes more populous in the rural areas of california, the chiefs nets are used more and more infrequently. CDF command channels are frequently used for command staff opperations on large incidents and the Tac Nets are utilised by various branches and divisions of an incident. I know in SCU, CZU and TCU the chiefs utilize local net to talk to the ECC for routine traffic as the local nets have a fairly reliable repeater system.

if you want to monitor the Cheifs nets for those RARE chances that they utilize them, you are better off using a CB radio antenna for the 33mhz frequencies that the chiefs nets utilize. (this antenna also works great for the CHP's 42 mhz frequencies, but it doesnt perform too well for the 151 and 170 mhz frequencies that CDF and USFS utilize)

hope this helps
 

BirkenVogt

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How long have they been in existence, is what I am trying to get at? Are they old and their use declining, or did CDF decide they needed another system to carry some of the load?

Birken
 

EMSJUNKY

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they have been around for a while, as many fire agencies have been moving away from the low band vhf (33-45 mhz) for a a good decade now. I dont know the exact start, but they arent used too much any more
 

mkewman

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someone told me that public safety is being slowly pushed out of the lowband, so that the military can use lowband... now this person isn't the most informed individual and probably doesn't know much about radio stuff, but this would make sense considering that chp is looking to move on up.

so why is cdf still using lowband???
 

BirkenVogt

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PS is not getting pushed out of low band by anybody...they are just moving away from it because

1. Hand helds are lousy on low band due to the long antenna length needed
2. The noise level on low band is increasing due to all the computer garbage and other electronic crap that puts out interference.

Birken
 

selgaran

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3. Some manufacturers, traditionally the first choice for public safety, have stopped making low band equipment.
 

trooperdude

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selgaran said:
3. Some manufacturers, traditionally the first choice for public safety, have stopped making low band equipment.

And as those with prejudice against "foreign" manufacturers accelerate into retirement, equipment like Kenwood is slowly making it's way into the state radio systems, so that may not last.
 

BirkenVogt

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selgaran said:
3. Some manufacturers, traditionally the first choice for public safety, have stopped making low band equipment.

That's true, but probably due to the first two factors, otherwise it would still be in demand, and they would still make it.

Birken
 
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