Digital trunking radios......

[merlin3rd]

:?: Will AOR, Alinco, Icom, Yaesu ever develop digital trunking scanners? I know AOR has the ARD25, but that's not a stand alone radio.

 

[N_Jay]

:?: Will AOR, Alinco, Icom, Yaesu ever develop digital trunking radios? I know AOR has the ARD25, but that's not a stand alone radio.

Radios or Scanners?

Icom has anounced P25 radios.

The rest are not in the commercail radio market, and I don't think there is a P25 Amature market (yet)..

As for scanners, who knows?

As for "ever", that's a LONG TIME!!!!

 

[loumaag]

The rest are not in the commercail radio market, and I don't think there is a P25 Amature market (yet)..

Yaesu = Vertex (although I don't think they are into P25 radios yet.)

Take a look at these two articles from QST. They are a little out of date, but still kind of indicate where the amateur market is heading in regard to digital voice on the ham bands. (Both from 2002)
Digital Voice: The Nest New Mode? and
Digital Voice: An Update an Update and Forcast. a follow up article.

In addition, AOR is now marketing an "strap on" device (ARD9800E Fast Modem) for ham rigs which will turn any analog rig (HF or VHF/UFH) into an AMBE based digital radio.

The point that N_Jay makes about amateur and P25 is valid though. Of course as more and more older P25 equipment becomes available, hams will naturally start moving it over to the ham bands for use. There are already several P25 ham repeaters around the US. However, due to the nature of the beast, I am not sure "trunking" will ever catch on in the ham community.

 

[Voyager]

:?: Will AOR, Alinco, Icom, Yaesu ever develop digital trunking radios? I know AOR has the ARD25, but that's not a stand alone radio.

Radios or Scanners?

Icom has anounced P25 radios.

I would imagine scanners (or receivers) since AOR doesn't make radios.
(Added note: He clarifies 'scanners' over on the SS site)

P25 is not trunking. P25 could just be conventional P25 audio.

As for ham use of P25, well, there are areas that are still operating CSQ since SOME hams are too cheap and/or dumb to add a $25 CTCSS encoder to their radios or upgrade to a modern radio. Do you really think they are going to buy a new radio that does P25?

As for ham trunking, that's not likely at all - ever.

Joe M.

 

[grem467]

As for ham use of P25, well, there are areas that are still operating CSQ since SOME hams are too cheap and/or dumb to add a $25 CTCSS encoder to their radios or upgrade to a modern radio. Do you really think they are going to buy a new radio that does P25?

As for ham trunking, that's not likely at all - ever.

Joe M.

those are the same users that come over to the 315 machine in jacksonville and then COMPLAIN when we talk digital.. gee wiz, dont you think since im talking on a freekin 4000.00 radio (ok ya got me, RETAIL price...lol), i get to use digital on the DIGITAL capable repeater??

personally i love astro, the clarity and range of a properly designed system is unbelievable. We have users that are about 40 miles from the repeater, that can get into it in ASTRO mode, but not analog on a portable.. gotta love it.

ive thought about playing with some UHF trunking, there is nothing in part 97 that forbids it, (LTR especially), im just not sure how we could run a type 2 system (the issue of how to have a 10 minute ID on the control channel)

 

[loumaag]

ive thought about playing with some UHF trunking, there is nothing in part 97 that forbids it, (LTR especially), im just not sure how we could run a type 2 system (the issue of how to have a 10 minute ID on the control channel)

Your LTR comment is interesting. And not only that, but you could probably make it so that standard guys could use it also. As for the timing issue on the Type 2 (or EDACS for that matter) that is easely solved. Have the controller change CC every 9:55 Min and have the most recently abandoned CC ID.

I'm still not convinced that it would catch on. Too many people would object to the use of spectrum for the amount of activity.

 

[nd5y]

There is a ham here in Ft Worth that claims he is going to put up a
LTR system in the 902 - 928 band.

So I'm thinking what's the point? So every ham can have his own talkgroup
and not hear anybody? or so 5 hams can get long-winded and everybody
else's radios will honk at them?

I agree that ham trunking will probably never catch on.

Tom ND5Y

 

[scanhoog]

Maybe after ham trunking we'll get ham's to just use cell phones, after all they are radios. Maybe the hams will use only the analog cell phones ;-)

A good part of the joy of the ham hobby is scanning the bands manually and finding the perfect place. Maybe the search for the perfectly elegant equipment, with the latest digital bells and whistles could overcome that -- who knows.