MStep
Member
As of 1800 tonight (6-3-2021), Queens Fire Radio will be operating on the Citywide fire frequency so that testing can be done on the Queens radio channel.
Hopefully they fix the issues. Queens radio has been having problem for forever
What was the issue on FDNY Queens?
VHF was the best! Signal was amazing and clear. They should have kept it. Dispatch and rigs could have stayed on VHF. All portables/HT-TAC could be on UHF, as its better for building penetration.
And with these dual/tri-band APX radios, it would have been easy.
I dunno, VHF is so congested. I had to pull my hometown department off and put it on UHF a while back. We were 15 kHz off Citywide and sometimes we got splatter from their Sunnyside transmitter, especially when the amplifier's tubes were going soft and needed to be neutralized or replaced. I got to know the "radio mechanics" pretty well back in the day.What was the issue on FDNY Queens?
VHF was the best! Signal was amazing and clear. They should have kept it. Dispatch and rigs could have stayed on VHF. All portables/HT-TAC could be on UHF, as its better for building penetration.
And with these dual/tri-band APX radios, it would have been easy.
This happened a lot.One of the big problems in the 70's was Philadephia's F2 frequency coming in on the Brooklyn input frequency at the time (153.95). The interference was so bad that at times, it knocked out Brooklyn units from reaching the Brooklyn dispatcher. This was prior to the FDNY going to PL, although this was not a good solution because obviously, even with PL protection, signals could still override local units.
My (faint) recollection is aside from propagation events (remember all those great 2 meter band openings?), this issue also had something to do with the height of Philly FD's transmit antenna and power output.
Until the next thing comes along. UHF is still pretty manageable.They went UHF and it solved the problem.
It is. Take a standard A style household LED bulb from Walmart and sweep it with a spectrum analyzer, you'll note a lot of radiated garbage up to about 300Mhz. Above that it's fairly clean. This seems to be the trend with most electronic devices.Until the next thing comes along. UHF is still pretty manageable.
Yeah, I've actually done that. They're very noisy at VHF. I have LEDs mounted on firefighting heavy equipment that can take a full-quieting signal and make it go away. Ferrite cores will make it better, but they won't totally eliminate the noise. I also have broadband VHF noise from certain LED bulbs in the house. 2 meters is pretty degraded as a result. Mostly due to poor or eliminated shielding and bypass after having received type acceptance.It is. Take a standard A style household LED bulb from Walmart and sweep it with a spectrum analyzer, you'll note a lot of radiated garbage up to about 300Mhz. Above that it's fairly clean. This seems to be the trend with most electronic devices.
I paid a visit to the Brooklyn CO shortly before they moved to Metrotech. I also visited there when I was a fire Explorer at 16 or 17. Nothing changed except they drilled holes in the desks to run cables for more stuff, wiring the desk to the floor.GTR 800.......you're exactly right. I do remember that now. I especially liked the accents of the dispatchers. I could envision some of them sitting with a cigar and jellyroll. Thanks.
Eugene KG4AVE