Ham & 2 tone pagers

[KE0SKN]

This might sound like a dumb question, but I have to ask. I have 20 Icom 2-tone pagers and a motorola m1225 radio with quick call set to my ham tower frequency. I would like to give these pagers to my ham friends that do skywarn ops. This way we won't have to keep our base radios on all night waiting and keep our wifes up at night. So my question is , Is this legal for a ham to Tx. a tone to communicate to the other ham radio ops to notified them of the coming storms?

 

[Grog]

Good question, I've seen that some groups do that but some also question the one way radio transmissions involved.


What model are the pagers? I've never seen any Icoms before.

 

[KE0SKN]

there discontinue. I got them from my fire department. they got new ones and I bought the old ones. with the programer. There old.

 

[n9mxq]

Kantronics used to have a paging setup for Amateur radio, and I believe the KPC-9612 will do paging..

So I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be allowed.

 

[Grog]

Kantronics used to have a paging setup for Amateur radio, and I believe the KPC-9612 will do paging..

So I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be allowed.

It was just an argument that had been brought up in the past, but if it could be reasonably be argued that a one way page made to other amateur radio operators is necessary to disseminate an information bulletin, than that looks to be permissible under part 97 rules.


http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=about_1&id=amateur#One-Way Transmissions

 

[Don_Burke]

Since the purpose is to establish communications, it would seem this is just as legal as calling CQ.

 

[Grog]

I would like to give these pagers to my ham friends that do skywarn ops. This way we won't have to keep our base radios on all night waiting and keep our wifes up at night.

Since the purpose is to establish communications, it would seem this is just as legal as calling CQ.

I would say making an announcement on a weather event is not the same as trying to establish communications so I would not agree that it is the same as calling CQ (which is frowned upon on VHF FM anyway :lol: )... I still stand by the "information bulletin" reasoning might fly for this.


He can always call Riley

 

[obijohn]

Kantronics used to have a paging setup for Amateur radio, and I believe the KPC-9612 will do paging..

So I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be allowed.

The KPC-9612 does POCSAG (digital). It doesn't do analog 2-tone or 5 tone.

 

[steveh552]

Not sure how your system is set up. In our area, they have had (may nor may not still be the case) the repeater transmit a differnt CTCSS tone when they would bring up the weather net. Basically when the net was not up, it would transmit a 123 tone, when they brought up the net, it would do another. SOOOO, what I did, when I knew we were at high risk of weather was program the rig to receive the odd tone so that I would hear nothing all night unless they brought up the net. So, if you cant do that with your pagers, maybe suggest it to your buddies and have your system do something similar.

I know it does not really answer your question, but just wanted to give an idea.

 

[Grog]

That only works when the repeater is setup to transmit tones, that's too modern for 99% of the repeater owners out there :roll:


I'm glad my RACES repeater does

 

[NeFire242]

Just get a powerful enough base station with a huge paging AMP and a Zetron Model 15A.

Drop as much QCII as you want! (on the repeater output...) Remember, they don't own that frequency. lol

 

[KE0SKN]

Look I'm not posting to start any fights here. It was a simple question... Can you put a page out over the air and then a voice to get a hold of my skywarn team so we can get to our post. With out having our base station on all night and pissing off the wife. It simple put a audio 2 tone page then a voice message. Then once herd we notified each other that we are en-rout to our post.

 

[Grog]

I don't think any of us are fighting, just debating if it is legal, and it seems like it might be. You can always ask the FCC and ask to be 100% sure, if you don't, maybe I will

 

[KE0SKN]

Sorry for some of you. but I got a few e-mails that made me mad. so I mad my piont clear that I was not trying to start any thing on this post.

 

[Grog]

Sorry for some of you. but I got a few e-mails that made me mad. so I mad my piont clear that I was not trying to start any thing on this post.

Well this place is full of idiots (me too at times :lol: ) so I'd not even worry about them. People who are too chicken-hearted to say what they want in the open are not worth dealing with anyway.


While slightly off topic for your post (QCII VS POCSAG) but I wonder if POCSAG would be legal to use on the ham bands, is it easily monitored? If it's easy enough to monitor, I am not sure why that would not be permissible either for someone who happened to have a quantity of pagers that could easily be setup on a amateur frequency.

 

[NeFire242]

POCSAG is data, which would be no different than APRS, PSK31, etc. As long as you ID, there is nothing wrong. I myself have dropped QCII tones before and have done voice paging. Again, ID at the end.

You may want to consider approaching your local repeater council or whomever is in charge of your frequency coordination so that perhaps they can provide you with a clear channel, etc. for use of the voice paging.

I've also used MDC with my radios and GE Star. I've used MDC to "page" or "call/alert" other radios. I've never gotten in trouble. Sure might be annoying to some, but there is DOS mute, or the off knob. So much is so under used anyways, they should be happy someone is using these formats! (Personally I also like Modat) haha.

Play and learn. That's what's half the fun of the "hobby" is to learn.

I say go for it.

 

[KE0SKN]

Thanks for your comments... What I'm trying to do is just setting up a way to keep the noise level down at night while we are sleeping with the wifes. Also this would be a good way to monitor when we are at work too. I'm not going to put tones outs left and right with out any reason. This tactic to to establish communication with other.

 

[obijohn]

While slightly off topic for your post (QCII VS POCSAG) but I wonder if POCSAG would be legal to use on the ham bands, is it easily monitored? If it's easy enough to monitor, I am not sure why that would not be permissible either for someone who happened to have a quantity of pagers that could easily be setup on a amateur frequency.

I read something a while back about a group in Kansas that did exactly what is being discussed here. They bought a bunch of used pagers and recrystalled them and used them on a ham frequency.

POCSAG is a well documented standard, and therefore is legal to use on ham freq's
that fit that modes emission/bandwidth.

 

[bwillcox]

POCSAG I don't know about, but If you're wanting to do Quick Call 2 style paging, it is perfectly legal to do so. The only thing is the transmission must be identified.

The repeater controller for our Skywarn repeater is programmed to drop a set of tones as part of the transition to Skywarn mode which will set off some Minitors we have modified and crystalled up on the repeater output frequency. The trick is to get the old Minitors working, some will, some are deaf as a post.

Might be worth it to check with the guys that maintain your repeater and see if the controller can do this for you. If its a recent model, it probably can.

 

[KE0SKN]

THANKS... Thats what i was talking about.