Jim WM8M

[bubahjim]

This is my first time on the Forum. Hello to all. I have a perhaps dumb question so be understanding. I have a number of scanners. I have been in the hobby and amateur radio as well for a long time. I have the new BC125 AT scanner which is a neat little scanner and the wide band receiver the ICOM R 20. With the new Narrow band channels coming on to VHF and UHF will I be able to receive these channels and if so what do you recommend to receive them. Thank you for your time and any help.

73s
Jim

 

[W2NJS]

Jim,

There are no "new" channels involved. The existing channels stay, but with lower deviation, plus there will be new channels in between the existing channels, obviously, owing to the narrower bandwidths being used. If you use a wideband receiver to receive a narrowband signal you might notice that the audio is somewhat lower on the new setup. Likewise, a wideband signal heard on a true, new, narrowband receive may sound overdriven/mushy, you get the idea. Also, the narrowbanding edict from FCC covers only Part 90 licensees, and does not affect ham bands, and several other services. Do a search on this Board for a lot of posts about this subject.

 

[K9WG]

Jim - WELCOME!

One of my first QSOs way back when I was a novice was Bluefield VA Received a picture post card as a QSL card and still have it displayed in my radio room.

 

[Rt169Radio]

Welcome to Radio Reference! Nice to have another Amateur Radio operator join the ranks of the fourm.

Remember the only dumb question,is the one not asked.

 

[W2NJS]

Jim,

There are no "new" channels involved. The existing channels stay, but with lower deviation, plus there will be new channels in between the existing channels, obviously, owing to the narrower bandwidths being used. If you use a wideband receiver to receive a narrowband signal you might notice that the audio is somewhat lower on the new setup. Likewise, a wideband signal heard on a true, new, narrowband receive may sound overdriven/mushy, you get the idea. Also, the narrowbanding edict from FCC covers only Part 90 licensees, and does not affect ham bands, and several other services. Do a search on this Board for a lot of posts about this subject.

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It's been pointed out that I contradicted myself in the above post when I said there were no "new" channels involved, and I later referred to a "new narrowband receive channel." The fact is that are NO new channels involved, but rather that channels not now assigned under the wideband rules may now be assigned due to the use of narrower deviation. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[n5ims]

This is my first time on the Forum. Hello to all. I have a perhaps dumb question so be understanding. I have a number of scanners. I have been in the hobby and amateur radio as well for a long time. I have the new BC125 AT scanner which is a neat little scanner and the wide band receiver the ICOM R 20. With the new Narrow band channels coming on to VHF and UHF will I be able to receive these channels and if so what do you recommend to receive them. Thank you for your time and any help.

73s
Jim

Welcome to RR. Most newer scanners and even many newer ham VHF/UHF tranceivers can be set for narrowband channels (not only tune them, but use a narrow bandwidth setting) so all you may need to do is change from "FM" to "NFM" or whatever these settings would translate to in your specific radios. Older ones, however, may not have the ability to do this, but should work fine (although with lower audio volume) until the inbetween channels start to be used in your area.

I do have one suggestion for your posts. You have created a couple of posts with the subject of "Jim WM8M". This makes it difficult for folks to easily see what the topic of your posts are. Placing this in your signature line (or simply ending your post with this on a line) and having a more descriptive subject line may get more relevant answers to your questions more quickly. Folks that only have a brief period of time to check the forums may respond to a post with a subject of "Diamond or Cushcraft antenna, which is better?" (assuming they have the knowledge and opinions) but not read one with just your name and call. This is also listed in the "Forum Rules and etiquette" sticky (The RadioReference.com Forums - Announcements in Forum : New User / Getting Started Forum). Not a biggie, but wanted to help get you off on the right foot.

5. Posting message with a subject of "Question" or "Hello" doesn't give a good description to folks who are passing through what the thread is about. Always post a descriptive subject, such as "Frequencies for Dare County Fire Department?".