GottIstGutig
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I'm just curious if there is anyone here who's poice department is still on low band...
Low Band PD'
- Thread starter GottIstGutig
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VernM
Member
Sure are, out here beyond the big citys and big budgets. Missouri Highway Patrol continues to cross band dispatchers and, sometimes cars, to 42.+++ and several northern Arkansas counties are still using the 38 MHz band. It's the hills and hollar's you see.
tbnmaster
Member
The California Highway Patrol still uses it.
Absolutely right. All things being equal (which they never really are, of course), low-band propagates longer distances better than VHF-hi, UHF, or 800. Which is one reason a number of states' highway patrols have stayed with 42 mHz - they cover much greater area than do local PDs.VernM said:
It may not be entirely coincidental that most of the 42-43 mHz segment has been reserved by the FCC for STATE law enforcement agencies.
OTOH, one of the big drawbacks of low-band in the public-safety setting is the antenna issue with portable radios. HTs typically use quarter-wave antennas, which roughly equates to
3¼" at 860 mHz
6" at 460 mHz
18" at 155 mHz (so they opt for somewhat "lossy" shorter antennas)
At 42.50 mHz, though, a quarter-wave antenna would be about 5½ feet long... not terribly convenient. The 10" low-band rubber antennas are very inefficient, bordering on useless over more than a few hundred feet.
Boring anecdote: I was told by a LAFD Battalion Chief that back when they used 33 mHz he was once on the 7th or 8th floor of a building, leaning out the window, and he couldn't communicate with his people directly below him, "I could have THROWN the radio at them and hit 'em, but I couldn't talk to 'em with the damned thing."
jparks29
John McClane
Maryland state police is still lowband
Hi y'all,
"The 10" low-band rubber antennas are very inefficient, bordering on useless over more than a few hundred feet."
That's what cross-band portables and mobile repeaters are for. Transmit to the car on Hi Band and receive the base on Lo Band.
Dawn hyar in Haint Holler we's bin a usin' CB since the Dukes and Sheriff Coltrane gived us th' idee. Nawp, we's a have TV in th' hills buts daawn inda holler it's kinda snowy even in Ju-lyee. Then them CBees gives th' TV eye when thay's a passin th' shack, an' ah DO meen SHACK. Weul, wunna dems po-lice radiddios is jus' two dang ex... ex... dang, it jus' costs too much.
"The 10" low-band rubber antennas are very inefficient, bordering on useless over more than a few hundred feet."
That's what cross-band portables and mobile repeaters are for. Transmit to the car on Hi Band and receive the base on Lo Band.
Dawn hyar in Haint Holler we's bin a usin' CB since the Dukes and Sheriff Coltrane gived us th' idee. Nawp, we's a have TV in th' hills buts daawn inda holler it's kinda snowy even in Ju-lyee. Then them CBees gives th' TV eye when thay's a passin th' shack, an' ah DO meen SHACK. Weul, wunna dems po-lice radiddios is jus' two dang ex... ex... dang, it jus' costs too much.
N4UYV_Al
Member
Massachusetts State Police
Yep, having worked with "extenders" I was going to include that in my original post, but I was rambling enough already. Specifically I was thinking about the murder of two California Highway Patrol officers, which led directly to CHP's getting extenders about 25 years ago. It was believed that their inability to reach the dispatcher was a contributing factor to their deaths.kb2vxa said:
rcvmo
Member
At 42.50 mHz, though, a quarter-wave antenna would be about 5½ feet long... not terribly convenient. The 10" low-band rubber antennas are very inefficient, bordering on useless over more than a few hundred feet.
Welllllll........................A story for lo-band.
Many Moons ago, A good friend who was a Twp. officer was at the HS football game on foot patrol. The traffic car was less than a mile from him. A fight broke out and the officer called for help on his lo-band HT. No one ever responded back for at least 5 min. Out of the blue a strong voice came over the air asking what his emergency was and where he was located. (South Eastern Michigan, rural area). The dept. responding to his emergency was the Arkansas State Patrol who heard him while the traffic car less than a mile from him never heard a peep until county dispatch called the traffic car with a message from his colleague through A.S.P.
The calvary arrived. Fortunately, the lost time was only 15 min.
rcvmo
Welllllll........................A story for lo-band.
Many Moons ago, A good friend who was a Twp. officer was at the HS football game on foot patrol. The traffic car was less than a mile from him. A fight broke out and the officer called for help on his lo-band HT. No one ever responded back for at least 5 min. Out of the blue a strong voice came over the air asking what his emergency was and where he was located. (South Eastern Michigan, rural area). The dept. responding to his emergency was the Arkansas State Patrol who heard him while the traffic car less than a mile from him never heard a peep until county dispatch called the traffic car with a message from his colleague through A.S.P.
The calvary arrived. Fortunately, the lost time was only 15 min.
rcvmo
jmp883
Member
The PD/FD I dispatch for part-time are still on VHF-Lo. 2 frequencies on 37 MHz and one on 45 MHz, without repeaters. We'll be on UHF (500 MHz), with repeaters, by the end of the summer. All new radio room consoles and new mobiles and handhelds for the PD/FD/EMS. All to be installed by the end of the summer.
The full-time job is UHF (400 MHz), but we just got word that a communications consultant has been hired to plan our new communications system. Rumor is that we'll be leaving the UHF conventional system for either a trunked system or an APCO-25 system.
It's a great time for me being a dispatcher. 2 new radio rooms coming, and all those new radios to play with
!
The full-time job is UHF (400 MHz), but we just got word that a communications consultant has been hired to plan our new communications system. Rumor is that we'll be leaving the UHF conventional system for either a trunked system or an APCO-25 system.
It's a great time for me being a dispatcher. 2 new radio rooms coming, and all those new radios to play with
!
KC4ZEX
Member
Low band is hard to beat for distance.We used 39.58 for yrs. for Fire Dept communications. Most of the complaints were that they didn't like to hear the skip from distant states. We used the base loaded mobile antennas about 47 or 48 inches long didn't look bad on a vehicle. also I had a Ritron RT 50 Ht. with a 10 inch antenna it was good for 10 to 12 miles to a base. Still have it but the battery went bad. Had a bunch of Regency BTL301's and a few Pace mobiles. they were far ahead of the big heavy motorola's.
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Most of North Carolina HP is still there
Mississippi Highway Patrol still uses low band.
Be Safe
Be Safe
Here in SoCal main low band user is CHP
There are some ambulance services in LA county that still use it too.
Back in 2001 when VHF-lo would open up I'd hear plenty of law enforcement on low band... mostly in the 39 MHz range. They had southern accents and were giving eastern time zones. I recall some of them running Virgina license plates so probably from that area. I also logged Missouri Highway Patrol on 42 MHz, as well as Indiana and North Carolina.
There are some ambulance services in LA county that still use it too.
Back in 2001 when VHF-lo would open up I'd hear plenty of law enforcement on low band... mostly in the 39 MHz range. They had southern accents and were giving eastern time zones. I recall some of them running Virgina license plates so probably from that area. I also logged Missouri Highway Patrol on 42 MHz, as well as Indiana and North Carolina.
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KC4ZEX said:
I bet you heard us here in Kansas quite a bit since 39.580 was the point to point State frequency for ages. The county to our south finally left it only a year ago.
n2ops
Member
Check out this APCO link on low band users:
http://www.apco911.org/frequency/documents/LowBandChannelsListbyState_000.pdf
http://www.apco911.org/frequency/documents/LowBandChannelsListbyState_000.pdf
KC4ZEX
Member
In the late 70's heard Kansas quite a bit talked to them a couple times. You could call meade co Ky dispatch and Meade kansas would answer. Indiana is trying to switch from 42.42 to an 800 Digital system. They have had nothing but trouble and it will never be as good as low band.
Gallipolis, Ohio - 39.58
We used 39.58 for Police/Fire dispatching until the mid 80's. Then we went to 39.62 for both.
I talked to somebody in the Eastman Kodak building someplace in Kansas one afternoon. In those days, we never had, used or even heard of PL....
Our PD went UHF about 1995. Our FD has stayed on 39.62. It's really nice actually, every other county around us that used to be on low band has moved, so, they have it all to theirself now !!!!
Steve/Gallia :wink:
mancow said:
We used 39.58 for Police/Fire dispatching until the mid 80's. Then we went to 39.62 for both.
I talked to somebody in the Eastman Kodak building someplace in Kansas one afternoon. In those days, we never had, used or even heard of PL....
Our PD went UHF about 1995. Our FD has stayed on 39.62. It's really nice actually, every other county around us that used to be on low band has moved, so, they have it all to theirself now !!!!
Steve/Gallia :wink:
richardc63
Member
tbnmaster said:
Don't we know it... we hear them over here in eastern Australia every time the band opens... drives some people crazy!
Cheers,
Richard
Sydney Australia
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