MURS with a TK2300 Question

[wpflum]

According to the FCC.gov website the channels for MURS are the following.

151.820 MHz (11.25 kHz)
151.880 MHz (11.25 kHz)
151.940 MHz (11.25 kHz)
154.570 MHz (20.00 kHz)
154.600 MHz (20.00 kHz)

I've recently been put in charge of our yard radios and found out that although the one yard has it's radios set to 156.6 using Kenwood TK2200s the other yard has it's radios set to 154.49 using a combination of old Motorolas and some new Kenwood TK2300s.

Originally both yards had licenses but we were told that we no longer needed them several years back so they were dropped. My question is if the radios in the one yard are set to a frequency other than the 5 listed channels are they not on the free bands? Or am I reading something wrong about the channels??

This came up when I tried to swap some of the newer TK2300 radios to the yard with the 154.6 frequency and discovered that they do not have a setting for that frequency and that none of the frequencies in the MURS table are available on this model. I'm worried that we are running illegal transmitters at the one yard so I really need some clarification ASAP.

Thanks

wpflum

Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2011 2:00 pm

 

[Astro25]

Assuming the information you've provided is accurate, 154.490 and 156.600 would require a license to operate.

If you're able to re-program the fleet, pick a MURS frequency that's relatively free of local chatter and slap a random PL/DPL on it.... you'd be good to go.

 

[wpflum]

Assuming the information you've provided is accurate, 154.490 and 156.600 would require a license to operate.

If you're able to re-program the fleet, pick a MURS frequency that's relatively free of local chatter and slap a random PL/DPL on it.... you'd be good to go.

I mistyped the one freq, it should have been 154.6 not 156.6. Looking at the frequency tables available for the TK2300 it appears to me that there are no MURS frequencies in it. I'm still trying to track down why the radio shop that sold us the radios, I found out we scrapped the old motorolas and bought 10 new Kenwoods, programmed them like this since we did not have license for that freq. Was there any chatter from the FCC that they were going to expand the MURS freq table??

 

[radioman2001]

154.49 would still need a license.

 

[wpflum]

154.49 would still need a license.

I was afraid of that. I dug into the FCC License search page and came up with nothing for that yard so now I'm trying to find out why this was done and what we have to do to get a license for that channel.

 

[ramal121]

The 154.490 freq sounds like your old existing channel, and you stated the license was allowed to lapse.You are not authorized to use that anymore. Although you are ultimately responsible for the operation of your radios, a finger wag to the shop that did not verify your license for that frequency nor inform you that it was invalid.

The preprogrammed user accessible frequencies are only a handful that the radio can accept. If MURS is not included in this, so be it. I don't know for sure, but the 2300 may not even be type accepted for MURS service and maybe that is why it is left out. In any case they can be programmed to any frequency in the 151 to 159 MHz range using a computer and the programming software. Sounds like they need a trip back to the shop for a change.

 

[wpflum]

The 154.490 freq sounds like your old existing channel, and you stated the license was allowed to lapse.You are not authorized to use that anymore. Although you are ultimately responsible for the operation of your radios, a finger wag to the shop that did not verify your license for that frequency nor inform you that it was invalid.

The preprogrammed user accessible frequencies are only a handful that the radio can accept. If MURS is not included in this, so be it. I don't know for sure, but the 2300 may not even be type accepted for MURS service and maybe that is why it is left out. In any case they can be programmed to any frequency in the 151 to 159 MHz range using a computer and the programming software. Sounds like they need a trip back to the shop for a change.

Its possible it was the old freq except for the fact that we never had a license for that yard. The 154.6 was licensed at the other yard until the FCC changed it to a free band. I wasn't involved with the radio situation when the original Motorola handhelds were bought, 10 years before my time back in the 80s, so I don't know what freq they were set to before they were scrapped for the TK2300s, I'm trying to get in touch with the salesman who sold us the batch but have had no luck yet. Unfortunately theses are ProTalk units not just the normal run of the mill TK2300s as far as I know they can only be programmed with the supplied freq tables and not anything in the freq range of the radio. I do have the software and cable and I have looked but everything I've seen shows me that we're stuck with 10 non-MURS units we'll have to get license for or junk them and get something else that will take the MURS channels.

 

[radioman2001]

You can put them on 154.57 and 154.60 without a license in wideband. Those 2 freq are leftovers from licensed service, they don't require meeting the MURS restrictions of 1 watt (they are 2 watt) and non-removable antenna.

 

[wpflum]

You can put them on 154.57 and 154.60 without a license in wideband. Those 2 freq are leftovers from licensed service, they don't require meeting the MURS restrictions of 1 watt (they are 2 watt) and non-removable antenna.

Not an option as the TK2300 ProTalks do not list these in their frequency tables and the ProTalks cannot be programmed off table, as far as I know


The one yard is on the 154.6 freebee and I really wish that had been carried over to the second yard as it would have made everything much simpler.