Although I've been reading RR for a number of years, this thread made me nostalgic and decided to join to post some information that may bring back memories for others.
Years ago, I had a Bearcat 250 and the big A/S MonR8 antenna on the roof. I had programmed the 5 FDNY VHF frequencies in it but never expected to ever hear anything on it, being that I am 160 air miles from NYC. One night as I was going to bed, 154.250 started making noise and then the other FDNY frequencies started coming alive. I couldn't believe my ears, so I grabbed the cassette recorder and recorded the weak but readable transmissions. It all started around midnight and ended withing an hour.
This thread made me dig out the cassette tape and play it back. The date was May 27 to 28, 1987.
I wrote down some of the dispatcher numbers, hoping this will bring back some fond memories for some out there.
Manhattan: 37 and 234
Brooklyn: 209
Bronx: 287
Queens: 160
These guys were amazing to listen to. Busy as heck and just so professional. Maybe some of those gentlemen are even here on RR??? I know Mr. Raffa is on here and maybe can comment too.
Thanks for listening to my story!!
"Adam-14", I'm sorry but after checking into it, the Bronx Dispatcher I was referring to is actually Dispatcher 1-8-7, not 2-8-7.
But Adam 14, thanks for telling your story. I enjoyed reading it.
And just as a side note, I live 120 miles from New York City. I would look forward to the summer months because that's when the FDNY skip came in the best. There were nights when I would sit in my car and be able to listen to it. Also there were some areas where I would sit and it would come in better than others.
If I was able to hear them in the day, generally speaking, that night I would be able to monitor them for hours. Only thing, getting up the next morning to go to work was pretty tough. I would also pick up my home town of Bridgeport Police and Fire ( PD 154.725/FD 153.77 ) some 75 miles away.
Of course the new Ultrahigh frequencies of the FDNY do not have the distance spread as the high band did. I loose them as soon as I reach the Connecticut/New York border on I-95. Maybe about 15-20 miles out. While the high band I could always pick them up in my car some 50-60 miles out.
I'm just very thankful that they did NOT go to digital and they looked into it before making any move.
Mr Antidigital, aka Willy D