US VHF low land mobile band - still in use?

[hill]

As I have mentioned before on this forum our County Baltimore County broadcasts the main fire talkgroup onto 46.46. Anymore the tones are only used for volunteer stations, but all calls go over it both career and volunteer. Really anything that is transmitted on it like units calling in service at the station.

 

[mmckenna]

That's what makes me think that if someone would see how many licensees are actually still using those frequencies, someone might realize these frequencies could be put to better use somehow and actually get used.

Yeah, I get it. But that's not always how it works. As was said, the NTIA, military and other users have pieces of this spectrum and they are not likely to give it up. Also things like ITU have a bit of say with what happens with it. Since low band can skip easily, and as the OP said, he hears traffic in New Zealand, the FCC cannot simply do whatever it wants all the time.
The NTIA Redbook is a good read, especially their frequency assignment tables. ITU is also an interesting website to take a look at.

 

[rural_radio]

APCO maintains (or did as of last year) a list of which public safety agency is actively using which VHF-Low channel. I'm not sure how complete or accurate it is, but I thought it was useful to compare who was still using low band versus who just kept renewing the license.

After a storm, I sometimes hear out-of-town power companies helping with repairs on the itinerants.

Every once in a while, I hear casual chit-chat on one of the low-power business frequencies. It doesn't sound like a business, but it's so infrequent, I guess propagation has to be just right.

Other than public safety users with unit numbers, I never hear any IDs from anyone.

 

[mancow]

The fewer the civilian users on VHF-Lo, the better the Army, the Marine Corps, and the Navy like it.

I wonder why they didn't move to VHF or UHF.

 

[ecps92]

Plenty of low-band out here in New England, slowly moving away, but still there, for those who have patience.

APCO maintains (or did as of last year) a list of which public safety agency is actively using which VHF-Low channel. I'm not sure how complete or accurate it is, but I thought it was useful to compare who was still using low band versus who just kept renewing the license.

After a storm, I sometimes hear out-of-town power companies helping with repairs on the itinerants.

Every once in a while, I hear casual chit-chat on one of the low-power business frequencies. It doesn't sound like a business, but it's so infrequent, I guess propagation has to be just right.

Other than public safety users with unit numbers, I never hear any IDs from anyone.

 

[rural_radio]

I wonder why they didn't move to VHF or UHF.

The military does use VHF and UHF for the same sorts of things that civilian users do, everything from air traffic control to trunked radio systems to low-power handhelds similar to hardened FRS radios (although encrypted).

The military comms I've heard in the 30-88 MH range have been tactical nets during large-scale exercises or national guard units in the wake of a hurricane.

When there's no infrastructure, I guess advantages such as better propagation over hilly terrain or better range for the same ERP outweigh the disadvantages like large antennas or interference from distant stations.