Who decides? Long post.

[joekansas]

I have a question. When a county or city wants to have a new VHF "tactical" channel to sneak off to to communicate on, they do have to apply to FCC, right? I am talking about the local, county level here.

Who decides what freq. they are allowed to transmit on? The county EMS "administrator"? As much changing as they seem to do locally (adding 3 different EMS channels, for instance), I don't see how they could be going thru the proper channels and waiting for the powers to be in Washington to authorize every move they make.

Would it be that the radio service bunch has the proper info and knows who talks on what, what frequencies are unoccupied within a certain radius of this area, so they make the decisions on their own and send in the paperwork after the fact- not waiting for FCC to decide anything?

I am of the opinion that the local radio service company that does our sheriffs office, deputies, reserve deputies, and volunteer FD radio work may have some say when it comes to choosing frequencies for that kind of operation. That whole bunch is kind of a "good ole boy" network. Some of the family members who have the radio service company are also reserve deputies, are on the sheriff's dive team, and volunteer FD for their small town.
The reason I am asking is in the past (say the last ten years) I had found our local sheriffs deputies talking (casually) on a freq. that wasn't on any list. They were VHF frequencies and no list showed our city or county authorized to broadcast on them. Now, with the advent of scrambling and cell phones, there seems to be no traffic on those "tac" channels anymore. And, the tac channels they used in the past still don't show up on the list of frequencies our locals are authorized on.

Maybe they did this all under the radar.

 

[hoser147]

Its possible that it was "done under the radar". Did you check to see if the freqs are under the name of the Radio service co? You might also try a search of the FCC database. Good Luck

 

[DaveNF2G]

Entities licensed under the old Police Radio Service were authorized by FCC regs to transmit at very low power on just about any frequency they wished for tactical purposes.

 

[zz0468]

I have a question. When a county or city wants to have a new VHF "tactical" channel to sneak off to to communicate on, they do have to apply to FCC, right? I am talking about the local, county level here.

Who decides what freq. they are allowed to transmit on? The county EMS "administrator"? As much changing as they seem to do locally (adding 3 different EMS channels, for instance), I don't see how they could be going thru the proper channels and waiting for the powers to be in Washington to authorize every move they make.

On a properly licensed frequency, the final determination of frequency is done by a regional frequency coordinator - who that actually is depends on the specific region, and the radio service the frequency is to be licensed under. There is no real limit how many frequencies can be applied for, so adding 3 isn't unreasonable, depending on congestion. You can always ask... the worst the coordinator can say is "no".

Would it be that the radio service bunch has the proper info and knows who talks on what, what frequencies are unoccupied within a certain radius of this area, so they make the decisions on their own and send in the paperwork after the fact- not waiting for FCC to decide anything?

The people involved in servicing would probably have some frequency ideas to start with. You get that by networking with other local agencies, monitoring, searching records, etc. Application is then made to the coordinator, who does an in-depth study. Once your request is approved, the application, with the proper coordination paperwork is sent to the FCC, who usually rubber stamps the license - provided you did your leg work properly.

I am of the opinion that the local radio service company that does our sheriffs office, deputies, reserve deputies, and volunteer FD radio work may have some say when it comes to choosing frequencies for that kind of operation. That whole bunch is kind of a "good ole boy" network. Some of the family members who have the radio service company are also reserve deputies, are on the sheriff's dive team, and volunteer FD for their small town.

Yeah? Ok.

The reason I am asking is in the past (say the last ten years) I had found our local sheriffs deputies talking (casually) on a freq. that wasn't on any list. They were VHF frequencies and no list showed our city or county authorized to broadcast on them. Now, with the advent of scrambling and cell phones, there seems to be no traffic on those "tac" channels anymore. And, the tac channels they used in the past still don't show up on the list of frequencies our locals are authorized on.

There is a provision in the FCC part 90 rules that allows law enforcement agencies to operate on any allocated law enforcement frequency with low power without licensing, and without prior approval on a non-interfering basis. Many, if not most, law enforcement agencies are aware of this rule, and frequently take advantage of it. The reasons the rule exist should be obvious.

Maybe they did this all under the radar.

Yep. Maybe they did.

 

[slicerwizard]

The reasons the rule exist should be obvious.

So they can practice security through obscurity?

 

[joekansas]

That's what I was thinkin.....

 

[ecps92]

Which is why, if you don't hear'em, SEARCH for them

Entities licensed under the old Police Radio Service were authorized by FCC regs to transmit at very low power on just about any frequency they wished for tactical purposes.