Even though it is not a requirement here in CT, I have a narrowband
(12.5 Kc) FM repeater on the air (that has been narrow for almost 3
years now). What I have noticed is that ham rigs can do narrowband and
DPL more and more (the first one I had that was capable of narrow band
was purchased around the year 2000 or a little before). Most any ham
rig out there now seems to be able to handle narrow operations. The
only thing I have noticed is that with the exception of the Kenwood
TM-271A, there does not appear to be a ham rig that can do 2.5 KHz
channel steps without getting into the HF/VHF/UHF class radios like the
FT-847 and TS-2000.
Lastly, I am surprised at how many people access the narrowband
repeater and do it correctly. In the beginning we did have several
people trying to access it in wideband mode. The other nice thing about
doing narrowband on the repeater is that with the 15 KHz channel spacing
here in CT, I do not get any crap from adjacent channel repeater users
that I have ever noticed ... just some crap from the tower in the wind
:) If anyone is ever in the area and wants to play ... it is on 146.955
with a DPL of 343 (in and out), and is linked to 5 other repeaters in
the system. Many have said that it has better audio than the wideband
stuff that I have on the air, and I do not use "X-pand" or
compandering. The repeater is located in Morris/Bethlehem CT and covers
to the north/northeast (so that would be up towards Hartford and north)
better than any other direction.
James WJ1D
MCH wrote:
> Yea - like the majority of hams are going to buy replacement rigs, or
> (trying not to burst a seam) modify their rigs for SNFM!
>
> These are the folks who can't even install a CTCSS encoder if their life
> depending on it!
>
> Yea - narrowbanding is going to be a real big deal in the ham bands.
>
> Besides, D-STAR policies have been in place in most areas for quite some
> time, now, and they are very similar to SNFM.
>
> I know WPA has rules for narrowband systems in place.
>
> Joe M.
>
>
