FCC Narrowband Deadline January 1, 2013

[SteveOFD 176]

January 1, 2012 has come and gone and the Federal Communications Commission's deadline for narrowbanding is less than a year away (January 1, 2013). Information on narrowbanding can be found in my previous post from August.

Narrowbanding requires both the reprogramming of existing radios (or purchasing of compliant radios), and updating FCC licenses to reflect the narrowband emissions.

With that said, in researching the FCC's database, the following Westchester agencies are in need of at least updating their FCC licenses. (This may not be a complete list, so please verify yourself).

I am not trying to put down any particular agency, just trying to give a heads up on the deadline, and as you will see below, I am working on updating my agency's license (all of our radios are compliant, only had to reprogram some to meet compliance).

Briarcliff FD & PD

Ossining FD & VAC

Croton on Hudsson PD

Peekskill VAC

Sleepy Hollow PD

Pound Ridge PD

Elmsford FD & PD

Hastings on Hudson FD & PD

Tarrytown FD

Harrison PD

Mamaroneck Village PD

Larchmont PD

New Castle PD

North Castle PD

Mount Kisco PD

Lake Mohegan FD & VAC

Yonkers FD & PD

Eastchester FD

Mount Vernon PD

New Rochelle PD (Mobile)

White Plains FD & PD

As stated above, this may not be a compete list of agencies who need to update their licenses. To view the status of your license(s) go to PublicSafetyTools.info and follow the instructions in my post linked above.

If you have any questions please feel free to post or PM me and I will try to help.

[SteveOFD 176]

DON'T GET SCAMMED!!!!!

Narrowbanding is only required for frequencies in the 150MHz - 174MHz, & 421MHz - 512MHz bands see this FCC Link.

Recently I have seen a couple of local area agencies submitting applications to the FCC to narrowband their Low Band 30MHz - 50MHz licenses. Licenses for Low Band frequencies DO NOT need to be narrowbanded.

Again, DON'T GET SCAMMED!!!!

[IzzyEng4 427]

SteveOFD is right, too many people out there are pushing themselves as "radio techs" and giving out false information. Make sure yo speak with a reputable radio company if you need to become compliant.

[SteveOFD 176]

Just a reminder the FCC Narrowbanding is less than SIX MONTHS away. Some of the agencies listed above are still not in the process of updating their licenses.

I recently submitted an application to modify our license. The whole process, once I got our password changed for the FCC' s website took about ten minutes. The hardest part of the process was getting our password reset. To reset your password, you need your FCC FRN (FCC Registration Number, available on your license) and your agencies Federal Tax ID number. With this info the password can be reset.

If you feel you want to do this yourself, and you need assistance, feel free to PM me and I will provide a contact number to reach me.

[SteveOFD 176]

Today I received notification that our application to narrowband our UHF frequencies has been approved. The whole process took just less than a month for the FCC to approve. The application was accepted 6/14/12 and approved today 7/11/12. As I stated above it was relatively easy to do and there was NO CHARGE to modify the license for this narrowbanding.

[GBFD111 73]

So our county (St. Lawrence County) has just switched over to narrowbanding this week and I have noticed that the quality of radio traffic has decreased dramatically. It sounds very distorted and many times while talking to dispatch or other units they can't hear what we are saying.

Has anyone else had issues since they switched to narrowbanding?

[helicopper 1,050]

So our county (St. Lawrence County) has just switched over to narrowbanding this week and I have noticed that the quality of radio traffic has decreased dramatically. It sounds very distorted and many times while talking to dispatch or other units they can't hear what we are saying.

Has anyone else had issues since they switched to narrowbanding?

Is all the equipment reprogrammed and adjusted for the narrowband?

If you're still using hardware that has not been reprogrammed it may sound distorted.

[GBFD111 73]

Yeah all of our radios are switched over to narrowbanding but still it sounds awful

[50-65 205]

We also have had problems with the narrowbanding. Some of our members, depending on where you live, will not get the page. Others the volume is weak or transmission is broken. Sometimes a page for Sparrowbush will come in like they are next door and we won't hear a page for a neighboring department.

Radios are not much better. Reception is spotty at best. There have been times when we have resorted to cell phones to communicate.

It will only get worse when frequencies are further narrowbanded in the near future.