Apco narrowbanding update

When our dispatchers receive a call, they activate one of three tones, depending on the required response. Every active member is assigned a Motorola Minitor pager. Our main transmitter is housed at our headquarters, and this is our primary alerting source. When the FCC announced the new narrowband requirements, our department — like many around us — figured this was not going to directly affect us.

Our frequency is used only for alerting — no big deal. We have since contacted our radio vendor to ask what has to be done and the scope of the work necessary to bring us into compliance.

Talk about an eye-opening experience. The first part of the scope of the work is reducing our primary and backup transmitters from 25 kHz to Replace parts as needed. Keep your budgetary decision-makers informed. Your local APCO chapter can be of assistance. Implementing this project will most likely have a cost for your agency.

Various APCO members have participated in talks with government officials about this problem. The transmitter will meet the new requirements but the receiver will not, meaning this equipment will have to be replaced again, probably sooner rather than later. Think twice before starting down this path. Some rural areas may be far enough away from major cities to be able to use older, wideband receivers beyond the deadline.

There is less interference in these areas due to adjacent channel noise, co-channel interference and other types of noise associated with the urban environment. In this case, using a unit with a wideband receiver may be acceptable for a while. Before taking action, I suggest conducting a comprehensive coverage test of your service area that will provide a basis for future reference. The bottom line: The narrowbanding deadline is fast approaching.

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