Looking over the form for a new Radio Facility saw the frequencies outside the Marine Band.

Does the Aux use the frequencies 138.475, 142.825, 143.475, 149.200, 150.700 122.900, 123.1.

Is it worth added a radio with these frequencies to a mobile Facility?

Thanks

The first 5 frequencies you list are part of the Auxiliary Wide Area Communications Project. That project has been around since 2005 and going nowhere fast, except maybe in 1SR. For more info, see the Up Top In Ops April 2005. Most of the issue is dedicated to Aux Comms. The frequencies and how they were meant to be used are listed on page 3.

Unless your district has a concrete implementation plan for the repeater system it doesn't make much sense to buy the special radios you need for those frequencies. About the only exception I can think of to that is if you can get enough local interest to use the radios in simplex mode for local comms and events. Of course if the Aux got its act together and repealed the no longer needed bar on FRS use then you could get the same result at a lot lower cost. I did send a proposal up thru the chain in 2005 to do just that. It made it thru to the DSO-CM7 who endorsed it and sent it onward and upward. It hasn't been heard from since.

Ditto for my proposal to group purchase the ISR radios if the Aux didn't want to lift the ban on FSR radios.

The last two channels are CG Aero Channels. The frequency list in the OpsPolMan Appendix J subjects both of these frequenices to Note 1 and 2, which states:

quote:

Note 1: The listed frequency is for aircraft use only

Note 2: The Director of Auxiliary must coordinate with the District Chief of Telecommunications on the use of the aeronautical frequency 123.100 MHz for SAR operations, and 122.900 MHz for SAR training with Auxiliary aircraft facilities.

Note 1 bars the use of these freqs on anything but an aircraft so mobile, fixed based and Aux surface use are not allowed.

quote:

Originally posted by bbeckerusa:
Looking over the form for a new Radio Facility saw the frequencies outside the Marine Band.
Is it worth added a radio with these frequencies to a mobile Facility?
Thanks

If your equipping a facility with a New Radio. There is ann ICOM unit that does both the Narrow Band AUX Frequencies and the VHF Marine band. Available as both a fixed mount and a hand held. You probably want to check with you CM officer to see if they have the details on programming these as well as where to order, cost etc.

If you are considering a dual use radio, make sure you understand what you are buying. I discovered that in 1SR they use ICOM M88 Handhelds in some areas.

Look at the specs for the frequency range of the land use channels - 146.000–174.000MHz. That covers the national repeater pair but not the National Simplex channel nor the second repeater pair/back-up simplex frequencies.

Also it looks like the radio does not operate in true repeater mode. It looks like you would have to put the transmit and receive frequencies in separate memory locations and use scan mode. Just remember to only talk on the right one - or alternatively listen and talk on the repeater output frequency.

quote:

If your equipping a facility with a New Radio. There is ann ICOM unit that does both the Narrow Band AUX Frequencies and the VHF Marine band. Available as both a fixed mount and a hand held.

The fixed mount unit is the ICOM F-121. Be aware that programming it requires ICOM software and a special cable. The cable has a serial port (remember them?) connector - you will have to buy a USB adapter if your computer does not have a serial port. It does cover National Simplex and the other simpolex frequencies.

quote:

Also it looks like the radio does not operate in true repeater mode. It looks like you would have to put the transmit and receive frequencies in separate memory locations and use scan mode.

Yes, it does not operate in true repeater mode. Programming each repeater pair and each marine channel that you want to cover is initially tedious requiring not only separate frequencies but individual repeater PL. This is not a ham rig it is a commercial unit designed to be installed/programmed by profesionals.

What are the rules for using HAM rigs that can operate on VHF marine frequencies?

Remember long ago (more than 15 years) it was not approved, however lots of people did it.

What are the rules for using HAM rigs that can operate on VHF marine frequencies?

You cannot operate on ham frequencies without an amateur radio license. You could own the radio, listen to the ham freqs, and use the marine band with no problem. If you operate on ham freqs without the proper license and without following the proper IDing you will bring down the wrath of every ham in the area and then the FCC. Hams don't like people using their freqs illegally.

Even if you are licened you could not use the ham freqs to perform most Auxiliary missions. You cannot use ham freqs to further or perform a business function. The FCC would consider using the ham bands instead of the marine bands or the Aux assigned freqs to be business use.

Remember long ago (more than 15 years) it was not approved, however lots of people did it.

YM&DMV. My 10 Meter Band Mobile Rig and 2 Meter handheld were both accepted facilities. The latter was a Special Purpose Comm Facility until D7 stopped keeping track of Special Purpose Comm Facilities. They were listed as ComFacs strictly for EmComm use and never had to be used for that purpose.

IF I understand the wrath and usage rules as a HAM my 2 meter mobile unit could be approved as a facility, Using marine freqs for CGAUX work and HAM freqs for HAM stuff. The advantage would be one radio instead of two in my car.

IF I understand the wrath and usage rules as a HAM my 2 meter mobile unit could be approved as a facility, Using marine freqs for CGAUX work and HAM freqs for HAM stuff.

Except for the inevitable, "Your Mileage and District may Vary" the answer is yes.

Instead of permanently mounting my radios in my car, I mounted them inside a saleman's demo case. I got the idea from the article The Box: Portable Emergency Communications Station Ideasand similar articles. The box you use really doesn't matter, one guy has a plan using a Playmate cooler. The box gave me the ability to have a truely portable as opposed to just mobile EmComm station. I don't know if the idea would work with a boat.

All the power leads (on both sides) terminated in Anderson Powerpole Connectors. I got the idea for the APP conncectors from the ham community - they are the recommended standard for ARES/RACES radios. On the radio side all of the Powerpole connectors go to a Re-Dee-2 Connect Powerpole Splitter. One connector on the splitter is used for the cable that connects to the double fused line that is connected to the battery. If you try this approach just make sure the power draw of all the radios is less then that supplied by the power line.

At its peak I had a Marine VHF, 10 Meter Ham and CB radio in the box. All 3 of those radios were ComFacs. The first ComFac I had was the 10 Meter Ham radio. I didn't add the Marine VHF radio until later. So what you want to do would be at least doable or was doable in the 7th.

Since I am no longer in the Aux and have no land authority to use Marine VHF I pulled that radio and sold it. I added a 2 Meter Ham radio in its place. When I upgraded to General, I pulled and sold the 10 Meter Ham radio. That was part of the fundraising for the ICOM IC-703+ that will replace it - hopefully this year.

My full EmComm load-out would include the above and my 50/144/430 Meter Triple Band handheld, 2 GMRS/FRS radios (I have a GMRS license), and a Marine VHF handheld (just in case). I had 4 MURS handhelds but after monitoring them for a year and hearing no local activity I sold them.

Like your setup. Did a talk about mobile radio and talked up the Powoerpoles. As RACES/ARES have seem the advantages of these.
Have a permanently mounted radios in one car and like the portability of the radios. Now going with non mounted and NMO antenna mounts so I can easily change antennas as needed.

Thanks for your advice
73s
N3KNP
Bruce