On Sun, 2 Dec 2012 01:07:45 EST, Phil Kane wrote:

On Sat, 1 Dec 2012 21:45:01 EST, Bill Horne wrote:

Since the "new" spacing is 12.5 KHz, I assume that the "old" +/- 5 KHz
units will have to be replaced, especially if their software doesn't
allow the transmitters to be cut back to the more narrow deviation. If
that's the case, I wonder if any of the manufacturers will be willing to
cooperate in a program like the one we used to have for Teletype
machines, where hams could buy units that were being replaced, as long
as they agreed to keep them from being used in commercial service.

Dream on. Equipment certified and manufactured for the last decade or
so has been required to be "narrow-band-able". One of the deals that
most manufacturers have is a discount for turning in old equipment
which are sent to the crusher. The days of giving or selling them to
the hams are history.

Come to think of it, are police/fire/municipal licensees subject to the
changes that other Part 90 users are going through? If they are, then
there might be an opportunity to transfer /their/ old gear into ARES or
RACES use.

Everyone in the VHF/UHF range must change to narrow-band FM, except
for Amateurs.

In my county of Nye, NV, one of our ARES members worked with a county
radio tech, traveling all over the county (third largest in area in
U.S.) readjusting radios to the new deviation standard. About 1/5 of
the radios were too old to convert, so the county has to buy new
replacements. The county is giving the old radios to our county ARES
group.

We have an excellent relationship with the county emergency services
department. We have demonstrated that we can communicate into areas
where they cannot with their radios. They have purchased HF and V/UHF
ham radios for use in radio rooms in their buildings in the three
largest towns in the county. ARES uses their building in Pahrump for
meetings and training. We also hold VE license exams there. Even the
emergency services department head is a ham and an ARES member.

Dick Grady, AC7EL