Are you narrowband compliant? If not, the FCC deadline for narrowbanding is almost upon us and you are almost out of time.
What is the narrowband requirement? The FCC mandated that all manufacturers of business two way radios must cease the manufacture and import of radios that include a 25 kHz mode and all VHF/UHF industrial, business and Public Safety Radio Pool licensees must operate on 12.5 kHz (11.25 kHz occupied bandwidth) or narrower channels By January 1, 2013. At that time, all business land mobile radios and licensees operating in the 150-174 MHz VHF and 421-512 MHz UHF bands must be at 12.5 KHz or narrower.
The good news is that most business class radios sold in the United States within the last eight to ten years are already narrowband capable or compliant. If you are currently operating on wideband, you may simply need to re-program your radios for narrowband. However, if your radios are older, they may need to be upgraded. Fortunately, Kenwood and Motorola are both offering special rebate offers on new UHF and VHF business radios that are narrowband ready. Motorola is currently offering a trade-in promotion as well, in which you can trade in your old wideband radios for newer narroband-compliant models. These promotions end December 31, 2012, so if you need to upgrade, now is the time.
In addition to the radios themselves, business operators must also be licensed for narrowband frequencies. If you are already licensed for narrowband, you're all set. If your license covers wideband only you will need to update your license by December 31, 2012. If you need assistance, give us a call. We can help.
For more information about the new FCC narrowband requirements there are several resources available at Buy Two Way Radios.
Wrap up and Close 28:34
Send in your comments and questions for Danny, Anthony and Rick to show[at]buytwowayradios.com. Feedback on this and other topics will be read by the hosts and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at www.twowayradioshow.com!
Motorola is in the process of updating the RDX two way radio series to be fully compliant with the FCC's 2013 narrowband changes, and today we received our first updated model: the Motorola RDU2080d. By June 1st, we expect the entire line to be fully updated to "narrowband ready".
What's New In The Narrowband Ready Version
The most noticeable change with this new version is the packaging. The box has gotten a little smaller, and is now green and white with a bold "NARROWBAND READY" stamp. As far as the radio itself, the only obvious change is that the model number on the front is now printed in green instead of white.
The actual radio hardware didn't change. Like practically all radios made in the last decade, the RDX series radios have been technically narrowband compliant since they were first released. What's new is that the certain frequencies built into the radio were previously being defaulted to 25 KHz channel spacing (wideband), and now all built-in frequencies will be defaulted to 12.5 KHz spacing (narrowband).
How This Update Will Affect Your Radios
If you are buying Motorola RDX series radios for the first time, all of your radios will be "Narrowband Ready" and will work great. If you have existing RDX series radios and will be mixing them with the new "Narrowband Ready" models, we recommend that you make a settings change on the older two way radios. The new models will talk to the old models right out of the box (unless you've changed the default settings), and most likely you won't notice any difference. To get the most optimal clarity when communicating between the new and older radios, however, the settings on the older radios need to be changed to default to narrowband.
Updating Your Existing Radios For Narrowband
The following channels were setup for wideband by default and will need to be changed for optimal audio quality with the new "Narrowband Ready" radios. This only applies if you are using your radios on default frequencies/channels.
RDU2020 - Both channels 1 and 2 are wideband by default. RDU2080d - Channels 1, 2, 3, and 4 are wideband by default. RDU4100 - All 10 channels are wideband by default. RDU4160d - All 16 channels are wideband by default. RDV2020 - Both channels 1 and 2 are wideband by default. RDV2080d - Channels 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 are wideband by default (all channels except 5). RDV5100 - All 10 channels are wideband by default.
The easiest way to update your existing radios is to download the RDX series programming software and purchase an RDX series programming cable. This cable will allow you to connect the radio to your PC and easily change the bandwidth options.
If your RDX series radio has a display (RDU2080d, RDV2080d, and RDU4160d) then you can adjust bandwidth directly through the radio using the following steps:
1. With the radio OFF, hold down the PTT and SB1 buttons while turning the radio on. (SB1 is the round button just below the PTT button on the side.) Continue to hold down the buttons until the radio beeps. A "PROG" icon on the display confirms you are in programming mode.
2. Use the + / - keys to select the channel you need to adjust.
3. Press MENU until the display shows "Rx BW HI" (HI will be flashing.)
4. Press the - (minus) key and the flashing HI will change to a flashing "LO"
5. Press and hold the PTT button until you hear a short beep. This returns you to the channel selection prompt of programming mode.
6. To make the same change for a different channel, return to step 2.
7. To save settings and exit programming mode, press and hold the PTT button again until you hear a short beep.
To see a demonstration of these steps, check out the following video:
Still using your two way radios on wideband? If so, you need to prepare your migration to narrowband as soon as possible, before the end of this year.
The FCC issued a public notice January 5 to remind everyone that the deadline to transition to narrowband is January 1, 2013. This includes private business class land mobile radios and licensees in the 150-174 MHz VHF and 421-512 MHz UHF bands. After January 1, all business radios that operate within these bands must do so using narrowband technology at 12.5 KHz or narrower.
According to the FCC, all VHF/UHF industrial, business and Public Safety Radio Pool licensees must operate on 12.5 kHz (11.25 kHz occupied bandwidth) or narrower channels and all two way radio manufacturers must cease the manufacture and import of radios that include a 25 kHz mode. This applies to all radios purchased after December 31, 2012.
As long as you are licensed for narrowband and your radios support narrowbanding (most radios sold within the last decade do) they should be in compliance. All you may need to do is simply re-program your radios for narrowband if you are still using wideband frequencies. However, if you are licensed for wideband only you will need to update your license for narrowband. In addition, if you are still using older radios that operate in wideband mode only, you will need to upgrade them to support narrowband as well - and you will need to do this by December 31, 2012.
Although a bill has been introduced to delay the transition, our sources have told us that the chances of it actually passing are very low. As such, waiting until the eleventh hour for a possible extension of the deadline may be a risky proposition.
If you need to upgrade your licenses and/or business two way radios, we can help. Give us a call at 1-800-584-1445 today. Don't wait until the last minute to become narrowband compliant. The time to prepare is now.
In this episode we discuss the the FCC's new 2013 narrowbanding requirement and what it means for users of business two way radios.
Intro :00
Billboard 1:13
Topic Discussion 1:29
We talk about the FCC's 2013 narrowbanding mandate. We will clarify what this means, help you determine if this mandate will impact your business, and if so how to move forward. For more information about the new FCC requirement, read A Summary of the FCC's Proposed Changes to GMRS and Other Services in the Two Way Radio Blog.
Wrap up and Close 28:57
Send in your comments and questions for Danny, Anthony and Rick to show(at)buytwowayradios.com. Feedback on this and other topics will be read by the hosts and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at www.twowayradioshow.com!