Eavesdropping is tempting because wide-area mobile comms are obviously
designed to cover a large area and so it really is quite easy to receive at
least base stations and repeaters. If you say they deserve to be heard if they
don't encrypt their voice traffic in any way - I would say you need to consider
the harsh economic reality of replacing huge numbers of radios, but it will
happen. You may think that the USA has things right, as they may listen to their
public services (but not cellphones) but you can't argue with our law unless you
can get it changed, and unprocessed bacon might fly. There may well be a large
number of cases of the US public assisting their law officers after having heard
about incidents on their scanners, but I don't think that justifies the personal
details of victims of crime being known. If anything, maybe there should be a
clear channel in each area that the public MAY listen to, where the police
actually ask the public for their assistance. Could be tricky from a legal
liability angle though! Please don't tell me you think you have a right to
listen to the movements of covert investigations...
So if you've ever wondered what's beyond the dial on your ordinary radio,
this is the page for you. Just be aware that you shouldn't tune in to anything
private - if someone is talking loudly in the street and you can easily
overhear, you still don't morally have the right to listen do you? If the vast
amount of broadcasts and ham radio conversations aren't enough to amuse you (and
the rest of what life in general has to offer) then that's quite sad. If I ever
have time to switch on my receiver (to see what the propagation's like) the only
bands I need to go to are amateur ones. And good music is much more satisfying.
If you can find it.
In a decade or so there may not be all that much else to listen to anyway on
current scanners, with FM broadcasters moving to DAB, analogue TV making way to
digital, PMR and emergency services changing to TETRA, and both Marine and Aero
traffic increasingly using digital modes and satellites for routine traffic,
cellphones all digital. Maybe the spectrum will one day consist of just one
system for mobile access to THE NET which provides for all possible
communication needs - a load of buzzing noises wherever you tune, except for the
long-established amateur bands. Then you scanner owners can relax, you won't be
able to do anything illegal with them if you try - unless you decide to throw
them through someone's window!
So before long a scanner will be virtually useless except for listening to
the hams. Those who are only into the naughty stuff will find another hobby and
those who are geniunely interested in radio will have no choice but to go down
the amateur route.
I would say that if you have an interest in these matters, devote your
energies now to Amateur Radio PLEASE! We need more activity in the bands.
Amateur radio covers bands from Low Frequencies (with 2km wavelengths) to
ultra-high micro-wave bands (wavelengths in millimeters) with modes ranging from
good old-fashioned morse code (CW) to AM/FM speech (communications bandwidths)
to advanced narrowband speech (Single Side Band) to Television (slow scan like
FAX through to full motion/definition FMW broadcast quality) to digital/data
modes like RTTY and Packet. Transmissions can be direct, fixed and mobile (and
Maritime Mobile), via satellite, bent through the troposphere, bounced off
various layers of charged particles in the upper atmosphere, or even bounced off
the moon (EME), or shooting stars (MS)! And all for just 15 quid per year -
bargain. Go on - prove you know what you're talking about - take the RAE
examination soon. Even if you don't ever use it... See the RA web-page
info, or the Radio Society for Good
Buddies site for more details, or the UK Ham Radio FAQ.
And the G7KPF Quick
Links. Join and support the RSGB too, it's a good idea as they do tend to
negotiate new bands for us.
Here then, is my quick tour of the spectrum of 2000, with links to other
sites where appropriate.
All information sourced from freely published books,
magazines and web-sites (RA,ERO), without the need for a scanner, as part of an
ongoing quest to figure out what lies beyond the broadcasting bands...
Amateur & CB - HF, 50, 70, 144, 430 MHz etc. Can be good, can be dull -
you decide. You may listen.
Aeronautical - "airband" - HF, 108-137 MHz. You may not listen, but it seems
to be tolerated.
Maritime - HF, 156-163 MHz. Probably tolerated, but no listening unless
licensed, and on-board.
Low Power / Short Range Devices - Cordless telephones / headphones /
microphones, remote control etc.
Military - various web pages will show that there is a world market for
equipment operating in the bands such as HF, 30-87.5 (25kHz FM), 116-155 &
225-400 (25kHz AM), 470-512 etc. Note that whilst the odd Combat Net here and
there may be "in the clear" any serious tactical use would be very hard to find.
Frequency hopping and scrambling are used - after all, would you want your
country defended by forces that could be easily monitored?
Operational use
(like PMR) for base security, training, Mil. Police, MOULD etc. involves fixed
frequencies, and various books show that Low VHF, Low Band, Mid Band, 406.1-420
and UHF1 are heavily used for these purposes. There is currently a general move
from VHF to UHF, and the use of a TETRA system is being considered. This type of
radio traffic is still not to be listened to!
Public Telecomms - paging, mobile telephone/data - the reason why scanner
manufacturers HAD to include coverage of the 900MHz band (! there's nowt else up
there to listen to). Eavesdropping on analogue mobile calls is quite rightly
frowned upon.
Home Office for the Emergency Services - previous versions of this document
did not mention these allocations, but as the bands are shown on RA pages, and
in various books, some are now included for the sake of clarity. Only the BANDS
are shown, not actual frequencies in use. Do NOT listen in!
NOTE 2: Dots after a frequency signifies the start of a range, whereas a
single spot frequency has no trailing dots - although this doesn't apply in the
two-column section. Frequencies given relate to the center of the transmission
(COFDM, FM, AM) (i.e. the unmodulated carrier with carrier-based systems such as
FM/AM), or the absent carrier for SSB.
NOTE 3: Scanner folk often use the terms Simplex and Duplex wrongly to
describe Single and Dual frequency systems. The term Simplex means taking turns
to transmit, whether on one or more frequencies. The proper terms to use are
S.F.S. (Single Frequency Simplex) and D.F.S (Dual..). Duplex only applies on
telephone style systems where one party can interupt the other. Even TT
(Talk-Through; repeaters) is still simplex. I use the abbrev.s Single and Dual.
Any time I specify "Split" generally implies D.F.S., and details are given as
base freq.s, with the change in frequency in +/- MHz needed to hear the
mobile.
Even "Duplex" doesn't neccessarily mean two frequencies, new digital
systems can rapidly take turns on the same freq. by time-compressing the audio
data-stream!
ASSUMING you have permission to listen...
S.F.S. and
TT (repeaters) are obviously very easy to monitor with just one memory (or in
manual mode) and "scan delay" isn't a problem - the longer the delay the better,
as many radio users seem to need a few seconds to think of a reply (TT "over"
pips are generally a waste of time, most dimwits wait for the squelch crunch).
This means conventional scanners are fine for monitoring amateur, CB, airband,
ship-shore-ship, some PMR etc.
Private D.F.S is more tricky, depending on
whether the base transmits pips to let other mobiles know the channel is busy.
True D.F.S. with no "busy signal" just requires two scan memories and no
scan-delay, which not all scanners allow. With "busy-pips" you'll need to be
just a little smarter to catch all the action, should you have
permission. Dare I suggest investing in a cheap-n-cheerful second receiver
to take care of just the strong base freq.s while using the better set/antenna
for the mobile side...
These difficulties could be quite easily overcome if
the manufacturers thought just a teensy bit harder about the operation of their
receivers. By the time they DO get such advances implemented, everything will be
digital anyway!
Abbrev.s are no longer explained as we go, there's a new glossary at the end.
lower than 1Hz? Slowly-changing DC more like.
The planet Earth itself hums accoustically (apparently) with
around 50 persistent notes between 2 and 7 milliHertz.
We are talking of cycle lengths of several minutes here.
--0.000001--(1Hz, 1 per sec.)---
Hz Brainwaves... (Electrical activity in your thinking-gear)
0.1... Delta - Sleep
3... Theta - Sluggish, day-dreaming
7... Alpha - Relaxed and receptive
13... Beta - Very alert
30... High Beta - Paranormal powers!
--0.00002=--(20Hz)--------------
Audible if converted to soundwaves (like with, er, speakers)
ELF,ILF,VLF Atmo-"sferics", "chorus", "tweeks" (1.5-5kHz), "whistlers" - natural phenomena
mainly from lightening pulses trapped in "waveguides" between ion. layers
0.000050 UK mains AC electricity (50Hz, 240V) - 6000 km wavelength
0.000067... CTCSS (Tone squelch) tones
67 69.3 71.9 74.4 77 79.7 82.5 85.4 88.5 91.5 94.8 97.4 100 103.5 107.2 110.9
114.8 118.8 123 127.3 131.8 136.5 141.3 146.2 151.4 156.7 162.2 167.9 173.8
179.9 186.2 192.8 203.5 206.5 210.7 218.1 225.7 229.1 233.6 241.8 250.3 254.1Hz
(150 Hz is a military standard)
--sound--------- known as: Headphones
0 - 32 Hz Extreme bass
20 - 40 Hz Low bass, bottom octave
40 - 80 Hz Mid bass
80 - 160 Hz Upper bass
160 - 320 Hz Lower midrange
0.32 - 2.56 kHz Midrange
2.56 - 5.12 kKz Upper midrange
5.12 - 10.24 kHz Highs
10.24 - 20 kHz Extreme highs, top octave
---music---
0.000016,35 C-1 nice and bass-y (16Hz)
0.000261,63 C3 note "middle C" (see Piano Tuning)
277.18 C# (these in Hz)
293.66 D
311.13 D# To double a frequency in 12 equal steps (semi-tones) to complete
329.63 E one octave, multiply a note by 2 to the power of 1/12th to obtain
349.23 F the next note. 440 (A) x 1.059463094 = 466.16 (A#)
369.99 F#
392.0 G
415.3 G#
440.0 A used for main reference
466.16 A#
493.88 B
0.000523,25 C4 the note C again. Only an octave higher. (x2, yeah?)
4186.00 C7 a really annoying 4kHz note C
7902.13 B7
0.012543,85 G8 highest midi note
0.002700.. above 2.7 kHz not neccessary for comms speech, phones etc, and so for
phones it's filtered out. Hence too the 3kHz channel spacings on HF.
0.015... FM broadcast audio is filtered out above 15kHz
0.019 FM stereo "pilot tone"
0.020 approx. limit of human hearing. Bats, on the other hand...
--0.003=-----(3kHz)-------------
VLF,LF: Mobile, Fixed, Navigation, DGPS, Time Signals (20,25,50,60,66.6,75kHz)
Enormous wavelengths are very useful for penetrating rock (cave to surface - molephones) and
the oceans (for submarines) but the antennas need to be rather large, or magnetic loops.
0.009 UK Thunderstorm detection system, airborne and ground based
0.0102 Omega hyperbolic fix Nav. (& 11.05 & 11.33 & 13.6 kHz) ** ceased sep.97 **
0.016 a BT service
0.060 MSF British Time signal
0.070...Decca Nav. purple slaves, to 72kHz (5f) Llancarfan
0.073 Ham 4km band ( 71.6= - 74.4= kHz) ** UK only, until 30.jun.2001 **
0.084=..Decca Nav. masters, to 86= kHz (6f) Bolberry Down (f=14.046666.)
0.100 NELS Loran-C Navigation. 4MW pulsed. Loophead,Lessay,Sylt,Soustons (90 - 110)
0.112...Decca Nav. red slaves, to 117.6kHz (8f) Jersey
0.126...Decca Nav. green slaves, to 129kHz (9f) St.Marys
0.13347 Mobile data service (& 146.705 kHz)
0.13675 Ham 2km band (135.7= - 137.8= kHz) ** new Euro band, 1998 **
Decca involved a non-radiated fundamental freq around 14kHz, and a "chain" used
freq.s that were 5,6,8 and 9 times that of the fundamental. Ended 31.mar.2000
--0.1485=-----------------------
0.153.. LW AM Broadcasting, to 0.279 - 9kHz channels (ITU Region1) + some Nav. (NDB)
See the British DX Club's Lists.
153 Germany, Romania, Algeria
162 France (FSK data), Turkey
171 Russia, Morocco, possible future Dutch "Delta 171"
177 Germany
183 Germany
189 Italy
198 UK BBC Radio 4 (FSK data) Droitwich, Burghead & Westerglen
used to be 200kHz... ex BBC Radio 2 (1500 meters) ex Home Service (!)
207 Germany, Morocco
216 France, Norway
225 Poland, spare UK INR allocation
234 Luxembourg, Russia
243 Denmark
252 EIRE Atlantic 252, Algeria
261 Moscow
270 Czech
279 Belarus, and soon: MusicMann 279 (Isle of Man)
--0.2835=-----------------------
Marine/Aero Navigation (NDB beacons) + Maritime Mobile (CW)
0.500 Calling, Distress (CW)
0.518 Navtex, (& 490 & 4209.5 kHz)
--0.5265=-MF--------------------
0.531.. MW AM Broadcasting, to 1.602 - 9 kHz channels (to 1.700 in USA, 10kHz ch)
See the British DX Club's Lists.
Channels internationally allocated to countries with maximum power levels specified.
Hence the terms "national clear channel" etc. A country's channel will thus be used
for either national networks or for lower powered local stations. If the international
plan exists anywhere on the web, do let us know!
--kHz-- UK band plan:
558 ILR Spectrum (London), ex Pirates e.g. Laser 558
585 BBC regional (Scotland)
603 local (BBC/ILR)
630 BBC local (2)
648 National BBC World Service
657 BBC local (2)
666 local (BBC/ILR)
693 National BBC R5 from 27.8.90 (was BBC R2)
720 some BBC R4
729 BBC local (1)
738 BBC local (low power)
756 local (BBC mainly)
765 BBC local (1)
774 local (mainly BBC - some R4)
792 local (BBC/ILR) (2)
801 BBC local (1)
810 BBC regional (Scotland)
819 local (BBC/ILR)
828 local (BBC/ILR)
837 BBC local
855 local (BBC/ILR)
873 BBC local
882 BBC regional (Wales)
909 National BBC 5 from 27.8.90 (Was BBC R2)
936 ILR (2)
945 ILR (2), University inductive loops
954 ILR (2)
963 ILR (2), University inductive loops
990 local (BBC/ILR)
999 local (BBC/ILR) + University/Hospital Radio loops
1017 ILR
1026 local (BBC/ILR)
1035 local (BBC/ILR)
1053 INR3 Talk Radio UK (ex BBC R1)
1089 INR3 Talk Radio UK (ex BBC R1)
1107 ILR + INR3 Talk Radio
1116 local (BBC/ILR)
1125 BBC regional (Wales)
1152 ILR
1161 local (BBC/ILR)
1170 ILR
1197 fill-in INR2 Virgin
1215 INR2 Virgin (once "Virgin 1215")
1233 fill-in INR2 Virgin
1242 local (ILR/INR2 Virgin)
1251 ILR (1)
1260 local (BBC/ILR/INR2 Virgin)
1269 RSL Brands Hatch
1278 ILR + RSL
1287 RSL
1296 National BBC World Service
1305 ILR
1323 local (BBC/ILR) + ex RSL
1332 local (BBC/ILR)
1341 BBC regional (Ulster)
1350 RSL (Hospital RSL)
1359 local (BBC/ILR)
1368 local (BBC/ILR)
1377 ILR (1)
1386 RSL
1404 RSL
1413 local (BBC/ILR/RSL)
1431 ILR
1440 ex The Great 208 - Radio Luxembourg
1449 BBC local (some BBC R4)
1458 local BBC/ILR)
1476 ILR
1485 local (BBC/BBC R4/ILR)
1494 RSL Tooting
1503 local (BBC/RSL)
1521 local (BBC/ILR)
1530 local (BBC/ILR)
1548 local (BBC/ILR)
1557 local (BBC/ILR)
1566 RSL
1575 RSL
1584 local (BBC/ILR)
1602 RSL
1611 used elsewhere, but out-of-band
--1.6065=------------------------
MF "Fixed & Mobile" - Maritime / Land / Aero(OR)
1.642...Cordless phones (CT0 base), to 1782 (8x 20kHz FM),
handsets duplex at 47.456-47.543 MHz (12.5kHz spacing, 6.25 offsets)
Channel 7 (1762) may use 47.531 or 47.444
To be phased out. No new equipment after apr.2005
Amateur Radio 160m "Top Band" (1.81-2.0) shared (SSB used is mainly LSB below 10MHz)
1.6 to 4MHz mostly known for maritime use ("fishphones", trawler chat etc)
2.182 Calling, Distress
--2.85=---HF-------------------- the "real shortwave bands"!
mobile, fixed, military, ISM, SRD, and... "numbers stations"/more
o AM Broadcasting
Tropical bands around 2.4 MHz (120 meters), 3.3 MHz (90 meters) and 5 MHz (60 meters)
kHz Bands (as used by the BBC) :
3950= - 4000= 75 meters
5900= - 6200= 49 meters +5875 popular band for pirate radio
7100= - 7350= 41 meters
9400= - 9900= 31 meters +9915
11600= - 12050= 25 meters +12095
13570= - 13870= 22 meters
15100= - 15800= 19 meters +15070
17480= - 17900= 16 meters
( 18900= - 19020 15 meters SSB broadcasting after 2007 )
21450= - 21850= 13 meters
25600= - 26100= 11 meters
Band boundaries are often ignored by broadcasters trying to get a clear channel
o Amateur Radio
160m ( 1.81- 2.0) shared (SSB mainly LSB)
80m ( 3.5 - 3.8) shared (SSB mainly LSB)
40m ( 7.0 - 7.1) primary (SSB mainly LSB)
30m (10.1 - 10.15) shared (SSB not recommended) (WARC)
20m (14.0 - 14.35) primary
16.5m (18.068-18.168) primary (WARC)
15m (21.0 - 21.45) primary
12m (24.89- 24.99) primary (WARC)
10m (28.0 - 29.7) primary
Note: the original bands were harmonically related 1.8, 3.6, 7, 14, 21, 28 (ex 56 band!) etc
o Standard Frequency references, and Time signals
at 2.5, 5.0 (Rugby), 10.0 (Rugby), 15.0, 20.0, 25.0 etc.
o Maritime more more
Bands :
4063= - 4438= kHz
6200= - 6525=
8195= - 8815=
12230= - 13200=
16360= - 17410=
18780= - 18900=
19680= - 19800=
22000= - 22855=
25070= - 25210=
26100= - 26175=
Note the "even MHz" 2,4,6,8,12,16,18 etc (& 0.5 is a quarter of 2!)
whereas Aero has the "odd MHz" 3,5,9,11,13,15 etc.
SSB (3kHz SSB channels) :
kHz
2046+ 2049 intership
2053+ 2056 intership
2241 British intership
2246 British intership
2301 British intership
4146+ 4149 intership 4B & 4C (4125=4A)
4357- 4435 shore chs 401- 427 ( -292kHz split: 4065- 4143) 4417/ 4125 calling
6224- 6230 intership 6A,6B,6C
6501- 6522 shore chs 601- 608 ( -301kHz split: 6200- 6221) 6516/ 6215 calling
8291 ch 833 GMDSS
8294+ 8297 intership 8A & 8B
8364 SAR
8707- 8716 chs 834-837
8719- 8812 shore chs 801- 832 ( -524kHz split: 8195- 8288) 8779/ 8255 calling
12353-12365 intership
13077-13197 shore chs 1201-1241 ( -847kHz split: 12230-12350) 13137/12290 calling
16528-16546 intership
17242-17407 shore chs 1601-1656 ( -882kHz split: 16360-16525) 17302/16420 calling
18825-18843 intership
19755-19797 shore chs 1801-1815 ( -975kHz split: 18780-18822) 19770/18795 calling
22159-22177 intership
22696-22852 shore chs 2201-2253 ( -696kHz split: 22000-22156) 22756/22060 calling
25100-25118 intership
26145-26172 shore chs 2501-2510 (-1075kHz split: 25070-25097) 26172/25097 calling
12359 Herb VAX498 (nr Toronto) 20:00 - 22:00 UTC
o Aeronautical R or ER (En-Route on fixed airways; so mainly civil) (3kHz SSB channels) more
kHz
2851- 3019 NATS: 2872, 2899, 2971, 3016 (Ireland)
3401- 3497 NATS: 3413 (VolMet), 3476 BT: 3482
4651- 4696 NATS: 4675
5481- 5676 NATS: 5505 (VolMet), 5598, 5616, 5649 BT: 5610, 5670 (Rugby) Speedwing: 5535 (Cove)
6526- 6682 NATS: 6622 BT: 6634 +EC!
8816- 8960 NATS: 8831, 8864, 8879, 8891, 8906, 8957 (VolMet) BT: 8960
10006-10096
11276-11396 NATS: 11279, 11336 BT: 11306
13261-13357 NATS: 13264 (VolMet), 13291, 13306
17901-17967 NATS: 17946
21925-21997
o Aeronautical OR (Off-Route; so mainly military) (3kHz SSB channels) GHFS
Watch for "Airfield colour states" every hour at the same minutes past the hour.
Volmet weather info broadcasts are easy to find...
kHz
3023 - 3152 3023 SAR (night) and up to 3230= ?
3800 - 3950
4700= -4995= +CCF
5450= -5480= 5450 RAF VolMet
5680 GMDSS SAR (day)
5684 - 5726 5711
6685 - 6763 6739
8965 - 9037 9031 "On-the-hour" and H+30 "Architect"
11175 -11271 11175 is the "triple 1" calling channel 11253 RAF VolMet
13200 -13257
15010 -15097
17970 -18027
21870=-21924= Fixed
23200=-23350=
o In the remaining parts of HF, you'd be forgiven for thinking anything goes :o)
I presume "fixed" on its own means mobile so long as one station is fixed!
kHz
3155= -3400= Fixed + Land & Sea Mobile
4000= -4063= Fixed + Sea Mobile
4438= -4650= Fixed + all Mobile +CCF
5005= -5450= Fixed + Land & Sea Mobile +CCF
5730= -5950= Fixed + Land & Sea Mobile
6765= -7000= Fixed + Land Mobile
7300= -8100= Fixed + Land Mobile
8100= -8195= Fixed + Maritime Mobile
9040= -9500= Fixed
9900= -9995= Fixed
10150=-11175= Fixed + Land & Sea Mobile
11400=-11700= Fixed
12050=-12230= Fixed
13360=-13600= Fixed + all Mobile
13800=-14000= Fixed + all Mobile + EC!
14350=-14990= Fixed + all Mobile
15600=-16360= Fixed
17410=-17550= Fixed
18030=-18068= Fixed
18168=-18780= Fixed + Land & Sea Mobile
18900=-19680= Fixed (18.9 to 19.02 broadcasting after 2007)
19800=-19990= Fixed
20010=-21000= Fixed + all Mobile
21750=-21870= Fixed
22855=-23000= Fixed
23000=-23200= Fixed + all Mobile
23350=-24890= Fixed + Land Mobile
25010=-25070= Fixed + Land Mobile
25210=-25550= Fixed + Land & Sea Mobile
25550=-25600= Radio Astronomy
o Cadets - CCF etc.
CCF (Combined Cadet Force)
2274
4029
4923 - 4995 4973 calling
4458 - 4498 4478
5300 - 5346 5328
6913
7751 data
Sea Cadets (Sunday mornings)
6992 RL25 and RL22 6806
RAF Cadets (Sunday 10-13 hrs, Tues & Fri 1930)
3236 B3
3615 A7,B7 3678 A6 3715 B6 3752 C6
4610 A1 4782 B2 4925 B1
5245 C1 5770 A2,C2 5792 C4
7450 A5 7740 A4,B4
o Unlicensed pirate pseudo-hams.
"Echo Charlie" band at 6.6MHz (please let me know what EC means!) has been around for decades.
They argue that little real harm is done on the unused civil aero channels, but a lot of
channels ARE used, especially between 6600 and 6635. Of the hundreds of stations active,
some do venture down as far as 6530 but "most don't really go below 6635" has been heard.
International flight control may be affected. There may be a dozen or more QSOs at any time!
kHz (approx)
3430 - 3500 86 or 85m, LSB/USB calling 3475 LSB much aero use... SAR on 3488 etc.
6530 - 6700 45 meters, LSB/USB calling 6670 LSB Italy 6660 Sweden 6685 military above 6682!
13900 -14000 21 meters, USB/LSB calling 13970 USB much data use, but not all the time
18010 -18050 16 meters, USB/LSB calling 18030 USB stay above 18030, it's military aero below!
20900 -20980 14 meters, USB/LSB calling 20930 USB I'd stay below 20960, if I were you.
I hesitate to include the following because the whole approach is subtly different...
26185 -28000 11 meters, USB/LSB calling 27555 USB CB "Freeband"
Stereotypes:
CB : fairly brainless, nice but dim etc
ham : knowledgeable nerds, very dull
PMR446 : the outdoor type, and hubby-to-wife links
freebanders : CBers playing at DX
Echo Charlie : The true spirit of radio friendship, enjoying beating the system
--26.175=-------------------------
Fixed & Mobile (not aero)
26 (25?!!) to 28 MHz littered with freeband unofficial CB channels. (+Callsigns) more
Very nicely operated SSB DX, putting Amateur radio to shame!
26.185..CB freeband Lo-Lo channels 11-40, to 26.505 (mid band - 2 x 450kHz) 26285 calling
26.330..New Zealand CB 1-40, to 26.770 (mid band -635kHz) calling 26.5 (ch 15)
26.225=.Paging, to 26.9325= 25kHz STH Paging 26.835 & 26.92
26.25 JFMG talkback (simp) 12.5kHz 20W, and 26.35, 26.45
26.515..CB freeband Lo channels 1-40, to 26.955 (mid band - 1 x 450kHz)
26.565..German CB ch.s 41-80, to 26.955 (straight 10kHz sequence)
26.87 ..future SSB CB, to 26.96 (provisional plans)
"The UK indicted their willingness to participate in this work, although they indicated
that they would be opposed to introducing AM/SSB CB operation."
26.965..CB, to 27.405 (PR27) 40 FM CEPT "EURO" channels 10kHz spacings with gaps
Allowed in the UK since 1988, this is now a Euro band as agreed by an ERC decision
in 1996. These CEPT channels are the original USA freqs, known as the "mid" channels.
Shared with ISM, and up to 27.28= with SRD (models - AM on colour coded channels) (USA models)
26.965 01
26.975 02 +"Black" (Models code)
26.985 03
26.995 "Brown" / 3A
27.005 04
27.015 05 +27.020 "Brown/Red" (5a)
27.025 06
27.035 07
27.045 "Red" +Test/Dev / 7A
27.055 08
27.065 09 +27.070 "Red/Orange" (9a)
27.075 10
27.085 11
27.095 "Orange" +Railway SRDs / 11A
27.105 12
27.115 13 +27.120 "Orange/Yellow" (13a), +ISM, ex Paging (Test/Dev.), & 27.162
27.125 14
27.135 15
27.145 "Yellow" / 15A
27.155 16
27.165 17 +27.170 "Yellow/Green" (17a)
27.175 18
27.185 19
27.195 "Green" / 19A
27.205 20 from 20 to 40 channel num = first two decimals except 23 to 25...
27.215 21 +27.220 "Green/Blue" (21a)
27.225 22
27.235 24 ! ex 22A
27.245 25 ! +"Blue (UK)" ex 22B before 1977
27.255 23 ! +"Blue (US)" ex top channel until 1977
27.265 26 +27.270 "Blue/Grey" or sometimes "White" (26a)
to
27.405 40 27.315 31 Calling?
pre-1958 : USA Ham band at 26.96-27.23 very underused, and there was little business/military
use up to 28MHz. Model control on 27.255 was inadequate and shared with all sorts of paging.
11.sep.1958 : CB starts, on 22 new 10kHz channels in the old ham band, fitted around 5 new model
channels later known as 3A, 7A, 11A, 15A and 19A. The old model channel was allocated to CB as channel
23 as well as remaining as the sixth model channel. The two-channel gap between 22 and 23 gave rise
to pirate channels 22A and 22B in the Business Band that couldn't yet be used for CB.
1.jan.1977 : more CB channels added - there had been plans for 99 channels up to 27.995 but it was
decided not to allow a span of more than 440kHz - to prevent intermod breakthrough to any 455kHz
receiver Intermediate Frequency stages. The business band lost 27.23 to 27.41 to CB, the new channels
(24 onwards) filled in the reclaimed gap between 22 and 23, and then continued up to 27.405 to make 40
channels in all. The five newer model freqs (50kHz apart) are now part of an allocation up to 27.28= in the
UK with channel 25 now being "Blue" (27.245) and channel 02 now "Black", amongst other interleaved channels.
The mid channels are transposed up and down the spectrum by multiples of 450kHz to create
extra sets of 40 channels such as "hi" and "lo", including the gaps and sequence jumps!
CB should be license-free! Wakey wakey, UK!
Very commendable, I'm sure, but licensing is really needed as a mechanism to stop idiots using
it - licenses can be revoked. Interesting issue. Maybe a license should be for life... (unless forfeited).
27.415..CB freeband Hi channels 1-40, to 27.855 (mid band + 1 x 450kHz)
27.41=... Alarms (27.45)
27.41=... future Digital CB, to 27.51 (provisional plans)
27.5= ... Mobile, to 28 Weather balloons (sondes)
27.555 International "Freeband" calling, USB, hi channel 12
Callers announce the freq they'll move to, usually between 27.41 and 28MHz in 5kHz chs. Very civilised!
27.601..CB, to 27.99125 (27/81) UK ONLY - 40 FM 10kHz channels allocated 2.nov.1981
27.601 ch 1 MHz = (channel x 0.01) + 27.59125 Ch = first two decimals -60 +1
to
27.991 ch 40 09=emergency 14=calling 19=mobile
27.865..CB freeband Hi-hi channels 1-11a, to 27.995 (mid band + 2 x 450kHz)
CB can be fairly useful (when you want to speak to normal people, not just radio
nutters), but what a pity we're stuck with an HF allocation clogged up with
foreign SSB rather too often... We need a system that allows silent monitoring,
like CTCSS, or (even better) a 460 MHz system as they do in the USA, Australia etc.
NOTE: (oct98) it looks like PMR 446 will do nicely, apart from the low power.
28=... Amateur 10m band, to 29.7= primary CW,USB,Satellite,FM
28.3... Voice... (and other modes)
29.3=.. Satellite, to 29.5=
29.51.. FM, to 29.69 10kHz channels
29.6 FM calling
29.61...Repeaters, to 29.69 (split: -0.1)
Various parts of these channels used for repeaters in different regions
with the remaining channels used for simplex.
The use of HF spectrum as we know it changes near 26.1MHz, where usage becomes more
like VHF/6 meters - services intended to be local, rather than long-distance.
You'd think that if any Tom, Dick or Harriet can use 4 Watts on 26 MHz (CEPT CB),
that a licenced Class B amateur would be able to use at least 3W (novice level)
somewhere in this band, wouldn't you? But no, 30MHz is the cut off point (despite
not corresponding to the edge of any practical band usage) where you need to pass a
Morse test just to be able to use SSB! And who do they survey, to see if things
should change? The very people who have already suffered the ordeal!
SELFISH B*****DS. Don't get caught up in the way things happened in the past, riding
waves of nostalgia, but concentrate on the present, the future, what today's very
different generations could enjoy - share your precious bands with those who can
already do the same thing at 50MHz when the conditions are right. When ever we're at
work, that is. Or make the Morse test need to be re-taken every five years, we'll
see how quickly it gets dropped then!
Suppose there was no Amateur Radio, but such a service was being planned, to start
next year, with the rules and regulation we currently endure. There would be an uproar,
wouldn't there? Nobody would seriously suggest a morse requirement. I rest my case.
We do not NEED different licence classes apart from Novice and Full. And don't use that
tired old "wally filter" argument, I've already gone to the trouble of passing the RA Exam.
Don't interfere with MY life, go and live your OWN.
I do acknowledge the "true spirit of amateur radio" (homebrew and experimentation) IS
different from the fanatical pursuit of "radio DXing". I'd settle then for a two class
system where existing Novices and Class B licencees could use HF SSB on restricted parts
of the bands using type-approved equipment. With DXing available to the public with properly
regulated callsigns maybe 27MHz would become a peaceful haven for local FM comms, and the
Aero (R) 6.6MHz channels could be clear at last.
And I DO realise that CW can get through when all else fails, and that if I ever reached
12 words per minutes I might get to enjoy it. Maybe. But I object strongly to HAVING to.
Similar argument - you've no right to force someone to drink something that you're sure
they'll like. And if you disagree with that, change the subject to sex then try again.
Again, the Golden Rule in life - don't live someone else's life for them - live your own!
Glad I've got that off my chest...
See "How to become a Sad Radio Amateur" for more on this, and other amateur issues.
For the unlicensed, or simply licensed, there are three main types of radio use:
1) Low-power handheld - now well served by PMR 446
2) Base/mobile use that is well served by CB SOME OF THE TIME
3) DX-ing - not well served at all, leading to the 27MHz SSB and 6.6MHz problems.
I suggest scrapping the present CB system and allowing type-approved use of USB on
3kHz channels between 26.96 and 28MHz to cater for the DX-er (hopefully world-wide)
and legitimize what's already happening. Callsigns would help.
Also there is a need for the kind of local service that allows a low-powered
service with roof-mounted antennas to acheive local CB-like ranges WITHOUT any
possibility of SSB interference (i.e. above 30MHz) preferably using CTCSS/DCS as
with PMR 446. With CTCSS, and given the current demand, I would imagine 20 channels
or less would meet the demand. A 200kHz section of spectrum allocated throughout
Europe somewhere between 30 and 217 is hardly asking too much is it? The same
bandwidth as ONE radio mic channel? Or extend PMR 446 with 8 more channels,
all available to handhelds with captive antennas, but the new channels available
to base/mobile sets with external antennas and a couple of Watts of power.
The above requirements change if code-free Amateur Radio allows the DX enthusiast
access to HF without learning Morse. In that case, 27MHz SSB should eventually ease off,
and to make matters bearable for FM users of the band I would say CTCSS is needed.
--29.7=---VHF-------------------
Mobile
military (30.3-30.5 and 32.15-32.45 EU1 harmonised)
+ SRD, mics, R/C Models, Cordless Phones, Alarms, Hospital Paging
On rare occasions ion layer conditions allow the reception of FM business/police signals here from the USA.
29.97925 Actual frequency with 10m wavelength. If the ham band went to 30MHz, and H.F. was defined
by wavelength instead of frequency range, then Class B hams could use the top 20kHz!
31.0375.Cordless phone base, to 31.2125 (duplex, split +8.9: 39.9375-40.1125) 25kHz channels MPT1384
(4 more ch. in Europe, up to 40.2125) new in 1997
31.725..Hospital Paging, to 31.775
Speech in emergency only. Returns at 161/164
35.0... Model aircraft, to 35.25 (26x 10kHz) 100mW channels 60 to 85
35.3375.Marine databuoys, to 35.4625 - 25kHz, 250mW
36.5.. Prefered band for use by visiting foreigners for temporary mics use, to 38.5 (espec. 36.7, 37.1, 37.9)
36.7 Cordless domestic audio devices, & 37.1 (18kHz bandwidth each) commonly stereo left/right, deregulated
39.9375...phone handsets, to 40.1125 - see 31.0375
40.500 Distress, Rescue (often wrongly listed as 40.050) 40.5 x 3 = 121.5
40.66=..ISM, to 40.7= (40.68 +/- 20kHz) ** proposed new Euro amateur beacons band **
40.665..Surface models, to 40.995 (34x 10kHz) 100mW cars and boats channels 665 to 995
41= ... Harmonised Military Band (EU1)
--47=--------------------------
Band I - TV Broadcasting (not in UK since 1984 - so, great for TV DXing!)
UK: Mobile - SRD, Radio Mics, Alarms
Euro TV 7MHz ch.: E2 47-54, E3 54-61, E4 61-68
Old UK 5MHz ch.: B1 41.25-46.25, B2 48-53, B3 53-58, B4 58-63, B5 63-68 (snd. @ +0.25, vis. @ +3.75)
There was a pre-war 56MHz ham band in the UK, and the 5m band (58.5-60) for three years post-war.
47.0 ...
47.3=...Alarms & Cordless phones, to 47.55=
47.310 Security alarms, & 47.319, 47.331, 47.356
47.4 Vehicle alarms
47.419 CT0 base, & 47.431 - duplex, see 77.5125 to be phased out. None new after April 2005
47.443...CT0 mobile, to 47.544 - duplex, see 1642-1782 kHz to be phased out
47.550=.JFMG, to 48.880= - talkback (base - split to 52MHz) + links
48.3 links - 200kHz stereo, 2/30/365 days
48.4=... also used for low power conference/touring, to 48.55=
48.425 links - 50kHz mono, 2/30/365 days
48.475 links - 50kHz mono, directional TX antenna
48.525 links - 50kHz mono, 10W max ERP
48.76... unapproved US cordless phone handsets, to 49.99 (base 43-47)
48.880=.Paging - 12.5kHz - 48.975 to 49.4875 one-way only
48.975 STH
48.9875 STH
49.2625 SRBR
49.2875 SRBR
49.425...Hospitals, to 49.475 (speech only in emergencies) returns at 161/164
49.5= ...
49.82...SRD, to 49.98 baby alarms etc.
50=... Amateur Radio 6m band, to 52= (varies in other countries). Primary. See GJ4ICD site.
Beacons...
50.09...CW/SSB...
50.11 Inter-continental SSB DX
50.15 SSB centre-of-activity
50.5=.. data/digital, to 50.7=
50.72.. UK Repeaters, to 50.88 (split: +0.5)
51=... secondary...
51.21.. repeater inputs, to 51.39 (both UK and Euro systems)
51.41.. FM simplex, to 51.59 (20 kHz channels)
51.51 FM calling channel
51.81.. Euro. repeaters, to 51.99 (split: -0.6)
52.0=.. JFMG, to 52.95= - talkback (mobile - split to 48Hz) + links
52.75 links - 200kHz stereo - TX antenna directional
52.85=.also used for low power conference/touring, to 52.95=
52.875 links - 50kHz mono + short term OB
52.925 links - 50kHz mono + short term OB
52.95=...
53.75=..JFMG, to 55.75= - links (5W)
53.8 low power (10mW) 50kHz conference/touring, and 54.1 54.3 54.7 55.4 55.5
Band I 55.75000 - 68.00000 MHz ... channels will be made available to CBS & PBR services...
... No assignments at present... 380 dual channels
55.75=... PBR, see 62.75
57.5=...CBS (planned), to 60.75= (split +7: 64.5 -67.75)
60.75=..JFMG links (5W)
62.75=..PBR (planned), to 64.5= (split -7: 55.75-57.50)
64.5=... CBS, see 57.5=
67.7625..Land Mobile, single
(67.5.. Prefered band for use by visiting foreigners for temporary PMR use, to 68)
There is a Euro plan (25-08) to re-organise 54-68:
61.0125 ... Base, to 67.9875 (split -7: 54.0125-60.9875)
--68=-----Low Band-------------
Mobile, military, emergency services (French splits -4.05, -5, -3)
Military PTARMIGAN access links
There is a Euro plan (25-08) to re-organise this band:
77.8125 ... Base, to 87.4875 (split -9.8: 68.0125-77.6875) single: 77.7-77.8 and 74.8-75.2 & 84.6-85
Various countries overseas allow FM radio broadcasting from 65-74 and 76-87.5 (eg OIRT), this often reaches us.
68.08125= start of VHF Low for PBR, boundary
68.0875.PBR, to 69.9875 single, dual: see 81.5875
(68.816=.. JFMG, to 69.904= - Talkback base (12.5kHz - split to 75MHz) to cease in 2000)
-70=--...Amateur 4m band, to 70.5= (since 1956; when 70.2-70.4)
Secondary. Class A & B only - no novices.
started as UK (G/M/2) only, with British Gibraltar (ZB) and Cyprus (5B), and Eire (EI)
now with South Africa (ZR), and Slovenia (S5)
70.0... Beacons...
70.03.. CW/SSB
70.15 Meteor Scatter calling
70.185 Cross-band centre-of-activity
70.2 SSB calling
70.25.. FM simplex, to 70.4875 (12.5 kHz channels)
70.26 old AM frequency still in use
70.3 RTTY/FAX
70.3125 data/digital, to 70.375
70.45 FM Calling channel
70.4875 Packet
-70.5=---
70.5125.H.O. - Fire Service mainscheme, to 71.5= (with 80-81.5) 12.5kHz AM/FM
71.5125.PBR, to 72.7875 single, dual: see 85.0125
72.8... MoD, to 76.7 (73.3-74.1 EU1 harmonised)
(74.6875... JFMG, to 74.7125 - Talkback)
75.0 CAA ILS runway marker beacons (Guard band 74.8-75.2) 200ft, 1 & 3.5 miles from touchdown
(75.2625=.. JFMG, to 75.3= - Talkback mobile (split to 69MHz) (+airborne) to cease in 2000)
76.7125.PBR, to 77.4875 single, dual: see 86.7125 ...
77.5... PBR, to 77.9875 (used to be paired with 87.5 to 88)
77.5125 CT0 extended Cordless phones, & 77.55 (mobile; base at 47.431 & 47.419) to be phased out
77.625 once mobile paired with 82.8 base
Four channels between 77.75 and 77.9875 were once mobile paired with base at +8.7125/8.7
in the 86MHz single section, between 86.4625 and 86.6875
78=... MoD (79-79.7 EU1 harmonised)
(78.183=..JFMG, to 78.259= - wide area or location talkback - 12.5kHz)
80... H.O. mobile, to 81.5= - see 70.5
(81.5 Radio Astronomy - Interplanetary Scintillation - Cambridge +/- 1MHz?)
81.5=...PBR / CBS - new for the late 1980s
Lxxx = (freq - 78.2) / 0.0125 freq = (Lnumber x 0.0125) + 78.2
81.5125.PBR, to 81.575
81.5125 L265
81.5875.PBR, to 83.4875 (split -13.5: 68.0875-69.9875)
82.125 L314 Demo/"parking" (temporary use) (:68.625)
82.3375 L331 CBS
Somewhere around 82.8 the RA's channel numbering seems to miss 0.2MHz :
Now Lxxx = (freq - 78.0) / 0.0125 freq = (Lnumber x 0.0125) + 78.0
82.875 L390 CBS
to CBS "predominantly" in 25kHz steps - and 83.0125 too
83.050 L404 CBS
83.5... H.O.
84 ... MoD, to 85= - RAF, Mil.Police, mountain rescue (ISM at 84.0 +/- 4kHz)
85= ... Private Business Radio, to 87.5=
PBR listed so that you can avoid tuning in by accident.
(same info can be found on Radiocomms Agency site anyway)
12.5kHz channels. (Started in 1947 with 100 kHz channels, 25 kHz from 1960)
Water co.s, councils, AA/RAC, forestry, customs, taxis etc.
Lxxx = (freq - 85) / 0.0125 freq = (Lnumber x 0.0125) + 85
85.0125.PBR, to 86.2875 (split -13.5: 71.5125-72.7875)
85.0125 ch L001
85.875 STH (:72.375) or either, singly Also used for demos and parking
86.2875 ch L103
86.3....PBR, to 86.7
86.3125 Land SAR
86.325 Land SAR some areas
86.675 JFMG, Talkback (12.5kHz) Wales and west.
86.7125.PBR, to 87.4875 (split -10: 76.7125-77.4875) no longer extends to 87.9875 (or starts from 86.9625)
86.8125.JFMG, to 86.8375 - wide area duplex Talkback (12.5kHz) (+airborne)
The 86.7= to 86.95= section used to be used for 10 x 25kHz links, same -10 split.
87.34.. Eurosignal paging, to 87.415 (4 x 25kHz channels A-D) heard in UK
from Europe (used to be a constant AM tone with pips and doodle-doo noises!)
(could be heard on tuners at 87.5 - it's now bursts of FM data, since mar.1998)
87.4875 L199 (highest freq. Low-Band channel)
87.49375= boundary (above 87.4875 by 6.25 kHz - half a 12.5 kHz channel)
--87.5=------------------------
Band II - FM Broadcasting (100 kHz channels) 87.6-107.9 RDS
Independent Radio managed by the Radio Authority.
See the British DX Club's Lists. Tuners. SBS.
Latest news : Newstide.
87.6... RSLs (87.7 primary) more
88.0=
88.1... BBC Radio 2 - BBC sub-bands employ a "standard (2.2/5.2 MHz) spacing."
90.2... BBC Radio 3
92.4... BBC Radio 4, BBC Wales/Scotland
94.6... BBC Local, Radio 4, ILR (lower local sub-band, to 97.6)
96.1... ILR, some BBC
97.7... BBC Radio 1
99.8... INR1 - Classic FM (+RDS DCI DGPS - Focus FM), ILR
102.0... ILR (upper local sub-band, to 108=)
103.5... BBC Local, Radio 4, ILR
105.0... ILR, regional, RSLs
107.0... RSLs, Small-scale and other low power broadcasting, to 107.9
"evolved in an ad hoc fashion starting (1955 - Wrotham, Kent) with three BBC services radiated in the band
88-94.6 MHz. The remainder of the band was initially allocated to mobile services." "BBC local radio was
introduced in London in 1970, in the sub-band just released (1967) at 94.6-97.6 MHz.
Independent radio followed with the opening of Capital and LBC (later News Direct) in 1973 in the same sub
-band." - Overview of UK VHF radio planning. Would-be pirates should read this!
...although : "the current standards work well in practice, but they do not appear to reflect the way in
which the majority of listening is done, and may be unnecessarily conservative." :o)
Also, receiver standards are based upon current equipment, which may be very poor. I say to heck with that,
assume decent eqipment and let the cheapskates upgrade!
87.5 to 88= MHz was once used for base PMR (split -10: 77.5-77.9875).
97.0 to 102.0 MHz was used by the H.O. for Emergency Services AMRT base,
until the late 1980s - 25kHz channels (split: 80 to 85)
105 to 108 MHz used from 1969 until the early 1990s for mobile JRC PBR (split: 138-141),
and became available to Broadcasting in 1995.
It's no wonder pirate radio gained a reputation for wiping out police and private comms!
Near 107.8 was used for Local Authority Alarms until the end of 1995, now on 160.55-160.575
and 168.2875 & 168.9375. Some old lists show freqs as 107.79375, 107.80625, 107.81875
Long distance reception is more common via the troposphere here, rather than the ionosphere...
i.e a "lift" rather than "sporadic-E". "Tropo" tends to improve the higher the frequency, and lower
frequencies are not affected; whereas ionospheric "skip" builds up from HF, maybe reaching as high as
150 MHz rarely - but leaves higher bands unaffected.
DSI2 recommends that by 2020 when DAB is established, the band may be reduced to 97.5-108 for local and
community broadcasting only.
-108=--------------------------
Aero. Navigation
108.05.. ILS/VOR/ATIS, to 117.95 (50 kHz channels)
ILS 108-112
There was a ham band at 112MHz (USA Amateur history), 2.5 meters, from 1938 to 1945
mil comms are sometimes reported here, usually 117-118
-117.975=----------------------
Aero. Mobile "Civil Air Band" - NATS National Air Traffic Services, Volmet
See Javiation's list. RTCA. ICAO.
Used by the military too, of course.
118.0... AM comms, to 136.975 (760 x 25 kHz channels)
The use of 136 - 137 dates from 1990, and it's still shared with satellite services until 1.1.2002.
Offsets of several kHz may be used when two or more transmitters use the same channel at once.
Until the 1970s 50kHz channel spacing was used, and some channels are now three
times closer with 8.33kHz spacings;
this started in Europe in 1999, and in the UK in 2000.
So if the scheme is ever extended to the full band, will the first channel be 117.983 or 118.0 ?
(given the current 117.975 boundary due to 25kHz use of 118.0) ?
For "8.33", Channel Names are used, such as :
132.000, 132.005 (same but 8.33 bandwidth), 132.010 (132.0083), 132.015 (132.0166)
However, don't panic about needing new equipment, 8.33 is only used in a small segment of the band,
and not for local traffic. You'll be able to enter frequencies using 5 or 10kHz steps and not be more than
1.66 kHz out, and likewise you'll still be able to search in 10kHz steps and that will be faster then 8.33!
It's no more likely than now that two adjacent channels will be strongly in use at any one location.
In any case, the great thing about airband as far as searching goes, is that the controllers TELL the pilots
what frequency to go to next - so finding any new channels isn't really that hard!
The USA NexCom solution, though, is for digital TDMA on existing 25kHz channels
(& also retaining AM capability) using 8-phase shift keying, giving 4 time slots
within 120ms frames, providing for a mix of voice and data.
Coverage of 112-117.975 is included in the spec.s - and they haven't decided about the UHF band yet.
121.5 Distress, EPIRBs (?120.875 Distress, discrete?)
121.6 airport Fire Services
121.9 common Ground frequency
122.475 Balloons and Hangliders
123.1 SAR
129.7... many private airline channels, to 132
130.1 Gliders, +130.125 +130.4
131.725 ACARS Packet data (Europe & USA) & 131.525 [Hear it here!]
132.0... 8.33 sub-band, to 134.8 - for over FL245 (FL195 France)
135.375 London VOLMET (main)
136.8... company ops, to 136.875
136.9... data only, to 136.975
Air-air chat (unofficial) is sometimes heard on the first channel 118.0 and the "old" last 135.975
and "new" last 136.975 - more popular perhaps is 123.45 even though that's allocated for other
purposes. 125.125 is also sometimes used... it has to be a "neat" number!
CAA short-term : (displays, events etc.)
121.175, 130.500 Air/Gnd
130.675, 132.900 App/Twr
121.925 Gnd
-137=-----Mid Band-------------
Mobile, military, Aero OR, emergency services (French splits +/-4.6)
Military PTARMIGAN access links
137=... Satellite, to 138=
Weather Satellites, 137.3, 137.5, 137.62, 137.85 etc. Tracking.
FM picture data not only too wide for most scanners (50kHz) but mind the Doppler shift too!
More. Good AmSat Keplers tutorial.
LEO MSS Sat. downlinks, to 138= (up at 148-149.9) Orbcomm (4800 bps FSK)
138=... MoD, to 143
137.975..Paging, to 138.2 (25kHz channels)
Police: 4 air-ground-air ch.s at +/- 6.25kHz around 138.1 & 138.3 (two 12.5kHz chs in one 25kHz ch)
138.2=...future Euro. SRD band, to 138.45=
138.7 SAR secondary
139.5=...JRC PBR, to 140.5= (split +8.5: 148-149) Trunked.
Electricity (mainly below 140) and Gas (mainly above 140) industries. MPT1327 spec.
139.51875-140.48125 J22-J99, main channels 12.5kHz spaced (no J01-J21) 6.25kHz offsets (RA's M802-M879)
139.525 -140.475 K22-K98, interleaved (J+6.25kHz) (RA's M902-M978)
JRC paging in channel K90/M884/M887 140.375/148.875 (simplex at J90/M883/M886 below & J91/M885/M888 above)
From 1969 until the early 1990s the band 138-141 and the top of Band II was used for PMR (JRC/rail)
138.01875.. JRC, to 140.94375 (split -33: 105.01875-107.94375) AM, 12.5kHz channels (6.25kHz offsets)
(channel 1 at 138.00625 was never used)
(old 140.96875 STH channel no longer used)
Some JFMG in the Channel Islands at 139.55 & 139.575 (base), and simplex at 139.65
141=... JFMG, wide area Talkback (75kHz max), to 141.5= (previously 141.9=) 6.25 kHz offsets
Simplex and duplex (split: mobiles at 212MHz). +airborne. Not in Channel Islands.
(140.993 London only)
141.006..ILR, to 141.193
141.206..BBC radio, to 141.256
141.268 not available to BBC - & 141.281
141.293..BBC radio, to 141.318 (.318 BBC News)
141.375 BBC 75kHz wideband
141.418 BBC
141.4625 BBC 75kHz wideband
143.0=... H.O., to 144= - see 152
143.625 Space - MIR station (143.6-143.65) - also 121.75 & 130.165 FM
144=... Amateur 2m band, to 146= Primary - IARU Bandplan:
EME (Moonbounce)...
144.035..CW
144.150..SSB - calling 144.3
144.4... Beacons, to 144.49
144.5... All modes
144.725 in the south - you'll appear on F5ZBF when there's a lift...
144.8... Digital, to 144.99
145.0... Repeater inputs, to 145.1875
145.2... FM Simplex, to 145.5875 (12.5 kHz channels) mostly older 25kHz channels listed:
145.2 S8, V16 Raynet priority, MIR (with 145.8)
145.2125 V17
145.225 S9, V18 Raynet priority
145.25 S10, V20 Slow Morse
145.275 S11, V22
145.3 S12, V24
145.325 S13, V26 + French R8b/RV26 F5ZBF repeater Caen (split: normal -0.6)
145.35 S14, V28 + French R9b/RV28
145.375 S15, V30 + French R10b/RV30
145.4 S16, V32 + French R11b/RV32
145.425 S17, V34 + French R12b/RV34
145.45 S18, V36
145.475 S19, V38
145.5 S20, V40 FM calling channel
145.525 S21, V42 GB2RS news, Sundays
145.55 S22, V44
145.575 S23, V46
145.5875 V47
(Repeaters 145.6 - 145.7875, split: -0.6)
145.600 R0, RV48 FZ3VHF St.Brieuc
145.6125 R0x, RV49 F5ZBL Evreux
145.625 R1, RV50 FZ3VHD Quimper
145.6375 R1x, RV51 F5ZDE Chateauroux
145.650 R2, RV52
145.6625 R2x, RV53 F5ZCR Vernon
145.675 R3, RV54 F1ZBX Rennes
145.6875 R3x, RV55 FZ2VHF Lille
145.700 R4, RV56 F6ZCE Alencon
145.7125 R4x, RV57
145.725 R5, RV58 FZ2VHC Le Havre
145.7375 R5x, RV59
145.750 R6, RV60
145.7625 R6x, RV61
145.775 R7, RV62 FZ3VHB Les Herbiers
145.7875 R7x, RV63 ?? or...
145.790 proposed 16kHz data links
145.8=...Satellite Service, to 146= Sat. News
145.825 SunSat FM (parrot) - & rep. uplink: 436.291 launched 23feb99
Are V channel numbers supposed to make life easier?!
Oh yes, 145.7375, let's see... 7.375 times 8... 59 of course.
We can all do that in our heads, can't we?
If it's not simple and intuitive (for telling a contact to QSY)
then what IS the point? Saying "decimal 73" will do the job better.
146=...H.O., see 154
148=...JRC,LEO, see 139.5 and 137
(Some JFMG in the Channel Islands at 148.575 & 148.725 - mobile)
149... MoD, to 154
149.9=...Satellite Navigation, to 150.05=
150.05=..Radio Astronomy, to 152= + Oil-slick markers (150.5= - 150.55=)
151.675 unlicensed US "DOT" radios (more) +151.955 &154/462/467...
152... H.O. - Emergency Services, to 153= (with 143-144) mostly police FM. 12.5kHz
153.025..Paging, to 153.475 (25kHz channels)
FSK POCSAG (bursts) more [Hear it here!] Used by Trafficmaster
153.025 FLEX paging (continuous) +153.325 [Hear it here!]
154... H.O. - Emergency Services, to 155.975 (with 146-148) mostly police, AM/FM. 12.5kHz
"The (TR/RX) offset for Police/Fire varies to stop interaction between channels
when talkthrough is on - this is historic as it was believed that common
offsets could not be used on the same site; today it is done everywhere." - thanks Andrew W.
There is a Euro plan (25-08) to re-organise 146-156: (boundaries)
151.4 ... Base, to 156 (split -7: 146.8-151.4) single: 146-146.8 and 149.9-150.05 & 154.5-154.65
-156=--------------------------
Mobile, Marine VHF (SAR, MBR/CSR)
PMR/PBR + CBS + STH, Ambulances, Paging (ERMES), SRD, mobile data, Civil Defence
156.0... Marine, to 158.525= single OR dual: see 160.625
158.5375.PBR, to 160.5375 single OR dual: see 163.0375
... alarms
160.6... Marine, to 163.025= single OR dual (split -4.6: 156.025-158.4)
Marine, to 163 - International and private 25kHz channels, single and dual (split -4.6).
Was 50 kHz spacing until SOLAS 1972, then new channels were fitted in, in between...
Band structure: two main sections linked by a 4.6MHz frequency shift
Dual channels : international and private
156.0-158.4 lines up with 160.6-163.0 at 4.6MHz higher, the lower section being the ship/mobile
side of dual-freq. channels, the higher side being for shore/base. The international channels
finish at 157.425/162.025 and the rest are private channels, which may be dual or single.
Single channels:
156.375-156.875 and 160.975-161.475 are not joined, and have single-freq usage with international
channels at 156 and private at 161.
Between 158.4 and 160.6 the mobile channels of a PBR band can be found. As this 163.0375-165.0375
band utilises a 4.5 MHz split, the mobile side covers 158.5375-160.5375 - the gap at 158.425 to
158.5 is used for a few more single-freq. private marine channels, and at 160.55 to 160.575 there
are three local authority alarm channels.
For single/mobile freqs.. MHz = (ch number x 0.05) + 156 add 4.6 for the shore freq.
Because channels 60 and above are interleaved, you need to EITHER:
Subtract 2.975 MHz AFTERWARDS ** OR ** subtract 59.5 from the channel number BEFORE
There are Euro plans to use the paired freq.s for channels 87 and 88 separately, to accommodate VTS
(now called AIS - Automatic Identification and Surveillance) at 162 MHz, and allow simplex at 157 MHz.
Also plans to allow use of channels 75 and 76 for voice, which were unused guardbands for channel 16.
(Earlier plans had included simplex use of channels 18 and 82-86)
The latest RA info sheet shows the breakup of channels 87 and 88, and the introduction of 75 and 76.
Channel 88 used to be used for Radio Lighthouses, a null was swept around the compass... i.e.
you'd count the "pips" and when the signal briefly disappeared that would give you a bearing
Channel 99 (160.6) started life as channel 00, but apparently 00 is what the coastguards dial into
their consoles to clear them! Do not confuse with what would be the real ch99 on 157.975 / 162.575
- a private channel which (just to confuse matters) is actually used as a land-based CBS channel!
Some sets may be set from "international" to "USA" mode, and then some
of the dual frequency channels can be used as single (ship channel) frequencies;
(e.g. 157.125 = 82a for USA single freq use - can't be heard on an "international" set)
which could be handy for a "private" channel, no-one else would hear you! (apart
from coast stations that use that channel. So you'd want to pick a clear one - and
bear in mind that if you don't you won't be able to hear them telling you to move!)
Maybe it's best not to, then. Interesting thought though, isn't it?
160.9 used to be used for ITV talkback, I'm told.
Also used for talkback was 161.3875 (12.5 kHz),
and within the channels 161.325 and 161.45
The RA's own channel numbering is as follows:
Channel numbers 1440 (156) to 2000 (163.0) can be traced back (in
12.5kHz steps) to the start of a sequence where channel 1 is 138.0125
- this applies up to the last Mid-band channel M2163 (165.0375) and
down in the JRC bands i.e. M802 being the high side of the 148.01875
& 139.51875 pair, give or take a half channel offset (-6.25kHz) (as
happens positively at 448 / 431 ).
160.6 is RA channel 1808, 156 is channel 1440 - the difference of 368
being 4.6 MHz worth of 12.5 kHz channels. Marine dual pairs take the
channel number of the higher (shore) frequency. For single use of the
private section 157.45-163 the channels numbers are shifted along in
sequence by 1000.
Let's track this in two columns 4.6 MHz apart...
** First, two single freq.s...
--------------------------- -------
160.600 99 Coastguards 156.000 0 Coastguards
** Now dual freq. pairs,
** Port Ops & Public Correspondence (phone - link calls)
Shore/Base Ship/mobile 4.6 MHz lower
--------------------------------------
160.625---156.025 60
160.650---156.050 1
160.675---156.075 61
160.700---156.100 2
160.725---156.125 62
160.750---156.150 3
160.775---156.175 63
160.800---156.200 4
160.825---156.225 64
160.850---156.250 5
160.875---156.275 65
160.900 ??? 156.300 6 intership1 and SAR
160.925---156.325 66
160.950---156.350 7
** Now single freq.s Base/Mobile
---------------------------- -------
160.975 CSR-1838 156.375 67 (intership9 away from coasts) + SAR/Safety/Coastguard
161 to 161.2 Paging returns 156.400 8 intership2
(31/49/459) 156.425 68 ports
156.450 9 intership5/ports/Pilots
156.475 69 intership8/ports/Customs
156.500 10 (intership3 away from coasts)/ports/pollution/SAR + UK Safety Info
156.525 70 DSC Digital SelCall ONLY, GMDSS NO VOICE
161.15 CSR-1852 156.550 11 ports/SAR
161.175 CSR-1854 156.575 71 ports
161.2 CSR-1856 156.600 12 ports
161.225 CSR-1858 156.625 72 intership6
161.25 CSR-1860 156.650 13 intership4/ports + International Nav Safety Comms
161.275 Marine 10mW Alarms 156.675 73 (intership7 away from coasts)/ports/SAR + Safety Info
161.300 CSR-1864 (OBH) 156.700 14 Ports
156.725 74 Ports/locks/swingbridges
161.350 On-board handhelds 156.750 15 intership11/ports/ 1W on-board
161.375 CSR-1870 156.775 75 Ports, Navigation comms only, 1W
161.400 CSR-1872 / Nav.? 156.800 16 Calling, Distress
161.425 M2 (marinas) 156.825 76 Ports, Navigation comms only, 1W
156.850 17 intership12/ports/ 1W on-board
161.475 CSR-1878 156.875 77 intership10
** Now dual freq. pairs again
** Port ops up to 161.725 and Pub.Corresp. from 161.750 (both: 78,81,84)
Shore Ship
--------------------------------------
161.500---156.900 18
161.525---156.925 78
161.550---156.950 19
161.575---156.975 79
161.600---157.000 20
161.625---157.025 80 Marinas primary CSR-1890
161.650---157.050 21
161.675---157.075 81
161.700---157.100 22
161.725---157.125 82
161.750---157.150 23
161.775---157.175 83
161.800---157.200 24
161.825---157.225 84
161.850---157.250 25
161.875---157.275 85
161.900---157.300 26
161.925---157.325 86
161.950---157.350 27
161.975---157.375 87 old, paired use
161.975 AIS1 157.375 87 Port ops
162.000---157.400 28
162.025---157.425 88 old, paired use - No more "Radio Lighthouses"
162.025 AIS2 157.425 88 Port Ops
** Private channels, single OR dual CSR/MBR
** and some land PMR and CBS, same split -4.6
** In this part, the pairings are only shown
** for the first and last pair, to save space
Single OR Base Mobile (or Single)
---------------------------- -------
162.050 CSR-2924 single... 157.450 29 CSR-2556 single
OR 162.050---157.450 29 CSR-1924 dual
162.050 CSR / CBS(Birm.)
162.0625 CBS(Lond./Birm.)
162.075 CSR / CBS(Lond./Birm.)
162.0875 CBS(Lond./Birm.)
162.100 CBS(Lond./Birm.)
162.125 CSR
162.150 ? 157.550 31 RNLI lifeboats
162.175 CBS
162.1875 CBS(Lond./Birm.)
162.200 CSR / CBS(Lond./Birm.)
162.2125 CBS(Lond./Birm.)
162.225 CBS +PMR(Lond. - couriers)
162.250 CSR
162.275 CBS +PMR(Lond. - couriers)
162.300 CSR
162.325 CBS
162.3375 CBS(Lond./Birm.)
162.350 CSR / CBS(Birm.)
162.3625 CBS(Lond./Birm.)
162.375 CBS
162.400 CSR
162.425 CBS +PMR(Lond. - couriers)
162.450 Diff. GPS 157.850 37/M marinas secondary RA-1588
162.475 CBS
162.500 CSR
162.525 CBS(Birm.)
162.550 CSR
162.575 CBS
162.600 CSR
to (25kHz)
162.850 CSR
(162.825 104A Telex 158.225 104B Fax. no longer used)
162.875 CBS
162.900 CSR
162.925 CBS
162.950 CSR
162.975 CBS
163.000 CSR
163.000 CSR-3000 single 158.400 48 CSR-2632 single
163.000---158.400 48 CSR-2000 dual
162 MHz "Weather" frequencies (as found on some USA scanners) apply only to
land-based NOAA transmissions on the North American Continent - it doesn't reach here!
** Now private single freq.s Single
---------------------------- -------
163.025 Diff. GPS 158.425 108 CSR-1634
158.450 49 CSR-1636
0.1 MHz gap where 158.475 109 CSR-1638
"4.6 split" and 158.500 50 CSR-1640
"4.5 split" systems meet -158.525=---
** We'll change now to a 4.5 MHz difference, and 12.5 kHz spacings
163.0375.PBR, to 165.0375 (split -4.5: 158.5375-160.5375) Mid Band
The lowest parts of this section are now filling up with PBR, with
many CBS (including some multi-channel trunked CBS) - 85 dual channels available.
Despite this section only being allocated to LAND MOBILE, (12.5 kHz) in some
books and magazines you may find extra marine channels given (channel number
greater than 50), either single or -4.6 dual, in the first 150kHz or so. (i.e. ch 53)
This seems to be a throwback to a bygone age when the marine band was larger.
Marine channels are 25kHz bandwidth too, so that ruins half of the 12.5kHz channel
above and below. How wasteful.
The first 70 per cent used to be used for the old BT RadioTelephones :
163.0375... BT System 4, to 164.4125 (split -4.5: 158.5375-159.9125) ch.s U1-U111
Early versions used from 163.0375 to only 164.2125 as System 4 channels 95 down to 01.
U57 (163.7375 - base only) was control. 163.025 and 164.425 were boundaries.
and before that:
163.050 ... BT System 3, to 164.400 (split -4.5, 25kHz channels 55-1 in reverse!) ch17 164.0 was control.
(until the 1980's saw the arrival of TACS at 935-950 MHz)
Single OR Base Mobile (or Single)
---------------------------------------
163.0375---158.5375 M2003 (First ch.)
163.050 ---158.550 M2004 CBS
163.0625---158.5625 M2005 CBS
163.075 ---158.575 M2006 CBS
163.100 ---158.600 M2008 CBS
163.1125---158.6125 M2009 CBS
163.125 ---158.625 M2010 CBS
163.1375 single
163.15 single 158.65 ch 53 - Mountain Rescue (25kHz)
163.200 ---158.700 M2016 CBS
163.2125---158.7125 M2017 CBS
163.225 ---158.725 M2018 CBS
163.2875---158.7875 M2023 STH (or either singly)
163.3125---158.8125 M2025 CBS
to (except 163.375)
163.425 ---158.925 M2034 CBS
163.6875---159.1875 M2055 STH RQAS & Construction only
163.750 ---159.250 M2060 STH (or either singly) Construction only
163.775 ---159.275 Data Services Ltd
to
163.825 ---159.325
163.850 ---159.350 M2068 STH RQAS & Construction only
this section now PMR, with many STH channels.
163.900 ---159.400 M2072 STH (or 163.9 singly) RQAS only
163.925 ---159.425 M2074 STH (or either singly)
163.950 ---159.450 M2076 demo/parking
163.9625---159.4624 M2077 CBS
163.975 ---159.475 M2078 CBS
163.9875 STH 159.4875 STH RQAS only
164.000 STH RQAS only 159.500 STH RQAS only
164.0875 STH 159.5875 STH RQAS only
164.125 STH RQAS only 159.625 STH RQAS only
164.1375 PBR 159.6375 Local Comms returns (to 459MHz)
159.65 Local comms ret.
159.6625 Local comms ret.
159.675 Local comms ret.
164.1875 STH RQAS only 159.6875 STH
164.200 page ret. (as 161) 159.700 Local comms ret.
Data Services Ltd (ex Vodafone's Paknet) data system - base continuous (25 channels?!)
164.225 ---159.725
to
164.4125---159.9125 (old limit 164.3875?)
(see 163.775... for same sounding content) [Hear it here!]
this top section used to be mainly Private Message Handling - operators speaking
to mobile doctors etc. (AirCall/MediCall), and is now CBS "predominantly".
164.4375---159.9375 M2115
to
165.0375---160.5375 M2163 (Last ch.)
---------------------------- --------
160.550 - 160.575 Alarms (3x 12.5kHz)
** the end of this 2nd column now joins the start of the 1st. now we've covered 4.6MHz **
160.3 to 160.55 was once used for 11 private marine channels (1970s)
(and at the time Private Message Handling thus only went to 164.775/160.275)
-165.04375=-------------------
High Band
12.5kHz channels. Some "TalkThrough". DCS.
Security firms (Datatrack mobile digital - on 5 national Securicor channels)
Ambulance service (many at 166.1-166.85), Taxis, etc.
National exclusive: 45 dual, 11 single
CBS: 20 dual
On-site shared: 5 dual, 31 single
Wide Area Shared: 185 dual
UK General: 5 single
** These are your main business radio bands, mate. So I'm told.
** Don't ever listen here. It's not nice to eavesdrop.
** The technology might be fascinating, but there's no point listening, is there?
165.05...PBR, to 168.2375 (split +4.8: 169.850 -173.0375) (French splits -4.6) (ISM 168 +/- 8kHz)
168.25...PBR, to 168.3 single
168.3125=... H.O.
168.85...PBR, to 169.8375 single - with ERMES paging 169.425 to 169.8 (25kHz channels)
169.85...PBR, to 173.0375 single OR dual: see 165.05
173.05...PBR, to 173.0875 single
** a 4.8 MHz difference UPWARDS
Base Mobile
---------------------------------------
165.0500---169.8500 ch H001 Hxxx = (freq - 165.0375) / 0.0125
165.075 ---169.875 Road Construction (not London)
165.1625---169.9625 ON SITE 32 DUAL
165.1875---169.9875 ON SITE 33 DUAL
165.2125---170.0125 ON SITE 34 DUAL
166.7625---171.5625 ON SITE 35 DUAL
167.0375---171.8375 ON SITE 36 DUAL
167.2000---172.000 demo/"parking"/Test&Dev
168.2375---173.0375 ch H256
** single freq.s
---------------------------- --------
168.2500 PBR H257 173.050 PBR
168.2875 Alarms 173.0875 PBR (173.09375= end of high band PBR boundary)
168.3000 PBR H261 173.100... H.O. + LPD/SRD
-168.3125=-boundary----------
168.325 H.O.
to
168.825
-168.8375=------------------- this boundary used to be listed as 168.95
168.8500 PBR H305
168.9375 Alarms
169.0125 STH
169.0500 JRC H321
169.1375 STH
169.1625 STH
169.1875 STH
169.3875 PBR H348
-169.39375=------------------
169.4250 ERMES-01
ERMES Paging (25kHz, continuous, 6.25kbps, 4level FSK) [Hear it here!]
16 channels, with each country having 4 "preferred" channels
Swiss - 1,4,12,15
Finland - 11
France 10,14
ERMES intruded into the 169 band of single PMR in the 1990s,
with some confusion about whether 169.400 was to be used or not.
If 169.825 is OK for PMR, why not allow PMR now on 169.400?
Is all PBR here being cleared?
to (ex STH channels 169.4875 .5375 .575 .6375 .7625)
169.8000 ERMES-16
-169.81875=------------------
169.825 PBR H383
169.8375 PBR H384
169.85 H001 mobile "leg"... where we started the second column this time
Trying to subtract 4.8 in your head? Why not subtract 5 (easy) then add 0.2 (easy too)!
Subtracting 5 too hard?!! Add 5 if it's easier, then take 10!
173.1... SRD, to 177.2= Mics, JFMG, Theatres, Telemetry, Alarms, Telecommand, Deaf-aids
New band for narrowband speech opened in 1997 somewhere in 173.1-174
173.1875 SRD license-exempt
173.2=... licensed SRD, to 173.35= ( and 173.7= to 174= )
173.225 fixed or short range alarms only
173.35=...Aids for the deaf, to 174.415=
173.5875 only telemetry and telecommand with speech, & 173.6
173.7= medical/biological telemetry, to 174
173.7=... mics...
173.965=..Aids for handicapped, to 174.015=
There is a Euro plan (25-08) to re-organise 157.45-174: (boundaries - last pair likely: 173.9875-169.3875)
162.05 ... Base, to 165.2 (split -4.6: 157.45 -160.6) (... this one could well be the full range though)
169.825 ... Base, to 174 (split -4.6: 165.225-169.4)
and some single around 165.2125
-174=--------------------------
Band III - TV Broadcasting (Not UK since 1984), DAB
UK: Mobile - PAMR/PBR/JFMG/PMSE (mics) + AMR + Data
Bus and coach operators, RA's "B9" business class, rail.
French TV: 8MHz ch. F5-F10 vision at 176, 184, 192, 200, 208, 216 sound at +6.5
Euro TV (7MHz) E5 174-181, E6 181-188, ... E11 216-223, E12 223-230
Old UK (5MHz) B6 176-181, B7 181-186, ... B13 211-216
174.0 ... mics, to 175.1= 174.6, 174.675, 174.77, 174.885, 175.02 5mW 50kHz
173.8 yellow 180kHz 2mW
174.1 red
174.5 blue
174.8 green
175.0 white
175.25 mics (200kHz)
175.525 mics (200kHz)
176.3=... mics, to 177.1= at 176.4 176.6 176.8 177.0
--sub band 1--
176.5=... (mics) (unused PBR channels 001-057 : 176.5 = 001)
177.2=
177.2125...PAMR/DATA, to 183.4875 (split +8: 185.2-191.5) channels 058-560 - 63 not allocated
(except 181.7-181.8 - JFMG 12.5kHz 25W simplex talkback)
Some PBR. PAMR is trunked. (control channels continuous) [Hear it here!]
Data: Cognito - 49 channels on 1xx.x00 / 1xx.x25 / 1xx.x50 / 1xx.x75 [Hear it here!]
183.5=... AMR plan:
183.5125.. 25kHz channels (8), to 183.6875 - shared
183.7=... retained, to 183.9=
184.0 wideband channel - 200kHz
184.1=... retained, to 184.3=
184.3=... single user, exclusive
184.5=... JFMG, to 185.1=
184.6 news gathering mics, and 184.8 185.0
185.2=
185.2125..PBR, see -8 (189.7-189.8 JFMG 12.5kHz 25W simplex talkback)
--sub band 2--
191.5=
191.5=... JFMG
191.7 links 200kHz, news mics
191.9 links 200kHz, mics
192=...mics 200kHz max, to 193.1= 10mW 192.1 192.3 192.6 192.8 193.0
193.2=
193.2125..PBR, see +8
199.5=... JFMG links and mics, SRD
199.7 temp links - 200kHz max, stereo (1 month only, directional, 1W ERP max), mics
199.9 mics, and 200.1 200.3
200.5=... mics, to 201.1= (unused PBR channels 001-057 : 200.5 = 001)
200.6 mics, and 200.8 201.0
201.2125...PAMR/PBR, to 207.4875 (split -8: 193.2-199.5) channels 058-560 - all but 7 allocated
(95 PMR channels, 401 PAMR)
--sub band 3--
207.5=
The initial plan was for another block of PBR/PAMR with 8MHz split...
208.5=... PAMR/PBR, to 215.5= (split +8: 216.5-223.5)
...but sub-bands 1 & 2 contained the demand, then DAB arrived, and so they planned -3.3MHz splits :
209.206= - 215.26875= PAMR/PBR Frequency plan developed using 6.25 and 12.5kHz channels. No use as yet.
209.26... PBR, see +3.3
210.26... SRD
210.97... PBR, see +3.3
211.925...JFMG, to 212.1875 - mobile talkback (to 141 MHz) wide area
212.2 ... SRD
212.5625..PAMR/PBR, to 213.55 (split -3.3: 209.26-210.25)
213.56... ?SRD?
214.275...PAMR/PBR, to 215.2625 (split -3.3: 210.97-211.96) Narrowband modes
215.275...JFMG, to 215.4875 (not split -3.3: 211.97-212.18!!) temp. links
and this finally led to the following +3.35MHz splits :
207.6=... JFMG mics, to 209.1= 207.7 207.9 208.1 208.3 208.6 208.8 209.0
209.2=
209.2125...PAMR/PBR, to 210.2 (split +3.35: 212.5625-213.55) 12.5kHz
210.206=...reserved for future PMR/PAMR, to 210.919= (split +3.35: 213.556 -214.269) bandwidth not yet decided
210.919=...reserved for future PMR/PAMR, to 211.919= (split +3.35: 214.269 -215.269) narrowband 5kHz or 6.25kHz
211.925...JFMG, to 212.1875 - NOW: see 215.275 (WAS: wide area mobile talkback - to 141 MHz)
212.2 ... SRD, to 212.55
212.5625..PAMR/PBR, see -3.35: 209.2125...
213.556=..future PMR/PAMR see -3.35: 210.206=...
214.269=..future PMR/PAMR see -3.35: 210.919=...
215.275... JFMG SAP base, to 215.4875 (split -3.35: 211.925-212.1875) (WAS: temp. links)
215.5=... SRD, to 217.5
216.0.. JFMG mics, to 217.1= 216.1 216.3 216.6 216.8 217.0
217.5=...DAB, to 230 (1.536 MHz bandwidth) Vertical Pol. (more, more)
Eureka 147 - COFDM - Umpteen hundred narrowband carriers all sharing the bits...
218.640 (E11-B) LOCAL n/a
220.352 (E11-C) LOCAL/INR Isle of Man + Channel Islands
222.064 (E11-D) LOCAL/INR England + Wales
223.936 (E12-A) LOCAL/INR Scotland
225.648 (E12-B) BBC UK + Gibraltar (224.88-226.416)
227.360 (E12-C) LOCAL n/a
229.072 (E12-D) LOCAL/INR Northern Ireland
A whopping 6 programmes carried on each transmission. That's 12 in any one
location then. And that's supposed to be more efficient than the current FM
system? But I can get two or three times that many stations already, check
the FM band in London or Paris for example. Progress.
Ah, they'll say, but we can also use BandII when the analogue signals are
phased out, and there's L-band too (1.5 GHz).
Yee-ess, I'll say, but try fitting the processing power needed into a walkman,
and make the batteries last more than half an hour. Ha.
Oh, silly me, I nearly forgot. We don't really need more than ONE music station
anyway, as they all play the same 500 tired worn out "hits" over and over again.
And there's never enough advertising revenue to support TWO stations in the same
area, is there?
Am I the only person in the UK who wants to listen to good new music, rather than
the same old Simply Red/Phil Collins/Toto/60's/kiddie pop/REM/Peter Gabriel etc?
Most people I mention this to usually agree (willingly, too) and would rather
feel more "up to date" than all this living in the past. It is after all a great
pleasure to hear a fresh bit of pop and find you really like it - that is what
makes us go out and buy the stuff isn't it? Trouble is, when they do play the
latest releases, they play them every hour until you're sick of them - if you
have the radio on all day at work it'll drive you nuts.
So, from my experience most people are fed up with it, but as there's no
alternative the audience figures will remain high, that pleases the advertisers,
nothing needs to change, keep it bland, and the vicious circle continues...
And the current FM sound quality is nowhere near as good as it could be anyway.
How DO they manage to make even music I LIKE sound so awful?
224.0125.. JFMG PMSE, to 224.4875 portable links
There is an Amateur 1.25m allocation in the USA from 222 to 225
(was 220-225 until the 1990s) which started (at 224) in 1938.
-230---------------------------
NATO military band. (Equipment) ARFA/DRFB/FMSC/NJFA/CEAC
Air-Ground-Air, Air-Air comms (25kHz AM channels) some 12.5kHz spaced ch.s?
Radio Relay, PTARMIGAN multi-channel trunk links
Used by the Red Arrows, Falcons, Sharks etc for airshows
Thought of (by us old-timers) as 225 to 400 MHz, the lower end has been lost to DAB,
and from 380 upwards is earmarked for Land Mobile such as TETRA.
Some satellite (FM, wide bandwidth) downlinks, especially in the 250/260 MHz region. System info.
243.0 Distress, EPIRBs 121.5 x 2 = 243 to be phased out
259.7 Space shuttle
282.8 Emergency / SAR & 244.6, 285.85
The Philippines, Singapore and Brunei have a 300 mW 40 ch FRS service that operates
on the 325 MHz band - I wonder if any handies get brought over here?
Watch out for unapproved cordless phones at 375-385 (split -126: 249-259) 40 channels nbfm
326.5=... Astronomy, to 328.5= - deuterium spectral line
328.6=... Aero. Nav., to 335.4= - ILS, glideslopes
380=... TETRA mobile, to 383= see 390
390=... PSRCP H.O. TETRA, to 393= (split -10: 380-383) may eventually extend to 395= & 385=
Public Safety Radio Comms Project... i.e. Emergency Services
390.0125 to 392.9875 (digital 25 kHz channels) Base continuous. (Below 391.6 only, so far?)
391.5125 Test & Dev. ?
-399.9=---UHF------------------
Mobile (French splits +/-10)
399.9=.. Satellite, to 400.15=
399.9=... Nav, to 400.05=
400.1 Standard freq. / time
400.15=..Met. sondes, Satellite, EPIRBs, to 406.1
402... medical implants, to 405
406.0 Emergency Locator Transmitters
406.025 EPIRBs
406.1=.. MoD, to 420
(replacements for old VHF local net allocations being cleared)
406... Syledis nav. (positioning) system, to 449 - pulses - Annoying clicks on 70cms!
410=.. mobile civil TETRA, to 415= see 420
418.0 UK SRDs (centre of 200kHz alloc.) to be phased out
"Only SRD equipment certified to the R&TTE Directive before 31.Dec.2002
will be accepted for use in the UK until 31.Dec.2007."
UHF1: 420 to 450 - military (shares with PBR), SRD, SAB
RadioLocation is primary at 420-430 and 440-450
There is a Euro plan (25-08) to re-organise 410-430: (boundaries)
420 ... Base, to 430 (split -10: 410-420)
420=... PAMR: national civil TETRA, to 430= (split -10: 410-420)
420.0125... 400 x 25kHz channels, to 429.9875 - 12.5kHz offsets (as with TACS) Dolphin
425-430 use started January 2000, Dolphin had 100 channels within 420-425 prior to that
"further allocations may be made... in the bands 415-420 MHz paired with 425-430 MHz" - Dec.1999
425.00625=
425.0125... PBR, see 445.5125 +20.5
(425.3125=...JFMG, to 425.5626= temp links - South West large towns only)
425.5125... PBR, see 440.0125 +14.5
(427.7625=...JFMG, to 428.0125= talkback - various areas)
428.025... PBR, see 442.525 +14.5
429=... MoD
430=... Amateur 70cm band, to 440=
Secondary. Shared with MoD...
some Govt (some odd splits to other UHF1 sections) Nuclear Electric
430.025. RU1 French/Neth. repeaters, to 430.375 (RU15) (split +1.6: 431.625-431.975)
432.0=...Narrow band CW/SSB
433.0... UK repeaters (RB0), to 433.375 (RB15) (split +1.6: 434.6-434.975)
433.4... FM simplex (SU16), to 433.575 (SU23)
433.5 calling (SU20)
433.6... data/digital and some "emergency priority", to 433.8=
433.92 center of problematic SRD/ISM band (433.05 - 434.79) i.e. vehicles immobilised by ham transmissions *grin*
May be used for 10mW telemetry from models :
433.075 - 434.775 (69 x 25kHz channels) as used in Europe for short-range comms, e.g. Icom IC-4008E
434.6... Euro. repeaters, to 434.975 (split -1.6: reverse of UK)
435.070 UO-14 sat. FM repeater mode - uplink: 145.975 (University of Surrey, 1990)
436.625 StenSat FM transponder - uplink: 145.840 (12 cubic inches, 8.2 ounces) launched 26Jan00
DTMF for repeater mode: #6676326
438.2... Euro. repeaters, to 439.475 (split -7.6: 430.6-431.875) Germany/Swiss/Austria
So who would use the ham band? Well, they'd have to be not quite REAL military (they've plenty of spectrum)
...so how about space cadets... and DERA perhaps (just speculation...).
In July 1999 use of the following was banned by the RA for a week, via letter, web-site & GB2RS:
430.650 439.450
430.700 439.575
430.750 439.625
430.825 439.825
430.875 439.875
430.975 439.925
430.400 439.350
430.525 439.400
UHF1 PBR limited mainly to large cities - London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinb., Leeds,
Aberdeen, Bradford, Derby, Halifax, Leicester, Middlesbro, NewCastle, Preston, Sheffield, Warrington,
Coventry, Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Newport. 12.5kHz channels.
Channel xxx = (freq - 440) / 0.0125 freq = (Ch number x 0.0125) + 440
440.0125.PBR, to 442.2625 (split -14.5: 425.5125-427.7625) RAM data
440.325 on-site 7 (:425.825) ch 26
440.35 on-site 8 (:425.85)
440.375 on-site 9 (:425.875)
440.5375 demo/parking (:426.0375)
440.9 on-site 16 (:426.4)
440.925 on-site 17 (:426.425)
440.95 on-site 18 (:426.45)
441.1125 on-site 20 (:426.6125)
442.25 CBS (:427.75) ch 180
442.275 ... JFMG, to 442.5125= talkback - various areas
442.525..PBR, to 443.4875 (split -14.5: 428.025 -428.9875) 13 JRC ch.
442.525 on-site 26 (:428.025) ch 202
442.5375 CBS (:428.0375)
442.55 on-site 27 (:428.05)
442.575 on-site 28 (:428.075)
442.6 on-site 29 (:428.1)
442.625 on-site 30 (:428.125)
442.65 on-site 31 (:428.15)
442.775 on-site 39 (:428.275)
442.875 W.A. shared 43 (:428.375)
443.45 on-site 51 (:428.95)
443.475 on-site 53 (:428.975)
443.4875 CBS (:428.9875) ch 279
443.5 ... MoD
445.5125.PBR, to 445.9875 (split -20.5: 425.0125-425.4875)
445.5125 CBS (:425.0125) ch 441
445.975 W.A. shared 62 (:425.475)
445.9875 CBS (:425.4875) ch 479
446.0... PBR, to 446.4 on-site single : channels 1 to 33 (12.5kHz)
446.006..PMR446 (Euro SRBR), to 446.093 (8x 12.5kHz - within 446-446.1, 6.25kHz offsets)
Introduced in 1999 500mW licence exempt
446.00625 1 (446.005 to nearest 5kHz)
446.01875 2 (446.020)
446.03125 3 (446.030)
446.04375 4 (446.045)
446.05625 5 (446.055)
446.06875 6 (446.070)
446.08125 7 (446.080)
446.09375 8 (446.095)
446.425=... JFMG, to 446.5125= all areas
446.5125=.. JFMG, to 447.5125= various areas, links, comms, talkback simp. and duplex (base)
447.525..PBR, to 449.4875
448=... PBR, to 449= (split -17: shared with amateur 431-432) London. 6.25kHz offsets
(some -17.5 approx splits from 449.025 to 449.25 to middle of 431-432)
448.00625 CBS (:431.00625) ch 640
448.99375 CBS (:431.99375) ch 719
449.10625 Traffic info
449.2625..PBR single...
449.5=.. Prefered band for use by visiting foreigners for temporary PMR use, typically SAB, to 450= (12.5kHz channels)
449.5=... MoD
449.75=.. Space ops/research, to 450.25= Earth-to-Space
UHF2: 450= to 470= - emergency services, PBR, Paging, Telemetry, SRD, SAB
PBR mobile segments may contain single frequency simplex use. 12.5kHz channels. No CBS.
data systems (RAM/Hutchinson - 14 channel pairs, 17 in UHF1) [Hear it here!]
450-451 used to be used for Links, split +14: 464-465
other old link pairings in UHF2 used splits of 5.5, 6.5, 12.5 MHz
457-458.5, 460.5-461.5, 462.5-464, 467-470 were used.
Links have moved up the spectrum as technology has improved.
There is a Euro plan (25-08) to re-organise 450-470: (boundaries)
460 ... Base, to 470 (split -10: 450-460)
and the RA are trying to find the best way to realign
450=... H.O. - Emergency Services, to 453= (with 464-467.25)
(started as 451-452, then expanded up to 453, then down to 450)
25kHz channels until 1999, now using some 12.5kHz
453.00625= boundary for start of UHF2 PBR
453.0125 PBR - mobile at 461.275
453.025..PBR, to 453.9875 dual 12.5kHz (split +6.5: 459.525-460.4875)
..and 25kHz single:
453.025----459.525 on-site 1 dual
453.0375 single (459.5375 = H.O.)
453.050----459.550
453.0625---459.5625 on-site 2 dual
453.075 on-site 31 459.575 on-site 1
453.0875---459.5875 on-site 3 dual
453.100----459.600 on-site 4 dual
453.1125---459.6125 on-site 5 dual
453.125 on-site 32 459.625 on-site 2
453.175----459.675 on-site 7 dual
453.225 on-site 33 459.725 on-site 3
453.250----459.750 W.A. shared 4
453.300 on-site 34 459.800 on-site 4
453.350 on-site 35 459.850 on-site 5
453.400 on-site 36 459.900 on-site 6
453.425 on-site 37 459.925 on-site 7
453.450 on-site 38 459.95 on-site 8
453.500----460.000 on-site 8 dual
453.525 on-site 39 460.025 on-site 9
453.550 UK general
453.550----460.050 National 4 dual
453.575 on-site 40 460.075 on-site 10
453.600----460.100 on-site 9 dual
453.625 on-site 41 460.125 on-site 11
453.650 on-site 42 460.150 on-site 12
453.675 on-site 43 460.175 on-site 13
453.700
453.725 on-site 44 460.225 on-site 14
453.750----460.250 on-site 11 dual
453.875 on-site 45 460.375 on-site 15
453.900 UK general
453.900----460.400 National 5 dual
453.925
453.925----460.425 on-site 14 dual
453.950 on-site 46 460.450 on-site 16
453.975----460.475 W.A. shared 7
453.9875---460.4875
454.025 ... Paging, to 454.825
New (3.apr.2000) On-site Religious Observance Radio service i.e. "Call-to-prayer"
454.39375 454.40625 454.79375 454.80625 ( +/- 6.25kHz around 454.4 & 454.8 )
10 min.s max. broadcasts - follow-ons must wait four times the length of the
preceding message. 3km range, maybe more.
454.85...PBR, to 454.975 (some Railways split -6.5: 448.34375... with 6.25kHz offsets)
454.9875=...JFMG, to 455.475= short term links and location talkback base (with 468.018-468.506) (+airborne)
455.475..PBR, to 455.85 (split +5.5 or +5.3: 460.775-461.25) AIRPORTS ONLY
some channels were once split -6.5: 449.0375-449.1875
and 455.6875 once paired with +4.0: 459.6875
455.8625 ?
455.875 ?
455.8875... H.O., to 455.9875
456.0... PBR, to 456.9875 dual 12.5kHz (split +5.5: 461.500-462.4875) and single:
456.0 ---461.5 National 18 dual
456.025 ---461.525 on-site 15 dual
456.050 ---461.550 W.A.Shared 8
456.0625---461.5625 JRC
to
456.3125---461.8125 (21 ch)
456.2625---461.7625 National 35 dual
456.35 ---461.85 on-site 16 dual
456.375 ---461.875 National 38 dual
456.3875---461.8875 STH or either singly
456.4 ---461.9 National 39 dual
456.4125---461.9125 National 40 dual
456.425 ---461.925 National 41 dual
456.475 ---461.975 W.A.Shared 9
462.050
456.575 on-site 47 462.075 on-site 25
456.600 ---462.100 on-site 18 dual
462.100 UK general
456.625 on-site 48 462.125 on-site 26
456.650 ---462.150 on-site 19 dual
456.675 ---462.175 on-site 20 dual
456.725 on-site 49 462.225 on-site 27
456.775 on-site 50 462.275 on-site 28
456.800 on-site 51 462.300 on-site 29
456.825 ---462.325 on-site 23 dual
456.875 ---462.375 on-site 24 dual
456.8625 STH RQAS only 462.3625 STH
462.375
456.900 on-site 52 462.400 on-site 30
456.925 ---462.425 demo/parking or either singly
462.475 STH
456.9875---462.4875 STH or either singly
457.0= ... H.O. (+5.5?), to 457.25=
457.256 ... JFMG short term location talkback base, to 457.468 (with 467.293-467.531) 6.25 kHz offsets
457.475=... H.O.
457.5=.. Scanning Telemetry, to 458.5= (split +5.5: Outstations at 463-464)
457.50625-458.49375 Scanners, 12.5kHz channels 1 to 80 (i.e. 6.25kHz offsets) - with 463.00625-463.99375
457.525 ... Marine on-board comms, to 457.575 (may be split +10)
458.5=.. Telemetry, SRD, to 459.1=
458.525 ... model control, to 459.475 - channels 1 to 39
458.85.. On-site paging / local comms, to 459.475 (25kHz)
459.4875... H.O. (and .5125 .5375) Air ambulances
459.525 ... PBR, see 453.025
460.500=... H.O., to 460.75= Some prisons. Was used for air traffic control links, to +6.5: 467...
460.775 ... PBR, see 455.475
461.2375... JFMG, & 461.25 (split +7.2875: 468.525 & 468.5375)
461.2625.PBR and SRBR, to 461.4875 (SRBR until 31.Dec.2003)
461.2625 SRBR
461.275 mobile - base=453.0125
461.2875 UK General 1
461.300 SRBR paging
461.3125 on-site 17
461.325 on-site 18
461.3375 on-site 19
461.35 on-site 20
461.3625 on-site 21
461.375 UK General 2
461.3875 on-site 22
461.4 on-site 23
461.450 UK General 3
461.4625 on-site 24
461.475 SRBR
461.4875 SRBR
461.500 ... PBR, see 456
462.49375= boundary for end of UHF2 PBR
462.500=... H.O., to 462.75=
(US GMRS/FRS handies)
GMRS ch 1 to 8 at 462.55 to 462.725 (25kHz steps) with mobile at +5MHz
FRS ch 1 to 7 at 462.5625 to 462.7125 (25kHz steps) also used for GMRS single
& ch 8 to 14 at 467.5625 to 467.7125 (5MHz above ch 1 to 7)
462.756 ... JFMG fixed sites talkback (split +6.7375/+6.875: 469.493-469.868) 6.25kHz offsets
463.000=... ST, see 457.5=
464.000=... H.O., to 467.25= see 450= (466.075 Paging)
467.2625=..JFMG... links and talkback (+airborne)
467.275 ... see 457.25
467.525 .. Marine on-board, to 467.575 single, or dual: see -10 (future use of the 2 12.5kHz channels)
467.55... US GMRS/FRS, to 467.725 - see 462.55
468.0125 single.
468.018 ... JFMG, to 468.5375, see 455 and 461.237
469.493 ... fixed sites, see 462.756
469.875=..H.O.
-470=--------------------------
Band IV - TV Broadcasting in 8MHz channels (21 to 35) + land mobile (secondary - JFMG)
UK System I (PAL) : Offsets of +/- 25 kHz may be used to alleviate co-channel interference
AM Vision carrier at +1.25 (Lower Sideband vestigial)
FMW Sound carrier at +7.25 (sound 6 higher than video)
Nicam digital sound at +7.802
French System L (Secam) : Offsets of +/- 37.5 kHz may be used.
AM Vision carrier at +1.25 (inverted video)
AM Sound carrier at +7.75 (sound 6.5 higher than video)
Nicam digital sound at +7.55
Teletext and PDC.
DTTV - Digital Terrestial, COFDM - 2k (1705 carriers) or 8k (6817)
JFMG - ch 21 to 34 - mics and talkback (split +80MHz)
bound.s--ch--sound-
470-478 21 477.25 (or perhaps 477.225 or 477.275 if an offset used)
478-486 22 485.25 Offsets are usually 5/3 of the line freq (26kHz for 15.625kHz) but let's not be fussy!
486-494 23 493.25
494-502 24 501.25 some lists show 500.0 MHz as a mil distress channel. Hmmmm ??!!!
502-510 25 509.25
510-518 26 517.25
518-526 27 525.25
526-534 28 533.25
534-542 29 541.25
542-550 30 549.25
550-558 31 557.25
558-566 32 565.25
566-574 33 573.25
574-582 34 581.25
582-590 35 589.25 + JFMG links and mics (radar on 586 until 1995)
-590=--------------------------
UK Aero. Navigation + JFMG mics
590-598 (36) VCRs / Computers etc
594 Radar 50cm
-598=--------------------------
Band V - TV Broadcasting in 8MHz channels (37 to 68) + land mobile (secondary - JFMG mics)
598-606 37 605.25 + JFMG links (was once used for radar on 602, until 1995)
606-614 38 613.25
610 Radio Astronomy
614-622 39 621.25 + JFMG talkback (split -80MHz), to 662
622-630 40 629.25
630-638 41 637.25
638-646 42 645.25
646-654 43 653.25
654-662 44 661.25
662-670 45 669.25
670-678 46 677.25
678-686 47 685.25
686-694 48 693.25
694-702 49 701.25 (695-720 talkback)
702-710 50 709.25
710-718 51 717.25
718-726 52 725.25
726-734 53 733.25
734-742 54 741.25
742-750 55 749.25
750-758 56 757.25
758-766 57 765.25
766-774 58 773.25
774-782 59 781.25
782-790 60 789.25
-790=--------------------------
TV, Land Mobile (secondary - JFMG mics) Military Radio Relay
790-798 61 797.25
798-806 62 805.25
806-814 63 813.25
814-822 64 821.25
822-830 65 829.25
830-838 66 837.25
838-846 67 845.25
846-854 68 853.25
854-862 (often refered to as channel 69, a proposed extension) - JFMG SAB
-854=--------------------------
Mobile, military, Cellphones (dangerous?)
854... JFMG ch69 - SAB, mics, SRD, CT2 cordless phones, to 870
Shared mic channels, available accross UK, to 855.4=
854.0=... "allocated to a government department", to 854.25=
854.25=.. JFMG up to 1W - mics / talkback / links, to 862
higher powered links at 856.8 and 860.6 - 200kHz b.width, or subdivided to 50kHz channels
mics only at 854.9 855.275 855.9 856.175 856.575 857.625 857.95
858.2 858.65 860.4 860.9 861.2 861.55 861.75 (all 200kHz b.width)
mic channels may be used for talkback subject to appropriate power restictions
858.750 - 859.750 only available to radiomics, indoors - because:
856=... MoD, to 859.75 Tactical training
860.1=... Shared mic channels, available accross UK, to 862=
862=... Govt, to 863=
863=... SRD, to 865= Cordless headphones, consumer mics, etc
864.1 .. CT2, to 868.1 to be phased out. No new equipment after April 2005
866... proposed for Asset Tracking, to 868
867.6 .. proposed ETSI paging narrow band returns, to 868.0
868... SRD, to 870 alarms
868=... 25mW ...
868.6 .. Alarms - 10mW ...
868.7 .. 25mW ...
869.2 .. Euro Social Alarms ...
869.25.. Alarms - 10mW ...
869.3... (SRD) ...
869.4... 500mW ...
869.65.. Alarms - 25mW ...
869.7... 5mW
870=... Mobile...
870 - 871 possible future Euro-band for ERMES returns
870 - 876 reserved for future TETRA
872 (917)
876 (921) 876.0125... proposed Euro-UIC direct-mode single freq duplex, to 876.0625 (5 x 12.5kHz) 1W
880 (925) 888... SRD, to 889 to be phased out by 2003
890 (935) 898.. ISM +/- 8 MHz
915 (960)
915=... Base section, to 960= (split -45: 870-915) Cellphones - GSM Global System for Mobility
917=... ETACS/TACS, to 950= to be phased out by 2005
917.0125 to 949.9875 (25 kHz duplex channels, 12.5kHz offsets)
(Control channels at 935.56-936.06 & 943.06-943.56) [Hear it here!]
917 - 925 Vodafone
925 - 933 Cellnet
915=... reserved for future TETRA, to 921 (-45: 870-876)
919.5=.. future Amateur, to 920= recommended by DSI2 for 2008
921=... UIC, to 925= (by 2005) Euro. Railways GSM system
925=... EGSM - Extended GSM, 925.2 to 935
935=... GSM, to 960= (-45: 890-915)
935.2 to 959.8 (124x TDMA 200kHz channels) Digital duplex. Scrambled. Base continuous. [Hear it here!]
933 - 939.6 Vodafone
939.8 - 947 Cellnet
947 - 955 Vodafone
955 - 960 Cellnet
NOTES
933=... DSRR, to 935= (Digital Short Range Radio), will NOT happen, Euro plans withdrawn
934.0125.ex UK CB, to 934.9625 (934/81) (20 channels, 50kHz spacing) 2.Nov.1981 to 31.12.1998
There is an Amateur 33cm allocation in the USA from 902 to 928 MHz
-960=--------------------------
Aero. Navigation (DME/IFF), military JTIDS
966 Astronomy +/-4 MHz
978.... DME Ground reply X channels, to 1087 (paired with 1xx.x0 MHz) (to +63)
1025... DME Air mobile channels, to 1150 (1-126 x 1 MHz channels; 1-16 and 60-69 not used)
Selected in aircraft by tuning to a paired channel between 108 and 118 MHz
Pulses transmitted by the aircraft, returned by the ground station & time difference measured.
1104... DME Ground reply Y channels, to 1213 (paired with 1xx.x5 MHz) (to -63)
TACAN is like DME for slant distance measurement
but the return pulses give bearing info instead of using any VHF signal
1030 SSR/IFF (Squalk) Ground (secondary radar - rotating), air reply on 1090
use AM to detect (pulses stand out more over silence than over noise) [Hear it here!]
1164 - 1188 proposed for GPS L5 and Galileo
-1,215=---microwaves---(1.215 GHz)--------
Mobile, military, radar, navigation, fixed etc...
Rather specialist, wavelengths of less than 30cm really do allow
for high gain antennas, with very narrow beamwidths. Cable losses
become very noticeable and/or untenable. Mobile "flutter" quite
severe, mobile systems need many more base stations to cover a given
area. Most useful uses are direct fixed links, point to point, satellite
(line of sight), low range etc.
So - mostly un-interceptable and/or digital.
1215... Civil airport radar, to 1350 & radiolocation, satellite
1246... Russian GLONASS GPS L2, 0-12: 1246+n(0.4375) see 1602
1240=... Amateur 23cm band, to 1325= CW,SSB/FM/TV secondary
1296=... narrowband modes, beacons, to 1297
1297... FM repeaters RM0 to RM19 (split -6: 1291..)
1297.0 RM0
1297.05 RM2
1297.075 RM3
1297.125 RM5
1297.15 RM6
1297.225 RM9
1297.3 RM12
1297.325 RM13
1297.375 RM15
1297.475 RM19 (not in use)
1297.5.. FM simplex, to 1298
1297.50 FM calling
1298.275.German repeaters, to 1298.65 (split -28: 1270..)
1308... TV repeater outputs, to 1318.5 (inputs 1248 or 1249; or 1311.5---1276.5 pair)
-1,350=--------------------------
1,350=...Civil fixed links (split +142: 1492-1517) new. JRC links
1370..Radioastronomy, to 1400
1,375=...Govt links (split +52: 1427-1452)
1394 Civil video links - MPT 1349 standard (band 1389-1399)
1,400=...Transmission Prohibited
Astronomy, Space Research, SETI, Hydrogen Line. Certain frequencies around here
propagate very well through the universe, so the boffins listen here for extra-
terrestial transmissions. But surely the little grey men are doing the same thing?
1420 SETI@Home (+/-1.25MHz)
1,427=...Govt links (split -52: 1375-1400)
1450... Civil links, to 1467.5 (split +62.5: 1512.5-1530.0) x
1,452=...L-Band DAB & links
1467.5..Civil links, to 1472.5 (split +40.0: 1507.5-1512.5) x
1488.25..JFMG links, to 1490.75
1,492=...Civil fixed links (split -142: 1350-1375)
1507.5..Civil links, to 1512.5 (split -40.0: 1467.5-1472.5) x
1512.5..Civil links, to 1530 (split -62.5: 1450.0-1467.5) x
1,517=...Civil links, one-way
1,525=...Satellite comms downlinks - Inmarsat GMDSS etc (uplinks 1626.5-1660.5) (+101.5)
1,559=...Radionavigation, to 1626.5=
1,575.42 Navstar GPS Nav L1 C/A (military accuracy with 1227.6 L2 +/-14MHz) spread
The L1 carrier is modulated by all three GPS data streams, C/A, P and Nav/System Data.
The L2 carrier is modulated by two GPS data streams, P-code and Nav/System Data.
The L3 carrier 1381.05 MHz is a non-navigation signal associated with nuclear burst detection.
One frequency explored for the L4 carrier is 1841.4 MHz.
1,602... Russian GLONASS L1, 0-12: 1602+n(0.5625) spread spectrum
1,610=...Mobile-satellite systems, uplinks (down at -101.5)
1,610=...LEO MSS, to 1626.5= (up&down) CDMA i.e. Globalstar, Iridium (TDMA, 780km up)
1,645.5..Distress EPIRBs, to 1646.5 (Inmarsat E) 1645.6-1645.8?
1,660.5=.Radioastronomy, to 1670
1,668=...H.O. links (with 1698-1700)
1,670=...TFTS ground stations
1,675=...Meteo satellite, to 1710
1,677=...H.O. mobile applications, to 1685
1,690=...Weather Satellite HRPT (Hi-res pics), to 1710= NOAA, GOES, MeteoSat
1,698=...H.O. links, to 1700 (with 1668-1670)
1,710=...links, radioastronomy, PCN mobile phones, to 1880
1785.7...Pro. radio mics, to 1799.3
1,800.30.TFTS in-flight digital phones (air-ground), to 1804.969 (164 x 30.303 kHz channels : ground at -130)
1,805=...PCN mobile phone system, to 1876.5= (split -95: 1710-1781.5)
1805 - 1816.5 soon to be shared by Cellnet & Vodaphone
1816.5 - 1846.5 One 2 One
1846.5 - 1876.5 Orange
1,880=...DECT Digital Euro. Cordless Telephones, to 1900=
1881.792..ch1, to 1897.344 ch10 (steps of 1.728 MHz) encrypted, base continuous (pulses)
Single Freq. Duplex (Digital TDMA) - supporting 12 conversations at once per channel
1,900=...future UMTS, to 2025= (with 2110-2200) IMT-2000, FPLMTS 3rd generation mobile (-190?) issues
licences will comprise three of (2x10)+5MHz, one of 2x15MHz and one of (2x15)+5 MHz.
2,300... Airborne Telemetry, to 2330 (extension to 2400)
2,310=...Ham 13cm band, to 2,450=
2.4 ... JFMG video links & cameras, to 2.68
2,402... Bluetooth digital SRD, to 2.480 (79 x 1MHz channels) 1600 hops per sec over 32 channels
2,450 ISM, your microwave oven. Really.
2,700=...Radar, to 3100 - 10cm band
3.100=...Mil radio location, to 3410
3,400=...Ham 9cm band, to 3,475=
3,442=...Police helicopter video downlinks, to 3475
3,475.6=.FWA/RFA/RLL, to 3,492.688 (split -50: 3425-3442) used by Ionica 1993-??(97?)
3,500=...PMSE, to 3600 - 5 video channels
3,675=...C-Band satellite TV, to 4,200=
5,150=...RLAN Short Range High Data Rate Nomadic Equipment, to 5,875=
5,350=...radar...
5,650=...Ham 6cm band, to 5,850=
9,000 Radar, to 9500 - 3cm band
10,000=...Ham 3cm band, to 10,150= - and 10,300= to 10,500=
10,065 TV repeater o/p
-10,700=--(10.7 GHz)-----------
Satellite TV, Ku band - Astra,Eutelsat,Intelsat etc. (35,800km up)
10,700=..FSS (fixed sat. service)
11,700=..BSS (DBS - Band VI)
12,500=..Telecom
-12,750=-----------------------
These are really small radio wavelengths...
24,000=..Ham 12mm band, to 24,250=
40,500=..future ITC 7mm MVDS Multipoint Video Distribution, to 42.5= GHz
47,000=..Ham 6mm band, to 47,200=
75,500=..Ham 4mm band, to 76,000=
142,000=.Ham 2mm band, to 144,000=
248,000=.Ham 1.2mm band, to 250,000= - 248 GHz, hmmmm.
Radio or Far Infra-Red? There's a bit of overlap near 1mm wavelengths...
-275,000=-----(275 GHz)--------
Far Infra-Red, to 25,000 GHz (over 1mm to 12µm)
-25,000,000=--(25 THz)---------
Infra-red
-441 THz=----------------------
Visible wavelengths. Otherwise known as "Light". Red to Violet (680-420nm)
Some of my favourite frequencies. Green is rather nice.
-714 THz=----------------------
Near Ultraviolet. 300nm-180nm
-1,666 THz=--------------------
Far Ultraviolet 180nm-91nm
-3,289 THz=--------------------
Extreme Ultraviolet 91nm-10nm
912-100 Angstroms
-30,000,000,000=--(30 PHz)-----
X-rays 10nm-10pm
100-0.1 Angstroms
-30,000,000,000,000=-(30 EHz)--
Gamma rays 10pm-100fm and beyond
That's enough. Obsessive? Me? Hehe.. wonder what a "profiler" would say about all this!
Frequency multiplied by wavelength gives 300,000,000 m/s - the speed of light...
or 299,792,458 to be more exact.
300 mHz > 3000 mHz 1Gm > 100Mm easier to count s/cycle than c/s !
3 Hz > 30 Hz 100Mm > 10Mm VERY long waves! Natural 'Earth' waves
30 Hz > 300 Hz ELF 10Mm > 1Mm Bass!
300 Hz > 3000 Hz ILF 1000km > 100km Voice frequencies (sound)
3 kHz > 30 kHz VLF 100km > 10km
30 kHz > 300 kHz LF 10km > 1km
300 kHz > 3000 kHz MF 1km > 100m
3 MHz > 30 MHz HF 100m > 10m
30 MHz > 300 MHz VHF 10m > 1m
300 MHz > 3000 MHz UHF 1m > 10cm
3 GHz > 30 GHz SHF 10cm > 1cm
30 GHz > 300 GHz EHF 1cm > 1mm mainly experimental
300 GHz > 30 THz THF 1mm > 10um limits of radio / far infra-red
30 THz > 300 THz 10um > 1um infra-red light
300 THz > 3000 THz 1um > 100nm infra red > visible > ultra violet (near & far)
3 PHz > 30 PHz 100nm > 10nm extreme ultra violet
30 PHz > 30 EHz 10nm > 10pm x-rays
30 EHz > 10pm > Gamma rays
1 micron = 1 micrometer = 1um = 1000nm = one thousandth of a mm
10 Angstrom = 1 nanometer i.e. 5000A=500nm 1A=0.1nm=100pm
X unit (Xu) = approx. 0.001002 angstrom, or 100.2 femtometers, defined by
M. Siegbahn in 1925. Formerly used for measuring the wavelength of X rays
and gamma rays now measured in picometers (pm) or femtometers (fm).
1 Fermi = 1fm = about the size of an atom's nucleus
Metric prefixes
Ten to the power of
-27 vimto v
-24 yocto y
-21 zepto z
-18 atto a Greek: atten = eighteen
-15 femto f Greek: fempten = fifteen
-12 (trillionth) pico p 'little bit'
-9 (billionth) nano n nanos = dwarf
-6 (millionth) micro u mikros = small
-3 (thousandth) milli m mille = thousand
-2 (hundredth) centi c centum = hundred
-1 (tenth) deci d decimus = tenth
1 (ten) deca da deka = ten
2 (hundred) hecto h hekaton = hundred
3 (thousand) kilo k Greek: Khilioi
6 (million) mega M megas = great
9 (billion) giga G gigas = giant
12 (trillion) tera T teras = monster
15 (quadrillion) peta P
18 (quintillion) exa E
21 (sextillion) zetta Z
24 (septillion) yotta Y
27 (octillion)
30 (nonillion)
33 (decillion
36 (undecillion)
39 (dodecillion) These American terms obviously increment by one per
42 (tredecillion) thousand. In Europe however, we prefer to do it by
45 (quattuordecillion) millions. Thus a Euro billion is a million millions
48 (quindecillion) and not a thousand millions.
51 (sexdecillion)
99 (dotrigintillion)
100 (googol)
120 (novemtrigintillion)
303 (centillion)
googol (googolplex)
Gloss.
ACARS Air Comms Addressing/Reporting System
AM Amplitude Modulation (power output varies with modulation, can cause interference)
AMR Automatic Meter Reading
CB Citizens Band (or Complete B*llocks)
CBS Common Base Station - PBR via a dealer who supplies equipment and airtime
A.K.A. Community Repeaters.
Each set of users have their own CTCSS tone so they don't hear any other groups
CDMA Code-Division Multiple Access ("random" hopping/spread spectrum)
two users in the same band won't be on the same channel at the same time
..or at least not for long
COFDM Coded Orthogonal Freq. Division Multiplex (cough dee-em; NOT Cod FM!)
CSR Coastal Station Radio (international channels or private)
CTCSS Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System
CW Continuous Wave (for Morse) - as opposed to spark transmissions
DAB Digital Audio Broadcasting
DGPS Differential GPS (sends details of the current GPS error)
DME Distance Measuring Equipment
DSI Detailed Spectrum Investigation (survey)
EPIRB Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon
ERP Effective Radiated Power (takes antenna system gain/loss into account)
GLONASS GLObal NAvigation Satellite System
GPS Global Positioning System
H.O. Home Office (govt dept)
Hz Hertz - one cycle per second. MHz is millions per second.
ERMES European Radio MESsaging - paging standard
ETACS Extended TACS
FDMA Freq. Div. Multiple Access (sharing a system using different freq.s - i.e. trunking)
FM Frequency Modulation (freq varies with modulation, fixed power causes less problems)
FSK Freq. Shift Keying
ILR Independent Local Radio
INR Independent National Radio
ISM Industrial/Scientific/Medical
JFMG Joint Frequency Management Group (SAB)
JRC Joint Radio Co.
LEO Low Earth Orbit
LPD Low Power Devices
MBR Maritime Business Radio
MSS Mobile Satellite Service
PAMR Public Access Mobile Radio (like CBS, but trunked, over wider areas. Some telephone access too)
PBR Private Business Radio (the RA's new preferred term)
PMR Private Mobile Radio (what everyone else calls it)
PMSE Program Making & Special Events
POCSAG A paging standard
RDS Radio Data System (57kHz sub-carrier on the audio modulation)
RMR Remote... see AMR
RQAS Radio Quality Assurance Scheme (ISO 9000)
RSL Restricted Service Licence (short term broadcast)
SAB Services Ancillary to Broadcasting
SAP ..to Program making
SAR Search and Rescue
SETI Search for Extra-Terrestial Ignorance
SOLAS Safety Of Life At Sea (meetings)
SSB Single Side-Band ("half" of AM, with the carrier suppressed) USB Upper or LSB Lower
SRBR Short Range Business Radio
SRD Short Range Devices
STH Short Term Hire
TACS Total Access Comms System
TDMA Time Division Multiple Access (in-turn sharing of a freq.)
TETRA TErestial Trunked RAdio (or "how the police will avoid your monitoring")