Going back in time

[turbine_prop]

I was looking for something in my book shelf tonight when I found one of my old 1989 scanner directories I started flicking through it remembering when

Interesting ever since Vicpol stopped using the OLD VHF Metro frequ's E.G. 168.220, 168.280, 168.520 Etc. when they switched over to the now old 468Mhz uhf network has anyone noticed that with the exception of 168.175 ( which is part of the SMR ) the 168 Mhz freq's have NEVER been re licensed or re used in Vic.

Could it be that these frequencies are still " sort " of owned by the Victorian Government ( Vicpol ) marked never to be re licensed in Vic I should set up a scan & monitor across them for a week or so and see what I get if anything

Like wise who remembers the old
169 Mhz MMBW
71 Mhz Forest Commission ( DCFL )
72 Mhz & 16x Mhz SEC
76 Mhz Ambo's ect
48x Mhz varios taxi Co's
408 Mhz State Transport Authority ( Prior to the met )
and so on the endless list goes.

Aahh the days before encryption when scanning was more fun than it it is today.

Yes networks like the SMR and RMR do allow us ( at the moment ) to hear more from further away than before but for how much longer remain the great unknown.

I think the only freq's and users that still exist unchanged ( all be users have changed and area have changed ) are Aviation, Marine, Paging and some amateur, I can't believe how many 1000's & 1000's of users that have either gone UHF and thus digital and in the most ( encrypted ) or more so have gone all together.

I've got frequencies going back to 1979 when every tom, dick and harry had a " Two Way Radio " and the internet didn't exist.

Regards
Wayne.
Melbourne

[melbournefan]

What were the trams using?

[SteveO]

I still see the old 77 meg antennas around the place up here so maybe they are still there for backup just in case?

[turbine_prop]

I still see the old 77 meg antennas around the place up here so maybe they are still there for backup just in case?

Or like a lot of antennas and other such infrastructure the antennas are just left there whilst the gear in the shacks are pulled out.

I was surprised last late year to find out that the big base station in Mt. Pleasant Rd Eltham is gone all that remains is the old power pole and the concrete slab.

It's just like the old PCT MPT1327 network the old antennas are still there but long since replaced by GSMR.

I'd love some of the healiax, if you have a look at the intersection of Bullen Road and the eastern Freeway in Bulleen at the Bulleen Tennis Courts you will see that there are still old AMPS Analogue antennas on that mast clearly just easier to leave them behind then to take them down, there also some on the right hand side of the Tulla Toll way city bound.

Regards
Wayne
Melbourne.

[SteveO]

Maybe? but I still here Ambos on 78 meg freqs.

[Comint]

Maybe? but I still here Ambos on 78 meg freqs.

The Qld Ambulance Service still uses VHF in Rural areas, but also has limited VHF coverage in UHF areas, so that country ambulances don't have to have two radios.

For example, 79.750 MHz on Mt Perseverance, which covers the Lockyer Valley, which is a UHF area.

--
Comint

[melbournefan]

I still see the old 77 meg antennas around the place up here so maybe they are still there for backup just in case?

77? where are they

[Phantom]

Erm, post #6 clearly shows that VHF is still in use....
Where exactly, look up the ACMA database and I am sure it will show their location

[melbournefan]

Erm, post #6 clearly shows that VHF is still in use....
Where exactly, look up the ACMA database and I am sure it will show their location

I was talking about the trams.
Found this 38.575MHZ linked to victrack what is this used for?
Emission Designator 8K00K2D

[turbine_prop]

Maybe? but I still here Ambos on 78 meg freqs.

The Qld Ambulance Service still uses VHF in Rural areas, but also has limited VHF coverage in UHF areas, so that country ambulances don't have to have two radios.

For example, 79.750 MHz on Mt Perseverance, which covers the Lockyer Valley, which is a UHF area.

--
Comint

Hi Comint thanks for your reply, I was more looking at it from a " Victorian " perspective a quick search of the ACMA database clearly shows that frequencies like 76.010, 76.250, 76.670 etc. ( Old Vic Ambo's VHF low Freq's ) are no longer in use in " Victoria "

[turbine_prop]

Erm, post #6 clearly shows that VHF is still in use....
Where exactly, look up the ACMA database and I am sure it will show their location

G'day Phantom.

To the very best of my knowledge Ambulance Victoria now only use "VHF" in the SMR Telstra own'd and run MPT1327 trunking network 165Mhz - 170Mhz.

They do still in some area still use frequ's from the old " UHF " network in the 412 to 415 Mhz network more so for PtP ( Point to Point ) links etc. they also have some freq's in the 514Mhz range again PtP Links

Regards
Wayne
Melbourne.

[Phantom]

Thanks for the reply Wayne.
As mentioned earlier in post #6, the QAS still appear to use VHF for some of their communication. I understand you are asking about Victoria thou.

[turbine_prop]

Thanks for the reply Wayne.
As mentioned earlier in post #6, the QAS still appear to use VHF for some of their communication. I understand you are asking about Victoria thou.

G'day again Phantom

Thanks for your further reply thank god you still have some unencrypted comms in Qld because from what I have read Qld has gone done the ACT road where everything is encrypted.

I fear that e are not that long from going down that road our selves, our Metro cops have long been fully encrypted and our regional cops I hear and read are not that far behind.

Our Metro Ambo's are currently digital with some encrypted channels but ti would not suprise me to see encryption turned on right across the board for at least our Metro Ambo's.

Not sure what the long term view is for our Regional Ambo's they are currently using the Telstra MPT1327 trunking network with their jobs sent to them Via Pocsag pager, how ever I fear that, that could be about to change in the not to distant future after some idiots have come out publicly talking about and showing how east it is to listen to and gain information.

As for our regional fire fighting services well I think that the jury is still out on this mess.

We currently have 1/2 our CFA ( Country Fire Authority ) on the new RMR Tait Apco 25 digital vhf network simply reusing the old VHF analogue frequ's whilst the other 1/2 of our CFA still stuck on the old analogue vhf network whilst both the digital and the analogue parts also use and have access to e VHF SMR 1327 MPT trunking ( State Mobile Radio Network ) with their own dedicated User I.D.

Then we have Parks Vic who have a dedicated fire fighting service for national parks etc and they have their own user I.D.. on the VHF SMR 1327 MPT trunking ( State Mobile Radio Network ).

Then we have ( The dept of Name Change ) Their latest name ( DEPI ) previously DSE, Previously DCFL, Previously DCFL, Previously the Forrest commission and they have their own user I.D.. on the VHF SMR 1327 MPT trunking ( State Mobile Radio Network ).

Other Emergency services that also use on the VHF SMR 1327 MPT trunking ( State Mobile Radio Network ). with their own dedicated user I.D's include the regional Ambo's, SES and the Vicpol Regional.( Vicpol regional have thir own dedicated VHF static network as well as being separately being users of the SMR.

The joke is that none of these services can talk to each other but instead have to go back through their own base / command operations to get messages to each other.

Hope that gives you a bit of a quick run down on the communications mess in Victoria, the only up side of this is that I think it would cost way to much to bring all these services under one communications umbrella so fingers crossed our small amount of listening pleasure will continue for a bit longer yet ( Maybe not including Vicpol Regional ).

Regards
Wayne
Melbourne.

[Phantom]

It won't be long. My understanding is they are "locking" things down progressively.

[Pumper_50]

Wayne, some of those entities you mention will be migrating to RMR. At last count there were at least 7 or so agencies where they plan to migrate across.

There are some announcements possibly due soon, can't confirm for certain though, but I'd be keeping an ear out over the coming month(s).


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk