VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

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M0PLT
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

Post by M0PLT »

We are dealing with civil servants and MPs who are not known for their altruism/technical understanding. You have to ask for more than you are likely to get. Ask for less, and you will get very little.

99 channels, with 10kHz channel spacing, will fit in 1MHz of bandwidth. Not really a huge demand when you consider the MHz that was once assigned to the emergency services.

Both VHF C.B. and Ofcom's plans to sell off chunks of VHF for business radio rely on manufacturers being sufficiently interested in making and selling UK-centric radios, hence my point about CEPT harmony. A larger market share across the EU, with standardised features, will attract a greater number of manufacturers. And many of the things I have suggested could be used for business radio systems (one to many calling/tone squelch/repeater).
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

Post by Adriano9966 »

delboyonline wrote: We need to keep it real folks, I suggested 1 or 2 watts, small verticals, FM only, and don't bother asking for 40 or 80 channels because yet again 'Not going to happen'
Anyone who has used 2 meters will vouch for the fact that 1 watt into a Watson/Sirio/Moonraker 1m long vertical antenna will get 20-30 miles from home base to home base - Considerably more than you'd get on 27Mhz!
I very much agree a few watts, monopole aerials and fm is a far more realistic prospect .Regarding range .... I can get into the Aylesbury repeator from here with just a couple of watts up on 2 metres

:) You know guys I think we actually stand a chance of getting this if enough people reply to the consultation.
The big problem people have living in apartments,town centres and concentrated urban developments is the lack of space for antennas.So a VHF cb service to run in tandem with the 80 channels on 27mhz is not a bad idea .UP until a few years ago the UK had 100 channels of CB ...40 UKFM + 40 c.e.p.t and 20 on 934mhz .The 20 Channels on 934 were removed because the spectrum was required for other services so it is only fair in my view that the regulator should relinquish a lousy 250khz or so of spectrum for vhf CB especially since there is now some available space !
edit I forgot to say this ....Who is to say that cross band repeaters could not be used in tandem with the old 27/81 service?? ;)
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

Post by M0PLT »

Not just those in apartments. The elderly, who might like a cheap communications system, are likely to be put off by the size of the aerials for 11 metres. Small dipoles that could be lost in a loft, or screwed to a fascia board, would be more appealing. Mobile HF is also a problem with the size of aerials and the mounts; many of which can damage a vehicle's paint work. Smaller whips would certainly be more appealing.

Another feature, useful to CB and Biz-radio, strikes me: With the proliferation of cheap programmable silicon, radios could feature a unique code - kind of like the MAC address used on Ethernet and Wi-Fi, or the IMEI code on mobile phones. The code might allow tracking and disabling of lost/stolen radios; encryption between known radios; pager-style functions; etc. Want to lock a nuisance operator out of a repeater? Block their radio's code(s).
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

Post by Windy_Miller »

Be realistic folks....

OFCOM allocating even 100 kHz of prime spectrum to a few dozen die hards that want to relive the early eighties, who will only then complain after a few months that its unusable due to bucket mouths, music players and button pushers with 100 watt amps?

Instead, they could allocate it to some of the 60 odd million of a population in this country who want all their gadgets to be wireless, whether they be baby monitors, smoke alarms, smart meters, things for seeing what the solar panels are doing at the moment, home automation or a device to start up the heater on the electric car before you set off on your journey. Face it, there are more baby monitor users in this country than there are CB users.
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

Post by ChelseaCat »

Well how negative :lol: come on join in the dream this time in 2047 we will have our VHF band but you must act now :lol: {bnghd}
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

Post by Windy_Miller »

In these parts, there are more radio hams than there are CB'ers, the former from seeing how many members they have listed in their club, the latter from listening to the CB. The former have a couple of MHz of VHF spectrum, as dead as a dodo, save for the melancholy dah-ditty-dah-dah's of their repeater every 15 minutes or so.
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

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Baby monitors, remote vehicle control systems, 'Smart Meter' monitoring systems, et al, all have allocated ISM bands within which to operate. Manufacturers are not about to lobby for "prime spectrum" as they will have to pay for it, and seek regulatory approval throughout the world. That's why they use the ISM bands!
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

Post by Adriano9966 »

:D
ChelseaCat wrote:Well how negative :lol: come on join in the dream this time in 2047 we will have our VHF band but you must act now :lol: {bnghd}
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

;)At the very least lets just ask ofcom we have nothing to lose by doing so and we might actually get it . The regulator took away 934 therefore its not too much to ask for a replacement in my view
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

Post by Windy_Miller »

The use of wireless devices is increasing. The use of CB is decreasing. No amount of wishcasting will bring it back.

Its a no brainer. At some point, ISM bands will not be able to cope with the ever increasing number of devices needing to use it. CB bands, even 27MHz and on PMR, 446 MHz will become total ghost towns.

Bring out some new gadget that connects some piece of consumer electronics to another piece of consumer electronics, and several million people will queue up for it the day it is released. Bring out a new model of CB, and maybe a few hundred folk will buy it.
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

Post by ChelseaCat »

Adriano9966 wrote::D
ChelseaCat wrote:Well how negative :lol: come on join in the dream this time in 2047 we will have our VHF band but you must act now :lol: {bnghd}
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

;)At the very least lets just ask ofcom we have nothing to lose by doing so and we might actually get it . The regulator took away 934 therefore its not too much to ask for a replacement in my view
Exactly just ask and see what happens so everyone get on the ofcom website and get your message across :ugeek:

https://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consu ... spond/form
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

Post by Windy_Miller »

ChelseaCat wrote: so everyone get on the ofcom website and get your message across
Yes, all 20 of you!
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

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Windy_Miller wrote:
ChelseaCat wrote: so everyone get on the ofcom website and get your message across
Yes, all 20 of you!


:D 22 if you count old mother Reilly and a dog called spot :lol: :lol: :lol: ........ keep smiling ;)
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

Post by Windy_Miller »

Rumour has it, over on http://www.babymonitorworld.co.uk they already have over a million petitioners, calling on OFCOM to allocate them the spectrum for new digital baby monitors, with extra data capability for sending out alarms for high nappy humidity, a bad smell of sh!t, and "baby in cute pose" alert, automatically triggering a photograph to be taken and uploaded to Facebook.
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

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Windy_Miller wrote:Its a no brainer. At some point, ISM bands will not be able to cope with the ever increasing number of devices needing to use it.
Wi-Fi has proven that wrong. 2.45GHz is seriously over-crowded and easily wiped out by microwave ovens, yet Wi-Fi still manages, even if it's at a slow rate. Gadget developers are now looking to apply the techniques used in Wi-Fi to extract more use out of other ISM bands. And don't forget the white-space crowd.

There is nothing lost by adding your 2 pence to the Ofcom consultation. If we don't ask, civil servants will say no-one was interested, sell it all off to the highest bidder, and there will be nothing left for the public.
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Re: VHF CB Radio/Freenet in the UK?

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Windy_Miller wrote:Rumour has it, over on http://www.babymonitorworld.co.uk they already have over a million petitioners, calling on OFCOM to allocate them the spectrum for new digital baby monitors, with extra data capability for sending out alarms for high nappy humidity, a bad smell of sh!t, and "baby in cute pose" alert, automatically triggering a photograph to be taken and uploaded to Facebook.
Tell them to slap a Wi-Fi chip in it! :mrgreen:
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