[MilCom] Some Milcom Food for Thought

[Larry Van Horn, N5FPW]

RadioRef Mike wrote:
> Ed if indeed this is a new freq, this is the first of several changes that 
> seem to be happening that are >not yet documented on official lists.

These ARTCC frequency changes have been happening all across the country for 
quite some time (at least the last two years plus) now Mike. In fact, I have 
been documenting that in the pages of MT since the start of this major 
overhaul. Those of you who subscribe have had the entire story laid out in 
the pages of my Milcom column for some time now. In fact, another piece of 
that story is in the August 2006 issue of MT (see my Milcom Blog page for 
details).

This is all thanks to the FAA implementing their RVSM program and other 
major changes in the UHF spectrum due to the new 380-400 MHz LMR subband 
being implemented. If you don't know what RVSM is, a quick Google search 
will get you dozens of hits, but little if any freqs. In fact, I have posted 
some info on these changes not only here on Milcom, but on your Radioref as 
well Mike. I have had all of this confirmed privately by a couple of FAA 
insiders.

These frequency changes are NOT being picked up by either the ATA-100 db 
which your RadioRef website uses for its aero freqs or the DoD IFR Supp. And 
this has also been confirmed by my FAA sources.

And you will be seeing even more changes in the future.  In fact, based on 
what I have observed so far, the frequency overhaul in the milair specturm 
over the next 2-3 years will be the biggest I have seen in my entire milcom 
monitoring career that now spans over three decades.

So here is some food for thought for all of you on this list.

The ATA-100 is notoriously inaccurate and updates are problematic (AirNav 
and RadioRef uses this database). The DoD FLIP sups are going away 1 Oct 
2006 (less than two months away) forever. But the changes to the 225-400 MHz 
spectrum are not going away. Soon you will be left without ANY official pubs 
to draw your freq info from.

Of course, milcom monitoring is more than 225-400 MHz. When was the last 
time you put that scanner in search through the 138-144/148-150.8 MHz 
spectrum (12.5 kHz) steps or 162-174 and 406.1-420 MHz (12.5 kHz spacing) 
searching for DoD LMR activity? I live over 90 miles from any base and these 
bands are rich in activity for me, even out here in the stick here in Btown. 
Why not plug these freq ranges in your scanner give them a whirl for about a 
week and report your results here on Milcom. We rarely see much Mil LMR 
reported here.

Do you have one of the new 380-400 MHz trunk systems in your area? Have you 
searched in that band yet? Did you know that some bases are using ot only 
trunk systems, simplex and repeater freqs in this subband for comms? Give 
the 380-400 MHz band a try using 12.5 kHz steps.

Bottom line: So unless you get up on the wheel now and start really 
monitoring the milcom spectrum in your area, count on many more frequency 
changes that you won't know about and a scanner that will get progressively 
quiet over the next two or three years. Time to learn where that button 
called "search" is located on your scanner front panel and learning how to 
use it now. ;-))  And it is also time now to learn how to keep good notes, 
maybe make a database for freqs or callsigns, how to document new stuff, and 
yes, post it here or drop me some email if you need some help.  Those that 
know me well know I am not a dome and gloomer, never have been. But what I 
have written above is the reality of the situation we all are now faced 
with.

Frequencies are the life blood of the radio listening hobby. Without them we 
have no hobby. Some folks on this list (and yes they know who they are) will 
survive because they love the hunt, and have developed techniques that keep 
them sharp in the milcom game. And some of you here (usually the ones 
"always" asking for frequencies), will not succeed because you haven't 
learned how to be a milcom radio hobbyist. You will probably be one of the 
ones who migrate back to monitoring police and fire comms or worse fast food 
kiosk.  ;-))

So we now have 60 days until the FLIPS are gone. Thought I would pass along 
a little food for thought from the guy who started this list over ten years 
ago and been around the hobby longer than most.

73 de Chief,

Larry Van Horn, N5FPW
ATC (AW)      USN (Ret)
Blog Address: http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/
Founding Father Milcom/Fedcom/Trunkcom