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Could VHF 2 through 6 become analog-only?

I hold an amateur radio license but seldom talk on it either. My main interest though is 2 meters.
We have a couple of locally sponsored repeaters and I'll participate when called for severe weather nets.

My main reason for having a license is to be able to have a scanning type radio in my vehicle.
I'm what's known as a "railfan". I like trains and use a 2 m radio on scan mode to listen to the different railroads in my area (RJ Corman, CSX, and Norfolk Southern).

In my state, those who hold an FCC amateur radio license are permitted to have scanning type radios in their vehicles.

I carry a copy of my license and a letter from the Adjunct (sp?) General of the Kentucky State Police stating that my 2m scanning radio is legal, should I be approached by law enforcement.

I've been licensed since 1992 and have never been approached by law enforcement.
 
Mikey Radio said:
Not only that, but it can be an expensive and time consuming hobby who's time (aside from maybe the good it does in times of emergency or natural disasters which are generally few and far between) has passed in favor of other forms of communication, and few younger people have an interest
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For years I resisted pressure from my father to get my ham license. He had been a ham for all my youth, but since I was working in broadcast radio building, maintaining, and repairing high power RF systems, the last thing I wanted to do is go home and play with radio. Besides, listening to my dad's radio in the car, all there seemed to be were old geezers talking about their latest surgery, bunions, or some other health malady. To a young person, a bunch of effort to listen to that?
 
Mikey Radio said:
Not only that, but it can be an expensive and time consuming hobby who's time (aside from maybe the good it does in times of emergency or natural disasters which are generally few and far between) has passed in favor of other forms of communication, and few younger people have an interest in it.

Even going back 35 years, I had a base station CB rig that I used almost daily as we had a few local CB clubs that were quite active and lots of my school mates had mobile units in their vehicles and a few had bases. It was relatively inexpensive to get a solid base station with sideband (if you wanted that) and an antenna, and there was no license required. I did have some interest in getting into ham radio, but the equipment was a lot more expensive at least at the time, there was the licensing involved, and the local ham club that I visited was full of guys who seemed nice enough and were supportive, but they were all in their 60s or older so no one even close to my age at the time, many had, well, eccentricities, and they referred to each other not by name even when sitting in a room together, but by call sign. By that time internet and home computers were widely available, people were moving off CB and amateur radio and into chat rooms and websites, the internet made the world a smaller place and my (and a lot of others') interest in ham waned.
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Ham radio, model trains, and other such "hobbies" that were common when I was a kid, are now considered "Old Man's Hobbies". (I'm in my early 60s).
I volunteer for a local Railroad Museum (we also have an 11 mile round trip train ride on Saturdays) and our youngest member is in their 50s. These things just don't appeal to the younger generation.
 
KD4YQR said:
Ham radio, model trains, and other such "hobbies" that were common when I was a kid, are now considered "Old Man's Hobbies". (I'm in my early 60s).
I volunteer for a local Railroad Museum (we also have an 11 mile round trip train ride on Saturdays) and our youngest member is in their 50s. These things just don't appeal to the younger generation.
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Not to take this Discussion thread too far off the original subject or off broadcasting, but IMO it's also likely because younger generations just have so many more options to take up their time, many have a greater workload at both school and work vs. earlier generations, there's so much more opportunity available to them and the world is a much smaller place than ever before - and it's impacted what were once common hobbies and activities, sometimes going back generations.

Fraternal organizations and clubs that were once hubs of activity in communities for generations are shuttered or closing due to lack of membership or interest. Volunteer organizations that were well-staffed for years are struggling for new members to replace those that are dying off and the list goes on. Younger folks have more entertainment and media options now than just a few decades ago. Where even a short airplane trip or vacation may have been a big deal to the last generation, now it's nothing for people to fly across the country for a meeting, a quick 3 day trip to Vegas or NYC or even to fly to Europe or elsewhere to vacation. People are much busier at work. Kids have many more options for extracurricular activities and sports, which means parents need to be involved in those as well. All of it has led to much less free time for more traditional hobbies and activities, for better or worse - until retirement for some.
 

VHF: Now Everything You Know Is Wrong

Another difference in the new world of digital television broadcasting: VHF is no longer king of the bands. For years the preferred position on the analog dial, the inherent characteristics of VHF are now found to be limiting many stations' coverage. And then there's the upcoming issue of its...
tvnewscheck.com tvnewscheck.com
^^^
The impulse noise is killing digital VHF reception, particularly on channels 2- 6.


I don't know if there's a limit to how much impulse noise an OTA FM signal can take before reception suffers a lot (my only experience with FM and interference is the MCA made Laserdiscs [manufacturing defects meant gaps in the video and audio FM carriers] and VHS Hi-Fi [gap in the FM audio carriers every ~60th of a second]), these gaps appear as static or a buzzing noise in the audio demodulated from these FM carriers.


Kirk Bayne
 
kfbkfb said:
^^^
The impulse noise is killing digital VHF reception, particularly on channels 2- 6.
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Who cares?
kfbkfb said:
I don't know if there's a limit to how much impulse noise an OTA FM signal can take before reception suffers a lot (my only experience with FM and interference is the MCA made Laserdiscs [manufacturing defects meant gaps in the video and audio FM carriers] and VHS Hi-Fi [gap in the FM audio carriers every ~60th of a second]), these gaps appear as static or a buzzing noise in the audio demodulated from these FM carriers.
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Three things:
1. Laserdiscs are no longer made.
2. There are no FM radio stations on TV channels 2-5. 6 has some, but are hardly listened-to anymore.
3. The reason most DTV stations avoided channels 2-8 is (say it together now) impulse noise.
kfbkfb said:
Kirk Bayne
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Maybe DRM format radio signals in VHF 2-6 w/greatly increased error correction...

(or just not use VHF 2-6 at all)


Kirk Bayne
 
Don CT said:
I was told those plates are a bad idea is it's an easy way to find out where you live.
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I stopped using them after a couple of break-ins in the '90s. Haven't had one break-in since, with or without Ham equipment being installed.

As far as knowing my address goes, our calls and location are public by law. Nothing we can do about that.
 
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Don CT said:
I was told those plates are a bad idea is it's an easy way to find out where you live.
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I don't have one, nor do I post my call sign on any forums, precisely for that reason. You are basically putting an ID tag on your car. Your name and address can easily be found online.
 
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