Hello and Welcome Back... Its been a while. I thought i would share how i set out my radios..
The idea behind the way i set out my radios is ease of use, setting banks like the old way, that way when something happens, say a Bushfire, you can dedicate 1 or 2 banks to just listening to whats going down.
I always set the first bank to Rural Fire so in the case of my UBCD436PT, bank 0 is Rural Fire (UBCD396XT is bank 1) which covers, Air Frequencies, both Rural Fire and National Parks and Wildlife. These air frequencies are a wealth of information, giving a 'Birds Eye' view of whats happening as they chat to each other.. highly recommended listening..
This Is My List
Parkair Helicopter - 119.600
Parkair Helicopter - 130.650
Parkair Helicopter - 134.700
Parkair Helicopter - 122.850
Parkair Helicopter - 123.850
Parkair Helicopter - 125.450
Parkair Helicopter - 124.050
RFS Heli - 119.100
RFS Heli - 128.700
RFS Heli - 123.650
RFS Heli - 132.550
RFS Heli - 118.150
RFS Heli - 124.450
RFS Heli - 130.550
RFS Heli - 133.200
RFS Heli - 124.250
RFS Heli - 132.350
Air to Air - 123.450 (Chat Ch)
Fire Tac Comms - 450.4125 (used at Blue Mountain Fires)
RAAF / RFS - 134.375
RAAF / RFS - 136.025
Simplex - 403.000 (used at Blue Mountain Fires)
ESO Air - 468.5750
NS Air - 426.200
RFS Handhelds - 75.225
RFS Handhelds - 152.8125
McDermott Aviation - 153.3750
McDermott Aviation - 75.9625
Also Fire Ground channels are worth a listen but you have to be in a 5km radius to hear their comms.. I still hear chatter on these channels from time to time...
Fireground 1 - 161.1500
Fireground 2 - 161.0625
Fireground 3 - 161.0750
Fireground 4 - 161.1125
Fireground 5 - 161.0875
Fireground 6 - 161.0375
Fireground 7 - 161.0125
Fireground 8 - 161.0500
Fireground 9 - 161.1875
Fireground 10 - 161.2125
Fireground 11 - 161.2250
Fireground 12 - 161.2375
Fireground 13 - 161.2500
Fireground 14 - 161.3375
Fireground 15 - 161.3625
Fireground 16 - 161.3750
Fireground 17 - 161.3875
Fireground 18 - 161.4125
Fireground 19 - 161.4500
Fireground 20 - 161.4625
Repeater 1 163.1250
Repeater 2 163.3875
Repeater 3 163.4125
Repeater 4 163.5500
UHF Fireground found here = https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?aid=1030 Personally, Ive never heard anything on UHF Fireground, thats not to say its not active, Its just not used in my area... There are various UHF Fireground frequencies, some are Analogue & some are Digital... I would suggest
NSW FORESTRY
Forest Air Helicopter - 132.550 (Same as RFS)NSW Wide - 70.5500
Handhelds - 72.6500
Handhelds - 79.9375
NSW Wide - 426.075
NSW Wide - 426.300
NATIONAL PARKS & WILDLIFE (NPWS) (OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENT & HERITAGE) also heard on GRN
NPWS Handhelds - 161.1750
NPWS Handhelds - 161.3000
NPWS Handhelds - 161.3125
NPWS Handhelds - 162.5250
NPWS Handhelds - 162.6375
NPWS Handhelds - 162.7000
NPWS Handhelds - 161.1375
NSW Wide - 164.1250
NSW Wide - 164.1375
NSW Wide - 164.1625
NSW Wide - 162.5250
NSW Wide - 162.6375
NSW Wide - 162.7000
Most of the 160mhz frequencies have moved to GRN but i still hear chatter from time to time in Blue Mountains
PMR (Private Mobile Radio)
I also put PMR frequencies in as well, although most Comms are moving to GRN (Government Radio Network).. I'm in the Blue Mountains and our RFS use mostly GRN & Fireground where as in the Hawkesbury, they still use PMR...
Just Depends on what area you are
How do You Find PMR Frequencies for Your Area?
#1. . First step (that i use) is look at Radio Reference PMR section, while its a few years old, its still useful for getting started.. Most frequencies are set out in areas, you need to know what funny named hills and areas in your vicinity are named, i mean where is 'Boppy Mount'?
You will find Radio Reference for NSW here = https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?aid=1030
If in doubt move to #2
#2.. ACMA Site Location Map is a wealth of knowledge. Its updated regularly and it worth the time to look around your area and write down any RFS frequencies (usually near or at the station or a hill / mountain nearby. The sites show up as blue dots on the map, be patient as it can take some time to load if your internet is slow.. Each little blue dot is a wealth of information for your scanner..
Be sure to zoom in to a site of interest, in a congested area, a little blue dot can be hidden under a flood of little dots.. when you click on a blue dot, be patient as it can take some time to load, especially if it has a few hundred frequencies.. Once loaded, grab a pen and paper (or ipad) and write down the 'T' frequency of interest.. 'T' is the Transmit frequency where as 'R' is the Receive frequency... You want the Transmit frequency, otherwise you will hear only one side of the transmission..
If you take a look at the pic below, you can see the frequencies available for each tower.. write down each 'T' frequency
I find it Handy to write down the frequencies first rather than go and put them into the scanner straight away, that way, you can cross check other lists so you don't end up with the same frequency in 5 different banks which will slow down your radio...
Once you have your list, (after cross checking), PMR frequencies are entered into your scanner like any normal channel as the scanner will work out whether the signal is analogue or Digital.. Leave the setting in the scanner set to 'Auto' or 'Search' under 'Audio Option' so it can then work out and decode for itself.. Once you get a hit, write down the number that is usually assigned to a digital frequency, like a CTCSS number or NAC number and you can then search in the dropdown box in whatever program you use, so next time your scanner is searching, it already knows what the parameters is and it fastens the whole process...
Note = you will need a scanner that can decode digital frequencies for PMR to work
You will find the ACMA map Here = https://web.acma.gov.au/rrl/site_proximity.main_page
