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Why is Lectrosonics block 23 unpopular?


franky03

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Well, part of the block is locked out, I wanna say 60 channels or so (TV 37), and part of the block will succumb to the FCC auction which will probably leave it with a usable 90-100 channels in legal spectrum though its hard to say for sure. This is similiar to block 27 during the 700 mhz ban which left it as partially legal. Thats a big drop from the typical 256 channels on the non-wide band transmitters. That being said my block 23 performed great back when I was using that block and I would use it again if I found a set for a greatly reduced cost. 

Of course your mileage may vary since it looks like your not based in the states.

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Like greyfoxx said, here in the states the biggest reason is that the range from 608mHz-614mHz (TV channel 37) is locked out.  It's reserved for listening for alien life and medical telemetry equipment.  That results in 6mHz less bandwidth than other channels. 

The good news is that since a lot of people think that a loss of 6mHz will result in a greatly diminished quality of life and a disappointing sex life, less people use it and it is a significantly clearer band and, therefore, actually a good choice. 

That is... until a few years from now the government seizes that section of the public airways to sell to private enterprise, so that private enterprise can sell the use of those airways back to the public.  (if you don't think we need a change from the status quo in Washington, think again!)

 

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On June 26, 2016 at 3:31 PM, John Blankenship said:

Like greyfoxx said, here in the states the biggest reason is that the range from 608mHz-614mHz (TV channel 37) is locked out.  It's reserved for listening for alien life and medical telemetry equipment.  That results in 6mHz less bandwidth than other channels. 

The good news is that since a lot of people think that a loss of 6mHz will result in a greatly diminished quality of life and a disappointing sex life, less people use it and it is a significantly clearer band and, therefore, actually a good choice. 

That is... until a few years from now the government seizes that section of the public airways to sell to private enterprise, so that private enterprise can sell the use of those airways back to the public.  (if you don't think we need a change from the status quo in Washington, think again!)

 

I like using the band with zaxcom receivers because the lower wide band transmitters(.5) and the higher wide band transmitters (.6) overlap at channel 23.  means its easier to get a loaner from my dealer when my gear heads to the mothership for repair

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We use and rent 23 a lot, and will hopefully continue to do so. I've never found the loss of 37 to be a deal killer to me as I've found that pretty much any reasonably populated area you go, there will be the loss of at least one channel to local TV anyways. In places that are considered the great wide wild, unless you are running a super compact rig, you have plenty of room to stretch into where the loss of 6Mhz doesn't mater either.

What I'm interested to see, is if Blk23 becomes more popular as it will have access to the guard bands on either side of 37 when the 600Mhz auction ends. I mean 3Mhz and then about 3Khz of spectrum aren't a lot, but it's pretty good space for something like Hops and IFB where you are running a lower transmitter count. (The actual guard bands are 3Mhz on each side of 37, but Block 23 does not tune that entire 3Mhz above 37)

 

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  • 3 years later...

my first experience with block 23. my qrx200 is skipping past block 23 as an option for limit scans. i was in the middle of trying to help a friend of mine pair a block 23/24 kit for his job. the trx's allowed me to select block 23 frequencies. i see some devices for sale from time to time in block 23 it was my understanding it was limited use i.e ch37 blocked as per lectro doc below. is the whole block not meant to be used at all in the U.S. at present?

 

https://www.lectrosonics.com/images/PDFs/TV-Channels-Frequencies-blocks.pdf

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16 minutes ago, Johnny Karlsson said:

Everything up to 608MHz will remain legal in the USA even after the new rules (mid 2020) goes into effect.

That said, in my experience - Block 23 is pretty congested in most areas of Southern California.

It seems like everything that isn't 19 pretty is congested in LA.

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On 9/20/2019 at 5:17 PM, osa said:

my first experience with block 23. my qrx200 is skipping past block 23 as an option for limit scans. i was in the middle of trying to help a friend of mine pair a block 23/24 kit for his job. the trx's allowed me to select block 23 frequencies. i see some devices for sale from time to time in block 23 it was my understanding it was limited use i.e ch37 blocked as per lectro doc below. is the whole block not meant to be used at all in the U.S. at present?

 

https://www.lectrosonics.com/images/PDFs/TV-Channels-Frequencies-blocks.pdf

 

In your QRX there is a "factory" menu that will allow you to use the entirety of Block 23. I can't remember how to enter that menu but a little googling should get you what you need. 

 

E. 

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