Joe WA5VMS has requested the 449.8/444.8 pair that is no longer in use in Mayes county to be re-coordinated for use in Western Cherokee County for a repeater running the APCO 25 Protocol. Which is a digital voice and data mode rapidly becoming popular on the Public Safety (I. E. Police and Fire) bands. I think this will be the only "P25" machine coordinated in Oklahoma at this time. There was one in the OKC area that I think was supposed to do D-Star and P 25 at the same time, but they decided to just make it standard FM instead. The same for 442.125 in the Bartlesville area. It was an experimental machine, that could handle about any digital format, but due to lack of use, the trustee decided to switch it to analog FM.
Joe also states that he wants to put another UHF machine up in that same area running the Moto-Trbo format, a digital mode obviously being promoted by Motorola corp. However, Moto-TRBO has not yet been fully approved by the FCC for use in the Amateur Bands. It is being used on the Public Safety and GMRS bands.
444.8 at the new coordinates has been cleared by the surrounding states. Joe will get the new machine on the air, when he gets time. He works in the commercial two-way field and the FCC's deadline for conversion of equipment on those bands to use narrow band modes, or trunking is drawing nigh. So business is very good right now.