Unless you have some technical people at the scene of an on going incident, there will generally be radio chaos. Radio users get use to using repeaters for their daily use and don't even remember there are simplex channels that will work much better for local incident communications. Plus it keeps the world from being able to listen in on what is going on. Another plus, is that it off loads this incident traffic from your normal operational channels.
Then there is always the concern about being able to have recordings of the radio traffic at the incident. With today's equipment abilities, there is no reason that audio recording of the radio traffic can't be made from the mobile command vehicle. In fact there is at least one radio interoperability gateway that has this ability built in. It allows you to record all the radio traffic on all the radios attached to it. You just have to turn that feature on as needed.
Getting back to the sales team and the actions they take, it's all in the perception that can be applied. Look at it this way, when the department heads are being shown a presentation, the next step is to get them to sign the contract. The sales force doesn't want to allow any time for meetings with the end users, technical radio geeks, the radio shop or a consultant. Push, push push and don't allow the momentum to slow down.
If it's getting close to meal time, everyone is invited to go have a meal on the radio company. The head sales person will sit next to the agency leader and bend an ear all during the meal. This is a well rehearsed game done time and time again. The sales team knows well that if there is any delay in getting a contract signed, the details of what has been presented will be gone over with a fine tooth comb by the technical people, IF THE AGENCY IS SMART. The sales force doesn't want this to happen.
Your first comment is always the root cause of a communications-related after-action ding. Under ICS, the communications unit leader is a subordinate position to the logistics section chief. Logistics is busy "making things happen" (if ICS has actually been stood up... but let's say it is...). So, the CUL (not even COM-L yet - and IF you have a CUL) is waiving his arms trying to coordinate things, but has no authority. A lot of time, that authority is spent in pre-planning because he or she will never get called out to an active incident unless it coincides with work, and even then, getting called out is a maybe. The COM-L needs to be a staff position with a line going directly to the IC, with the delegated authority to make things happen, or make things NOT happen (like multiple "gateways" driving up and being activated indiscriminately). He or she also has to be involved in the planning and implementation, and be a part of the briefing. And, reality is that too many incidents are just managed by "show up and do the best you can" mode, followed by the "we did the best we could with what we had" press briefing. So, it's a receding battle being the "radioman" and trying to corral responders. Especially if they know a (precious very) little about radio. After all, radio isn't as complicated as taking a weapon apart and fixing it, calculating nozzle pressure up 15 stories, or trying to recognize torsades de pointes on the monitor (then trying to remember what the protocol for it is). As one rubber gun lieutenant asked me (with his hands behind his head and feet up on the desk... ), "How hard could it be?"
Field logging is extremely important for on-scene communication, but I can't imagine many agencies have it, unless they use infrastructure to communicate and that channel or talkgroup is recorded, or that they have a vehicle with a logging recorder installed. I haven't seen many, and that's bad considering storage prices have fallen tremendously and a "logging recorder" can be as simple as software and having enough input ports on the device. Still, this is a poor excuse to have to migrate adequate simplex communication to deficient infrastructure that must now be substantially "improved" to make the accommodation, especially for in-building coverage of high rise construction or other structures with high attenuation characteristics (tunnels, hospitals, parking garages, etc.). Simplex rocks. And, it takes away from the potential bottom line because it's not infrastructure dependent.
The other tactic that follows this circus of end-runs and deal closers is the low-ball. Finance directors love that. Politicians use car metaphors (imagine a man with an H. Ross Perot-like voice saying) "You guys want that Cadillac radio system when this here Yugo will get you there and back and serve the community well in doing so." And then you get the bonus plan, like a $2M 1 channel VHF voted, simulcast repeater system on a proprietary digital mode with links spanning 13 - 26 miles over 2.4 GHz (it worked for 4 years before one thing after another...). Sites deliberately omitted only to surface once the manufacturer and the community are married, recurring support/maintenance costs left off the balance sheet (especially by third parties, like IT equipment manufacturers - "Oh, wait a minute, you guys didn't tell me that these people need $135,000 a year to upload new firmware and it's above contract!"), inclusion of end-of-life products that cannot support upgrade or will be unsupported during the expected life cycle of the new system, and a number of nickel and dime items that will assure a steady revenue stream for at least the upcoming decade. That's like "the other shop" from 30 years ago low-balling an install contract and having their "technician" show up with his rusty box of random hardware.
Nasty to be sure.
Jim, dare we even touch the item of spectrum efficiency or selling a system fully knowing there aren't frequency resources available to implement it in the frequency band they sold the equipment in?
