Ft. Hood, Texas

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blantonl

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It appears that Ft. Hood uses the TXU / TU Electric Wide Area 900 MHz Narrowband EDACS system for all base communications.

I don't have any information on the specifics for the TXU EDACS sites in the Ft Hood area, but here is the info I have so far on the TXU system:

http://www.trunkedradio.net/trunked/tx/txu.htm

Here is a copy of the press releasing outlining this information in more detail:

U.S. Army saves taxpayer dollars by taking advantage of shared communications


THE U.S. ARMY'S FORT HOOD, located approximately 60 miles north of the capital city of Austin, Texas, is home to the Army's III Mobile Armored Corps. It is one of the U.S. Army's largest bases, sprawling across 335 sq. miles. To support communications needs for the base, Fort Hood planned on procuring its own digital trunked radio system to replace an aging conglomeration of conventional radios systems.
"We had three different systems, all operating on different frequencies," says Plans & Communications Management Specialist Roger DeWeese. "Many of our vehicles had to carry two or three radios just to be able to talk to each other. Sometimes we even had to resort to communicating by telephone."
To solve this problem, Fort Hood had hoped to acquire a trunked communications system that would allow all their emergency units -- including police, fire and EMS, as well as the base Explosive Ordinance Division (EOD), Criminal Investigation Division (CID), Hazmat, and two airfields -- to communicate quickly and easily with each other anywhere on the base. However, when they got ready to act, they hit a snag.
"We did a study and found it was cost-prohibitive to acquire the system we wanted. The Army's budget is being reduced every year, and we simply didn't have the money," says DeWeese.
For a while, it looked like Fort Hood's communications problems would remain as before. But it just so happens that the base is located in a region already covered by a trunked wide-area system. Dallas-based Texas Utilities (TU) serves the electrical power needs of about one-third of the state of Texas. It is supported by a 900 MHz EDACS wide-area system consisting of 108 sites ranging from two-to ten-channels per site. The coverage area encompasses over 88,000 square miles, including Fort Hood.
"We presented to Fort Hood the economics of using a shared system to support their communication requirements," says Larry Sayles, system sales manager for Ericsson. "The biggest obstacle to obtaining the communications system they needed was the cost of the infrastructure. Leasing airtime from TU, who has ample capacity to handle the Army's communications in addition to their other users, made a tremendous amount of sense economically. When we showed the Army these facts, Fort Hood elected to start negotiations with Texas Utilities and Ericsson."


Economical solution
"This was a decision based on dollars and coverage area," says DeWeese. "Overall savings to the Army -- and the taxpayer -- are significant. In fact, leasing the airtime from TU is far cheaper than the annual operating and maintenance budget for a system of this size."
In addition to eliminating the cost of infrastructure and annual maintenance, DeWeese points out that there are additional savings.
"The government is not on the hook for insuring day-to-day operation of the system. Now, if a lightning strike takes the system off the air, it's up to TU to get us back on. And the government doesn't have to pay for system upgrades, either," DeWeese says.
The TU system's extensive coverage area was another significant factor in Fort Hood's decision to lease time on their system.
"The Army works closely with the local communities to help with emergencies, and our area of responsibility is almost identical to TU's coverage area. That means we can send the EOD bomb squad, for example, up to the northern part of the state if the need should arise," explains DeWeese.
Fort Hood began operations on the TU system in August of this year, with 512 radios (432 portables and 80 mobiles), 20 control stations, 3 dispatch consoles, plus equipment for in-building coverage at strategic locations. The system operates on four existing TU sites providing 95% coverage within a 30 mile radius of Fort Hood. The Army also has plans to potentially add as many as 1500 more users on the shared system in the future, according to Sayles.
"The system is working just fine," says DeWeese. "We have the emergency communications and the coverage we need at a cost that we can afford."


More shared government systems
The Army's Fort Hood installation is just one of a growing number of U.S. government organizations taking advantage of the cost-effectiveness of shared communications system, says Ericsson's Kevin Fleming, federal systems sales manager.
"The advantages of shared systems for many federal as well as local government agencies are tremendous," says Fleming. "As these agencies begin to realize the huge savings in infrastructure and maintenance costs, I believe we will see many more opting for the shared solution -- it only makes sound economic sense."
Other examples of government entities using shared systems include the Department of Energy -- Argonne National Laboratory, which has recently procured equipment and plans to utilize the Illinois State Police system to support their communication needs. This phase-over to a shared system will occur over the next several months, according to Fleming.
The U.S. Army's Southern Command, which relocated to Miami, Florida, from Panama last year, is also gaining the advantages of a shared system. Rather than buying their own system, this command is currently using Metro Dade's Ericsson trunked communications system to support some of their own base communication needs, Fleming says.
For more information on military or government applications, e-mail
 

wilbur

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For some reason Ft. Hood is patched to the TXU System in Stephenville, 120 miles north of Ft. hood.
939.4375
939.4625
939.4875- control ch.
Is Ft. Hood patched to all TXU systems? The TXU system in Stephenville seems to be only in Erath co. just wondering.
 

kd5dga

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You may hear some of Fort Hood out in those directions since they have some assets over in Brownwood.
 
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