Cabarrus County Going Digital

[SlGlNT]

SalisburyPost.com - Area - Kannapolis getting most federal stimulus locally so far

 

[kendrik578]

This is same thing Guilford county Sheriff is doing with their stimulus money.

 

[yardbird]

Don't believe everything you read!

Sure they are getting Federal Stimulus money for Digital Radios. That only means that the radios are digital capable.

Our rescue squad has full blown digital capabilities, but none of the digital features are enabled.

The last time I talked with the Concord/Cabarrus System Administrator he told me it would be at least 5-8 more years before Cabarrus County would migrate to digital.

He advised me that a lot more infastructure was need to go digital. (ie. repeaters, radios, etc).

There are still a lot of older MTS-2000's and Spectras that are still on the system that will have to be replaced before the system can go full-blown digital.

Also the last time I talked with him, he was working with the State on getting things going for the Viper System. Also he advised me that he still had a lot more reprogramming to do with radios that are presently on the system.

Like I said, in previous posts. I will keep everybody up to date on the Cabarrus System as I get up dates from the system administrator.

David

 

[KM4WLV]

Here's the deal for Rowan County. Yes, it is in the works for the Telecomm ( 911 ) department to buy new digital radios for all the volunteer fire departments in the county, as well as the Rowan County Rescue Squad, just as they did in 1998. We are also looking at the possibility of going from a single site Smart - Net system, to a multiple site ( namely Cleveland, North Kannapolis, and PooleTown ) SmartZone system. They are going to start with portables & go from there. There is no way we can go strictly digital.

Rowan County Fire Dispatch is simulcast on VHF & 800
Rowan County EMS/Rescue is simulcast on VHF & 800
North Carolina State Fire is simulcast on VHF & 800

The list goes on & on. We also maintain conventional 800 repeaters throughout the county as a backup in case of a complete trunking system failure. We have a good setup as it is now, actually one of the most interoperable setups in the state. Now don't get me wrong, we do have some digital TG's on the system that are used by various agencies, but I have been asked not to share those with anybody. There may be one day that our system is completely digital, but don't look for it anytime soon.

And I will keep everyone updated on the progress of the Rowan system, as updates become available.

 

[CFP387]

Yes, it is in the works for the Telecomm ( 911 ) department to buy new digital radios for all the volunteer fire departments in the county, as well as the Rowan County Rescue Squad, just as they did in 1998.

What's wrong with the radios they already have? A radio is only as good as the system it's on and you know as well as I do why many of the departments have started back using VHF again.

We are also looking at the possibility of going from a single site Smart - Net system, to a multiple site ( namely Cleveland, North Kannapolis, and PooleTown ) SmartZone system. They are going to start with portables & go from there.

This should have been done long before now. This should have been done long before they decided to buy that command bus that wouldn't even crank the other day they wanted to take it somewhere. (It wasn't even manned full time at the Relay For Life). There's so many dead spots in the county on the current repeater system that it's almost a shame. I'm sure, Daniel, that you know just how political it's become here in Rowan these days. That's most, if not all the reason why it's been put off for so long.

There is no way we can go strictly digital.

And that's a good thing in my opinion. We're not a big metropolis with thousands of people in each city. We're a county of small towns and lots of countryside. All we need is a reliable 800 system that works ALL of the time. We need a network of repeaters that will let a portable radio get out no matter where you are in the county, no matter what type of building you are working in and no matter what the weather condidtions are.

...We also maintain conventional 800 repeaters throughout the county as a backup in case of a complete trunking system failure. We have a good setup as it is now, actually one of the most interoperable setups in the state.

I still say that every fire truck, ambulance, and rescue truck should always have a working VHF radio installed. Rescue does becuause of out-of-county mutual aid response. NCSHP has both, why can't county agencies? There's nothing like radio to radio simplex communication. If there's a failure in the trunking system, there's no excuse as to why county fire can't talk to city fire units either on county fire dispatch or the old city fire dispatch VHF frequency. Never do away with VHF and UHF communication. It's too reliable. I wouldn't go as far as to say that we have a "good" system. I think we have a "fair" system that could become a good and a better system if it had a little more attention than it's getting now.

And I will keep everyone updated on the progress of the Rowan system, as updates become available.

And I'll probably continue to tear to shreds any idea Rowan's emergency management has until they can prove to me they've found someone that knows how to spend the money wisely on things that they need and not things that they want. I wish they could find someone who has a working knowledge of just exaclty what this county needs in a communication system. I'm definietly not alone when I say that we need to do a house cleaning starting at the very top.

 

[KM4WLV]

Hey Shannon, good to hear from you man. You do have some good points there, and I agree about the politics in this county. I've been in the FD in this county for 15 years & they are always trying to fix what isn't broken, and leaving broken what needs to be fixed.

As far as the VHF stuff, I agree there also. Thats why in addition to my MTS2000 I carry, I have always had a VHF portable & mobile. What amazes me in this county is the fact that 10 years ago departments would pitch a fit if they had to spend $600 on a VHF, but these days they have no problem dropping $4000 for an 800 in a heartbeat. I went back to East Spencer FD ( They called me back when the new chief came in back in Feb ), and in addition to the 800 mobiles in each apparatus, we have a VHF mobile. Also in E471 we have 4 Kenwwod TK2160 walkies (VHF), on E472 there are 2 2160's, and on Squad 47 there is 1 2160.

I would love to see them put up a repeater for the VHF side of RFD DISP ( County Fire ), but I'm almost sure that won't happen.

Anyway, good to hear from you Shannon. Take it easy man !!!

 

[CFP387]

Hey Shannon, good to hear from you man. You do have some good points there, and I agree about the politics in this county. I've been in the FD in this county for 15 years & they are always trying to fix what isn't broken, and leaving broken what needs to be fixed.

Good to hear from you, Daniel, it's been a while. I know that this site isn't for discussing county politics: I'm aware of that. Fixing things that aren't broken equals spending money we don't have to start with on things we don't even need.

As far as the VHF stuff, I agree there also...

You know that the dependability of an 800 system is questionable when you hear about more and more stations going back to VHF mobiles.

I would love to see them put up a repeater for the VHF side of RFD DISP ( County Fire ), but I'm almost sure that won't happen.

Of course it won't happen, Daniel. Everyone here wants to avoid admitting even to thinking about VHF because that's "living in the past", or so I've been told. There are a few who frequent the Fire and Rescue Association meetings (and you probably know who they are) that relate VHF to black and white television. They hold the keys to the county commissioners heart and they get anything they want.

Do we need a digital system just becuase Cabarrus or Mecklenburg is thinking about it? The short answer is no, we don't. We have the VIPER system and that's more than all we need. If we can't talk to anyone on the VIPER system, state fire, state rescue or simply by picking up a land-line telephone, then something's bad wrong. I know that a digital system is the new thing now and I'm aware that everyone wants the latest and the greatest.

There are digital trunks already on the system for law enforcement and other agencies. I'm aware of that also. But no matter how good or great some claim a digital system is or can be, still nothing beats radio to radio simplex communications.

Investing in a repeater system for VHF county fire dispatch would be the best money this county has spent in quite some time! The "715" repeater is still up and operational, why can't one be for "250"? Then, assign different PL codes for FMO, forestry and hazmat teams. Remember all the PL codes on the EMS frequency? Even Animal Control used that repeater. The calendar says it's 2009, my ideas and opinions say it's 1979.