Douglas, UK - Isle of Man proposes new police radio system

DOUGLAS, IOM — The Isle of Man's parliament will be asked to approve almost £5m of funding to upgrade the police's radio system.

BBC News - Isle of Man proposes new police radio system

I thought they were happy with Sepura's TETRA. Does anybody know what they are going for?
The budget of 5m seems to be pretty low as opposed to a single U.S. county system upgrade. Any thoughts on this?

ASAD said:

The budget of 5m seems to be pretty low as opposed to a single U.S. county system upgrade. Any thoughts on this?

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Well that depends on the county and how corrupt they are. See, in America, money influences the politicians who buy the radio systems. When you buy the politician, the politician buys your radio system.

But that said, the proposed Isle of Man system would ring in at approximately $90 USD per capita whereas over here, the average is $72 USD per capita. While it may seem strange to calculate it per capita, it's almost uncanny how the majority of them seem to be priced at that same level so I keep doing it. So I hate to say it, but that proposed system is a great deal more expensive than the average race-to-waste digital trunking system in the US. I would suggest that if you are local that you bring this up to your local elected representatives and ask them why they feel it is necessary considering it's a very small island, mostly uninhabited and the small populated area has quite a small population. A $3,000 USD repeater system would probably be more than adequate.

ASAD said:

I thought they were happy with Sepura's TETRA. Does anybody know what they are going for?

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It seems the system is getting a bit dated and perhaps there are some issues with the maintenance:

A spokesman said the current Tetra (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) system has reached the end of its operational life after 11 years of service.
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The government said the multi-million pound investment will fund the latest generation equipment and a new network, as well as a maintenance and support programme.

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Raccon said:

It seems the system is getting a bit dated and perhaps there are some issues with the maintenance:

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That's the problem when you buy a bunch of computers when you meant to buy a bunch of radios. 11 years isn't so long for an analog radio but for digital trunking it's an eternity.

rapidcharger said:

Well that depends on the county and how corrupt they are.

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What are your qualifications in public safety communications engineering ? You don't have to give names, but are you a RF technician ? Engineer ? Project manager for public safety ? Consultant ?

Have you ever been involved in the planning, construction or servicing of a public safety radio system ?

R8000 said:

What are your qualifications in public safety communications engineering ? You don't have to give names, but are you a RF technician ? Engineer ? Project manager for public safety ? Consultant ?

Have you ever been involved in the planning, construction or servicing of a public safety radio system ?

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I like some privacy and I don't like to discuss my employer or my position on the Internet but I'm sure if you google around and have halfway decent detective skills you can probably figure it out eventually. Perhaps you can even find videos of me carrying on and on in front of a boards of disinterested folks. I haven't seen them personally but I hear they're a hoot.

I would return the question but I'm extending the same courtesy to you that I am asking for.

rapidcharger said:

I like some privacy and I don't like to discuss my employer or my position on the Internet but I'm sure if you google around and have halfway decent detective skills you can probably figure it out eventually. Perhaps you can even find videos of me carrying on and on in front of a boards of disinterested folks. I haven't seen them personally but I hear they're a hoot.

I would return the question but I'm extending the same courtesy to you that I am asking for.

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No need to disclose details. Just asking what qualifications you have in public safety communication systems.

R8000 said:

No need to disclose details. Just asking what qualifications you have in public safety communication systems.

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It requires disclosing details. I'm pretty sure I know where you're going with this. You obviously want to suggest that I don't know diddly squat. All you need to know is that I know plenty. Have a nice day.

I asked because in many posts you make, you give out inaccurate technical information concerning public safety radio systems.

R8000 said:

I asked because in many posts you make, you give out inaccurate technical information concerning public safety radio systems.

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I'm sorry you feel that way. Maybe you can let us know what your qualifications are and your employer so we can determine if your opinion is credible. If you want to make this personal, you go first. You want me to qualify everything I say, you can qualify everything you say first.

Since you're dead set on derailing this thread, why don't you enlighten us all about what I said that was incorrect in this thread but only after you tell us what your qualifications are to show that you are credible.

No response.
What a surprise.

Funny how some people are quick to criticize others for not being qualified to post to the forum but when the spotlight is turned to them, crickets. They disappear.

Now 2 days later and R8000 still hasn't responded with their qualifications and to tell me what information I gave that was technically inaccurate.