Will Columbus ever upgrade to Phase II

KCChiefs9690 said:

Well eventually, as far as I understand, everyone will. Just a matter of when Phase II becomes the new industry “standard”. Just like how 10 years ago, half of the agencies I listen to were still using VHF/UHF conventional.

It’s gonna happen, but I haven’t heard of a timeline for when that will actually happen. MARCS as it sits today is Phase II ready, however everyone on the system is currently using Phase I.

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wa8pyr said:

Actually MARCS isn't Phase II ready (despite what Unitrunker-type programs report); it's Phase II capable. To make it Phase II ready would require system-level upgrades to the master site and zone controllers, as well as to every site controller and repeater. Every Phase II ready subscriber unit would also have to be touched and the affected programming changed.

Big job. Not quite a forklift upgrade, but it's darn close.

I have to concur with Troymail, though; if the Phase II upgrade is free for the asking right now, grab it. Never hurts to be prepared.

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fyrfyter33 said:

This will ultimately be the big holdup. Phase II is a huge undertaking.

The state level stuff is enough, but there is still an absurd amount of XTS/Spectra+ radios still in daily use across the state. APX mobiles and portables still cost about $4k/ea with the minimal Moto discount price.

Until this changes, Phase II isn’t even a viable option. Too many small agencies that don’t have $500k laying around for all new radios.

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mszabo2000 said:

You're correct, many XTS/XTL radios in use that don't support TDMA. However, the system can support both FDMA and TDMA assigning channels based on the radio's capabilities. The only reason to move to TDMA is channel loading. If a site is experiencing significant system busies and additional channels can't be added, moving to TDMA is one solution. Another is addressing the quantity of talkgroups in use at a site.

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mszabo2000 said:

Another is addressing the quantity of talkgroups in use at a site.

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wa8pyr said:

Don't get me started. . . .

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fyrfyter33 said:

This will ultimately be the big holdup. Phase II is a huge undertaking.

The state level stuff is enough, but there is still an absurd amount of XTS/Spectra+ radios still in daily use across the state. APX mobiles and portables still cost about $4k/ea with the minimal Moto discount price.

Until this changes, Phase II isn’t even a viable option. Too many small agencies that don’t have $500k laying around for all new radios.

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Pezking said:

MARCS-IP is is using 700MHz control channels. The Astro Spectra Plus isn't capable of 700MHz. Even though the AS+ is technically an ASTRO25 radio, it isn't capable. Neither is the XTS3000 or Astro Saber. They don't do 700 MHz.

You are probably thinking of XTL5000s with the W-series control head.

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wa8pyr said:

There are a number of sites which are 800 MHz only and which older, 800 MHz only radios can use perfectly well. Pickaway County still has a pretty fair number of older Harris radios in that situation.

He was referring to the XTS/XTL radios in the context of Phase II, which is the topic of this thread, not frequency usage.

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phask said:

Need a MARCS PH2 sticky

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wa8pyr said:

If we get enough sustained discussion that a thread of several pages results, we'll give it some thought. However, so far the topic hasn't been particularly hot, and since it's not going to happen any time soon, there's not much point in such a sticky.

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