Best post ever!Thank you my friend! I think the best part is NYC the one place you thought that might get a new radio system didnt and a little 5 mile town in NJ did.Who needed it more?Instead of throwing the money around all willy nilly,the systems should all be inspected to see if they are in need of repair or replacement.Assign an inspector.Step 1.They have the argument we need interop when in fact one town is TURBO the other is DVP the other is some other thing,how is that an interop system? One wont work with the other,DUH! Why dont they all pick one system? P25 was supposed to be this.
Ok, lets get rid of the myth that interoperability is being able to talk on every body elses channels.
Interoperability is easy, and it is 90% TRAINING AND MINDSET, 10% hardware changes.
At a large incident, I don't want everyone on every channel. They never end up where they are SUPPOSED to be, and controlling them is impossible. I can put different groups on different frequencies, talkgroups, tin cans and string, etc. Keep them there. They talk back to their command, who can talk to IC. Not everyone needs to be talking to IC, nor listening for IC.
Here is a fair example of a very basic ICS form 205. Notice the inclusion of three different bands, one of which is trunking. And it would work, just fine.
http://www.npstc.org/resourceCD/ICS205 ver 03_07 EXAMPLE.pdf
All those methods of communications can come down to the most basic common thing - analog interop channels. That is the way we have been doing it for years, and in recent years those interop channels have become common in most parts of the country. I remember listening to West TX during their fire, and hearing people being directed to the VFIRE channels. So simple, so easy, and it works so well.
Those responders could have the latest in P25 encrypted radios, but they still have that analog capability.
TRAINING. MINDSET. I don't care what band or mode you use in day to day operations, I just care that you also have the analog interop channels for your band in your radio.