WINDER, Ga. — A countywide radio system plagued by problems will take at least a year to fix.
Radio system to take at least 1 year to fix
Radio system to take at least 1 year to fix
I am just wondering MTS, if this system had been built by Harris, Kenwood/EFJ or Tait....would you still have the same feelings about this situation ?
Where to begin... Moto really really wanted to sell them a turbo system or to piggy back on Hall which Barrow rejected.
They then got a bargain :wink: on a astro demo system ( whatever that means :roll. The whole problem to me is they dealt with 1 vendor from day 1 and never really looked or listened to options.
Perfect ? Not at all but better then what they have now. Just for the record none of these radio gurus in Jackson, Barrow, Banks ..White etc bothered to put out a blanket RFP and get feedback from Harris or any other vendor except Moto and Kenwood.
Big self inflicted mess.
Can't afford gas for cruisers, have multi million dollar DTRS system the doesn't work, Sounds like America.
"You may outrun the motor, but you can't outrun the Motorola."
Knowing some of the background behind this, it is not surprising. A series of bad decisions by people who didn't know or care, followed by broken promises and contract irregularities by the vendor produced a system that is sub-par to say the least. And this is from someone who has used this system.
There are people who are trying to fix it that understand public safety communications systems but are stymied from above by greed and incompetence. But as I have learned, this seems to be the norm there. BTY, for those who don't know Tusa Consulting is a crony of the current county manager and is dragging out the "consulting" for as much $$$ as they can get. They have already run through the first 50 or 60 k initially given to them by the BOC the first time.
Sounds like a great time for the local news media to start asking "tough questions".
I find it interesting that EA is being dumped from the project for Tusa, and if your allegations can be proven, this is very serious.
EA has a proven track record with many agencies throughout the state, region and country. If their recommendations were signed off on and not followed, and back door deals made, then a crime has been committed.
But then, if no one asks questions, demands an honest and independent investigation, then nothing will change.
Meanwhile, as I said before, it is a bad time to be a Barrow county public safety worker and taxpayer. BOHICA.
I have seen the contract and the questionable billing from Tusa. I also know that a former county employee made arbitrary changes to the original radio system contract without BOC approval of those changes. An inventory of the radios was way above what was agreed to be purchased, etc.
I can go on and on but it seems no one cares. This leaves a county public safety department with a sub-par system. The fire dept. has to still use the old VHF system to tone out the stations because the old and new systems are incompatible with the tone system. So each station has two base radios so at night they can get some sleep if other stations are toned. Some personnel carry Minitor IV pagers during the day to hear their calls.
The RF coverage maps are a complete joke! Even if you're in the sheriffs dept. you can't get HT coverage, and that's in town! Walmart, Target, etc are the same. I know of at least two incidents where PD needed backup IN WINDER PROPER and could not hit the repeater. Citizens had to call 911 to get backup for them.
The people who understand what is needed have already made their recommendations but yet another consulting company is needed? Another $200,000 needs to be spent so a buddy of the county manager (Tusa) can say the same thing EA said? Meanwhile the good people of Barrow county get the shaft yet again.
Does the new system utilize the same site(s) as the old conventional repeaters the SO used to use? How was the RF coverage with the old? Was any testing even done before being brought fully online?
I don't know much about the previous conventional system. I do know that they added a new tower when the new 911 center/FD headquarters was built. The VHF analog simulcast of the FD has much better coverage than the current digital system. However, the analog system has no mic's on the radios. The current system has 3 towers connected via microwave. The coverage in Stataham, Auburn and Bethlehem is spotty at best.
I'm sure it was tested but I get the vibe that it was pushed through by the former county employee regardless of the results. The good news is that this radio fiasco was his ultimate undoing.
If the VHF trunked system isn't working properly, what is Barrow County using for radio communications - their former conventional channels?