Radio System troubles

[exkalibur]

As cross-posted from hamsexy. I wasn't sure which forum this should go in as it's kinda both LTR and EDACS.

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Okay so as some of y'all know, I'm in charge of procuring the radio system for the Toronto Pride Festival each year at the end of June. In previous years, our setup has been a 900MHz EDACS system which has been both ProVoice and Analog in previous years. This system has 10 channels including the Control Channel, so 9 voice channels in total.

This year, the radio company we have always gone with has decided that we don't need the EDACS system. Their official answer is that the frequencies have been released to Industry Canada and that they no longer have the system on the air. Well, tell that to e-trunker who reports plenty of activity on the system...

Anyway, to give a quick background of the history of this company and their seemingly continual screwups.

4 years ago they gave us Pro Voice LPEs. These worked great except they forgot to program a bunch of radios with Pro Voice as the vocoder. So those radios didn't work. Their reason? "They lost the code" whatever that's supposed to mean. A quick read with ProGrammer however showed that they were programmed for Analog, and changing it to Pro Voice solved the problem.

3 years ago we told them no digital as it was too much of a steep learning curve for volunteers, most of which have never used a radio before. The EDACS system is capable of 10 channels. However, for whatever reason not all the channels were enabled. We only had 5 voice channels available to us. Thankfully a technician was on call and enabled the rest of the 5 channels. When we only had 5 available to us, e-trunker reported a whole bunch of "all trunks busy" - we were the only user on the system.

2 years ago, we had all 10 channels available to us but Channel 7 had a bad transmitter/PA. A radio 500 feet from the site wasn't able to hear anything. The controller still kept that channel in the rotation however, so every time a comm would be granted that channel, it wouldn't get repeated so as you can imagine, there were lots of "say again, I didn't hear you" going on.

Last year, I ran e-trunker a few months before the event and found that infact Channel 7 was STILL screwed up. The radio company refused to admit this was true. It wasn't until I kept badgering them with calls that they sent out a tech and fixed it. However that didn't solve the big problem. We were using the same radios and same batteries as previous years - the newest battery had a date code of 2001 on it. So, batteries were only lasting 4 or 5 hours at best.

Not a fun situation Oh, did I mention that during this whole time, none of the 900MHz frequencies used on the system were actually licensed to the radio company? Some of them were, but for Montreal not Toronto.

Here's our talkgroup layout:

1) Safety & Security
2) Allied Services
3) Emergency TAC
4) Food & Beverage
5) Entertainment
6) Site Operations
7) Volunteer / Disability
8) Family Pride / Youth / Street Fair
9) Parade / Dyke March
10) Media / Sponsorship
11) Fundraising
12) Treasury
13) Pride Board

Keep in mind that for the event, we have numerous Toronto Police, Toronto EMS and Toronto Fire crews on site. As part of the City's declaration, the streets encompassing the event are closed and are the sole responsibility of Pride Toronto to hire paid-duty police, paid-duty EMS and paid-duty Fire...so everyone on the site is there because we pay them to. As such, they all have our radios and use them quite heavily on the Allied Services channel.

Airtime on the Security, Food&Bev, Site Ops, Entertainment and Pride Board is pretty much 75% or so - that is, they're pretty much being used all the time.

Anyhow. Here's where the cluster f-ck comes in. Last year running e-trunker with all 9 voice channels working perfectly, we got busies. It wasn't very frequent, but it was VERY frequent that 8 or 9 channels were in use at a time. The radio company claims that we were only using a maximum of 3 voice channels at any given time. He claims that he was using his radio in "channel scan" which is how he knows. Well that's fine, but channel scan can only listen to one channel at a time.

As such...we aren't being put on the EDACS system. Rather, we are being put on a UHF LTR system. The site this LTR system is reported to be located at has absolutely zero LTR coming from it. There's a couple of UHF conventional repeaters and a ham repeater, but that's it. Here's the kicker. This LTR system they are putting us on has 4 voice channels. And those are most likely shared with other users.

The radio company is pretty much refusing to entertain the idea that we were using more than 3 channels at a time last year, and is insistant that the 4 channels on this LTR system will be enough for us.

What do you guys think? I've already spoken to a couple of people who do LMR stuff professionally and they all tell me we're in for a world of trouble if this is what gets used, and that I should prepare myself for a lot of pissed off people by the end of the weekend.

I'm pretty much at my witts end with the radio company. Unfortunatly, their price quote is close to half of what the other companies want to charge us. One of the other companies runs multiple 20 channel LTR systems in UHF and 900, and the other company runs a 14 or so channel Type II 900MHz system. I tried like hell last year to get us on one of those systems, but unfortunatly...money talks.

I'm just looking for some input from you guys so that when this whole thing DOES end up in one big cluster f-ck, I can go to the powers that be and tell them basically "I told you so".

Thanks for reading and replying with your thoughts And if any of y'all are in the Toronto area the last weekend in June (June 22/23/24) be sure to drop me a line and come say hi!

 

[exkalibur]

Hopefully Andy can chime in here...he was fundamental in getting a lot of the problems of previous years sorted out and fixed.

 

[n4voxgill]

why do you keep going back to a company with this history of mistakes.

 

[exkalibur]

It's not my choice. At the end of the day, the company that has the lowest cost is who we have to go with. This company is nearly half the cost of any other company...which you'd think would tell you something right there...

 

[slicerwizard]

Hopefully Andy can chime in here...he was fundamental in getting a lot of the problems of previous years sorted out and fixed.

Oh sure, drag me into this mess!

Mike, I can understand why you don't want to mention (in)Action Radio by name and maybe I shouldn't either. Oh crap...

So the event is in three weeks and their mystery LTR system still hasn't materialized? You should've had demo LTR radios a month ago. Pride management have set themselves up for a real train wreck and they only have themselves to blame. I thought the pooched channel 7 was bad (and it was!), but this looks like it's going to be much worse.

I think that time has run out to get this fixed (for this year). You look to be royally screwed. The old lady and I are both eager to monitor this to see just how bad it is. I might have to modify my LTR logger and disable the bleep it makes every time it sees an ATB indication. Maybe a hot key to toggle it on or off. Yeah, that's the ticket.


It sure would be nice if in the future Pride management could work a sponsorship deal with Motorola to get them to provide a few hundred radios+batteries+mics (either UHF LTR, 900 MHz LTR or Motorola 900 MHz 9250's) which Pride (e.g. you) would program and then work out a reasonable airtime deal with Mobile Business Comm or Fleetcom. Those commercial systems are dead on the weekends, so it would be a perfect fit.

Motorola could use the good press (http://www.google.ca/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&q=motorola+layoffs&btnG=Search&meta=) and a local airtime provider could use the cash - and all they'd have to do is enable a few talkgroups for one week. Talk about easy money.

I suspect the problem is that radio shops don't like the idea of losing radio programming business ($$$) and Motorola isn't about to do anything that upsets them. After all, they're Motorola's customers, while you guys don't contribute jack to Moto's balance sheet.


If I were in your position, I honestly think I might just walk away. I really wouldn't want to be part of what's coming. It's one thing to deal with crap when you're getting paid to do it, but as a volunteer? Hopefully, you'll get lucky and a disaster this year will bring about serious change next year. (yeah, right - might as well believe in the tooth fairy as well)

I don't have any good answers for you and I'm thankful that I'm not in your shoes on this one. Hopefully, someone out there can come up with some useful answers.

 

[exkalibur]

Well, unless anything has changed in the last few weeks (doubtful), there's no LTR on the air yet. The demo radios they gave us 2 weeks ago had a single UHF simplex channel (that they aren't licensed for...). We've got another training session on Wednesday, let's see if those radios are LTR. If they aren't, I'll be on the phone the next day. I totally agree with you, this is 100% unacceptable service from them. In previous years we've always had a set of radios well over a month in advance, programmed up with all the required talkgroups and such.

The only solution that I can see at this point would be if they add a couple more channels to the mix. Or, failing that... Give the Security channel it's own exclusive conventional channel and have everyone else deal with the LTR system. Heck, we have a great location in the middle of our required coverage area (6 floor building, with line of sight to the whole area)..and I've got a UHF MSF5000...I should just tell them to do that..lol.

We'll see what Wednesday brings and hopefully I'll have some answers, but I don't think I will. You're right, this is going to be a severe mess. If we DO end up going forward with everything as it is (4 LTR channels only), I will be submitting a letter to the Pride Board, via registered mail, stating my objection to such a system stating the reasons..and that if anything goes sour, I cannot be held responsible. It might be my name on the contract, but it sure as hell isn't going to be my ass on the line.

And don't even get me going about the management of that company. ugh. I could fill a book with the reasons why nobody should do business with them.

 

[DaveH]

Whew..as I read this I'm baffled at what you guys hope to achieve
by dragging all this excrutiating detail into a public forum, including
company names. Any hope of better co-operation with the current
provider will be lost especially if they read this, and I guess possible
legal reprecussions are of minimal concern by the look of it; but it's
your nickel.

I'm not in the LMR business nor know the GTA radio system
providers, nor know either of you particularly well, nor claim to
know the answers to this conundrum, but putting it forth in this way
would be last on my list. You could have made the case a whole
lot simpler. Sounds like (and I have to say it) more indulgance than
problem-solving.

Both of you (Excal and Slicer) have obvious axes to grind with radio
providers, which I don't share but don't disagree with your technical
reasons and experience. Problems here are not so much technical
as they are business-related; securing a good provider (not the lowest
bidder), negotiating the deal, getting credible assurances well in
advance, using whatever leverage you have to best advantage etc.

I'm guessing that the Pride folks, like many other groups whose focus
is social action etc. concentrate so much on their subject matter that the
business sense gets pushed back. If funding is limited, you may need to
consider scaling operations to fit, instead of going for the lowest bidder.
Does "everybody" need a radio? I've listened to quite a few special-event
ops, which range from very decent to (sadly) small-A amateurish. Some-
times fewer radios is better.

Both of you seem to be saying the outcome will be an impending disaster.
There isn't a whole lot of time left, so lose the finger-pointing. Get the best
arrangement time/money allows, and let the people who fail you know it,
and that you won't be back. Believe me, the people who matter will
remember (and even those who don't...).

Now, something completely off-topic. There's a Sens game in town tonight,
and I've heard Canada Geese flying over the house twice today, which is
very rare...wonder if there's some sort of weird connection....?

Dave

 

[exkalibur]

Dave;

I've got no axe to grind. Infact, up until they pulled this BS, I had no problem with the provider. My issue is that they absolutely REFUSE to entertain the idea that 4 channels won't be enough. The exact quote was that last year we used no more than 3 channels at a time. When I pointed out that he was incorrect, I was told I had no idea what I was talking about and that I was wrong. Well, I guess e-trunker lies and makes up data as it wants to. I guess the "BUSY" light on the radio makes up stories too...

 

[exkalibur]

Just to add... As for what I want to gain. Well, I'm not trying to gain anything, per say. I'm just trying to get some input from people who have been in similar situations before. I'm sure this isn't the first time a radio company has tried to provide a system thatt won't do what the customer requires.

 

[slicerwizard]

Whew..as I read this I'm baffled at what you guys hope to achieve
by dragging all this excrutiating detail into a public forum, including
company names.

Well, I think Mike is doing it because he's truly at his wits end. Myself, I don't see a problem with naming a less than stellar vendor like Action Wireless Solutions (that seems to be their name this week). Their radio gear is used to carry serious traffic (medical emergencies, lost children, and so on) at these yearly events, but isn't up to the job. They have a long history of leaving others holding the bag. They used to be Elyps Dispatch Solutions before they filed for bankruptcy and changed their name. The Laval police and fire departments had this to say about a system that Elyps installed for the city: “the system Elyps supplies to the Laval public security department is ineffective, [and] presents a danger to the safety of police officers and the population.” So we're not the first to call a spade a spade.

Any hope of better co-operation with the current
provider will be lost especially if they read this, and I guess possible
legal reprecussions are of minimal concern by the look of it; but it's
your nickel.

I'm not concerned in the least about legal repercussions for telling the truth.

I'm not in the LMR business nor know the GTA radio system
providers, nor know either of you particularly well, nor claim to
know the answers to this conundrum, but putting it forth in this way
would be last on my list. You could have made the case a whole
lot simpler. Sounds like (and I have to say it) more indulgance than
problem-solving.

I just reread his first post and he certainly covers all of the details. More detail should lead to more accurate advice and he's short on time, so I can see why he covered all the bases.

Both of you (Excal and Slicer) have obvious axes to grind with radio
providers, which I don't share but don't disagree with your technical
reasons and experience.

I don't have any issues with good providers like MBC. I know satisfied customers that have left other providers to move to MBC, but I personally don't know any that have gone the other way. No, I don't have any ties to them; I don't even know where their offices are (I'd have to look it up)

Problems here are not so much technical
as they are business-related; securing a good provider (not the lowest
bidder), negotiating the deal, getting credible assurances well in
advance, using whatever leverage you have to best advantage etc.

Agreed. I have no involvement in what's taken place on the business side, but it seems clear that Pride doesn't have the money to secure decent rental radios, which is why I suggested that they work a deal with Motorola. Moto loves to have their logo splashed across public events and Pride has worked out sponsorship deals with other vendors, so what's the holdup? I dunno.

I'm guessing that the Pride folks, like many other groups whose focus
is social action etc. concentrate so much on their subject matter that the
business sense gets pushed back. If funding is limited, you may need to
consider scaling operations to fit, instead of going for the lowest bidder.
Does "everybody" need a radio? I've listened to quite a few special-event
ops, which range from very decent to (sadly) small-A amateurish. Some-
times fewer radios is better.

Mike would have to address that. It is a big event and I can't see why the organization wouldn't have already looked at cutting costs by trimming the radio fleet if it were possible.

Both of you seem to be saying the outcome will be an impending disaster.
There isn't a whole lot of time left, so lose the finger-pointing. Get the best
arrangement time/money allows, and let the people who fail you know it,
and that you won't be back. Believe me, the people who matter will
remember (and even those who don't...).

Yes, given the present course of events, it looks like it'll be bad and I've given my opinion on where the problems lie. Here's what TAFL has say about this:

TAFL-TS  Rev 4.0  (c) 1997-2006, W. A. Porrett

Searching GTA database for 'ACTION'

DO      TX         RX    User Name           Location                             ID     LinkID  Lat    Long  Type Mob SiteH AntH ERP

42   452.3375   457.3375 ACTION WIRELESS SO  TORONTO, ONT. 40 PLEASANT BLVD       CFT711         434113  792333 P       132  105  19.2
42   453.4875   458.4875 ACTION WIRELESS SO  TORONTO, ONT. 40 PLEASANT BLVD       CFT711         434113  792333 P   9   132  105  19.2
42   462.1125   467.1125 ACTION WIRELESS SO  TORONTO, ONT. 40 PLEASANT BLVD       CFT711         434113  792333 P       132  105  19.2
42   463.1125   468.1125 ACTION WIRELESS SO  TORONTO, ONT. 40 PLEASANT BLVD       CFT711         434113  792333 P       132  105  19.2
42   898.3500   937.3500 ACTION WIRELESS SO  MISSISSAUGA, ONT. 3650 KANEFF CRES   VEA718         433536  793802 P   9   138  105
42   898.4750   937.4750 ACTION WIRELESS SO  MISSISSAUGA, ONT. 3650 KANEFF CRES   VEA718         433536  793802 P   9   138  105
42   899.1000   938.1000 ACTION WIRELESS SO  MISSISSAUGA, ONT. 3650 KANEFF CRES   VEA718         433536  793802 P   9   138  105
42   899.7250   938.7250 ACTION WIRELESS SO  MISSISSAUGA, ONT. 3650 KANEFF CRES   VEA718         433536  793802 P   9   138  105

Out of 32,448 entries, 8 match search parameters.

Only four licensed channels in Toronto and only three weeks remaining. No time (or will) to secure a better provider. I've seen the channel loading in previous years and the ten channel EDACS system they were using was a good fit. That TAFL dump has Titanic written all over it. As Mike stated, the only viable option at this point seems to be to give the critical groups (like security) their own dedicated channels and let the peons suffer endless busies as they fight over the remaining two or so channels.

On a side note, no current licenses for the 900 MHz EDACS system at 40 Pleasant Blvd, but it's apparently still on the air? Seems shady to me. I'll have to check it out on Monday. In 2006 it had five channels that were licensed full time and another five that they claim had temporary licenses for the Pride event.

I have no influence on how this will play out and Mike doesn't seem to have much either. He's here looking for help because he hasn't got it from those who should've been there for him. I don't think there's much chance he'll get any here either. At this point, he needs a miracle.

 

[exkalibur]

I'm just off to bed now so I'll make this quick, and reply to the rest tomorrow.

In regards to trimming who needs radios. In previous years, we've used upwards of 275 radios. This year, we're down to less than 200, so we've shaved off as much as possible. Our event has well over 1,000,000 members of the public, and in the order of 200++ volunteers at any given time. It is absolutely essential that a large number of those volunteers be able to communicate. In addition to our own staffing, these radios are used by the various emergency services on site. We give about a dozen radios to Toronto EMS, a dozen to St. John Ambulance, and 5 or 6 to Toronto Police for all their guys on site.

This event may only be 1 weekend long, but it is the single largest public event in Canada, and the third largest in North America - those two days are absolute insanity, even if everything goes right.

 

[slicerwizard]

Mike, I checked out those EDACS frequencies today and they're dead. Maybe they shut down the system at the end of May. Too bad they didn't wait until the end of June. Of course, you still would've been dealing with pooched batteries.

 

[exkalibur]

Interesting. The system was still punching away nicely back in March. I guess they finally dropped the axe. I wonder what happend to all the LPE200's they had (they had close to 1,000 in the office).

 

[slicerwizard]

One last thing Mike, unlike Motorola and EDACS trunking, LTR provides very little protection against collisions. If two users with the same LTR ID key up at about the same time, both radios will assume that the "grant" OSW's apply to them, which leads to hetrodyning and nothing gets through. Before they went to unique LTR ID's for each radio, Miller Transit ran in to this all the time. Unfortunately, the untrained dispatchers would voice out that they heard "static", rather than "two units talking at the same time", so the pileups would just continue for a while.

On very busy talkgroups, you might lose as many transmissions as you did to that borked channel 7 two years ago. At your Wednesday meeting, assuming they bring LTR radios, see if you can get two radios on the same LTR group to simultaneously get talk permit tones. You need to train your users, particularly your dispatchers and supervisors, to recognize the sound of these collisions and how to properly deal with them. Something along the lines of "everyone's talking at once - let's slow down and do this one at a time" or "unit xyz has the air, everyone else standy by"

 

[exkalibur]

And just to reply to Andy's long post above;

Well, I think Mike is doing it because he's truly at his wits end. Myself, I don't see a problem with naming a less than stellar vendor like Action Wireless Solutions

Yes, I am at my wits end. I'm trying to stay positive that everything is going to work out, but I just can't help but know something is going to go horribly wrong this year. I don't have a problem naming Action Wireless. I'm not concerned about legal ramifications. There's nothing wrong with mentioning them, so long as everything we say is true and is not intended to be slander. Nothing I'm saying is in a slanderous manner, rather it's intended to tell the facts. If the facts are slanderous, well that's their problem, not mine.

I just reread his first post and he certainly covers all of the details. More detail should lead to more accurate advice and he's short on time, so I can see why he covered all the bases.

As of today, I have 13 days (not counting weekends) to get everything in order and working properly. More detail is better than less when you're dealing with less than 2 weeks.

I don't have any issues with good providers like MBC.

I don't have any issues with any provider, as long as they don't screw me around like Action has done several years in a row.

I have no involvement in what's taken place on the business side, but it seems clear that Pride doesn't have the money...

That's exactly the problem. Any event with a limited budget has to find ways to cut costs. Now, the Pride Board aren't radio experts, so they can't be expected to make a decision on anything other than cost. That's unfortunatly, because we're getting a very bottom end system, and we're not paying a dime less than we paid last year for a top-notch system.

Mike would have to address that. It is a big event and I can't see why the organization wouldn't have already looked at cutting costs by trimming the radio fleet if it were possible.

Not everyone needs a radio, but because of the kind of work we do, we need a lot of people out there. At the end of the day, if somebody drops dead from a heart attact, it is on our shoulders to get them emergency assistance. Liken it to an event at the Skydome. If someone were to pass out in the hallway, the Skydome staff could be up ****s creek if they don't make arrangements for emergency aid. Same deal with us. That said, we've cut the number of radios down, and continue to do so each year.

As Mike stated, the only viable option at this point seems to be to give the critical groups (like security) their own dedicated channels and let the peons suffer endless busies as they fight over the remaining two or so channels.

I fully agree. However, it doesn't look like the radio company is willing to do that. I'm trying like hell to get the contract ammended to say that any incidents that arise as a result of the inability to communicate for ANY reason, the responsibility will fall directly on the shoulders of Action Wireless.

I have no influence on how this will play out and Mike doesn't seem to have much either. He's here looking for help because he hasn't got it from those who should've been there for him. I don't think there's much chance he'll get any here either. At this point, he needs a miracle.

Indeed. I have limited say in terms of system selection. As I've sald all along, the bottom line is price. I have no authority in my position to allocate more funding to the radio system. This year we are authorized to spend the same amount as last year, and not a dollar more. So the problem is, when the next closest competition in terms of price, is more than double... it puts us in one hell of a position, without any options to go elsewhere.

The only ONLY hope I can see is if there is a major failure on Thursday when we get the radios. Even then... I really don't want to say it, because it'll put me in one hell of a position (I've already burnt any bridges Pride has had with Mobile Business...I was told that we were going to use them last year, and indicated as such to Mobile...only to be told at the last minute that the contract would be going to Action once again), but if the system fails this year and the right people get pissed off enough, we MIGHT get approval for another company next year...but I'm not holding my breath.

Thankfully there will be copius amounts of alcohol all around that weekend, 'cause I'm gonna need it!

 

[DaveH]

Wow...so much going on here it makes my head spin, and I'm not even
remotely involved and the event is still about four weeks off. Many
people don't work weekends but obviously some people might have to,
including volunteers.

I can't go line-line through all this, I'll just do a dump.

Sounds like you've pared the radio count down but still wonder if
there is some room. Not everyone who thinks they need a radio
actually does, in spite of what they might think. Not everybody needs
to talk to everybody instantaneously. You might use a hybrid system
including cellphones, although it might take some effort to set up.
Costwise, people with fixed plans with lots of monthly minutes available
are good candidates.

On the Tour Nortel event a month ago, 800MHz trunked handhelds
were used on the course. My battery failed after a short time, luckily
walked a short distance to pick up another. The Route Captain's
battery also failed (mobile) and he was off the air (didn't work at
the far end of the course anyway...). He did not seem to have my
cellphone number, but I had his, and the next few hours was managed
OK. No PTT, not real-time, but workable.

As for provider liability for failure to communicate in an emergency, I
bet they have that covered somehow, and I would not count on it. People
may believe they can hide behind this if ignorance is an excuse. In an
emergency, the most effective thing is to call 911 directly by cellphone.
Forget going through "dispatch" with extra critical delay, possible busy
blockage, mangled details etc. The 911 operator may have to call back
for details. Even a de-registered cellphone can make a 911 call (I've
not verified this myself). This to me is one difference between running
and effective operation, and "playing radio".

As for burning of bridges I would have suggested leaving that until after
the event this year, but you say it's already done. Don't know, MBC might
have been miffed last year (does anyone know how much), or possibly
they're over that and open to an opportunity to get a foot in the door.

One other suggestion...if things go badly, someone should document it
to the make the case for change. You might have to go farther than you
think you should; what else is new. A clear (sober) head would be
an asset. You could save the drinks till later to toast the success (or
dismal failure or whatever in between) later.

Dave

 

[exkalibur]

the most effective thing is to call 911 directly by cellphone.
Forget going through "dispatch" with extra critical delay, possible busy
blockage, mangled details etc. The 911 operator may have to call back
for details. Even a de-registered cellphone can make a 911 call (I've
not verified this myself). This to me is one difference between running
and effective operation, and "playing radio".
Dave

Well, I fully agree. However, we've been told that all requests for emergency assistance must go through our dispatcher. In previous years, people were calling 911 for everything, including band-aids. We were told this is NOT to happen this year and that if a volunteer needs 911 assistance, it is to go through our dispatcher.

 

[DaveH]

Well, I fully agree. However, we've been told that all requests for emergency assistance must go through our dispatcher. In previous years, people were calling 911 for everything, including band-aids. We were told this is NOT to happen this year and that if a volunteer needs 911 assistance, it is to go through our dispatcher.

Getting off the original topic, but it sounds like the people making
these decisions are missing some basics. Put this scenario to them: a
person with VSA waits while some blab with non-emergency traffic ties
up the channel. It would only take one such incident to hit home.

Rules are rules, I can hear.The problem with 911 being misused is a
different problem, one of volunteer awareness/training/discipline.

Looks to me like much of the routine stuff could be offloaded to
cellphones, either way.

Dave

 

[xml]

Have you considered contacting Telus and proposing a formal agreement with them of some sorts?

a) This is a viable, well established event.

b) This event draws a good number of people (and possible clients) for Telus.

c) What company wouldn't want a large amount of people seeing their service in action?

iDEN isn't cheap, but if you can broker some sort of deal and offer them some promo space... most companies wouldn't turn an eye to that.

I bet they could get you some portables, with the talkgroups you need, and the infrastruture you need as well.

As it's been mentioned, LTR for high-demand events results in heterodyning... eek. I would almost say calling in the amateur radio guys would be more efficient.

Best of luck, sir.

 

[slicerwizard]

As I understand it, Rogers is a current sponsor, but isn't supplying 200 radios and a system to support them. I would imagine that Rogers would have to go before Telus could sign up.

Hams, eh? Not touching that one...