As per a conversation with the Chief Deputy. They have the radios will be testing shortly and are shooting for a January 1 cut over..
Dekalb Co.Sheriff new P25 PII 800 system
- Thread starter FFPM571
- Start date
- Status
N9IIT
Member
/\/\otorola? Harris? Kenwood? 4 months is an awful tight timeframe unless the system is already built out and testing
I don't live out that way but if I had to guess it will most likely be Starcom.
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
Dekalb has their own Kenwood system.. Handheld radios only no Mobiles
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...ooses-atlas-p25-phase-2-system-300607664.html
https://www.efjohnson.com/products/systems
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...ooses-atlas-p25-phase-2-system-300607664.html
https://www.efjohnson.com/products/systems
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2004
- Messages
- 1,540
- Reaction score
- 597
DeKalb County law enforcement agencies weigh in on digital radio system upgrade | Daily Chronicle
“The Starcom system, compared to our old [very high frequency], is more reliable," he said. "Less downtime, and officer safety is a big issue. With digital, if our detectives go to Chicago on an investigation, they can talk to [DeKalb Police Cmdr.] Bob Redel here, and the digital signal is crystal clear.” The burning question is how many fire departments will join the system.
---------------------------------------------------
codes. A 10-32 indicates a person with a gun. A 10-70 is a fire. There’s one code no officer in dire straits wants to hear: 10-1. That means that although they, or residents, might be desperate for backup, dispatchers and fellow officers can’t understand what they’re saying. “It is a helpless feeling, and sometimes it may just be static, but sometimes an officer could be trying to relay information,” Sycamore Police Chief Jim Winters said.
That code has dogged DeKalb County law enforcement and firefighters for years, DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott said. They've tried adding more towers. More in-car and in-building repeaters.
No dice. There's more static when officers use their portable radios.
“Our car radios are fine,” Chief Deputy Andy Sullivan said. “It’s when we’re out of our car on our portable radios, which is our lifeline, that we’re not able to transmit and receive properly. Our dispatchers are saying they can’t understand us. Oftentimes, guys have to use their cellphone, which is not a desirable situation to be in."
The existing system is about 40 years old, he said.
“We’ve done a lot with it, and they’ve fixed it along the way as best they could, and it’s time to move it in a safer direction for everyone,” Sullivan said.
There's a trickle-down effect, from first responders' well-being to public safety.
“It’s not just officers’ safety, but citizens’ safety,” Scott said. “If an officer can’t hear where they’re supposed to go, or if they’re on scene calling for an ambulance – the citizens and officers all stand to benefit from this. "It’s really a public safety priority.”
The County Board approved a $4 million upgrade at its Aug. 16 meeting, and Sullivan said he's hoping the new 800-megahertz system will be up and running by next summer's fair season.
"For a financial issue to be approved unanimously by the board is almost unheard of," Scott said.
"This is a huge commitment by the county, and I commend the county for that,” Sycamore Fire Chief Pete Polarek said.
The proposed project would include the installation of four communication towers in strategic locations around the county. Maintaining four towers, rather than 17, would mean some savings, Scott said.
Aside from DeKalb police, who already are on their own digital system, all county police agencies will be part of the system.
DeKalb Deputy Police Chief John Petragallo spoke to the virtues of a digital system.
“The Starcom system, compared to our old [very high frequency], is more reliable," he said. "Less downtime, and officer safety is a big issue. With digital, if our detectives go to Chicago on an investigation, they can talk to [DeKalb Police Cmdr.] Bob Redel here, and the digital signal is crystal clear.”
The burning question is how many fire departments will join the system. They're not required to, and each agency has the burden of needing to buy new digital radios.
There's a lot to iron out, Polarek said. His department would have to buy dual-band radios, since the statewide mutual aid network still is analog.
His department would have to buy 30 mobile radios and 51 portable ones, which could run anywhere from $1,500 if bought in bulk to $5,000 individually, Polarek said.
That price tag is why the department might piecemeal the transition, depending on what it's able to land in grants to cover the cost. Polarek said the county's 911 board approved hiring a grant writer to pursue a regional Federal Emergency Management Agency grant for the county's departments.
He's hoping all of the county's rural departments will get on board with the application, which will be submitted and reviewed this fall.
“That’s the intent," Polarek said. "It should make for a very attractive grant application.”
He said that because the four towers will be much higher than the 17 towers currently in place, departments will benefit no matter what.
"If agencies do nothing, they’re still going to enjoy a better service, from a radio standpoint, than they do now," he said.
The DeKalb Fire Department also is on a municipal radio system through the city, although Chief Eric Hicks wouldn't rule out joining the county's system. Upgrading the department's system is part of the city's 2025 strategic plan.
“We are looking down the road to upgrade our system,” Hicks said. “The new [digital] technology out there gives you better penetration in the building, when there’s more concrete or steel."
“The Starcom system, compared to our old [very high frequency], is more reliable," he said. "Less downtime, and officer safety is a big issue. With digital, if our detectives go to Chicago on an investigation, they can talk to [DeKalb Police Cmdr.] Bob Redel here, and the digital signal is crystal clear.” The burning question is how many fire departments will join the system.
---------------------------------------------------
codes. A 10-32 indicates a person with a gun. A 10-70 is a fire. There’s one code no officer in dire straits wants to hear: 10-1. That means that although they, or residents, might be desperate for backup, dispatchers and fellow officers can’t understand what they’re saying. “It is a helpless feeling, and sometimes it may just be static, but sometimes an officer could be trying to relay information,” Sycamore Police Chief Jim Winters said.
That code has dogged DeKalb County law enforcement and firefighters for years, DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott said. They've tried adding more towers. More in-car and in-building repeaters.
No dice. There's more static when officers use their portable radios.
“Our car radios are fine,” Chief Deputy Andy Sullivan said. “It’s when we’re out of our car on our portable radios, which is our lifeline, that we’re not able to transmit and receive properly. Our dispatchers are saying they can’t understand us. Oftentimes, guys have to use their cellphone, which is not a desirable situation to be in."
The existing system is about 40 years old, he said.
“We’ve done a lot with it, and they’ve fixed it along the way as best they could, and it’s time to move it in a safer direction for everyone,” Sullivan said.
There's a trickle-down effect, from first responders' well-being to public safety.
“It’s not just officers’ safety, but citizens’ safety,” Scott said. “If an officer can’t hear where they’re supposed to go, or if they’re on scene calling for an ambulance – the citizens and officers all stand to benefit from this. "It’s really a public safety priority.”
The County Board approved a $4 million upgrade at its Aug. 16 meeting, and Sullivan said he's hoping the new 800-megahertz system will be up and running by next summer's fair season.
"For a financial issue to be approved unanimously by the board is almost unheard of," Scott said.
"This is a huge commitment by the county, and I commend the county for that,” Sycamore Fire Chief Pete Polarek said.
The proposed project would include the installation of four communication towers in strategic locations around the county. Maintaining four towers, rather than 17, would mean some savings, Scott said.
Aside from DeKalb police, who already are on their own digital system, all county police agencies will be part of the system.
DeKalb Deputy Police Chief John Petragallo spoke to the virtues of a digital system.
“The Starcom system, compared to our old [very high frequency], is more reliable," he said. "Less downtime, and officer safety is a big issue. With digital, if our detectives go to Chicago on an investigation, they can talk to [DeKalb Police Cmdr.] Bob Redel here, and the digital signal is crystal clear.”
The burning question is how many fire departments will join the system. They're not required to, and each agency has the burden of needing to buy new digital radios.
There's a lot to iron out, Polarek said. His department would have to buy dual-band radios, since the statewide mutual aid network still is analog.
His department would have to buy 30 mobile radios and 51 portable ones, which could run anywhere from $1,500 if bought in bulk to $5,000 individually, Polarek said.
That price tag is why the department might piecemeal the transition, depending on what it's able to land in grants to cover the cost. Polarek said the county's 911 board approved hiring a grant writer to pursue a regional Federal Emergency Management Agency grant for the county's departments.
He's hoping all of the county's rural departments will get on board with the application, which will be submitted and reviewed this fall.
“That’s the intent," Polarek said. "It should make for a very attractive grant application.”
He said that because the four towers will be much higher than the 17 towers currently in place, departments will benefit no matter what.
"If agencies do nothing, they’re still going to enjoy a better service, from a radio standpoint, than they do now," he said.
The DeKalb Fire Department also is on a municipal radio system through the city, although Chief Eric Hicks wouldn't rule out joining the county's system. Upgrading the department's system is part of the city's 2025 strategic plan.
“We are looking down the road to upgrade our system,” Hicks said. “The new [digital] technology out there gives you better penetration in the building, when there’s more concrete or steel."
If Dekalb Sherriff is going with a "800" system I would say they will use Tower 147=800mgz in Dekalb, and Dekalb city uses it now, I also hear them on T126-Aurora
N9IIT
Member
The article by Starcom21 is dated September 2017, while the news release from Kenwood is dated March 2018. So it appears DeKalb County looked at Starcom, and went with Kenwood instead.
Totally separate from Starcom...
- Status
Similar threads
