It would kind of make sense they really want to test all the nooks and crannies of the campus buildings to see if there are dropouts and where they are. It's a bit like being in a hospital. The antenna could be on the roof but if you're in the basement you could be getting zilch.
Delaware County Pa New System
- Thread starter captaincab
- Start date
There was a BDA installed in the new building during construction. The company could be optimizing that being there is RF now
Lots of testing today.
Lots of recordings to go over but last weekend I took a quick beach run that took me through the 10-20. Lots of files to still get through but so far while in the QTH I give a thumbs up.
My 436 was rolling on the Conventional and caught very little activity (to be fair for whatever reason no matter what antenna I’ve tried my 436 always picks up the Delco conventional poorly compared to everywhere else. My SDS 100 always does better but I had that recording the P25 only).
Basing on timestamps in the files and over the air I can guesstimate where I was in my travels when recordings were made. The Delco P25 coverage was great compared to the new Delaware State P25 system which was total garbage coverage compared to their old system. My only complaint (and my not being a target user this is meaningless) is I hate the short tone sets. I would prefer them the length Cumberland, York, or New Castle uses if the old 1/3 is going away. When scanning and not locked onto the dispatch TG most times the quick tone sets especially if it was a 1 or 2 company dispatch misses the tones and sometimes even the beginning of the automated dispatch. Not an issue for anyone using the system but as a traveling whacker it’s a small gripe. Otherwise it’s sounded great so far!! Unless anything changes I won’t be in the area until next Spring or Summer so I’ll look forward to hearing it officially on the air for everyone in my next pass through.
My 436 was rolling on the Conventional and caught very little activity (to be fair for whatever reason no matter what antenna I’ve tried my 436 always picks up the Delco conventional poorly compared to everywhere else. My SDS 100 always does better but I had that recording the P25 only).
Basing on timestamps in the files and over the air I can guesstimate where I was in my travels when recordings were made. The Delco P25 coverage was great compared to the new Delaware State P25 system which was total garbage coverage compared to their old system. My only complaint (and my not being a target user this is meaningless) is I hate the short tone sets. I would prefer them the length Cumberland, York, or New Castle uses if the old 1/3 is going away. When scanning and not locked onto the dispatch TG most times the quick tone sets especially if it was a 1 or 2 company dispatch misses the tones and sometimes even the beginning of the automated dispatch. Not an issue for anyone using the system but as a traveling whacker it’s a small gripe. Otherwise it’s sounded great so far!! Unless anything changes I won’t be in the area until next Spring or Summer so I’ll look forward to hearing it officially on the air for everyone in my next pass through.
Ya gotta look at it this way, dispatch time is critical. Especially when there are stacked pages waiting in a cue to go out and that cardiac arrest pops in.
Having listening to Berks for years, the long tone sets gets annoying as hell droning all day long.
Unfortunately, p25 call alert couldn’t be implemented , and that would have made listening pleasurable.
Having listening to Berks for years, the long tone sets gets annoying as hell droning all day long.
Unfortunately, p25 call alert couldn’t be implemented , and that would have made listening pleasurable.
I get it but the whacker in me hates it. Heck my department and a few around us still use the 8 second GC tone sets.
Minor complaint though. All else sounds great so far. I’ll look forward to actually hearing more activity as I cruise through next year. Like I said for whatever reason I never have much luck picking up the conventional so the change to P25 will be cheered.
Minor complaint though. All else sounds great so far. I’ll look forward to actually hearing more activity as I cruise through next year. Like I said for whatever reason I never have much luck picking up the conventional so the change to P25 will be cheered.
The conventional system, while sectors are simulcasted, isn’t county wide simulcast.
There are some days I get it great at home and other days it nearly opens squelch , and that’s on a kenwood NX. Depends on the propagation.
I forgot to turn it off over night, woke up to DFQ signals on the legacy system at 0130. Then ducting really helps in that regard but hinders everything else.
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USDD / Honeywell reached out to develop their Zetron interface this week. So there may be some hope for p25 call alert paging in the future. Most of the pagers are already programmed though so that would require time.
Sweet
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Looks like the POCSAG paging system has been down since about noon today. Wondering if that is a planned part of the P25 system buildout or a temporary glitch. Fingers crossed for glitch...
DELAWARE COUNTY
911 system upgrades to be done by year’s end
Delaware County Emergency Services in Lima is the location of the 911 emergency dispatch center.
DAILY TIMES
BY KATHLEEN E. CAREY
KCAREY@DELCOTIMES.COM
Delaware County is on track to complete a nearly $40 million emergency radio system
upgrade by the end of the year.
Years in the making and the first major radio upgrade in Delaware County since the 1970s,
the final payments on the system are expected to be made with a portion of the $115 million
General Obligation Bond county council approved earlier this month.
Entities of government such as counties and municipalities use these bonds spread out over
decades to pay for long-term projects and capital improvements.
Danielle Floyd, Delaware County’s director of public works, explained that $22 million of
that funding will be used to make the final payments on the county’s new public safety radio
system.
“This is a project that was requested by local police, fire and EMS agencies for a long time
and this has been a long time in the making for our first responders,” she said. “Under this
council, we will be implementing the first overhaul of the radio system in over 33 years.”
Floyd credited the county’s Emergency Services Department for leading the effort and
managing this project.
“We remain on schedule to have this project completed by the end of this year,” she said.
In 2022, Delaware County Council unanimously approved the purchase of a $38 million
Atlas P25 radio system from JVC Kenwood that will provide 3,700 radios to the county’s first
responders and will move the system to a 700 MHz-based operation.
At the time, Haverford Police Chief John Viola said, “This is probably the single, most
important thing for all of law enforcement and fire service and EMS in Delaware County.”
This project also includes construction on 21 existing towers and seeing that every police
officer in Delaware County has a portable radio that is interoperable across the county.
Fire departments and EMS agencies will also have a portable radio for their frontline first
responders to use.
When the purchase was approved, first responders had been having a variety of issues with
the communication system they were using.
Officials and first responders break ground in October 2023 on Delaware County’s $40
million upgraded public safety radio system at the Delaware County Department of
Emergency Services Building in Middletown. PETE BANNAN — DAILY TIMES
For example, in the fall of 2019, there were a handful of times the county 911 center noted
that emergency personnel were unable to reach the center with their portable radios. There
had also been issues with the system being hacked and with channels being knocked out.
The new system will include encryption and it will also meet Federal Communication
Commission standards.
At the time of purchase, the county anticipated that of the 3,700 portable radios being
bought, 1,500 portable radios will go to police and law enforcement officials, including
1,100 municipal police officers and 400 county, state, federal and tactical team radios; 1,675
portable radios will be distributed to fire and emergency medical services personnel; and
125 portable radios are earmarked for emergency management.
The purchase also includes 400 mobile radios, of which 350 are for fire and EMS units and
50 are for county Special Operations vehicles.
In 2023, Delaware County had a ceremonial groundbreaking to commemorate the
completion of the design phase of the project.
It also marked the beginning of the construction upgrade of 21 radio towers that would
create a mesh microwave net to cover the 191 square miles of Delaware County.
The county was able to use existing towers for a more sustainable project and the project
includes higher frequency radios, expanded coverage area, and will increase reliability and
coordination among first responders.
“This major investment in our first responders and public safety is vital and it is long
overdue,” Delaware County Council Vice Chair Elaine Paul Schaefer said at the ceremony.
“We need to ensure that first responders across the county have the tools and resources they
need to effectively and safely respond to emergency situations. Every second counts and
there isn’t room for error or lapses in time.
911 system upgrades to be done by year’s end
Delaware County Emergency Services in Lima is the location of the 911 emergency dispatch center.
DAILY TIMES
BY KATHLEEN E. CAREY
KCAREY@DELCOTIMES.COM
Delaware County is on track to complete a nearly $40 million emergency radio system
upgrade by the end of the year.
Years in the making and the first major radio upgrade in Delaware County since the 1970s,
the final payments on the system are expected to be made with a portion of the $115 million
General Obligation Bond county council approved earlier this month.
Entities of government such as counties and municipalities use these bonds spread out over
decades to pay for long-term projects and capital improvements.
Danielle Floyd, Delaware County’s director of public works, explained that $22 million of
that funding will be used to make the final payments on the county’s new public safety radio
system.
“This is a project that was requested by local police, fire and EMS agencies for a long time
and this has been a long time in the making for our first responders,” she said. “Under this
council, we will be implementing the first overhaul of the radio system in over 33 years.”
Floyd credited the county’s Emergency Services Department for leading the effort and
managing this project.
“We remain on schedule to have this project completed by the end of this year,” she said.
In 2022, Delaware County Council unanimously approved the purchase of a $38 million
Atlas P25 radio system from JVC Kenwood that will provide 3,700 radios to the county’s first
responders and will move the system to a 700 MHz-based operation.
At the time, Haverford Police Chief John Viola said, “This is probably the single, most
important thing for all of law enforcement and fire service and EMS in Delaware County.”
This project also includes construction on 21 existing towers and seeing that every police
officer in Delaware County has a portable radio that is interoperable across the county.
Fire departments and EMS agencies will also have a portable radio for their frontline first
responders to use.
When the purchase was approved, first responders had been having a variety of issues with
the communication system they were using.
Officials and first responders break ground in October 2023 on Delaware County’s $40
million upgraded public safety radio system at the Delaware County Department of
Emergency Services Building in Middletown. PETE BANNAN — DAILY TIMES
For example, in the fall of 2019, there were a handful of times the county 911 center noted
that emergency personnel were unable to reach the center with their portable radios. There
had also been issues with the system being hacked and with channels being knocked out.
The new system will include encryption and it will also meet Federal Communication
Commission standards.
At the time of purchase, the county anticipated that of the 3,700 portable radios being
bought, 1,500 portable radios will go to police and law enforcement officials, including
1,100 municipal police officers and 400 county, state, federal and tactical team radios; 1,675
portable radios will be distributed to fire and emergency medical services personnel; and
125 portable radios are earmarked for emergency management.
The purchase also includes 400 mobile radios, of which 350 are for fire and EMS units and
50 are for county Special Operations vehicles.
In 2023, Delaware County had a ceremonial groundbreaking to commemorate the
completion of the design phase of the project.
It also marked the beginning of the construction upgrade of 21 radio towers that would
create a mesh microwave net to cover the 191 square miles of Delaware County.
The county was able to use existing towers for a more sustainable project and the project
includes higher frequency radios, expanded coverage area, and will increase reliability and
coordination among first responders.
“This major investment in our first responders and public safety is vital and it is long
overdue,” Delaware County Council Vice Chair Elaine Paul Schaefer said at the ceremony.
“We need to ensure that first responders across the county have the tools and resources they
need to effectively and safely respond to emergency situations. Every second counts and
there isn’t room for error or lapses in time.
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That picture was about 20 lbs ago.
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We will wait rather impatiently to hear this exact quote over the new P25 system... lol
There has been " radio reference test, 123" in the past, sooooooooooo
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