DIA budgeting for digital radio

[K4XB]

Interesting information from DIA's 2009 Capital Improvement Program

Title: Migrate Public Radio System to digital platform

Problem description:
Downtown City and County of Denver, Electronic Engineering Bureau (EEB), is in the process of upgrading the public safety radio system to a digital system. The EEB has notified Denver International Airport of their intent. Currently, police, fire and paramedics use the same technology, same manufacturer for both downtown and DIA and the public safety radio systems are interoperable. When downtown upgrades to digital, the DIA and downtown systems will no longer be interoperable. Thus, police, fire and medical responding or working at DIA will not be able use radios issued by EEB at DIA.

Scheduled start: 2009

Budgeted: $4,000,000.

PS: I had nothing to do with this.

K4XB, Scotty
Real radios glow in the dark

 

[abqscan]

"the DIA and downtown systems will no longer be interoperable" Really? What lies are next... ocean front property in Grand Junction?

 

[jfab]

What do they mean by digital? DTRS??

 

[K4XB]

What do they mean by digital? DTRS??

Provoice

K4XB, Scotty
Real radios glow in the dark

 

[MMIC]

"the DIA and downtown systems will no longer be interoperable" Really? What lies are next... ocean front property in Grand Junction?

That's a simple, bottom-line statement. If DIA radios need to talk on DPD/DFD talk groups on the downtown system that are ProVoice, their M-RK/MDX/500M/MPA won't be able to talk on those ProVoice talk groups...

 

[Kevin_N]

Nice to know that there is so much spare money to help Denver with their mission to put scanner users out of business.

If I lived in Denver I would vote against the Mayor next time.

 

[Troop]

here we go again....

 

[Warbirdhunter]

Interesting information from DIA's 2009 Capital Improvement Program

Title: Migrate Public Radio System to digital platform

Problem description:
Downtown City and County of Denver, Electronic Engineering Bureau (EEB), is in the process of upgrading the public safety radio system to a digital system. The EEB has notified Denver International Airport of their intent. Currently, police, fire and paramedics use the same technology, same manufacturer for both downtown and DIA and the public safety radio systems are interoperable. When downtown upgrades to digital, the DIA and downtown systems will no longer be interoperable. Thus, police, fire and medical responding or working at DIA will not be able use radios issued by EEB at DIA.

Scheduled start: 2009

Budgeted: $4,000,000.

PS: I had nothing to do with this.

K4XB, Scotty
Real radios glow in the dark

I guess I am confused. I thought the only difference between the DIA radio system and the Main DPD system was that the main system had the ESK switch turned on. This makes it sound to me like a Officer from DIA who goes down to district 6. Can't get on the air because their radios are different then the Officers who work the city use. What am I missing?

 

[dougjgray]

It sounds like to me that denver will be going digital this year and DIA is saying they will have to as well in order to be inter-operable. But if it cost 4,000,000 for DIA alone the cost for Denver would have to be 10 times that wow

 

[Kevin_N]

here we go again....

Some people might make the argument that digital is better and that they are not trying to make scanners not work. In this case I doubt it.

Provoice is not an interoperable solution, like Project 25. Aurora already knows it sounded worse, or at least not better. So why would they be doing it? I bet you anything its to keep people from listening.

So the only question is on what tlk groups will they use it. It must be all or most of them if the DIA radios have to be upgraded too. Otherwise they would only have to upgrade the radios that are used by detectives or the stuff they have a legit argument to keep secret.

 

[abqscan]

That's a simple, bottom-line statement. If DIA radios need to talk on DPD/DFD talk groups on the downtown system that are ProVoice, their M-RK/MDX/500M/MPA won't be able to talk on those ProVoice talk groups...

I will buy your "simple, bottom-line statement," as soon as The City of Denver refunds the $2 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) they used to buy the StarGate Controller that was "to enhance interoperability with the other M/A-COM systems
throughout the Denver region."

I fully agree that DIA radios need to talk on the Denver system. I also think every M/A-COM user in the metro area should be able to talk on each others system. But at a cost of 4 million dollars, I'd keep the standard TG's non provoice!

 

[K4XB]

I guess I am confused. I thought the only difference between the DIA radio system and the Main DPD system was that the main system had the ESK switch turned on. This makes it sound to me like a Officer from DIA who goes down to district 6. Can't get on the air because their radios are different then the Officers who work the city use. What am I missing?

All DIA Police, Fire, and EMS radios are ESK enabled for the downtown system. The user has to change system from DIA to the downtown Public Safety system and they are good to go.

K4XB, Scotty
Real radios glow in the dark

 

[Warbirdhunter]

All DIA Police, Fire, and EMS radios are ESK enabled for the downtown system. The user has to change system from DIA to the downtown Public Safety system and they are good to go.

K4XB, Scotty
Real radios glow in the dark

Thanks for explaining it!

 

[Thayne]

Kinda Funny they can ask employees to give up raises & take furlough days and then some bluecoat has the balls to ask for 4 mil for ProVoice--
I wanna see them make it work with their 7 site simulcasting then some of the "Digital Dollies" might have to taste some crow; but maybe not because they are using it some now and it doesn't sound totally like S#*T--but let's get everybody on it and see what happens.

 

[MMIC]

I will buy your "simple, bottom-line statement," as soon as The City of Denver refunds the $2 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) they used to buy the StarGate Controller that was "to enhance interoperability with the other M/A-COM systems
throughout the Denver region."

I fully agree that DIA radios need to talk on the Denver system. I also think every M/A-COM user in the metro area should be able to talk on each others system. But at a cost of 4 million dollars, I'd keep the standard TG's non provoice!

That's a fair argument, but if Denver PD/FD have already decided to go ProVoice, DIA will need to make radio enhancements in order to listen/talk to the Denver PD/FD main talk groups that they will interoperate with them on. If you try to explain that kind of thing to bean counters/policians, their eyes glaze over and deny your request

Whether or not it is a worthwhile expenditure is another issue.

 

[MMIC]

I wanna see them make it work with their 7 site simulcasting then some of the "Digital Dollies" might have to taste some crow; but maybe not because they are using it some now and it doesn't sound totally like S#*T--but let's get everybody on it and see what happens.

Well, if you're referencing the Aurora fiasco, in the end, that really had more to do with user perception than reality. There were issues to begin with but the users never really got comfortable with the technology after those issues were resolved.

You could be right, but then again, you could be wrong. Denver may have a better approach to this than Aurora did.

I won't win this argument here because its not like we can have a totally unbiased opinion on this issue among scanner users who like to listen to Denver!

 

[utlchris]

here we go again....

I agree

 

[n0doz]

The public safety radios at DIA are due for an upgrade to match what's going on downtown. I have no idea if they're going ProVoice or not, but I do know we have more than a few older model portables and mobiles. I've been told many times in the past that DIA has no intention of going ProVoice or ESK.
As for the expense, DIA's budget is completely separate from the rest of the city, so pay raises or givebacks are not part of the financial picture.

 

[poltergeisty]

Just another fine example of this state's money spending BS and it's piss poor budgeting.

DIA's budget is more than 4 MIL!? This comes from whom???

 

[n0doz]

Read my first post. The airport pays, which means the airlines, parking revenue, concessions, etc, etc, etc. The airport is not tax-funded. It is not owned by the state. It has nothing to do with p*ss poor anything. It has everything to do with being a unique operation: a government-operated enterprise that's actually managed properly. The only shame about it is that more people don't understand how the airport is run.
By the way, $4 mil is a relatively small item in the budget, probably in the area of 1 or 2% of expenses in 2009.