Digital Public Safety Radio Systems...How Many Actually Exist?

[JHaislet]

I'm interested in buying a hand-held scanner and can't decide if the BCD396T & Pro-96 are worth almost double the cost for digital capability.

Basically, how many public safety systems are actually full digital, or going full digital over the next year or two?

I know someone who runs a huge 800 system in East Texas (Motorola Type II analog), but they're looking into going full digital soon. I specifically asked him about using features like TruckTracker IV after they go digital & was told nothing would work since they were going to encrypt the control channels!

Evidently this is a fairly new feature set put out by Motorola where each individual radio has to have the master passkey not only to transmit on the system, but also to even monitor or access the control channel.

 

[jim202]

Let's look at your question from a different point of view. Take Motorola and how they do business. What is going on behind the doors at the corporate office is the question of how can "WE" make more money. Simple, sell more radios. How do "WE" do that, simple, tell all the Public Safety agencies "WE" won't support their current systems past a certain date. Keep makeing upgrade changes and don't provide any upgrades to the existing user equipment.

Bottom line is that if you want more radios, you are forced to buy what ever the companies are pushing this month. How do they trun more proffit is to oush the top of the line equipment. Convince the decision makers that they need to go "DIGITAL" and law any reason on them that seems logical and costs more money. In most cases, the reason "DIGITAL" was installed was not out of need, but greed on the sales force side.

Do what you want, but there will be a migration to "DIGITAL" across the country as time passes. The FCC mandate to go to narrow band channels by 2009 and 2013 will speed up the purchase of new equipment. The move towards 700 MHz channels will also speed the influx of new equipment and all digital channels there.

Jim

I'm interested in buying a hand-held scanner and can't decide if the BCD396T & Pro-96 are worth almost double the cost for digital capability.

Basically, how many public safety systems are actually full digital, or going full digital over the next year or two?

I know someone who runs a huge 800 system in East Texas (Motorola Type II analog), but they're looking into going full digital soon. I specifically asked him about using features like TruckTracker IV after they go digital & was told nothing would work since they were going to encrypt the control channels!

Evidently this is a fairly new feature set put out by Motorola where each individual radio has to have the master passkey not only to transmit on the system, but also to even monitor or access the control channel.

 

[Llwellyn]

I'm interested in buying a hand-held scanner and can't decide if the BCD396T & Pro-96 are worth almost double the cost for digital capability.

Basically, how many public safety systems are actually full digital, or going full digital over the next year or two?

I know someone who runs a huge 800 system in East Texas (Motorola Type II analog), but they're looking into going full digital soon. I specifically asked him about using features like TruckTracker IV after they go digital & was told nothing would work since they were going to encrypt the control channels!

Evidently this is a fairly new feature set put out by Motorola where each individual radio has to have the master passkey not only to transmit on the system, but also to even monitor or access the control channel.

The answer to this question varies widely based on where you are located and what you like to listen to. In some parts of the country, there are areas now that are fully digital for the range of a hand-held without a separate antenna; every jursidiction you can grab is a digital trunked system. There are also places in the country that will likely never go digital or never go trunked (they may have to go digital conventional, but that's a few years out still). In my area here in central MD, three surrounding counties (incl. Baltimore city) have fully digital systems; two more counties (incl. mine) will be digital within a year, and three more are on 800Mhz Motorola trunks which could go digital sometime in the future. Also, a number of states (Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, South Dakota off the top of my head) have a statewide digital TRS, and a LOT of municipalities and counties who would never otherwise go digital are or will within the next year or two.

 

[RISC777]

Just an example: I live in a city that only has 2M or so for a population count (Denver). There are two non-trunked, conventional public safety systems anywhere near me (50 miles or more radius give or take), one VHF, one UHF. All state patrol is P25. It's easier to count dep't.s not on the state's trunked system.

 

[kb2vxa]

Hi J and all,

Let's keep it simple shall we? Since the trend is digital it pays to HAVE digital for future expansion. If you buy a non-digital scanner and your favorite cop shop goes digital, "Bad boy bad boy, watcha gonna do?" Yeah, you wasted your money and have to buy another scanner.

 

[hiegtx]

Hi J and all,

Let's keep it simple shall we? Since the trend is digital it pays to HAVE digital for future expansion. If you buy a non-digital scanner and your favorite cop shop goes digital, "Bad boy bad boy, watcha gonna do?" Yeah, you wasted your money and have to buy another scanner.

I'd definitely agree with kb2vxa on this. The trend is to migrate to digital. Texas DPS is in the process of such a migration now. Not a trunked system, but digital nonetheless. Depending on what part of East Texas you're in, you may have anywhere from six to possibly 18 months before all the stations and repeaters are converted, but it's coming.

The 'huge 800 system in East Texas' you mention, are you referring to this one? I've also heard the same (unofficial) rumble about it going digital. Whether the encrypted part is true or not, who knows. But a digital scanner still looks like a good choice for your next scanner. Jim also makes some good points. The equipment suppliers are loading their radio offerings with digital models, and pushing the support for the older analog systems out the back door.

 

[richardc63]

Let's look at your question from a different point of view. Take Motorola and how they do business. What is going on behind the doors at the corporate office is the question of how can "WE" make more money. Simple, sell more radios. How do "WE" do that, simple, tell all the Public Safety agencies "WE" won't support their current systems past a certain date. Keep makeing upgrade changes and don't provide any upgrades to the existing user equipment.

Bottom line is that if you want more radios, you are forced to buy what ever the companies are pushing this month. How do they trun more proffit is to oush the top of the line equipment. Convince the decision makers that they need to go "DIGITAL" and law any reason on them that seems logical and costs more money. In most cases, the reason "DIGITAL" was installed was not out of need, but greed on the sales force side.

Do what you want, but there will be a migration to "DIGITAL" across the country as time passes. The FCC mandate to go to narrow band channels by 2009 and 2013 will speed up the purchase of new equipment. The move towards 700 MHz channels will also speed the influx of new equipment and all digital channels there.

Jim

Oh Good grief Jim!

Your anti-Motorola rant is a load of nonsense & quite insulting to the many of us who work in government advising on radio equipment purchase. We buy new radio equipment when (a) our existing equipment requires replacement because it either doesn't do the job anymore or economic considerations dictate or (b) when new technology offers benefits that the old cannot & the users view the features as warranting upgrade of our systems. Motorola don't get any say in it... never have, never will.

I can see the look on my boss's face... so you want $10M to replace our radios with new digital ones... why? I just feel like it, boss, & Motorola think its a good idea! After he picks himself up off the floor he would kick me out of his office... The reason we are spending millions is because the feature & performance benefits (to government) justify it.

The world of mobile radio is going digital because circumstances warrant it. It offers features & benefits analogue radio cannot.

Regards,



Richard

ps. Our Smartzone system went in in 1991... not bad... 15 years later Motorola is still supporting it.

 

[ofd8001]

Back in the early 1930's the Los Angeles Police began using radio for police calls. It was a one way, AM configuration I believe. Then police communications went to two way, probably low band VHF in an analog mode.

Some where along the line, they upgraded their system to VHF high. Then to UHF. Then 800 and trunking. Now its 800 digital trunking.

That's a long way of saying public safety radio communications has been evolving over 70 years and is likely to evolve for another 70.

That's the nature of electronics. AM radios begat FM radios, which begat black and white television which begat color television and then, cable television and high definition television, which is digital if I'm not mistaken.

Computers have done the same.