Geauga county 1 step up to going digital

[Tfitzmaurice89]

Yesterday, the GCSO just recieved digital portables... so be expecting the switch sometime soon.

 

[Cobra_Commander]

Thats going to stink then i have to reprogram my scanner and hook it up all the time at least now i can listen to geauga county on my ham mobile rig.

 

[Nasby]

Are you sure you can hear Geauga County on your ham rig? Geauga County is currently on an 800 mhz analog trunked system. I've never heard of a ham rig that will do that. Would be pretty cool though.

 

[Cobra_Commander]

Are you sure you can hear Geauga County on your ham rig? Geauga County is currently on an 800 mhz analog trunked system. I've never heard of a ham rig that will do that. Would be pretty cool though.

Yes i can my rig covers the 800mhz band i just can't track the talkgroups but can hear them talking and the control channel so yes i can!

 

[kc8rak]

DOes that mean new talk groups? Thanks.

 

[T-Santon]

If I had to guess, I would say that the talkgroups will probably stay the same... When Lake County went digital 7 years ago, they changed from a Motorola "Type-I" to a "Type-II" system, giving all agencies new Talkgroup I.D.'s.


Now even though Geauga County has remained in analog for the last 7 years, they also changed to a Motorola "Type-II" system around the same time as Lake County did...So when Geauga County does go digital, I would expect them to keep all the same talkgroups that they put in place when they made the switch to "Type-II".


In fact, I would expect it to be VERY similar to Lake County's system....School Buses and Public Works will probably remain in analog, while the Police and Fire go to digital...Just my guess.

 

[Cobra_Commander]

Why do they have to go digital at all i mean trunk tracking talkgroups on a digital system is to hard to lock on to with the analog i can lock onto them easily its probably because of technology.

 

[wa8pyr]

Now even though Geauga County has remained in analog for the last 7 years, they also changed to a Motorola "Type-II" system around the same time as Lake County did...So when Geauga County does go digital, I would expect them to keep all the same talkgroups that they put in place when they made the switch to "Type-II".

Have they upgraded the system infrastructure? Converting from Type I to Type II is mainly a programming and controller setup issue, which was probably done with their existing controller and repeaters.

Otherwise, it's not possible to simply convert a talkgroup to digital. Various changes have to be made to the system controller, not to mention the system level hardware like voters and repeaters necessary to accommodate digital talkgroups. Easiest is to reconfigure an unused partition (if any) in the controller for all digital talkgroups and radios, and steer those new talkgroups and radios to the digital-capable channels. This way, users can be handed their new radios and begin operating on the new talkgroup without any interruption in service.

If they are indeed converting the system to digital (receiving new radios doesn't necessarily mean they are), you really need to plan on figuring out all new talkgroups.

 

[T-Santon]

Various changes have to be made to the system controller, not to mention the system level hardware like voters and repeaters necessary to accommodate digital talkgroups. Easiest is to reconfigure an unused partition (if any) in the controller for all digital talkgroups and radios, and steer those new talkgroups and radios to the digital-capable channels. This way, users can be handed their new radios and begin operating on the new talkgroup without any interruption in service.

Well like I said...It was merely a guess. I honestly have no idea on the specifics of how an entire system is converted from analog to digital. So if they're going to need all new talkgroups for the digital radios, then that's what you can expect.

If they are indeed converting the system to digital (receiving new radios doesn't necessarily mean they are), you really need to plan on figuring out all new talkgroups.

This is the only thing I can clarify with certainty.....Yes, they are indeed converting to digital. They have been working on upgrading the infrastructure over the past year, as well as adding 2 more tower sites to help with coverage gaps.

Now I'm not sure how close they are to completing this transition, but if the GCSO has been given the new radios, I would have to assume that it's not too far off.

 

[kf8yk]

Yesterday, the GCSO just recieved digital portables... so be expecting the switch sometime soon.

Geauga County will be analog for a while, at least until 2011. Purchasing 20 new portables for a system with over 1,500 radios is hardly newsworthy.

 

[Tfitzmaurice89]

i just said that they were a step up... i didnt say it was a total blown thing yet...

 

[wa8pyr]

This is the only thing I can clarify with certainty.....Yes, they are indeed converting to digital. They have been working on upgrading the infrastructure over the past year, as well as adding 2 more tower sites to help with coverage gaps.

Now I'm not sure how close they are to completing this transition, but if the GCSO has been given the new radios, I would have to assume that it's not too far off.

OK. Given that information, I can almost guarantee that talkgroup assignments will change. Most system administrators would jump at the chance to reconfigure their system and start over with a clean slate; I would (and if my system gets converted to P25, will).