calwxman
Member
Hancock County has been in the process of upgrading their radios. It appears that they are about to go live with the system in the next few weeks. I believe they are staying on the same frequencies.
Hancock County to test upgraded radio equipment
By EMILY SCOTT
NEW CUMBERLAND - Over the next two weeks, Hancock County's police, fire, and emergency crews will be testing upgraded radio equipment that should allow for greater coverage throughout the county.
Tom Zielinsky, executive director of the Hancock County Office of Technology and Communications, said the equipment the county previously had, an analog system, was over 25 years and that he had heard complaints from the sheriff's office and fire departments that were many dead spots in the county where the radios' signal would cut out.
When they began to replace the equipment, Zielinsky said it was their goal "to have as near 100 percent coverage in the county as possible."
Zielinsky said they have gone from seven towers to 10 to create an overlapping effect that should eliminate most of the dead spot problems. That includes using water tanks at Oakland, Rolling Acres, and Mountaineer as towers.
Zielinsky said the towers work on a voting system, in which they all key up at the same time, and the one with the strongest signal "votes" and relays the information. "This will allow for improved communications where the signal was lacking or nonexistent," Zielinsky said.
The project to upgrade the equipment began at the beginning of the year with the equipment being changed out a piece at a time "kind of in a slow, methodical way," Zielinsky said.
During the testing period, people in the field will report any glitches, static, or noise on the line that can then be cleaned up. All county agencies that use the radios must sign off on the new equipment before the final payment is made to Lauttamus, the company who provided the equipment.
"During this two week period, we have to be trouble free," Zielinsky said.
Zielinsky said the new equipment should make it easier for the county's agencies to get grants for things like digital radios in police cars because the infrastructure will be in place to use them.
Zielinsky said that once the equipment has been tested and signed off on, the next step would be to approach cell phone providers to see if they would be interested in paying for the use of Hancock County's towers.
http://www.reviewonline.com/page/content.detail/id/503420.html?nav=5008
Hancock County to test upgraded radio equipment
By EMILY SCOTT
NEW CUMBERLAND - Over the next two weeks, Hancock County's police, fire, and emergency crews will be testing upgraded radio equipment that should allow for greater coverage throughout the county.
Tom Zielinsky, executive director of the Hancock County Office of Technology and Communications, said the equipment the county previously had, an analog system, was over 25 years and that he had heard complaints from the sheriff's office and fire departments that were many dead spots in the county where the radios' signal would cut out.
When they began to replace the equipment, Zielinsky said it was their goal "to have as near 100 percent coverage in the county as possible."
Zielinsky said they have gone from seven towers to 10 to create an overlapping effect that should eliminate most of the dead spot problems. That includes using water tanks at Oakland, Rolling Acres, and Mountaineer as towers.
Zielinsky said the towers work on a voting system, in which they all key up at the same time, and the one with the strongest signal "votes" and relays the information. "This will allow for improved communications where the signal was lacking or nonexistent," Zielinsky said.
The project to upgrade the equipment began at the beginning of the year with the equipment being changed out a piece at a time "kind of in a slow, methodical way," Zielinsky said.
During the testing period, people in the field will report any glitches, static, or noise on the line that can then be cleaned up. All county agencies that use the radios must sign off on the new equipment before the final payment is made to Lauttamus, the company who provided the equipment.
"During this two week period, we have to be trouble free," Zielinsky said.
Zielinsky said the new equipment should make it easier for the county's agencies to get grants for things like digital radios in police cars because the infrastructure will be in place to use them.
Zielinsky said that once the equipment has been tested and signed off on, the next step would be to approach cell phone providers to see if they would be interested in paying for the use of Hancock County's towers.
http://www.reviewonline.com/page/content.detail/id/503420.html?nav=5008