• To anyone looking to acquire commercial radio programming software:

    Please do not make requests for copies of radio programming software which is sold (or was sold) by the manufacturer for any monetary value. All requests will be deleted and a forum infraction issued. Making a request such as this is attempting to engage in software piracy and this forum cannot be involved or associated with this activity. The same goes for any private transaction via Private Message. Even if you attempt to engage in this activity in PM's we will still enforce the forum rules. Your PM's are not private and the administration has the right to read them if there's a hint to criminal activity.

    If you are having trouble legally obtaining software please state so. We do not want any hurt feelings when your vague post is mistaken for a free request. It is YOUR responsibility to properly word your request.

    To obtain Motorola software see the Sticky in the Motorola forum.

    The various other vendors often permit their dealers to sell the software online (i.e., Kenwood). Please use Google or some other search engine to find a dealer that sells the software. Typically each series or individual radio requires its own software package. Often the Kenwood software is less than $100 so don't be a cheapskate; just purchase it.

    For M/A Com/Harris/GE, etc: there are two software packages that program all current and past radios. One package is for conventional programming and the other for trunked programming. The trunked package is in upwards of $2,500. The conventional package is more reasonable though is still several hundred dollars. The benefit is you do not need multiple versions for each radio (unlike Motorola).

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Industry Consultant Needed

clink6

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Our county (Price County) in Northern Wisconsin is upgrading all of our towers, radios and dispatch center. The County board is going to be looking for a consultant for the complete layout of the new system. # of towers for total coverage of county, new dispatch center, repeaters. base units, car and handheld radios. cameras and storage, etc. Basically the whole ball of wax! Any suggestions of companies that would cover our area and be impartial? They are looking for bids. Thanks for your help!
 

wsp44

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They will actually listen to the county and build a RFP based upon the customers needs/budget,

Jackson County Ga had the first consultant that was mentioned design and help procure a system and it seems to be going sideways (to the tune of 25+ millions)
 

mmckenna

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Not necessarily a recommendation, but just some I've worked with over the years:


 

KG9MK

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Our county (Price County) in Northern Wisconsin is upgrading all of our towers, radios and dispatch center. The County board is going to be looking for a consultant for the complete layout of the new system. # of towers for total coverage of county, new dispatch center, repeaters. base units, car and handheld radios. cameras and storage, etc. Basically the whole ball of wax! Any suggestions of companies that would cover our area and be impartial? They are looking for bids. Thanks for your help!
Mark Hoppe, Blue Wing Consulting
Text me if you need 1321his number.
715-215-1325
 

TampaTyron

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I have worked with more than one of the above listed consultants while I worked for a LARGE radio manufacturer.

Interview several. Ask for references. Ask what happens when everything goes right. Ask what happens when everything goes wrong. Look at projects where municipalities used good ones and bad ones. Get as much documentation as possible.

Do not let a shop or manufacturer run the project (as someone who works for a shop and has worked for a manufacturer in a past life).

A good consultant protects their client and the shop and the manufacturer with scientific data and pays for themselves in keeping everything in line.

A bad consultant (or no consultant) can make everyone's life very difficult.

TT
 

WB5UOM

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Yes but one would be smart to ask for say a 10 year history of thier clients to see what mfgr got selected in the process. Some seem to push one M or L3 more than others.
just sayin.
trust no one
 

wa8pyr

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We worked with Mission Critical for our system conversion to P25 in 2015. Great team, did excellent work.

Ditto on not letting the local shop or manufacturer run the thing…
 

clink6

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Thank You for all the great tips and information! Keep them coming, if anyone else has any others. I will be giving them all to our County Administrator and our County Board to help them make their very important upcoming decisions. Thanks Again!
 

lenk911

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Ditto on great tips above. add to them:
1. Ask for a minimum of 5 samples (specifications, reports etc.) of their work applicable to the project at hand.
2. In multiple employee firms, who will be assigned to the day-to-day management of the project? Some firms parade their best and brightest during the interview and then assign less for the project progression. The manufacturer's engineers and the shop's best techs can leave the less experienced/trained like a deer in headlights!
3. If you are asking for engineering services, it requires the firm employ a state licensed engineer (actually the law in all states and Canadian provinces) just like an architect, attorney etc. If they are providing engineering services without a license both the client and the firm may be exposed if the project has issues! Be careful of weasel-worded and close adjectives in proposals of "engineering" to leave the impression of you might expect more services than you will be receiving!
4. The client should develop a team of users and knowledgeable community members to work with the selected consultant. This will be a multi-year project and the team should stay intact for the duration. During the interview process test the relationship between the candidates and the team. This can be very technical work. A big part of the consultant's role is to educate the client.
 

kk6dj

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Adcomm Engineering- www.adcommeng.com

We worked with Susan and her team on three projects now including radio system and radio dispatch system upgrades.



Forrest Telecom Engineering- www.fortele.com

Greg has worked with us for a new radio system design. Small company but he knows his stuff.
 

clink6

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Thanks for all your Company suggestions! If anyone has any others our County has put out the Request for Proposals and the due date for them is June 22 2026. I have reached out to ALL your Company suggestions with the info for bidding! Thank You Again for all your help and suggestions, Glen! This is sure a great forum with great helpful people.
 
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Terry did not get contacted. I searched your county's site but can't find the RFP. The search page only shows one for a ditch.
The news page only shows highway dept info.
 

clink6

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Terry did not get contacted. I searched your county's site but can't find the RFP. The search page only shows one for a ditch.
The news page only shows highway dept info.
Yes I did contact them thru the contact page on their website but here is the attachment for the rfp if you can forward it to him again, Thanks, Glen.
 

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clink6

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Here is our County's RFP if any one would like to pass it on to your company suggestions. The due date is 6/22/26. Thanks again for all your help!
 

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