Lunch & Learn: The Aging Wireless Workforce | Agenda 2026 | IWCE Everyone getting old....
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To anyone looking to acquire commercial radio programming software:
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To obtain Motorola software see the Sticky in the Motorola forum.
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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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IWCE 2026
- Thread starter mmckenna
- Start date
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
We are mostly a bunch of geezers.
I'd love to find a ~30 something to take over some of my job as I slide into retirement.
speedway_navigator
Member
I tell folks I'm fighting the 'ers'
Older, slower, grayer, poorer
rescue Randy, what course did you want?
I have a problem getting to the expo floor since I'm teaching all 4 days.
I might suggest the ETA only have ed forum on Monday and Tuesday.
Older, slower, grayer, poorer
rescue Randy, what course did you want?
I have a problem getting to the expo floor since I'm teaching all 4 days.
I might suggest the ETA only have ed forum on Monday and Tuesday.
RescueRandy
Member
We were considering GCT2 or Line and Antenna Sweep classes for a couple of us. I think we will pick these courses up another time as this trip’s schedule and budget are set now.
I’m sure it’s a challenge for the ETA to schedule training during an event like this. Especially for folks who are interested in both training and for what the events offer (presentations, meetings, floor expo, etc).
RescueRandy
Member
That’s cool, I’ll try and come by. I’m presenting on response equipment cache building and maintenance.
Disaster Comms - Fit for a Mission | Agenda 2026 | IWCE
IWCE (International Wireless Communications Expo) is where critical communications technology professionals gather to evaluate, learn and network.
agenda.iwceexpo.com
Firebuff880
Member
That’s cool, I’ll try and come by. I’m presenting on response equipment cache building and maintenance.
Disaster Comms - Fit for a Mission | Agenda 2026 | IWCE
IWCE (International Wireless Communications Expo) is where critical communications technology professionals gather to evaluate, learn and network.
Maintenance = Budget. Can't tell you how much now neglected post 9/11 cache hardware I helped secure that no one wants to even do simple things like replace batteries, or maintain suspended service accounts for VSAT gear. Never mind upgrading to some more current technology.
DeoVindice
P25 Underground
Just turned 30 myself. I'd love to do more RF work but largely have my hands full sustaining old iron built when my dad was in grade school.
RescueRandy
Member
That is very true. Budget is an important part of it. I feel too many organizations use grants to purchase equipment or implement programs with little thought as to what resources are needed to maintain them.
I also believe that many agencies don’t look to their own internal expertise (or even have the personnel with the necessary expertise) for cache buildouts/implementation. Too often it’s a process of: leadership sees shiny thing, find grant for shiny thing, throw money at vendor for shiny thing, put shiny thing in warehouse to sit. The folks on the ground may never be involved in the process.
Granted, I hope most of the equipment in our response caches never have to be used. But I’d rather see the equipment not used because we never respond to a disaster that scale vs never using it due to it never being maintained, trained on, or actually meeting a need in the first place.
Of course I am likely preaching to the choir on here so disregard any snark that may come across.
speedway_navigator
Member
I'll see if we can break our RFI class for lunch at 1 so I can attend.
Project25_MASTR
TX-COMU
You know, I just got done working for a county Judge that was very discriminatory against millennials...especially as department heads.
speedway_navigator
Member
I've noticed younger generations have poor speaking skills, I hear 'ah' and 'um' many times in a conversation, even when they reading from a paper or phone. Pivot seems to be a buzz word for them, I hear it in sitreps.
For me it is the "right" at the end of the sentence, sometimes every sentence (my issue with younger people, used as an end to the sentence, acknowledgement, or asking for buy in - not sure which at times). IWCE is not going to happen for me this year, APCO might though. Always enjoy seeing the new gear on display.
Older and greyer myself. Seems test equipment use, soldering, and general skills to terminal cables or safety cut wire without bleeding oneself is dying with the current generation.
Had a few 30-something's try to terminate LMR-400 and the amount of blood, then complaining, with no understanding of the first aid kit being on the wall, I need to retire.
But, need to stay a little while longer, might get to go to some trade shows, employer got a group account set up for APCO, has only been several years in the arguing (sending single people at a time for the highest price possible, and then firefighters that lack technical knowledge).
Older and greyer myself. Seems test equipment use, soldering, and general skills to terminal cables or safety cut wire without bleeding oneself is dying with the current generation.
Had a few 30-something's try to terminate LMR-400 and the amount of blood, then complaining, with no understanding of the first aid kit being on the wall, I need to retire.
But, need to stay a little while longer, might get to go to some trade shows, employer got a group account set up for APCO, has only been several years in the arguing (sending single people at a time for the highest price possible, and then firefighters that lack technical knowledge).
I retired from my radio field tech position last year in October. Had a nice 15 year run with it. Attended IWCE 3 times over the last 5 years and had a blast every time. Last ETAi cert was done in March of 2024. The rest of the time was spent in the exhibit room below looking at all the cool gear and grabbing some nice swag.
This year, my replacement and another tech will be in attendance to get the ETAi certifications required for the job.
N7NNV/DU7
This year, my replacement and another tech will be in attendance to get the ETAi certifications required for the job.
N7NNV/DU7
Update for me, definitely no IWCE 2026 (have always enjoyed going though), due to organization getting a group membership to APCO instead. So, pivoting to APCO convention later in the year, hopefully.
Enjoy IWCE everyone, I always enjoy seeing the new products, some bleeding edge, others just mock-ups, some hilarious on the floor.
Enjoy IWCE everyone, I always enjoy seeing the new products, some bleeding edge, others just mock-ups, some hilarious on the floor.
speedway_navigator
Member
Airfare to SAT is expensive. I had some guys from Hawaii ask about a class, it's cheaper to fly there than SAT. Walking on the river walk does not compare to body surfing in Honolulu.
Workload crazy so I wont be able to make it this year.
speedway_navigator
Member
During a DAS session today one attendee was talking about licensing, he said "don't trust radio reference" for frequency info.
Another guy said he has seen more freqs listed on integrator applications than he had licensed. He rejected it.
Another guy said he has seen more freqs listed on integrator applications than he had licensed. He rejected it.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
We had a big project at work and a company proposed a BDA system. They had pulled the frequency data from here, errors and all. Didn't even bother to check the FCC licenses. Minimal effort made by a company that claimed to be 'experts' and public safety BDA systems.
Project25_MASTR
TX-COMU
I had a fly by night company reach out for a site survey and using Radio Reference they found what was listed as a trunking system for that county. They found a system and loaded everything up only for me to tell them that they had in fact found the wrong system. They found a 700 MHz system that is present but not the VHF system the county uses. Mind you, this is the same company that told me 18 months earlier "We didn't know you could do trunking on VHF" (it's the same system) and had ended up pointing the downlink antenna at one site and uplink at another…and they were not simulcast sites.
On another note, I had to invalidate all of one groups results because they used the PCTEL IBflex receiver. It found two active control channels (for the two active sites) but none of the signal readings reported what control channel (i.e. site) the level was from. Has PCTEL fixed this yet? I literally had to say you can't use an IBflex to perform your testing because of this issue.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Ham-about traffic jams. Signs that the average age in the industry continues to climb.
Kenwood has a nice new basic control head for the NX-5000/VM-5000 line. KCH-22V Real knobs (volume and channel/group) and front firing speaker.
ESChat/JVCKenwood merger in the works. Going to be interesting, we just signed a contract for a new EFJ P25p2 system and ESChat is going to make life easier for some of my users.
Show seems to continue to shrink and the CCR's are out in force.
Kenwood has a nice new basic control head for the NX-5000/VM-5000 line. KCH-22V Real knobs (volume and channel/group) and front firing speaker.
ESChat/JVCKenwood merger in the works. Going to be interesting, we just signed a contract for a new EFJ P25p2 system and ESChat is going to make life easier for some of my users.
Show seems to continue to shrink and the CCR's are out in force.
