Los Angeles, CA: Communication issues hamper LAPD

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W6SDF

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Here we go again...Many tend to think everything should be perfect these days and I guess if the technology is there it should be as close as possible, but really, bureaucrats, there is a cost to benefit ratio that must be taken into account. Believe it or not, we are NOT your personal ATM machines and things do not have to be re-invented from scratch because of one once-in-a lifetime incident. Get a grip, work with what you have (it aint that old) and PLAN for the next upgrade, when you've gotten your (our) moneys worth from what you have.
 

mmckenna

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Technology isn't the issue. People are the issue. Millions if not billions of taxpayer dollars will be spent to install systems that will be sold with the claim that it will fix all the issues. In the end, it still comes down to the people who program the radios, the guys in charge, and the person holding the microphone. No amount of money will fix this. Training will.

And before the P25 fanboys start up, P25 won't fix the issue with different bands. Multiband radios are what is needed, not more digital. Digital on it's own doesn't fix these sorts of issues. If we took the amount of money that is being wasted on bloated and mis-managed P25 projects, every officer and fire fighter could be outfitted with a multi-band portable.
 

vest2208

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Our agencies are all on part of the Illinois Starcom system. The several agencies near us (another consolidated dispatch area) also share the same system. They have our talkgroup and we have theirs, as well as having the county PD talkgroups. NO ONE uses them inter-operatively. Instead of switching channels, it's apparently easier to have dispatch call on the phone and relay 3rd party. Occasionally we'll get one officer from another jurisdiction smart enough to use the system as intended.
 

mmckenna

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I wonder what excuse they will use once LA-RICS is up and running.

Before the paint is dry on those systems, the big M will be pushing LTE and VoLTE systems as "The Interoperability Solution". Before the paint is dry on the LTE and VoLTE systems, there will be another "solution". Salesmen will woo the Chiefs and the taxpayers will keep paying for this, over and over again. Each successive solution will be incrementally more costly than the last.

The solution is to either properly train people to use the radios, or take the controls away from them. Many public safety professionals will claim their radio is their most important tool, yet the won't learn anything other than on/off and push to talk.
 

zz0468

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...Many public safety professionals will claim their radio is their most important tool, yet the won't learn anything other than on/off and push to talk.

It's interesting to hear the perspective of older public safety people who lived and worked in area where there was NO coverage and NO backup for miles around. They seem to claim that the most important tool was their wits.

All this technology is apparently making us stupid.
 
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>> VoLTE systems

I think that's a great example of a technology looking to fill a void that doesn't exist.

Since I've done RFI hunting for Verizon on their LTE system I know it's not bullet proof.
 

N8IAA

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It's interesting to hear the perspective of older public safety people who lived and worked in area where there was NO coverage and NO backup for miles around. They seem to claim that the most important tool was their wits.

All this technology is apparently making us stupid.

Absolutely!!
Larry
 

Wes

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I'd be happy when we're not actively discouraged from coming up on another agency's channel or talk group. No point in programming in interoperability when it's actively discouraged by management.
 
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