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davidzimmerman
Member
i don't think it will happen for a long time
fyrfyter33
Member
Way too much cost there. Will it happen? Yes, eventually. Will it happen anytime soon? Nope.
There are still very large metro areas across the state, including this one that have not been able to come up with funding for everyone to buy new APX radios at an acceptable price. Zero grant money thus far.
A lot of public safety are still using Astro Spectra+ mobiles along with XTS series portables.
As long as that issue is in existence, no chance of a Phase II upgrade anytime soon.
There are still very large metro areas across the state, including this one that have not been able to come up with funding for everyone to buy new APX radios at an acceptable price. Zero grant money thus far.
A lot of public safety are still using Astro Spectra+ mobiles along with XTS series portables.
As long as that issue is in existence, no chance of a Phase II upgrade anytime soon.
That's good news for me at least. We still use XTS portables on MARCS at the county EMA. A couple fugly APX radios mixed in there.
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n8dhw
Member
Still years down the road to go fully Phase 2. There are still a lot of agencies or Counties that are still using XTS radios that are not Phase 2 capable.
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fyrfyter33
Member
The only radios that are Phase 2 compliant are the APXs you don’t like. [emoji23]
It will be many years before everyone has upgraded all handhelds and mobiles to those.
It will be many years before everyone has upgraded all handhelds and mobiles to those.
mszabo2000
Member
The system can operate in mixed mode supporting both Phase 1 and Phase 2 channels. If they needed additional capacity and lacked channels to expand, they could make some channels Phase 2 and not impact the Phase 1 only users.
In addition to the subscriber issues already mentioned MARCS would have to purchase phase 2 software licenses for every repeater and comparator that would handle P2 traffic.
The license cost to upgrade a single repeater from P1 to a P1/P2 dual mode repeater is $ 16,000 (state contract cost). A system wide conversion to phase 2 will cost millions, converting the Cuyahoga County simulcast site alone would cost $ 3 million.
It's possible that some limited pockets of phase 2 operation could be seen in the future, especially if MARCS picks up more local government partnerships and builds new sites, but a system wide transition to P2 does not seem likely in the near future.
If MARCS is considering phase 2 the first indication would probably be some type of recommendation or mandate for subscribers to start purchasing phase 2 radios. APX radios don't do phase 2 unless the $ 320 phase 2 option is purchased with the radio.
The license cost to upgrade a single repeater from P1 to a P1/P2 dual mode repeater is $ 16,000 (state contract cost). A system wide conversion to phase 2 will cost millions, converting the Cuyahoga County simulcast site alone would cost $ 3 million.
It's possible that some limited pockets of phase 2 operation could be seen in the future, especially if MARCS picks up more local government partnerships and builds new sites, but a system wide transition to P2 does not seem likely in the near future.
If MARCS is considering phase 2 the first indication would probably be some type of recommendation or mandate for subscribers to start purchasing phase 2 radios. APX radios don't do phase 2 unless the $ 320 phase 2 option is purchased with the radio.
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