Midland Park PD & FD Dispatch Changes

[railtrailbiker]

The Borough of Midland Park recently announced that it will not be renewing its contract with the Borough of Wyckoff to provide fire, police, and EMS radio dispatch services.

A new dispatch service provider, to assume control on 1/1/15, has not yet been determined. News reports indicate that Mahwah & Allendale are in the running along with Northwest Bergen Central Dispatch.

Unknown at this time whether Wyckoff and Midland Park will continue to share a main PD dispatch frequency.

 

[Alarmguy]

Wyckoff is also thinking of outsourcing, due to the loss of Midland Park. I think its a big mistake, its worked for fifteen years with no major issues. Midland Park was in on Northwest Bergen Central Dispatch when it formed. Things then went politically south and Midland Park ended up suing them and splitting and Wyckoff was upgrading their communications at the time and some of the lawsuit settlement money funded their equipment costs to use their infrastructure. This is all the Mayor and Council's idea. They are not even thinking about the fact new radios may need to be purchased etc.

 

[railtrailbiker]

Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan has reportedly been meeting with local mayors and encouraging them to let the County take over public safety radio dispatching. Supposedly, the County will provide this service for free (necessary funding is included in the current County tax rate).

Although Allendale, Mahwah, and Northwest Bergen Central were all mentioned in a recent news article, my bet is that Midland Park is seriously considering taking the County up on their offer.

There are several municipalities being dispatched by the County who have retained their existing radio infrastructure, but others have moved over to the County's trunked radio system (which will need to be dumped in several years because the T-Band frequencies being used will have to be returned to the FCC).

 

[Alarmguy]

Yes. Interboro comes to mind, they are still on their frequencies and County dispatches them on those channels. Problem is Midland Park does not hold a license on 158.7825, as that is Wyckoff's frequency. They do still hold a license on 158.730 under KEC921, and it was revised to Narrowband with all other licensed frequencies the town holds. Only way County might work with existing is if Wyckoff abandons their comm center as they are considering according to that article. Both Towns could stay on 158.7825 and County could dispatch both towns. After touring the county dispatch center in Mahwah, they stated they had the ability to come up on anyone's frequency by just notifying their radio techs to make the change. I don't think Midland Park has the funds to jump to the County trunk system, as it would mean all new radios. They just upgraded from HT1000s a few years ago to HT1250s. Wyckoff is still using HT1000s, and had budgeted for new radios this year.

 

[railtrailbiker]

If the County will indeed provide the service for free, funds previously earmarked for dispatch services could be used to buy new radios for the County's trunked system (a waste in my humble opinion because the radios would need to be dumped in a few years due to an FCC mandated return of all T-Band frequencies).

Neither Allendale nor Mahwah are contiguous to Midland Park and both of them use UHF frequencies.

Makes the most sense to switch to NWBCD and use 158.73. Coverage in Midland Park should be pretty good already on 158.73; maybe one satellite receiver could be added at MP Fire HQ.

 

[Alarmguy]

The question is what ever happened to Centrals move to P25. I know the TAC is P25 simplex. But no P25 is in use on 158.7300. Yes Ridgewoods main transmitter is on the Water Tank in Midland Park, coverage would not be an issue.

 

[jvdet]

Every time it seems that a discussion about the County TRS comes up somebody mentions the T band give back only affecting the County, and thats the same reason some Towns have given not to go with the county. Not about what happens to the other Tband users in Bergen Essex Sussex..oh and New York City which is not giving up the use of T-Band channels so unless NYC gets money as well as all the other users in the tristate to move - it aint happening - in fact there has not been any movement by the FCC to remind users of the takeover; unless the 700 mhz allocation for Bergen gets funded then.....

 

[railtrailbiker]

The question is what ever happened to Centrals move to P25. I know the TAC is P25 simplex. But no P25 is in use on 158.7300. Yes Ridgewoods main transmitter is on the Water Tank in Midland Park, coverage would not be an issue.

The planned move to P25 on 158.73 is being delayed until all of the leased radio tie lines have been replaced by drops from a private fiber network jointly owned by the Village of Ridgewood, the Ridgewood Board of Education, and the Borough of Glen Rock. Additionally, several new satellite receivers are being put into service, including a rather complex setup at The Valley Hospital. Glen Rock PD is reportedly experiencing poor reception from portable radios at several locations in their Borough.

The TAC channel is currently operating with a single site transmitter/receiver, located in Glen Rock, so coverage on that frequency isn't the greatest, particularly portable coverage.

 

[radiomanNJ1]

Don't hold your breath for the T band give back. Do you think NYC and LA among the big guys who will be putting a big brake on this? How about the mid and South NJ systems?
Why so many feel the county is the enemy is far beyond the means of mortal men! (Superman quote)
That threat of the take back is not for 8 years no matter what. By then who knows what will happen the county's system will be 10 years+ old. Stop with this big bad county thing.
HT1250's are already outdated perhaps they should not have bought them.
Perhaps the problem is too many tiny kingdoms in Bergen each one trying to raise the drawbridges and keep out others or work together. Do you think politics have any influence?

 

[ScanXO]

Trying to stay on topic
Last 2 weeks or so on another thread County TG 111 was heard with some PD type traffic, maybe it was Midland Park ? testing it out;
For the funeral of the Waldwick Officer a few weeks ago county police covered Waldwick & Ho HO Kus for about 4 days and the system on portable (which seems to be the deciding factore for some) work fine; some radios where given out to WPD & HHK PD too and all reported good comms

 

[railtrailbiker]

Midland Park to be dispatched by NWBCD

Midland Park has decided to go with Northwest Bergen Central Dispatch. See article below:

Midland Park to contract with Ridgewood firm for dispatching - Business - NorthJersey.com

I suppose they will be moving to 158.73. Whether analog or P25 on January 1 depends upon the status of the proposed move to P25 at that time.

 

[Alarmguy]

I don't see how they are going to do it by December 31st. All the existing MCS2000 mobiles will need to be replaced, as well as the 7 year old HT1250s. In November The XTL/XTS series is going to be phased out by Motorola. Ridgewood and Glen Rock went with XTL2500 mobiles and XTS1500 Portables. Be kind of silly to buy radios that are being discontinued now in Midland Parks case. Might as well spring for APX series radios, but who knows. However if that be the case $15,000 would definitely not be enough, as this also includes FD units and EMS units and bases in Fire and PD and Ambulance HQ that will need replaced and several portables for all departments. I have seen some Kenwood P25 portables on Ridgewood EMS personnel, so that is another less costly alternative to Motorola and still P25 compliant.

 

[railtrailbiker]

I don't see how they are going to do it by December 31st. All the existing MCS2000 mobiles will need to be replaced, as well as the 7 year old HT1250s. In November The XTL/XTS series is going to be phased out by Motorola. Ridgewood and Glen Rock went with XTL2500 mobiles and XTS1500 Portables. Be kind of silly to buy obsolete radios now in Midland Parks case. Might as well spring for APX series radios, but who knows, how ever if that be the case $15,000 would definitely not be enough, this also includes FD units and EMS units and bases in Fire and PD and Ambulance HQ that will need replaced. Police Desk has 3 MCS2000s currently for base use.

Neither Glen Rock nor Ridgewood plan to use P25 for Fire or EMS (NWBCD dispatch EMS units call in service on the fire frequency, unlike what is done in now with Wyckoff dispatching). Thus, Midland Park FD/EMS analog radios could be used initially, then replaced over a period of time. Of course without new radios, they would not be able to monitor PD once the move to P25 is complete.

I believe the $15,000 has nothing to do with new radios for Midland Park. That's a fee payable to NWBCD for equipment needed by them.

 

[Alarmguy]

Yes Central uses 154.3100 for Fire and EMS Ops, which Midland Park had used with them prior to going to Wyckoff. Midland Park FD has MCS2000s in the Chiefs Vehicle and 1st Due Engine to Monitor Police Only, So I suspect they would want to have the ability to monitor PD in that capacity again. One has to wonder if Wyckoff may go to Central as they are discussing closing their dispatch due to the loss of Midland Park. I also hear Central from time to time using TAC3 155.8425 NAC632 at night for DL runs and sometimes for traffic details during the day, I do not believe there is a repeater on 155.8425 seems to be only P25 Simplex unlike 158.7300 which I'm guessing will be P25 with a repeater when the work you say is completed. I do know Wyckoff had budgeted for new radios since their mobiles and portables are 15 years old, unlike Midland Park whose officers have 7 Year Old HT1250s so if they decide to go to Central they will have budgeted for replacement radios and will be ahead of the game in that situation. Not all of Wyckoffs Infrastructure is 15 years old however. They replaced the 20 year old Centra Comm II dispatch consoles with Zetron Integrator RD Touch Screens which are similar to what Central uses, in addition I believe there is a voter system installed as well in the past 10 years after the Cedar Hill Tower by 208 was added. The Fire Department was using 154.3475 192.8 with a Repeater during the Labor Day Fireworks, the Ops frequency 150.7825 does not appear to be the input with or without an additional PL tone.

 

[railtrailbiker]

Yes Central uses 154.3100 for Fire and EMS Ops, which Midland Park had used with them prior to going to Wyckoff. Midland Park FD has MCS2000s in the Chiefs Vehicle and 1st Due Engine to Monitor Police Only, So I suspect they would want to have the ability to monitor PD in that capacity again. One has to wonder if Wyckoff may go to Central as they are discussing closing their dispatch due to the loss of Midland Park. I also hear Central from time to time using TAC3 155.8425 NAC632 at night for DL runs and sometimes for traffic details during the day, I do not believe there is a repeater on 155.8425 seems to be only P25 Simplex unlike 158.7300 which I'm guessing will be P25 with a repeater when the work you say is completed. I do know Wyckoff had budgeted for new radios since their mobiles and portables are 15 years old, unlike Midland Park whose officers have 7 Year Old HT1250s so if they decide to go to Central they will have budgeted for replacement radios and will be ahead of the game in that situation. Not all of Wyckoffs Infrastructure is 15 years old however. They replaced the 20 year old Centra Comm II dispatch consoles with Zetron Integrator RD Touch Screens which are similar to what Central uses, in addition I believe there is a voter system installed as well in the past 10 years after the Cedar Hill Tower by 208 was added. The Fire Department was using 154.3475 192.8 with a Repeater during the Labor Day Fireworks, the Ops frequency 150.7825 does not appear to be the input with or without an additional PL tone.

Yes; 155.8425 is simplex at this time. This frequency had been used only by Glen Rock's DPW. Glen Rock and Ridgewood PD "tactical operations" were, for many years, taking place on 153.7850 (SPEN 4) - it was referred to locally as "Channel 3." However, it was accidentally discovered that neither community had an FCC license to conduct base station operations on SPEN 4, so base station operations there were halted. It was rumored that all new VHF frequency coordination requests were frozen indefinitely by the State, so it was decided to use an existing licensed frequency - 155.8425. Initially, the only authorized base station location was at a school in Glen Rock; coverage was poor. Now they're authorized to use the water tank on Glen Avenue in Midland Park, so the coverage should be much better.

The long range plan calls for the conversion of 158.7300 to a P25 repeater (actually, the repeater will be multi-mode - capable of both digital and analog). Many of the new receivers are in place, but there are still several very poor reception areas. Also, dispatch consoles had to be replaced at Central because whatever consoles they had were not compatible with P25. I'm not sure if the new consoles are installed yet. The P25 migration will not take place until: 1) all fiber lines are installed, 2) all new receivers are in place, 3) new consoles at Central are installed, 4) both communities are satisfied with the analog coverage.

As for Wyckoff coming to Central, I question how busy 158.7300 would be if Glen Rock, Midland Park, Ridgewood, and Wyckoff were all using the same primary repeater. If Wyckoff is going to move over, they should make the decision quickly - then Midland Park and Wyckoff may be able to continue using 158.7825 in analog mode, via existing base station infrastructure, with Central just doing the dispatching instead of Wyckoff.

I guess Wyckoff's other options include Bergen County, Mahwah, Allendale, or Franklin Lakes. Not sure if any of them besides the County are equipped to handle another municipality. I believe Midland Park investigated a couple of them and wound up signing on with Central.

 

[Alarmguy]

Yes I was aware of the SPEN 4 fiasco. As You say Wyckoff's options are limited. Franklin Lakes is P25 UHF as you know, and Allendale and Mahwah although they too share borders with Wyckoff they are UHF Analog. Wyckoff would have to upgrade to UHF For Police Operations and possibly P25 if they went to Franklin Lakes. Wyckoff dispatched Franklin Lakes PD on 158.7300 back in the 60s, both towns have similar non emergency Police phone numbers which were in use for calls before 911. Franklin Lakes then moved to 159.0900 most likely due to the overpopulation on 158.7300 back in the day. You are correct about adding a 4th town on 158.7300. It would add alot of radio traffic. 158.7300 is pretty busy with radio traffic from just Ridgewood and Glen Rock alone. Wyckoff's 158.7825 frequency is not very busy like 158.7300 is, sometimes there are hours of silence during the night.

 

[railtrailbiker]

Yes I was aware of the SPEN 4 fiasco. As You say Wyckoff's options are limited. Franklin Lakes is P25 UHF as you know, and Allendale and Mahwah although they too share borders with Wyckoff they are UHF Analog. Wyckoff would have to upgrade to UHF For Police Operations and possibly P25 if they went to Franklin Lakes. Wyckoff dispatched Franklin Lakes PD on 158.7300 back in the 60s, both towns have similar non emergency Police phone numbers which were in use for calls before 911. Franklin Lakes then moved to 159.0900 most likely due to the overpopulation on 158.7300 back in the day. You are correct about adding a 4th town on 158.7300. It would add alot of radio traffic. 158.7300 is pretty busy with radio traffic from just Ridgewood and Glen Rock alone. Wyckoff's 158.7825 frequency is not very busy like 158.7300 is, sometimes there are hours of silence during the night.

Well, if they do change from 158.7825, they will most likely need to install at least one or two satellite receivers. Maybe the County has acceptable portable coverage within the township borders, but I can't imagine that either Mahwah, Franklin Lakes, Allendale, or Central does.

I'm still at a loss as to why Glen Rock and Ridgewood are pushing so hard to convert their main repeater to P25. Do they expect better coverage, or were they sold a bill of goods by a radio salesperson? They got zero funds from the Federal Grant they applied for (it required P25 equipment be purchased).

 

[railtrailbiker]

Ridgewood officials say "no deal has been reached"

Ridgewood Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld announced publicly on Wednesday, 09/17 that no official deal had yet been reached with Midland Park regarding the provision of 911 call answering and radio dispatch services to the Borough of Midland Park by Northwest Bergen Central Dispatch (NWBCD). NWBCD is jointly owed by the Borough of Glen Rock and the Village of Ridgewood.

It is rumored that NWBCD's manager did not keep either Sonenfeld or Lenora Benjamin, Glen Rock's Borough Administrator, "in the loop" regarding discussions with Midland Park. Pricing seems to be a major concern.

Governing bodies of both Glen Rock and Ridgewood are now reviewing the plan and will have their respective municipal attorneys draft a contract for review and signature by Midland Park officials.

 

[jaymatt1978]

A few things, just based on the history of Midland Park's radio usage/dispatching methods and what the pattern is when towns move to Central for dispatching. ALSO one thing should be noted, if you want to get technical, "Central" does the dispatching NOT "Ridgewood". Central is located in Ridgewood Police HQ and dispatches towns incuding, Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Montvale Park Ridge, Oradell, Woodcliff Lake, Etc. Every town, besides Oradell who went from VHF to UHF, had and kept their own frequencies (because they ALL have and retain their own licenses on all their frequencies) and dispatching protocols when they switched to Ridgewood. So basically they only changed the physical location of their dispatching center. What makes Midland Park unique is they were with Ridgewood before they split with Wyckoff AND only have a license on 158.7300. So they have three options, 1) switch back to 158.7300 (they already have it in their radios) 2) get t heir own license on 158.7825 (very unlikely but doable, although no town has shared a frequency with another town AND HAD yet another town dispatch them) OR 3) Get a new frequency all together. I was going to say option three was the least likely but Option 2 has the potentialk for a major turf war

 

[railtrailbiker]

A few things, just based on the history of Midland Park's radio usage/dispatching methods and what the pattern is when towns move to Central for dispatching. ALSO one thing should be noted, if you want to get technical, "Central" does the dispatching NOT "Ridgewood". Central is located in Ridgewood Police HQ and dispatches towns incuding, Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Montvale Park Ridge, Oradell, Woodcliff Lake, Etc. Every town, besides Oradell who went from VHF to UHF, had and kept their own frequencies (because they ALL have and retain their own licenses on all their frequencies) and dispatching protocols when they switched to Ridgewood. So basically they only changed the physical location of their dispatching center. What makes Midland Park unique is they were with Ridgewood before they split with Wyckoff AND only have a license on 158.7300. So they have three options, 1) switch back to 158.7300 (they already have it in their radios) 2) get t heir own license on 158.7825 (very unlikely but doable, although no town has shared a frequency with another town AND HAD yet another town dispatch them) OR 3) Get a new frequency all together. I was going to say option three was the least likely but Option 2 has the potentialk for a major turf war

"Central" is NOT located at Ridgewood PD HQ. Ridgewood PD HQ is located at Ridgewood Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. "Central" is located at 30 Garber Square, Ridgewood. Perhaps you're confused because Ridgewood PD HQ had been located at 30 Garber Square temporarily several years ago while damage caused by Hurricane Floyd was being repaired at Village Hall.