Monroe Evening News article
New radio system going online - 12/13/2004
http://www.monroenews.com/articles/2004/12/13/news/news03.txt
The 800 MHz radios will be phased in and the conversion should be complete in February, officials said.
By ANDY ROGERS
A new local emergency radio system went active today, the first part of a phase-in that could convert the entire county over to the 800 MHz radio platform by the end of February.
Sgt. David Thompson of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said this morning the system has joined the Michigan Public Safety Communication System - an assembly of 800 MHz radio systems located throughout Michigan.
The assimilation means Monroe County law enforcement will begin using the new signal today as radio installation crews replace the radio devices in squad cars with new 800 MHz-compatible units. That process will last until early next year, Sgt. Thompson said.
"Today they are going to begin switching out the mobile radios that are in the patrol cars, starting with the small police agencies," Sgt. Thompson said.
Also expected today is a report of coverage testing performed on the system in November. Sgt. Thompson said results of the testing are generally good, but there are some areas of the county that did not pass the testing. Many of those areas were located around Bedford Township.
"The system isn't going to be perfect, but once we get all of the kinks worked out, I'm confident that it will be a huge advantage to the county," said Sgt. Frank Atkinson of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office Traffic Services Division.
Throughout the entire county, however, the system exceeded the 95-percent in-building coverage requirement, he said, The state requires a radio signal strong enough for transmissions to penetrate the buildings of a particular construction grade. In some instances, Sgt. Thompson said the system might have failed the test in particular areas of the county because buildings of a heavier construction type were selected for testing purposes.
"There were some grids down in the Bedford area that failed," he said. "We went into some of the buildings that were probably (heavier construction type) and tested and it didn't work," he explained.
"We were only allowed to test one spot within a grid, so we could only select one building, so I'm putting together a list of the places that we went into and tested in."
He will compare that list to a map of grid cells where coverage testing revealed deficiencies.
Once Sgt. Thompson receives the final testing report today, he said a new wave of tests would be scheduled for the area to better determine the radio system's performance there.
He likened the new 800 MHz signal to a cellular phone signal that may work inside some buildings, but not all buildings.
Initial testing data shows the system achieved a 97-percent rate of success. Among 1,244 5/8 mile grid squares tested throughout the entire county, 1,211 passed coverage testing and 33 failed - a rate that exceeds the state mandate of 95-percent in-building coverage.
Until the transition of all county radio terminals to the 800 MHz system is complete, the current emergency radio system will be used simultaneously with the new system.
"Central Dispatch is going to patch the main (800 MHz channels) of the new system with the channels that we use in the existing system, so when an officer calls Central Dispatch, it doesn't matter what system they are using to call," Sgt. Thompson said.
"Central Dispatch will be able to hear you and the officers, it doesn't matter what system they're on, they'll be able to her the transmission."
Channels that will be patched over on both systems will include the City of Monroe's main emergency channel, the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN) channel, the county's main fire frequency channel and the outgoing Central Dispatch channel, he said.
Sgt. Thompson said installation of the new 800 MHz terminals in emergency response vehicles could be completed by the end of February.
