Motorola Trying to Sell Loudoun Crap it Doesn't Need

[freqhopping]

http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2008/12/12/news/fp336radio121008.txt


We don't need a new system! Why are they even considering one much less worrying about price?
I sure as hell don't want to pay for a new system. The current system works fine with the exception of a few well-known dead spots. It is fully interoperable with all the surrounding jurisdictions except for maybe Clarke Co. I'm not sure how they operate with Clarke since they upgraded to P25.

Does Chief Pozzo not know Jefferson has a new system and we do patch together very effectively? Both LCSO and FD side have done this.

Does anybody know something I don't about why we "need" a new system?

 

[mike_s104]

http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2008/12/12/news/fp336radio121008.txt


We don't need a new system! Why are they even considering one much less worrying about price?
I sure as hell don't want to pay for a new system. The current system works fine with the exception of a few well-known dead spots. It is fully interoperable with all the surrounding jurisdictions except for maybe Clarke Co. I'm not sure how they operate with Clarke since they upgraded to P25.

Does Chief Pozzo not know Jefferson has a new system and we do patch together very effectively? Both LCSO and FD side have done this.

Does anybody know something I don't about why we "need" a new system?

I'd live in Loudoun, but I do work there. Why not spend a fraction of the $36M on improvements like the dead spots? Wouldn't that make more sense?

Someone needs to speak when they meet again and ask why they even need it. I'd also hate to have them get something like ProVoice.

 

[rfburns]

I would expect them to reband 15 Mhz lower than their current frequencies. Why are they having to move voice channels to 700 Mhz? Is it because they need additional frequencies that are not available in the 853 area? Are 100% of their current Motorola radios of the same vintage and not capable of 700 Mhz? It seems like a lot of money just to move to 700. As for true interoperability without gateways, do the surrounding jurisdictions have Motorola radios that will do 700 or are they stuck with the same single band radios?

 

[freqhopping]

I'm fairly sure they are not getting rebanded to the 700 range. If the rebanding required new equipment/costs, Nextel should be covering that anways according their agreement with the FCC. I believe they currently use XTS3000s.

If Loudoun "needs" a new system certainly Fairfax should be buying a new system too. I haven't been able to find any news about Fairfax upgrading.

I just looked it up. Loudoun is in fact simply moving down 15mhz.

 

[tglendye]

... I'd also hate to have them get something like ProVoice.

Take it from me, Pro-voice sucks. At least on the scanner end. Not so bad on the responder end... overall though, it sucks!

- Todd
(unhappy in Rockingham County)

 

[JESSERABBIT]

Tyco "sole source". There is an old saying that goes something like "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I don't believe that the Tyco rep just "happened to passing by" "and happened in on this meeting". My question is who gave the rep a heads up and why? If it smells fishy, it probably is.

 

[tglendye]

Wow... I just read the link. $36M for an upgrade? For a system that is 6 years old? When's the next upgrade? 3 years after that for a price of $40M?

 

[dtab55]

I think its ironic that the tyco rep is saying that motorola is sole source, even thought the motorola system is p25 (which by definition is open source just tyco doesnt want to do it.) Pro-voice only seems to be sold by tyco, so whatever. I say Loudon should go for it, and when tyco drops there communication division and loudon has 5k paper weights for everyone, it will be nice. Doesnt anyone in Loudon have the internet and read all the problems with the other pro-voice systems???

 

[N_Jay]

. . . I'd also hate to have them get something like ProVoice.

Where does it say anything about Pro-Voice?:roll:

 

[N_Jay]

I think its ironic that the tyco rep is saying that motorola is sole source, even thought the motorola system is p25 (which by definition is open source just tyco doesnt want to do it.) Pro-voice only seems to be sold by tyco, so whatever. I say Loudon should go for it, and when tyco drops there communication division and loudon has 5k paper weights for everyone, it will be nice. Doesnt anyone in Loudon have the internet and read all the problems with the other pro-voice systems???

Again, Where does it say anything about Pro-Voice?

 

[mike_s104]

I think it's Tyco that sells the ProVoice systems.

 

[N_Jay]

I think it's Tyco that sells the ProVoice systems.

Yes, but that is not all they sell.

 

[JESSERABBIT]

In case anyone missed it, there is a thread in the Announcements & News Forum here. "Supervisors Rethink New Radio System". Sounds like someone there in Loudoun County is paying attention to what's going on, at least for now.

 

[ACU1000]

If Loudoun "needs" a new system certainly Fairfax should be buying a new system too.

I just looked it up. Loudoun is in fact simply moving down 15mhz.

I think this might be two-fold. The 15mhz move is likely part of rebanding (and if so, Nextel will be paying for what they are obligated to pay for... new combiners, reprogramming of capable radios, etc.)

And, yes, from what I understand from a reliable source (from a Fairfax agency) the surrouding counties are also buying new systems.

In my opinion they do need a new system, or an overhaul or something - but not pay for a 6 year system lifespan and bank roll it over 11 years (that part is stupid.)

 

[Samuel]

As for the surrounding counties I also heard some talk of a new radio system down here before the budget went bad but I never heard why we needed a new system when we have had ours only about 5 yrs...

 

[fireradio]

The "problem" is that Motorola is starting to phase-out support (i.e. stop making/selling replacement parts) for older 3.x and 4.x non-P25 systems (how convenient for Motorola -- keep in mind though, the hardware used in 3.x infastructure has been around since the mid-1980s). And since Arlington has already made the move to P25, every county in the area is now forced to upgrade to P25 subscribers. If you've already gone to the expense of upgrading every subscriber, then it becomes a lot easier to justify upgrading the system infastructure -- especially when the new 7.x (P25) systems are largely IP based, making deployment easier and allowing consoles and other equipment to easily be installed where it was once cost-prohibitive to do so.

I agree that nobody in this area truly needs a new system, but when your warranty contract expires and Motorola tells you that they no longer make a critical piece of equipment, you can only wait so long...

 

[rfburns]

If you've already gone to the expense of upgrading every subscriber, then it becomes a lot easier to justify upgrading the system infastructure

So you're saying that the subscriber radios have already been replaced and the $36.7 million is just for new infrastructure? Why didn't Loudoun buy 9600 P25 when they bought the current system? Was it for perceived interoperability issues or did Big M give them a smiling good deal on old 3600 analog equipment?

 

[fireradio]

I don't know the status of Loudoun's subscribers, but I'd be willing to guess that a lot of them are NOT P25 ready at this time and still need to be upgraded/replaced.

 

[N_Jay]

So you're saying that the subscriber radios have already been replaced and the $36.7 million is just for new infrastructure? Why didn't Loudoun buy 9600 P25 when they bought the current system? Was it for perceived interoperability issues or did Big M give them a smiling good deal on old 3600 analog equipment?

If the system is 6 years old, full P25 Trunking may not have been available.
(Or not available in the configuration they required)
(Or they desired to maintain a mixed analog/digital fleet of subscribers)

 

[rfburns]

If the system is 6 years old, full P25 Trunking may not have been available.

It should have been available then, but they may have ordered the system 2-3 years before the system went into service.