MOTOROLA will create a state digital radio network

[4phun]

MOTOROLA will create a state radio network
Richmond Times Dispatch - Richmond,VA,USA
... to design and build a new communications network to be shared by 20 state agencies, as well as by local public-safety and emergency workers across Virginia. ... http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid31776733711&path=!news&s45855934842>

MOTOROLA wins $329 million Virginia radio deal
Washington Technology - Vienna,VA,USA
... It will replace the existing analog communications system used by State Police and other agencies with a VHF digital, high-band, trunked system that integrates ... http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/1_1/state/24053-1.html

It looks like a big chunk of Virgina will look like SC's Palmetto 800 Smartzone System in the near future.
I need almost two banks in the PRO-96 to monitor P-800 as it has almost a hundred unique control channels. At least the PRO-96 does an excellent job of monitoring this type of system as you drive through the state.

 

[precoislen]

Cool...
Virginia needs to upgrade from the antiquated way of doing things and get off of VHF..

I think that system got built back in Thomas Jefferson's days....

I wonder what will become of the SIRS system?

 

[4phun]

Cool...
Virginia needs to upgrade from the antiquated way of doing things and get off of VHF..

I think that system got built back in Thomas Jefferson's days....

I wonder what will become of the SIRS system?

Did you miss the point that this will be a VHF DIGITAL radio system?

Alabama is building a similar system for their state right now.

Alabama has an issue with being able to grab the VHF frequencies needed to finish their VHF DIGITAL system since VHF covers such a large area.

 

[precoislen]

Ahhh..... I missed the VHF digital part......my apologies.... it still should be better than what is currently in place.

Appreciate you pointing out my oversight

 

[dtscho]

Unlike the situation in Alabama, Virginia has had their VHF-High splinter frequencies licensed for years. Most of the frequencies are in the 158-159 MHz range. The trunked sites might also incorporate the existing 158-159 frequencies as well.

Dave

 

[appalachianscanner]

More Reasons

Im pretty sure that the Antennas, Duplexers, and Existing PA's at the repeater sites would be compatible with the new system....

 

[N_Jay]

Re: More Reasons

Im pretty sure that the Antennas, Duplexers, and Existing PA's at the repeater sites would be compatible with the new system....

You would have to check the RFP (I have not read it) but typically a project of this scale does not try to reuse old equipment due to quallity assurance issues.

 

[appalachianscanner]

True

True, good point there, I was thinking too conservatively...politics HA

 

[tglendye]

Is this system going to make it easier for VSP to communicate with local police, fire & rescue? If not, I don't see where the interoperability comes into play, unless the is a major incident that involves multiple state agencies. Even then, there are going to be many locals on the scene. It is nice for the state agencies to be able to communicate easier, but in my experience it seems the locals have a "need" to communicate with VSP, that often aren't able to unless on SIRS (which is LEO's only).

It surprised me, I thought this system was long ago approved, anyway?

TG

 

[Thunderbolt]

I think that system got built back in Thomas Jefferson's days....

Prior to that, George Washington used HF CW for tactical communications to cross the Delaware. :wink:

 

[n4jri]

My understanding is that localities may have the option of participating in the system, and that each locality will be provided one system radio at no charge.

I see that Motorola got the contract. But I'm curious to know if the system will be a standard Motorola VHF trunk.

 

[billsblots]

All of the equipment will be new as Motorola would not warrantee the new system otherwise. Interoperability will not take a quantum leap forward...the interconnect between each county or local government will be one voice line into the nearest VSP Division dispatch center, where they will have to request that the Dispatcher manually cross connect to a talk group. In fact, this will be slower than the current method of talking local cop SIRS radio directly to VSP trooper SIRS radio on 39.54. Some troopers just got tired of monitoring SIRS so refused to use it. SIRS will continue to be used county-county on 39.54, and don't discount the VSP continuing to use it in some capacity.

That interconnect line will likely be a leased line of some sort, probably not new STARS equipment at the local level. The method this $350 million (starting figure only) system is using to establish "interoperability" with localities could have been done at anytime in the last 30 years had anyone really cared about interoperability. STARS has latched onto this buzzword in the last two years to help sell it to politicians who don't understand much about radios.

The majority of state agencies' radios statewide will not be changed, primariliy only the state police and some smaller agencies will be going to the 154-159 MHz digital mobile radios. The other heavy users in the state are retaining their current systems because of STARS refusal to demand from Motorola 95% coverage in each county, and lack of capacity to handle all state users. This is another fact that most politicians do not understand...yet.

Where this will help localized comm most is in metropolitan areas where the VSP trooper 800 MHz portable radio from his vehicle repeater can be programmed to local law enforcement 800 mhz trunking system talk groups. Localities will add VSP trooper portables to their system or create special new talk groups. This will be perhaps the greatest interoperability benefit from the new system which actually could have been accomplished by state police merely purchasing 800 mhz portables to work with local 800 trunking systems.

 

[n4jri]

So I take it that troopers will still have vehicular repeaters, but will abandon 458.35 for an 800 allocation, and portables that will be compatible with the localities. Would the local 800 TG's set aside for VSP also be patched into their VHF trunk?

The other question surrounds the type of system. Will this be a normal Type II VHF trunk? Offset = 154.xxx5, step 7.5?

Many thanks. I look forward to hearing more.

73/Allen (N4JRI)

 

[billsblots]

UR right about the vehicle repeater, it will connect the mobile VHF digital trunking radio to the trooper using an 800 MHz portable. The 800 mhz portable will be able to enter localities trunking systems to talk on their existing trunk groups. The localities, or even cross-county regional systems, could set up new trunk groups for the state police to allow them to talk 800 portable to 800 portable over a county or wide area, without even using their stars mobile radios. This would have to be set up by MOU and agreed to by the localities, as it would use their frequency and equipment resources, and that option would only be possible in the metro areas, i.e. culpeper to arlington, richond/henrico/chesterfield, va beach. in the majority of the state there would have to be the awkward manual cross connect done on demand if they wanted to talk vsp - local system.

The state police have had these 7.5 khz frequencies licensed for several years but they have been unused, requiring annual requests to the FCC for an extension of time to build out the system while vsp hoarded the frequencies. it is supposed to be apco 25 standard so ideally those with pro-96 will be able to continue to monitor state police traffic, another fact often masked by the state when promoting the system to the politicians. True that encryption will be easier and more secure than ever before where they will truly use encryption, but the impression was often left lingering that merely being digital will make it secure. I am betting that you scanner smart guys will already have the freqs and trunk group info figured out and posted here before Division I is even finished being installed and in troopers' cars.

 

[MOTORHEAD3902]

The fellow I spoke with at STARS advises the portables will be XTS3000's. He is in a position to know the details, being lead engineer. The impression I got was that there would be a STARS mobile in each car along with a convertacom type affair for the portable. Also, it doesn't appear that the current SIRS radio will be eliminated, as this frequency's use is not being discontinued, just supplemented by the new patch-up system. It would also appear that VCALL and the VTACS will become more widely used.
Now that the system has begun, it doesn't sound so crazy, does it?

waiting for the next latest and greatest
/BA/

 

[W4UVV]

STARS & SIRS Interoperability

Good luck. Manassas and Newport News cancelled their SIRS licenses.
Richmond City and some other Metro areas don't monitor 39.54 mhz. The SIRS user's in central Va. I hear are county SO's and smaller city PDs. So it appears Va. state users will continue with a patchwork comm system even with STARS although it should be an improvement over their present systems.

With some operational SIRS fixed site antenna installations bordering on being awful, it is no wonder that some counties/cities/mobiles have problems communicating. When a county SO has a 195 ft. radio tower with a SIRS ground plane antenna mounted at the 30 ft. height with mature pine trees at the 80-100 ft. height surrounding the site, the result is rather poor SIRS ground wave coverage. STARS won't change that situation.

Existing VSP tower/microwave sites will be used as transmitter sites where possible. Other targeted STARS users are: Forestry, F&G, Marine Resources, ABC, and VDOT.

 

[Samuel]

Part of the reason SIRS isnt used heavily in the DC area is because most of the EOC to EOC traffic is on the PMARS repeater. Granted this doesnt help the trooper on the road since he/she doesnt currently have a 800 Mhz radio but it works for the EOCs better than SIRS

 

[billsblots]

Don't know what you mean by 'targeted users' of STARS. Forestry and VDOT and others are not participating in STARS for internal communications because of coverage, capacity, cost and other issues. This equates to about 85% of the Commonwealth's non state police radios that are not participating in the system. Corrections will also maintain their current internal system. Only a very small handful of users in those agencies will be getting STARS radios to be able to talk to State Police, not for internal agency communications. This is not really a 'state agencies' radio system as it is a 'state police' radio system. The big majority of Commonwealth owned radios will continue with their current system and not participate in STARS.

 

[W4UVV]

STARS users

A target user is just that. The state entities mentioned originally were envisioned to be users on the new state communication system. If that proposal has been OBE (overcome by events) then the STARS system basically will be a VSP communications system upgrade.
I am not aware of any public announcement that the other state agencies will not be STARS users. I don't know that to be a fact. Maybe I missed a newspaper article or other public announcement. Perhaps you can cite a public access source for that non-participation such as a webpage announcement, a revised RFP (Request for Proposal) etc. other than word of mouth opinion.
If VDOT is not participating then why does the state continue to renew the state licensed 158-159 mhz. frequencies, i.e., WPLX203, WPMP844, WPMP845, WPMP847, WPMS781...783, etc. among others for VDOT use? The other 158-159 mhz. frequencies are licensed to the state for VSP use.
Personally I don't think other agencies should participate for reasons previously posted.

 

[billsblots]

thanks for the good questions, om.
You will not see any public announcement by anyone that they are not participating in STARS. Those decisions were made at the Secretariat level a year ago or more by the larger radio users-other than vsp. Their primary internal comms will remain on their own legacy systems. You will never see an announcement from the stars office that 'oh by the way, the $350 million does not include a majority of the commonwealth agencies' radio users.' i'm fairly sure your elected representatives aren't aware of it either, the ones that approved the $350 Mill.

The VSP got the individual departments to pay for the frequency coordination and licensing of all available VHF freqs some years ago, thus the different departments' names originally appeared on the licenses. VSP was supposed to be getting the administrative paperwork to the FCC to change 'ownership' of those call signs you very correctly listed as belonging to another state agency. their name on the license is not an indication that they are converting to stars, they are not, it is merely an administrative chore yet to be completed.

Further, without any coordination with VHF users like Forestry, VSP got Gov Gilmore to sign an executive order giving the STARS project primary use of the different state agencies frequency assets (vhf primarily used in stars of course). Forestry, for instance, may have to swap around their existing frequencies to accomodate the encroaching stars network to avoid interference with it. Forestry will soon convert their vhf system to narrowband vhf fm to comply with fcc directives. their 1200 or so radios will be narrowband fm, with only about an additional 50 stars radios, and those to talk to the vsp.

good questions.