NYS Likely To Scrap Open Sky

Status
Not open for further replies.

SkyPager

Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2004
Messages
197
Location
Arnold, MD
These two news articles describe how the State of New York is potentially going to pull the plug on a $2 billion statewide radio communications network after testing in Erie County shows the system doesn't live up to expectations

From the Buffalo News August 21, 2008: http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/419611.html

From the Buffalo News August 22, 2008: http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/420589.html

Additional link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/nyregion/22radio.html?_r=1&ei=5070&emc=eta1&oref=slogin
 
Last edited by a moderator:

sc800

Active Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2007
Messages
632
What Next?

Say NYS does the right thing and scraps OpenSky, what would happen next? Do you think they would let the counties build their own systems, and maybe put in a few I/O channels/TG's; or would thea new vendor (Motorola) step up and try another statewide system?
 

CqDx

Member
Joined
May 15, 2003
Messages
1,220
Location
US
Say NYS does the right thing and scraps OpenSky, what would happen next? Do you think they would let the counties build their own systems, and maybe put in a few I/O channels/TG's; or would thea new vendor (Motorola) step up and try another statewide system?

Depending on who has the most money, with our empty pockets, I doubted we will see a statewide P25 system anytime soon.

Goodbye digital, Hello lowband!
 

sc800

Active Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2007
Messages
632
Does NYS even really NEED a statewide system?

Can anyone name me an incident in which

1. Police officers will need to be able to talk with an officer from the other side of the state
AND
2. The communications needs would not be better served by landline, cell/SatCom phones, or NYSPIN.

The ONLY one I can think of is if a major incident happens right in front of a unit on an extradition/transport/in another area on training etc... . Even then I would rather call it in on a cell phone, and know a unit will be dispatched quickly, as opposed to calling it in on my statewide system and hope a unit is listening.

FYI. The US's most powerful nukes have a 30 mile destructive range, including areas of light damage, for those who would say nukes.
 

blantonl

Founder and CEO
Staff member
Super Moderator
Joined
Dec 9, 2000
Messages
11,101
Location
San Antonio, Whitefish, New Orleans
If MA/COM was smart they would salvage the contract by proposing their P25 solution and deploy using the common, recommended, Project-25 set of technologies.

If they are luckly they could get some of the back-end infrastructure with their VIDA IP solution and then the state, and all agencies, could bid out the subscriber units.
 

bezking

Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2006
Messages
2,656
Location
On the Road
If MA/COM was smart they would salvage the contract by proposing their P25 solution and deploy using the common, recommended, Project-25 set of technologies.

If they are luckly they could get some of the back-end infrastructure with their VIDA IP solution and then the state, and all agencies, could bid out the subscriber units.


Honestly- I don't think that that would matter at this point; they screwed it up so royally that NYS is just about done with them.
 

bpckty1

Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2000
Messages
845
Arkansas has a fairly good statewide system, AWIN. Perhaps NY can talk to AR, or are they still upset that Hilliary chose NYC instead of LR for her new home and are avoiding anyone from AR?

;^>
 

iamhere300

Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2004
Messages
1,346
Location
Chappell Hill TX
AWIN is certainly better than the old arkansas system, but it is STILL a propiatary system. Lets go with
an open standards system, not something only one or two manufacturers can sell end user units on. (one can by EFJ radios to go on the Arkansas system, but they are not cost effective because of their licensing agreements with Motorola)
 

Jimmy252

Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2006
Messages
557
Location
Oakland County, MI
Now only if Oakland MI will scrap OpenSky before they dig thereselves any deeper.

But i do have to admit, theyve had more progress in the last few months than the last 8 years...
 

N4DES

Retired 0598 Czar ÆS Ø
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
2,386
Location
South FL
Get a load of this....

http://interface.audiovideoweb.com/lnk/va91win1520/OFT_081308_SWN.wmv/play.asx

The whole meeting up close and personal.

They are trying to deploy the same technology for the city's of West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, and the Town of Palm Beach. I was told by an insider that they had to send all of the portables back for a mandatory recall of firmware and audio control boards.
 

N4DES

Retired 0598 Czar ÆS Ø
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
2,386
Location
South FL
Bad link? I got an error...
Just like the radio system...:lol::lol::lol:
"The server received invalid data from the client on the control connection."

The link worked for me twice. It's not broken.

M
 

ElroyJetson

I AM NOT YOUR TECH SUPPPORT.
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 8, 2002
Messages
3,687
Location
DO NOT ASK ME FOR HELP PROGRAMMING YOUR RADIO. NO.
By now M/A-Com is really, really regretting acquiring OpenSky from AMP Wireless Systems. It's just biting them hard in the ass at every possible opportunity.

I personally assisted in breaking down over 2000 brand new, in the box OpenSky mobile radio control heads for scrap,
because I'm friends with the guy who had the M/A-Com scrap contract, because they were all defective in the sense that they couldn't take a firmware upgrade that was needed. They had to make all new heads instead. And M/A-Com paid to have them scrapped.

If you want reliable M/A-Com systems, stick to EDACS. That's a well proven system.

Florida's SLERS system, which is a networked ESK, encrypted variant of EDACS, is great near the
sites, but farther away from the sites, it sucks. Its prime problem is simply that it doesn't have enough
sites to support clear communications everywhere it needs to.

Florida is covered in a network of SLERS microwave backbone links. Find any tower that has (usually)
two 6 foot microwave radomes pointing in one direction and two more on the back side of the tower,
and you'll be in sight of the other end of the link from that height. Hundreds of sites, and they're all
for the SLERS system. It's insane. And for all that, coverage still sucks in many places.

I think the contract officers with Florida are really starting to regret scrapping the Astro system.


Elroy
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top