Ohio: Radios connect deputies statewide

[digitalanalog]

Radios connect deputies statewide
New MARCS connects first responders wirelessly

MARION — If a natural disaster strikes Marion, Sheriff Tim Bailey and his staff will have the capability to ask other Ohio agencies for help.

The rest of the story.
http://www.marionstar.com/article/20121224/NEWS01/312240007/Communication-Check-

 

[quarterwave]

"MARION — If a natural disaster strikes Marion, Sheriff Tim Bailey and his staff will have the capability to ask other Ohio agencies for help." - They have always had that capability: Telephone, LEERN and back in the day...39.58. Might be easier now, but I love how they make sound like they are "no longer living in a cave".

"Now, he won’t have to worry about losing contact in a big storm or natural disaster." - Right because MARCS CANNOT BE TAKEN DOWN!!!!! (Evil Laugh). Although more hardy, I wouldn't bank on it.

 

[mlmummert]

Yes but will anyone know how to use these capabilities?


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[rapidcharger]

I'd love to offer my opinion on the article but I will only be lambasted for not living in Ohio.

I will just say that the whole threat of a natural disaster would appear to sell infrastructure to cops just as easily as it sells ham radios to hams.

Its funny that now that there is finally a dual band motorola that would have enabled interoperability of conventional analog systems on two different bands via the use of a channel selector knob, now every agency in the state moved to the same system. As Homer Simpson would say, "Doh!!!"

 

[Swipesy]

I'd love to offer my opinion on the article but I will only be lambasted for not living in Ohio.

I give you complete absolution to post anything you would like about Ohio, lol!!!!

 

[kb2vxa]

It has nothing to do with Ohio per se since the radios worked in the Gulf area after Katrina. That should tell you they're not infrastructure dependent so speculate as you will what sort of radios work without a fixed radio system.
"He said part of the system’s infrastructure is in downtown Marion. There is a MARCS antenna on State Street."
That should confuse you, since there were and are no MARCS antennas in the Gulf States how did the radios work there? There, now your absolution is complete and you're free to discuss while I get the popcorn.

 

[quarterwave]

Right on, hence my preaching that these people get handed equipment and either are not trained, do not retain the training or simply think they know everything. I think North Carolina's online training for VIPER is a good example of trying to make sure knowledge is accessible. These networks are useless if you have to call someone to figure out how to do something each time you need it. I go back to features of a CCII console an agency had, only 1 dispatcher knew how to use it, the others just pressed the talk button.

While this MARCS system is really nice...there doesn't seem to be any REAL simplex capability for when the ship sails into the fan. At least in conventional, if the repeater blows you have talkaround, and even on simplex if the base is down, you can still go mobile to mobile and someone will hear you. Now if each site has a conventional repeater channel, and the mobile/portables had repeater and t/a on one or more of the national 800 public safety channels it would be a step in the right direction, but I haven't been able to have anyone actually tell me that exists either.

 

[rapidcharger]

Right on, hence my preaching that these people get handed equipment and either are not trained, do not retain the training or simply think they know everything. I think North Carolina's online training for VIPER is a good example of trying to make sure knowledge is accessible. These networks are useless if you have to call someone to figure out how to do something each time you need it. I go back to features of a CCII console an agency had, only 1 dispatcher knew how to use it, the others just pressed the talk button.

While this MARCS system is really nice...there doesn't seem to be any REAL simplex capability for when the ship sails into the fan. At least in conventional, if the repeater blows you have talkaround, and even on simplex if the base is down, you can still go mobile to mobile and someone will hear you. Now if each site has a conventional repeater channel, and the mobile/portables had repeater and t/a on one or more of the national 800 public safety channels it would be a step in the right direction, but I haven't been able to have anyone actually tell me that exists either.

They probably thought "Why bother... 800mhz simplex... that's an exercise in futility anyway"

 

[quarterwave]

I agree, but I am not sure anyone even entertained the idea. One issue I have is that many of the rural agencies tossed out their VHF gear, regardless of is it was their main radio, or a secondary or whatever starting several years ago, and then narrowbanding was about the last straw on that. So these agencies have their main radios and nothing else.

At one time the state of Ohio had...I will guess....over 10,000, 100 watt GE MASTR II radios for LEERN (VHF State wide interop). Now...just a few local agencies have it only due to VHF being their main, and the State says they are keeping it around, but they would rather put all their eggs in the 800 trunked basket.

I don't care what they want to use daily, but I think any law enforcement vehicle in the state should have to have a 50+ watt VHF analog radio programmed with at least 2 statewide channels, mandatory.

 

[rapidcharger]

In my area, the cops still keep a VHF radio, then again everyone here's on a different kind of system and on different bands so good ol' VHF is all they got for interoperability. It's a shame they moved away from VHF to begin with but it's pretty obvious now that their reasons for doing so had nothing to do with being able to interoperate.

I guess in Ohio, they'll need some outside assistance if their radios go down.

 

[quarterwave]

There are about 12 or so command trucks around, bought a few years ago with grant money and deployed by BSSA I believe. We have one locally, but it seldom sees the light of day. They built a barn to put it in, and I got to see, the guy told me the batteries are always dead and it has dust on it.

This all goes back to training and participation. Those radios are going to need constant attention, programming updates and swaps if they are to be ready and effective for use in any 5-10 county radius at any time. The MARCS radios likely need many updates. Now I can't say for sure that it has NOT be done at all, but contacts tell me only one guy got training on how to use it, so if they need it, he has to set it up. There are plenty of instances to use it, if only they take it to county fairs and show it off, use if for a local "base" and setup some radios for a repeater for security there. Do they? No. No exercise to be ready. The Sheriff recently said that someone should have called when they had trouble at a local fire scene with communications....by the time they got it there it would have been hours too late. And, it would not have helped with their issue, which was essentially a programming consistency and poor battery issue on portables. But it all goes back to lack of knowledge...you can own a mechanics tool set, but its worth nothing if you can't use them.

 

[rapidcharger]

There are about 12 or so command trucks around, bought a few years ago with grant money and deployed by BSSA I believe. We have one locally, but it seldom sees the light of day. They built a barn to put it in, and I got to see, the guy told me the batteries are always dead and it has dust on it.

This all goes back to training and participation. Those radios are going to need constant attention, programming updates and swaps if they are to be ready and effective for use in any 5-10 county radius at any time. The MARCS radios likely need many updates. Now I can't say for sure that it has NOT be done at all, but contacts tell me only one guy got training on how to use it, so if they need it, he has to set it up. There are plenty of instances to use it, if only they take it to county fairs and show it off, use if for a local "base" and setup some radios for a repeater for security there. Do they? No. No exercise to be ready. The Sheriff recently said that someone should have called when they had trouble at a local fire scene with communications....by the time they got it there it would have been hours too late. And, it would not have helped with their issue, which was essentially a programming consistency and poor battery issue on portables. But it all goes back to lack of knowledge...you can own a mechanics tool set, but its worth nothing if you can't use them.

Yep, all the equipment in the world doesn't do a lick of good if nobody knows how to use it and it doesn't get maintained. One thing I couldn't help but notice is they spend all the millions on radios and infrastructure but when it comes to hiring people to keep it all running, not so much.

But I hear some other company is going to make untold millions offering a solution... encrypted HF radios.