PG's new system

[ocguard]

ajpritch is close with his "roaming" suggestion. That is about as descriptive as I think I can say. Rest assured that most FDMA radios in the region will be interoperable with this system.

From reading up on the Motorola Phase II network, I deduce that the system will contain Phase II and Phase I repeaters. Calls that need to occur on Phase I will utilize Phase I repeaters. Calls that need to go out on Phase II will use Phase II repeaters. Call that need to be heard in both modes will "simulcast" (not quite the correct use of the term, but it's the term Motorola uses) on both Phase I and Phase II repeaters.

Also, Phase II (TDMA) is VERY difficult to simulcast (in it's ACTUAL meaning) due to the numerous aspects of sync and timing that need to occur, so Phase II repeaters will likely use different frequencies at different tower sites, while the Phase I portion of the system will likely be in a simulcast fashion.

 

[m4a3t]

There is information on the new county radio system in the latest Capitol Hill Monitor newsletter at this link:http://www.henney.com/chm/1208/chm1208.pdf

 

[baybum]

Again, not to question the accuracy or anyone's expertise or familiarity....but what is the source of this information?

I'm seeing words like "expected to be" and "anticipated", and "presumably" and "possibly".

This is why I ask.


Mike

 

[AES-256]

Again, not to question the accuracy or anyone's expertise or familiarity....but what is the source of this information?

I'm seeing words like "expected to be" and "anticipated", and "presumably" and "possibly".

This is why I ask.


Mike

I don't know how much clearer people can be then naming their source. All persons describing the system in detail on the thread have been briefed by Wayne McBride, The Deputy Director of Public Safety and Communications for the last year on how we all will interop with PG as the system goes live.

There will be interop/coordination talkgroups allowing FD/PD to gateway into the TDMA system using our FDMA 700/800MHz radios.

 

[baybum]

Maybe you can point me to the specific thread, within this forum, that mentions Mr. McBride.
And is it Mr. McBride using the words "expected to be" and "anticipated", and "presumably" and "possibly"?

 

[AlexC]

There is information on the new county radio system in the latest Capitol Hill Monitor newsletter at this link:http://www.henney.com/chm/1208/chm1208.pdf

Just an FYI - this will not be the first system to go live that supports FDMA/TDMA. A county in FL will probably be the very first to be turned on.

-Alex

 

[ka8ypy]

Maybe you can point me to the specific thread, within this forum, that mentions Mr. McBride.
And is it Mr. McBride using the words "expected to be" and "anticipated", and "presumably" and "possibly"?

No, there is no thread to point you to as Mr. McBride is not a member of this board nor would he post information on his soon to be new system. Some talkgroups will be set up as FDMA/TDMA, when a FDMA user accesses the talkgroup, the system will revert to FDMA, otherwise all talkgroups will primarily be TDMA.

As for the phrases mentioned above, since the system is still vaporware, the engineers are using those terms and Mr. McBride is passing on what information he deems other jurisdictions to know.

Is that enough for you or would you like the address and phone number for Mr. McBride so you may contact him yourself?

 

[baybum]

"I don't know how much clearer people can be then naming their source. All persons describing the system in detail on the thread have been briefed by Wayne McBride"


You're the one who said everybody was stating their source as Mr. McBride. I was merely asking, "where"?
My only interest is getting to the facts. And if people are posting information, they should at the very least, provide source information for the data they are relaying. Otherwise, it's rumor and gossip.

Thanks for the offer but I'm well aware of his number and where he works.

Be safe out there.

 

[ka8ypy]

"I don't know how much clearer people can be then naming their source. All persons describing the system in detail on the thread have been briefed by Wayne McBride"


You're the one who said everybody was stating their source as Mr. McBride. I was merely asking, "where"?
My only interest is getting to the facts. And if people are posting information, they should at the very least, provide source information for the data they are relaying. Otherwise, it's rumor and gossip.

Thanks for the offer but I'm well aware of his number and where he works.

Be safe out there.

Actually it wasn't me, but KB4KRO that made the first comment, I was simply replying to to your insistent question as to a thread you could read that named the source as Mr. McBride. Perhaps folks that work closely in the public safety communications community that have answered questions here don't feel they need to provide the source of their information or who they have sat in meetings with about it? But since it is Wayne's system and you know Wayne, then you should have been able to take that for the value it was?

Not starting anything just saying that the source is the source is the source.

You too.

 

[baybum]

How the heck does anybody know, these people posting, work "closely" in the public safety communications community?
People post on these forums all the time sounding like experts.
If you read my first post...I said I was not doubting anybody's expertise...I just thought providing a credible source was appropriate.

We've beat this to death and are way off topic.
Looking forward to more info...I'll really miss monitoring P.G., if that's the case.

 

[ka8ypy]

Agreed.

 

[gesucks]

LANHAM, Md. (WUSA) -- At the radio shop for Prince George's County they are worried the vote by the House of Representatives not to delay the upcoming transition from analog to digital television may not be long-lived. So why are people who have worked three years to design a new state of the art radio system for police and firefighters concerned about politics? And why are Prince George's County political leaders, who were supporters of candidate Barack Obama, lobbying against one of the initial proposals of his new adminstration.

The answer lies in the county's almost 40-year-old public safety radio system. It has left Prince George's as the only jurisdiction in the immediate Washington area without interoperability. The word came to the forefront after the attacks of September 11 and refers to the ability of first responders to communicate across jurisdictional lines.

Spending almost $80-million, Prince George's County is working on the final stages of the new radio system that would, among other things, solve the interoperability problem. But that system shares some of the same radio spectrum that is currently being used by analog TV transmissions. Prince George's County can't turn its system on until the DTV conversion happens.

A delay of even a few weeks could stall the county's radio system for a year. That's because fine tuning and testing of the radios has to be done when leaves are on the trees. The leaves actually can reduce how far the radio waves travel. The work, scheduled to begin in April, would have to be moved to Spring, 2010.

One help, if the issue is revisited by lawmakers, could be if Channel 62 in Frederick, Maryland shuts down its analog transmissions earlier than any extended deadline. Public Safety Communications Deputy Director Wayne McBride says they are communicating with Maryland Public Television to see if that is a possibility.

 

[dpm797]

The system will primarily use the TDMA format. It will use the Motorola APX 7000 portable radio. The APX 7000 is the only portable radio to use TDMA from Motorola. The surrounding juristdictions have Motorola XTS 5000 portable radio. When a user of a 5000 radio affiliates with the system; the talk group that radio is affiated with will operate in the FDMA format. This will provide interoperability with the surrounding counties.

 

[ka8ypy]

The system will primarily use the TDMA format. It will use the Motorola APX 7000 portable radio. The APX 7000 is the only portable radio to use TDMA from Motorola. The surrounding juristdictions have Motorola XTS 5000 portable radio. When a user of a 5000 radio affiliates with the system; the talk group that radio is affiated with will operate in the FDMA format. This will provide interoperability with the surrounding counties.

Revert to FDMA will only happen on those talk groups that are set up to revert. Not all TGs will be set up to revert.

Dan
KA8YPY

 

[Kumba]

I guess PG's in quite a pickle now that the bill passed and delayed the DTV conversion till June. I heard News 4 today mention that they are going to keep their analog broadcasts running until the June deadline, so I'd imagine other major broadcasters in the area would follow as well.

But here's my curiosity. Support for this Phase 2 TDMA stuff, for a scanner like a BCD396T, are we talking new hardware needed to decode the signals, thus making it impossible with any current-model scanner to receive TDMA? Or are we talking something as simple as a firmware update that Uniden and others would need to put out once this style of system becomes more popular and info on the protocol is released (because I don't see Upman & Co working on a Firmware to support two jurisdictions)?

 

[Kumba]

The system will primarily use the TDMA format. It will use the Motorola APX 7000 portable radio. The APX 7000 is the only portable radio to use TDMA from Motorola. The surrounding juristdictions have Motorola XTS 5000 portable radio. When a user of a 5000 radio affiliates with the system; the talk group that radio is affiated with will operate in the FDMA format. This will provide interoperability with the surrounding counties.

Dug up a photo of these radios, large one too. Really spiffy-looking.

 

[ka8ypy]

The radios aren't as large as they look. I got to hold and play with one a couple of weeks ago. Thinner and shorter than any saber model, and a whole lot lighter too with the lithium/ion battery. Good fit and feel in the palm of the hand, almost a natural feel.

As for the scanner crowd, get ready to sit on the sideline with the OpemSky folks (at least for a while.)