Are you able to pick it up that far out or were you in town?
Shawnee County chooses Motorola P-25 system
- Thread starter KAA951
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Are you able to pick it up that far out or were you in town?
Shawnee County P25 update
The launch of Shawnee County’s new emergency communication system has been pushed back about one month. The $12.1 million system now is expected to go live by mid-April, Shawnee County Sheriff’s Cpt. Lance Royer said Monday. Initially, it was set for mid-March. A decision regarding which traffic would be encrypted also is expected within the next few weeks, he said.
Most of us have submitted our templates and are doing some training so our folks understand how the system works and the pros/cons of the new system.
The best aspect, and KAA951 has heard me complain about this for at least 10 years, is the new standardized templates. The latest copy I saw was excellent and a step in the right direction for sure.
Last I heard the plan was still to put Transit, Transportation, Public Works, Solid Waste and some other smaller entities on the system to test it out and break it in before putting all the big departments.
From the real world of communications in our county: All I can say is that after the Unified/Area Command communications plan I set up for the northern Shawnee County fires on Sunday, it will be nice to have some templates that are more consistent. Due to the danger and instability we had to work with the original channels. This meant that I had to "fix" 14 different radios yesterday to the right channels and zones so folks could talk. Some of these radios had not been updated since 1998, I think I counted 10 different models of Motorola radios among the 14 I worked with.
Good news is that we never had to patch and when we got both operations stabilized we finally used some Event channels for ICS functions.
The launch of Shawnee County’s new emergency communication system has been pushed back about one month. The $12.1 million system now is expected to go live by mid-April, Shawnee County Sheriff’s Cpt. Lance Royer said Monday. Initially, it was set for mid-March. A decision regarding which traffic would be encrypted also is expected within the next few weeks, he said.
Most of us have submitted our templates and are doing some training so our folks understand how the system works and the pros/cons of the new system.
The best aspect, and KAA951 has heard me complain about this for at least 10 years, is the new standardized templates. The latest copy I saw was excellent and a step in the right direction for sure.
Last I heard the plan was still to put Transit, Transportation, Public Works, Solid Waste and some other smaller entities on the system to test it out and break it in before putting all the big departments.
From the real world of communications in our county: All I can say is that after the Unified/Area Command communications plan I set up for the northern Shawnee County fires on Sunday, it will be nice to have some templates that are more consistent. Due to the danger and instability we had to work with the original channels. This meant that I had to "fix" 14 different radios yesterday to the right channels and zones so folks could talk. Some of these radios had not been updated since 1998, I think I counted 10 different models of Motorola radios among the 14 I worked with.
Good news is that we never had to patch and when we got both operations stabilized we finally used some Event channels for ICS functions.
...I'll be curious to see what the local media spin will be on the encryption...hiding behind the thin Blue wall of silence etc. etc.....not like a LOT of information is being transmitted on the M.D.T's already.
......So, will it be some time this Summer before the "big departments" are on the new system?
.....Brian
That is the understanding I have right now. It is prolly a smart idea. It is a good thing to have them break the system in so the techs can make changes before everyone gets the fully programmed and full blown system.
Shawnee Sheriff is simulcasting their "main" channel on both systems- talk group 0401 on the new system. It also sounds as if they have Topeka public transportation on the new system now.
My PRO-2096 is doing a fair job of chewing through the multi-path P-25 signals and producing pretty good audio with a standard antennae. I am about an equal distance between two of the tower sites, so I am happy to be receiving anything based on the feedback from similar systems. Anyone else monitoring?
I saw one of the Topeka fire district chiefs (car 102) today and he was wearing one of their (very bright yellow) new APX 6000xe portable radios. I haven't heard them on the new system, so they must have programmed the legacy system into them for the interim.
I haven't heard any timeline on the new fire station alerting systems nor the new paging system yet. It will be interesting to see what changes it brings for fire dispatching. Topeka FD has been operating a cobbled together station alerting system for years, so the new equipment will be welcome.
(I have asked that they make this thread into a "sticky" so we can try to keep the discussion orderly- I don't like having to cross-post!)
My PRO-2096 is doing a fair job of chewing through the multi-path P-25 signals and producing pretty good audio with a standard antennae. I am about an equal distance between two of the tower sites, so I am happy to be receiving anything based on the feedback from similar systems. Anyone else monitoring?
I saw one of the Topeka fire district chiefs (car 102) today and he was wearing one of their (very bright yellow) new APX 6000xe portable radios. I haven't heard them on the new system, so they must have programmed the legacy system into them for the interim.
I haven't heard any timeline on the new fire station alerting systems nor the new paging system yet. It will be interesting to see what changes it brings for fire dispatching. Topeka FD has been operating a cobbled together station alerting system for years, so the new equipment will be welcome.
(I have asked that they make this thread into a "sticky" so we can try to keep the discussion orderly- I don't like having to cross-post!)
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Article: Emergency Radio System Delayed
Shawnee County's new emergency communication system has been rolled out in part, but some bugs still remain, Sheriff Herman Jones said Tuesday.
"This is by no means a total implementation of the program," he said in an interview.
He anticipated the full system wouldn't be available for at least another month. At the beginning of this year, the system was expected to launch by the end of March. A second estimate put the launch at mid-April.
Some of the new digital equipment has been issued, Jones said, but the county won't launch the full system "until all of the users are up and going." That includes the programming of some 1,500 units for Topeka emergency responders and their vehicles, he said.
Jones said he expected to present an update to the Shawnee County Commission next week.
The new system from Motorola Solutions Inc. cost $12.1 million and will replace the county’s 15-year-old analog system.
Shawnee County emergency radio system launch delayed one month | CJOnline.com
Shawnee County's new emergency communication system has been rolled out in part, but some bugs still remain, Sheriff Herman Jones said Tuesday.
"This is by no means a total implementation of the program," he said in an interview.
He anticipated the full system wouldn't be available for at least another month. At the beginning of this year, the system was expected to launch by the end of March. A second estimate put the launch at mid-April.
Some of the new digital equipment has been issued, Jones said, but the county won't launch the full system "until all of the users are up and going." That includes the programming of some 1,500 units for Topeka emergency responders and their vehicles, he said.
Jones said he expected to present an update to the Shawnee County Commission next week.
The new system from Motorola Solutions Inc. cost $12.1 million and will replace the county’s 15-year-old analog system.
Shawnee County emergency radio system launch delayed one month | CJOnline.com
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bear780ks
Member
Mancow that's how Sedgwick Co, and Wichita PD is set up with Simulcast towers it's a mess when your traveling in and around the city as for hearing it over here in Reno Co. it's a no GO! compared to as it once was..with the old 800 system) but were I buy my scanners the owner of the store said supposedly some improvements to the system are coming but not sure when though, but I understand on the Simulcast it not like KSICS and it not good for scanner listeners as it is.. for the system user's
Shawnee County Commission to get update on new radio system
Update from Sheriff Jones to the BOCC this coming Monday.
Shawnee County Commission to get update on new radio system | CJOnline.com
Several agencies in Shawnee County have started transitioning from the county’s 15-year-old analog radio system to the new emergency communications system, including the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office and the Topeka Fire Department.
And with the new system comes discussion about what channels will remain open and what channels will be encrypted.
Update from Sheriff Jones to the BOCC this coming Monday.
Shawnee County Commission to get update on new radio system | CJOnline.com
Several agencies in Shawnee County have started transitioning from the county’s 15-year-old analog radio system to the new emergency communications system, including the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office and the Topeka Fire Department.
And with the new system comes discussion about what channels will remain open and what channels will be encrypted.
Info from the County Commission Meeting
Sheriff Jones reported the following to the Shawnee County Commission regarding implementation of the new system:
"April 28, 2014
To: Shawnee County Commission
From: Sheriff Herman T. Jones
Re: Radio System Update
I just wanted to give you a quick update on the new Shawnee County Emergency
Communications P25 radio system.
On April 8-9, 2014, Topeka Transit busses went live on the P25 radio system,
and Shawnee County Solid Waste followed shortly thereafter. Both of these
agencies were brought on board first to give the system a test before public
safety agencies went live.
On April 15, 2014, we brought on line the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office, using
only portables. We are hard at work programming new mobile radios for the
Sheriff's Office and have begun installing them in vehicles this week.
On April 22, 2014, the Silver Lake Police Department, Rossville Police
Department, and Auburn Police Department went live on P25.
On April 24, 2014 we brought on to the system the Shawnee County Parks and
Recreation Police Department.
We have issued new P25 portables to the Topeka Fire Department. They are
programmed for dual use on the old analog system and the P25 system while we
are installing mobiles in the fire trucks. When mobile installation is complete, we
will pick a date, compatible with Topeka Fire, and switch that agency to the new
P25 system.
We are also focused on and working diligently toward attaining our goal of a golive
date of May 5, 2014 for the Topeka Police Department.
In an effort to meet the requests and concerns of citizens and the media and their
need for information, the main dispatch channels for all emergency services
agencies on the new radio system are public channels and are not encrypted.
Each public safety agency on the P25 system determined its respective needs
for encryption on assigned talk groups, and those needs were met by our radio
shop."
Sheriff Jones reported the following to the Shawnee County Commission regarding implementation of the new system:
"April 28, 2014
To: Shawnee County Commission
From: Sheriff Herman T. Jones
Re: Radio System Update
I just wanted to give you a quick update on the new Shawnee County Emergency
Communications P25 radio system.
On April 8-9, 2014, Topeka Transit busses went live on the P25 radio system,
and Shawnee County Solid Waste followed shortly thereafter. Both of these
agencies were brought on board first to give the system a test before public
safety agencies went live.
On April 15, 2014, we brought on line the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office, using
only portables. We are hard at work programming new mobile radios for the
Sheriff's Office and have begun installing them in vehicles this week.
On April 22, 2014, the Silver Lake Police Department, Rossville Police
Department, and Auburn Police Department went live on P25.
On April 24, 2014 we brought on to the system the Shawnee County Parks and
Recreation Police Department.
We have issued new P25 portables to the Topeka Fire Department. They are
programmed for dual use on the old analog system and the P25 system while we
are installing mobiles in the fire trucks. When mobile installation is complete, we
will pick a date, compatible with Topeka Fire, and switch that agency to the new
P25 system.
We are also focused on and working diligently toward attaining our goal of a golive
date of May 5, 2014 for the Topeka Police Department.
In an effort to meet the requests and concerns of citizens and the media and their
need for information, the main dispatch channels for all emergency services
agencies on the new radio system are public channels and are not encrypted.
Each public safety agency on the P25 system determined its respective needs
for encryption on assigned talk groups, and those needs were met by our radio
shop."
sites
So i noticed there's only one control channel listed. Shouldn't there be multiples listed on here for the different sites? Or is there only one site operational at this time? I'm interested in the western/northwestern site.
So i noticed there's only one control channel listed. Shouldn't there be multiples listed on here for the different sites? Or is there only one site operational at this time? I'm interested in the western/northwestern site.
This is a simulcast system, so all 5 sites will be synched and broadcasting the same frequencies. I don't think anyone has identified the alternate control channels yet for those to be posted in RR. You shouldn't have any problem getting the signal in Wamego- it will be interesting to hear if you have any multi-path monitoring issues.
signal
So far not much multi path degradation heard. Signal is fairly strong out here. About 4 bars out of 5 on Uniden 996xt with a discone ant about 25 feet in the air. I have noticed it will start to pick up voice traffic once in a while and it will be garbled. I assume thats what the multi path sounds like. Listening to TPD and Shawnee S.O. I wish our KSICS radios would automatically roam onto their towers when we get close to the county. This would have really helped our coverage to without having to switch over to their system.
So far not much multi path degradation heard. Signal is fairly strong out here. About 4 bars out of 5 on Uniden 996xt with a discone ant about 25 feet in the air. I have noticed it will start to pick up voice traffic once in a while and it will be garbled. I assume thats what the multi path sounds like. Listening to TPD and Shawnee S.O. I wish our KSICS radios would automatically roam onto their towers when we get close to the county. This would have really helped our coverage to without having to switch over to their system.
For $250,000 we could get that... (and some political wrangling between the county and state). It was actually in the original system plan- but was cut when they started looking at the budget. As I understand, the big drawback of that is that everyone has to be running the same version of the Motorola controller software- so if the state decides to update, any other systems have to update too. Conversely, if there is some new wiz-bang upgrade and the state decides not to make the jump- that would negate the link too.
Awfully quite for a Friday night.....
It would appear to the lack of traffic on the PRO 92 that the switch over has been made..for the most part...been listening for aprox. an hr. and and half and all I have heard is some benign Washburn P.D ? traffic, AMR dispatch and med traffic to one of the local hospitals and one Topeka Fire Dept. dispatched call as well as one of the rural county fire dept's dispatched call ....it's just after 9 p.m. on a Friday night and things usually are starting to happen in the city and county law enforcement wise.
So those of you who are listening to the new Shawnee Co. P 25 system , are you having any luck with the new Uniden scanners?....any issues? Been on the fench as far as making a purchase with what I have read in the forums, but it looks like push has come to shove as far as getting a P 25 compatable scanner.
It would appear to the lack of traffic on the PRO 92 that the switch over has been made..for the most part...been listening for aprox. an hr. and and half and all I have heard is some benign Washburn P.D ? traffic, AMR dispatch and med traffic to one of the local hospitals and one Topeka Fire Dept. dispatched call as well as one of the rural county fire dept's dispatched call ....it's just after 9 p.m. on a Friday night and things usually are starting to happen in the city and county law enforcement wise.
So those of you who are listening to the new Shawnee Co. P 25 system , are you having any luck with the new Uniden scanners?....any issues? Been on the fench as far as making a purchase with what I have read in the forums, but it looks like push has come to shove as far as getting a P 25 compatable scanner.
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The Police Dept moved over this past Tue or Wed, Sheriff has been over for close to a month, KHP is also completely over as far as I know, tho they may still be simulcasting.
It's just a matter now locating and verifing the ID's, which is work in progress
I am running both 396xt and 996xt. Still sounds like at times the P-25 still needs fine tuning. I seem to hear it better on the scanner then I do so far thru the feed.. but it is going to take some getting used to the Digital....
It's just a matter now locating and verifing the ID's, which is work in progress
I am running both 396xt and 996xt. Still sounds like at times the P-25 still needs fine tuning. I seem to hear it better on the scanner then I do so far thru the feed.. but it is going to take some getting used to the Digital....
I am encountering the multi-path issue that has been reported by scanner users in most of these systems. I am getting about 2/3 of the traffic, and moving the antenna 6 inches can make the difference between the scanner being able to decode almost nothing to 90%+ decoding. Definitely not as clear as analog was!
I have had Pro96Com running on the system the last few days and have documented more than 50 talk groups keying up. I am seeing a lot of encrypted talk groups coming up- though both PD dispatch, KHP and Sheriff dispatch remain in the clear. Topeka FD dispatch was being simulcast for a week or so, but they have dropped back off the new system the last week.
This does not sound good
I was afraid that this would happen here in Shawnee County...are you by chance using a Uniden BCD436HP ?...I am looking at buying one of those very soon. I live within the city limits towards the Lake Shawnee area, so am I to assume that I would need to either build or purchase a Yagi and point it towards the closest tower just so that I can listen to a hand held in side my home. I already have a 800 mgz. antenna mounted on my truck that worked perfect with the PRO 92..now I wonder if I will have to add to the array of antennae's that adorn my truck just to receive transmissions off of the new P 25 system.
So is there any way to find out what will be encrypted and what won't in Shawnee Co. A lot of encrypted talk groups doesn't sound good. I can understand the officer safety stand point (detectives, standoffs, undercover ops) and acts of terrorism taking place with in the county and the need for encryption as far as that would be concerned BUT, why would things like the Fiesta Mexicana, St. Patrick's day parade, Emergency Management doing storm reports/spotting, Police/Sherriff doing traffic control at a major fire or auto accident, fire ground ops, etc. etc. need to be encrypted?
So if there is a call that would require the police to go to another freq. other than the main dispatch...i.e a crime scene, major auto accident etc. etc. are we to now assume that the traffic will be encrypted since it is not on the main dispatch freq.
I was afraid that this would happen here in Shawnee County...are you by chance using a Uniden BCD436HP ?...I am looking at buying one of those very soon. I live within the city limits towards the Lake Shawnee area, so am I to assume that I would need to either build or purchase a Yagi and point it towards the closest tower just so that I can listen to a hand held in side my home. I already have a 800 mgz. antenna mounted on my truck that worked perfect with the PRO 92..now I wonder if I will have to add to the array of antennae's that adorn my truck just to receive transmissions off of the new P 25 system.
So is there any way to find out what will be encrypted and what won't in Shawnee Co. A lot of encrypted talk groups doesn't sound good. I can understand the officer safety stand point (detectives, standoffs, undercover ops) and acts of terrorism taking place with in the county and the need for encryption as far as that would be concerned BUT, why would things like the Fiesta Mexicana, St. Patrick's day parade, Emergency Management doing storm reports/spotting, Police/Sherriff doing traffic control at a major fire or auto accident, fire ground ops, etc. etc. need to be encrypted?
So if there is a call that would require the police to go to another freq. other than the main dispatch...i.e a crime scene, major auto accident etc. etc. are we to now assume that the traffic will be encrypted since it is not on the main dispatch freq.
As of this morning I have been told the following:
TPD has all their portables over onto P25 and the patch is off on the main channels. They even made a change and are now dispatching Animal Control on the main channels instead of the ACO channel. From what I understand the mobiles are going to take another month or so because they have so many units.
Sheriff has all their portables and most of their mobiles moved over and the patch is off on their channels
Solid Waste and Metro Topeka Buses are completely over on the new system and patch is off.
TFD has all new portable radios, but the mobiles are on hold until the radio boys can catch up. They also took the patch off because until they get the new station alerting built and installed they can't patch the Analog and Digital without complications. Sitting here listening in a one hour period last week when the patch was on, there was a lot of interference from the current Zetron Station paging system that has been in use since about 1999.
Event Channels 1 and 2 have been patched but since the other four are not accessible to everyone they are not patched.
I am working on the templates for the agency I work for and several other people and when I get done will see if I can get a file uploaded in the next week or so that provides some Talk Group names and specifics for my agency.
The Radio Shop did very well in getting the templates set up so that they are somewhat identical across all agencies. The first three zones on every radio are left up to the individual agencies to decide while the next 18 zones are set in stone for every single radio on the system.
So far out of the 300 and some talk groups on the system, less than 10% have encryption.
I will tell you that the template in those 18 zones has KSICS, Douglas County, the MARRS and the National Mutual Aids as well as quite a few other conventional repeaters.
When the system becomes fully functional, it is going to be very interoperable and great for operations and organization.
TPD has all their portables over onto P25 and the patch is off on the main channels. They even made a change and are now dispatching Animal Control on the main channels instead of the ACO channel. From what I understand the mobiles are going to take another month or so because they have so many units.
Sheriff has all their portables and most of their mobiles moved over and the patch is off on their channels
Solid Waste and Metro Topeka Buses are completely over on the new system and patch is off.
TFD has all new portable radios, but the mobiles are on hold until the radio boys can catch up. They also took the patch off because until they get the new station alerting built and installed they can't patch the Analog and Digital without complications. Sitting here listening in a one hour period last week when the patch was on, there was a lot of interference from the current Zetron Station paging system that has been in use since about 1999.
Event Channels 1 and 2 have been patched but since the other four are not accessible to everyone they are not patched.
I am working on the templates for the agency I work for and several other people and when I get done will see if I can get a file uploaded in the next week or so that provides some Talk Group names and specifics for my agency.
The Radio Shop did very well in getting the templates set up so that they are somewhat identical across all agencies. The first three zones on every radio are left up to the individual agencies to decide while the next 18 zones are set in stone for every single radio on the system.
So far out of the 300 and some talk groups on the system, less than 10% have encryption.
I will tell you that the template in those 18 zones has KSICS, Douglas County, the MARRS and the National Mutual Aids as well as quite a few other conventional repeaters.
When the system becomes fully functional, it is going to be very interoperable and great for operations and organization.
SKINNY1
Member
Just FYI I am picking up the new SN P25 system here in Lawrence with no problems.
Rick
Rick
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