Somerset County Trunking End of Life Notice

[rr60]

The legacy 500MHZ analog system 3600 Baud will be turned off and users migrated off of it this year.

What this means is that those users will be headed to the 500 MHZ digital side of the system (at the users expense).

It is interesting that no offer has been made to transition to the 700MHZ system even though all of the 500MHZ TG's are being simulcast on the 700MHZ system. Apparently it is for Police only at this time (must have capacity issues). Why Fire TG's are on 700 presently is conjecture.

So you will need a P25 scanner for those TG's that are analog now.

Some subscribers will have to make some very expensive decisions.............................

" Chief’s, (Fire, Police, EMS), OEM, DPW, School Board

With the year drawing to a close, we wish to remind everyone about the radio system upgrade that will happen in 2016.

As described previously, the existing analog UHF trunking system (referred to as the ‘4.1 system’) is becoming End of Life for Motorola support. Somerset County will not leave public safety personnel and operations on a system that may have difficulty getting parts and service.

Somerset County has been planning for this event for over a year, and will soon (within the next few months) begin the initial phases of the planned migration of users off of the analog UHF system and on to either the digital UHF system or the digital 700 MHz system.

One of the first steps has been for your department to decide if you wanted to upgrade your existing UHF equipment (for compatible models), or to replace with new multi-band equipment. We have, and will continue, to make our Radio Technicians available to help you get a handle on your inventory, identify what can and cannot be upgraded, and provide you with the information needed to order the upgrades. If you would like our assistance, please contact me as soon as possible. If you are planning to purchase multi-band equipment, we can also provide the necessary information to assist."

 

[richee2000]

on the P25 Digital system: it appears all "northern" PD's are on 700 , and all "south PD's are on 500...(with the exception of hillsborough, they are using 700 ) is that correct? is Bridgewater PD fully 700 ? and what about "countywide" such as sheriff, etc... are these on both 500 and 700 ? All 700 users are on Type 2 ... some 500 users still using type 1 ?

 

[johnls7424]

Friend of mine who works for the Somerset County Sheriffs Department told me a couple months ago ( at a friends/family get together) that this was going to happen sometime at the beginning of the year. The county did have talks about migrating some of these users to the new Phase 2 system, but one concern was that the added talkgroups might cause a problem due to the amount of voice channels the new system has. Causing issues with the public safety users that are already using the system. Last thing anyone wants is the system to crash and go into failsafe mode.

 

[johnls7424]

Still if its anything like Middlesex County wanting to migrate to a new system. It will take more then a couple of months to employ. If they move faster into a new system or even an existing system then what Middlesex County is trying to do ( move into a built out Phase 2 system) it will be a huge slap in the face for the power holder in Middlesex County. That's for sure.

 

[SnakeEater9920]

on the P25 Digital system: it appears all "northern" PD's are on 700 , and all "south PD's are on 500...(with the exception of hillsborough, they are using 700 ) is that correct? is Bridgewater PD fully 700 ? and what about "countywide" such as sheriff, etc... are these on both 500 and 700 ? All 700 users are on Type 2 ... some 500 users still using type 1 ?

Hillsborough is strictly 700. I monitor 500 only and never hear a word out of them except on Public Safety.

Bridgewater has been using 500. They're active on it everyday. As for the rest, hear them on 500 all the time. Although most also do simulcast over the 700, too.

 

[richee2000]

I hear Bridgewater on 700 all the time, as well as bernards, and all of the region 1 PD's ..

 

[SnakeEater9920]

I hear Bridgewater on 700 all the time, as well as bernards, and all of the region 1 PD's ..

Bridgewater goes both ways. 500/700. Bernards, never hear on 500. Region 1 units, I don't hear them on their digital channels anymore, at least on the 500 side. But when I switch to the analog system, I hear them. Haven't tried 700.

 

[johnls7424]

That's the best way for them to do it is to patch them through which is easy. Once they have a patch through a migration will be much more simple. As long as the channel space ( voice/control channels) is big enough to accommodate the amount of voice volume at a given time then everything should be good. They will already have a TG-ID assigned to them. Radio ID's can simply transfer over. Should be a breeze. As long as that's the route they choose.

 

[radiomanNJ1]

Friend of mine who works for the Somerset County Sheriffs Department told me a couple months ago ( at a friends/family get together) that this was going to happen sometime at the beginning of the year. The county did have talks about migrating some of these users to the new Phase 2 system, but one concern was that the added talkgroups might cause a problem due to the amount of voice channels the new system has. Causing issues with the public safety users that are already using the system. Last thing anyone wants is the system to crash and go into failsafe mode.

Why would your friend/family say that? There are numerous Phase II systems operating throughout the country including some of the NICS system.

Nothing lasts forever and those that think the radio system should last for 20 years are probably still watching TV on a cathode tube.

Except for a total lack of planning by the entities that use the system the change will go smoothly. Get on the train because it;s leaving the station.

 

[ElroyJetson]

Many EDACS and Smartnet/SmartZone systems have lasted 20 years or more and still operated to their design parameters. The only reason why an older system would stop working is due to lack of maintenance or spare parts.

Yes, I DO expect a multi-million dollar radio system to be capable of lasting 20 years. Because they CAN, and they often DO. Speaking as a taxpayer, I'd rather that my tax dollars go to a new system every 20 years rather than every 10 years.

 

[johnls7424]

Many EDACS and Smartnet/SmartZone systems have lasted 20 years or more and still operated to their design parameters. The only reason why an older system would stop working is due to lack of maintenance or spare parts.

Yes, I DO expect a multi-million dollar radio system to be capable of lasting 20 years. Because they CAN, and they often DO. Speaking as a taxpayer, I'd rather that my tax dollars go to a new system every 20 years rather than every 10 years.

Couldn't of explained that better Elroy!