Statewide trunked network plans???

[kc0rnp]

MSHP is able to talk some with sheriff units. Where I live in Pery Co MO they are able to get on VHF High and talk directly with Perry Co MO officers. In fact when sone one says that sheriff units can not talk to MSHP that's bull. You could get on 155.370 (Point) or 155.73(Sheriff's Net) or ever Mutual Aid and talk to MSHP.

I would agree that P25 is not the way to do this "Let me talk to everyone" but we all know how the gov works. They don't want anyone to here what they are saying.


Side? is d-star P25 or is it something else? I know it is digital

 

[nd5y]

D-STAR is not P25
http://www.icomamerica.com/amateur/dstar/dstar2.asp

 

[jayres]

Also... just to clarify, mobiles can use Sher Net or Mutual Aid... but not Point to Point... its base to base only! Jon

 

[K0AZV]

Side? is d-star P25 or is it something else? I know it is digital

The technical on D-Star...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Multi-Band_Excitation

Max...

 

[scanrrman]

In Lafayette Co., I know there's a trooper that uses their countywide freq. all the time.

 

[clayman]

The tower where the KC Metro link is looks like it has 2 sets of horizontally stacked Yagis. I assume 2 transmit & 2 receive. The tower at troop A has corner reflector type antennas pointing in various directions to the remote sites. Reception of the links is very spotty, I receive them places I never would imagine, and can't get them places I think I should.

As far as a statewide system, my thought has always been that the Conservation department should pay for it. There have been articles in the paper about how much money they have from the 1/8th cent sales tax and they almost have to look for ways to spend it all.

My 2 cents
Clayton

 

[RCrick]

Clayton, it seems to me like interop is a huge waste of money. Look at Indep who spent a ton of tax money on their 700 mHz system in the name of interoperability. The system is up and running, and PD and Fire still dont talk to one another on the system. IPD doesnt talk to KCPD on the system- even when they really need to. They still go through dispatch. KCPD has an IPD radio in 690, but only on 1 channel and there is no radio in the back-up chopper. The ambulance service is still on VHF. Since they never have enough ambulances on the street, they mutal aid in from surrounding agencies- still no interoperability to talk to them on the 700. I understand that KCMO and JoCo Ks are looking at 700 mHz, but is it worth the cost if not all of the region is on board?

 

[indepmo]

RCrick

I know for a fact on several occasions IPD has been in direct contact with 690 (KCP Helo), as well
as Fox 4 one morning for a footchase.

They have infact used their new system to it's advantage, but they aren't using at
it's maximum capacity at the moment. I'm sure over time that will change.

 

[clayman]

If MARC's vision is realized, everything in the KC Metro area will be 700Mhz P25. Everyone likes to have the latest and greatest, and if grant money & reband money is available I would think many will eventually end up there. For those who don't, there are mutual aid freqs for conventional and patched-in outside agencies on trunk groups.
Clayton

 

[KAA951]

Actually I hear Troop I cars talking on the County channel all the time here in Laclede County...

As well as mutual aid channels, I think maybe they have more than one radio in their cars.

Many Sheriff's provide their local Troopers with radios with their county freqs to put in their cars so they can communicate directly with them without having to go through the HP dispatcher. Some counties in our area have used traffic violation diversion money to buy radios for the Troopers.

 

[scanman1958]

All Great Ideas

There is a ton of great information that has been posted here. What a great site this is to express our ideas and thoughts. I am an old school type of person that belives that if something is not broken don't fix it. VHF lo band for the MSHP has been effective for years. Even decades. Yes there are limitations but so does a multi million dollar 700MHz digital system. I think someone said P25 does not make a system completlely interoperable (something like that) I agree. Everyone has to be on the same frequency range for that to work. Imagine the entire state on that type of system. You could have a $1,500(or so) radio like Jonathan and still not talk to someone across the state. It would be very nice to have something that would work but with all the ideas out there I do not belive we could all agree on one system. How about a base station/dispatch only statewide trunk system for starters (outside pt to pt, sheriff net, and mutual aid) and see if the comm centers can coordinate disasters first then go from there. Is that something that has been talked about? I can see it now that our portables will have about 10 banks of 25 channels to choose from. Try and remember those in a disaster. Jeff in St. Louis

 

[jayres]

Actually, that has been discussed as a starting point, and then outgrowing the system from there... As far as 10 banks of 25 channels, well... It's not like I'm going to have St Louis Fire Main in mine! Oh, and Jeff... keep going up on that cost...

The way that I envision it would work is that you would have your group of local channels/talkgroups, you would have regional channels / talkgroups, then the statewide channels/talkgroups. There isn't a need for every channel/talkgroup in every radio. (THANK GOODNESS!!! )

We actually have the next committee meeting today (Tuesday), and since I wasnt able to make the last one due to the ice storm, maybe I'll have new info to share later on...

 

[scanman1958]

OK. So if your department gets sent to, lets say, Mexico, MO and you are from Nixa, MO then you don't need the capability to use the Mexico talkgroups? All you need are regional talkgroups? That is somewhat limited right? Just for discussion purposes here, and only that, (smile) we could use fire mutual aid, or other local fireground/police tac frequencies that are already in use right? Go to that region and have those regional freqs already in or quickly downloaded into radios. (I know, software issuses) You get my drift right? The old saying KISS. I like what we are doing with every effort to get a good system together. I just hope it doesn't cost more than what we (cities, counties, state) can afford. Talk to you later. Jeff

 

[njt462]

Other major issues need to be address first before the state even thinks about it

If the state were to change to where everyone could talk to everyone it would cost alot of money and have headaches right and left. As for the current Highway Patrol set up in the 42MHZ range the only other people they can talk to in that range is the other Troops. Each troop has a power of 5,000 watts, however they mostly just use anywhere from 300 to 500 watts to cover the troop. For example if something big happens on I70 between Troop C and F they can go to full power and C can talk to F and the other troops can hear it to if they wish because it covers the whole state and then some with that power.

As for local/county departments. I can think of three counties as a whole that will have a major problem with changing over due to massive radio problems. Pike County for example has 155.700 but the coverage for the county under that channel is a joke so they double cast on Sheriffs Net 155.730 which in turn makes Lincoln, Ralls, Audrain, and a few other counties stay off of it because Pike floods it with plates ran, etc. Lewis County according to FCC files has 155.725 assigned to them however again they are double casting or it is a typeo because they are using Sheriffs Net for there main channel. And lastly the county that comes to mind is Grundy County uses Sheriffs Net for everything.

I am sure there are a few more counties out there in Missouri under this issue but the key question the state has to ask itself is do we really want to do all this when we still have a handful of counties in the stone age? IMO: Keep the current system, but get these counties out of the stoneage.

Lastly while I am on my soap box here are someother issues, This could be a good idea but I do not think Missouri is near ready to even start testing in. Instead if they want to dish out money there is also still a handful of counties that do NOT even have 911 yet. You can have the most state of the art communications systems but when seconds count and the call comes in do you really want to dial 555-0112 and hope sheriff Cletus wakes up and answers his house phone so you can tell him to get over to your place because people are breaking your windows, or dial 555-0113 and hope Earl brought the pumper home and gets over there because your house is on fire? Those issues should be on the very top of the list to fix first. And finally, There is also many counties in Missouri that do not even have 24 hour sheriff coverage and the Highway Patrol for those zones have off time due to population of the coverage area. Those issues need to be address, because where I live everyone knows from 12am till 6am it is hammer down on the highway because they are all counting sheep.