Topeka, KS- Equipment Failure Forces Early Switch to New Radio System

[KAA951]

Topeka- Failure of the county's aging analog radio consoles forced an early switchover to the new digital radio system.

Equipment failure forces early switch of fire departments to digital system | CJOnline.com

 

[krs]

Out of the frying pan...so many agencies fell for the sales pitch from these vendors and then after spending millions find out there is zero improvement.

 

[KAA951]

I don't know about falling for a sales pitch. In this case it was replacing a 20 year old 15 channel trunked system with a new 15 channel trunked system. The only real difference between the two (besides not using early 1990's computer technology) is the new system uses P-25 instead of analog.

Unfortunately, the county commission nearly waited too long before authorizing the replacement. The system was no longer supported by Motorola and the radio techs had to scrounge for used parts on the internet when items broke down.

 

[R8000]

so many agencies fell for the sales pitch from these vendors

I just want to mention, it's easy to sit behind a keyboard with a scanner and cyber engineer radios systems. I can tell you from experience, you might want to re-consider blaming sales people every time something goes wrong.

Sure, some sales folks can make errors. However, a respectable local government agency wishing to purchase a new system should always hire a communications consultant. The consultant writes the spec for an RFP that vendors have to bid on. Then they build the system per the spec or don't get paid.

Do some research. Perhaps the radio vendor built the system per spec by a consultant that doesn't know what he/she is doing.

Something to think about before you cyber bully sales folks and vendors.

A good consultant will understand RF and the public safety world. And, there are consultants that shouldn't be in the business.

If a multi million dollar system was purchased without a RFP process....oh well.

 

[W8RMH]

Out of the frying pan...so many agencies fell for the sales pitch from these vendors and then after spending millions find out there is zero improvement.

From what I read it looks like the old system failed not the new one. It was the agencies still on the old system who were moved to the new system. I see no problems listed with the new system.

 

[ElroyJetson]

Motorola gives YEARS of warning (usually FIVE years) before a product is out of support. And there is NO WAY that the system managers could not have been informed of this little factoid.

Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.

I'd accuse the person(s) who were responsible for the system upgrade/replacement of being nothing less than remiss in their duties. I might go so far as to call them incompetent and richly deserving of a place in the unemployment line.

With five years of warning, AT LEAST, there is simply no permissible excuse for this.

 

[wa8pyr]

Motorola gives YEARS of warning (usually FIVE years) before a product is out of support. And there is NO WAY that the system managers could not have been informed of this little factoid.

Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.

I'd accuse the person(s) who were responsible for the system upgrade/replacement of being nothing less than remiss in their duties. I might go so far as to call them incompetent and richly deserving of a place in the unemployment line.

With five years of warning, AT LEAST, there is simply no permissible excuse for this.

Before you pass judgement too harshly on these people, try to remember that we're (barely) coming out of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Tax revenues have been down for most government agencies across the country (dramatically so, in some cases); it's entirely possible that the people who manage the system knew they were on borrowed time and had planned for replacement, but just couldn't get it into the budget due to reduced funding. I know personally several system managers who were in this position.

The elected officials could certainly cut other programs to fund a new radio system, but an economic downturn is the worst possible time (for an elected official) to be cutting social programs and other things that some of us might consider less important.