If this happens, it'll mark HOW many times the GE radio legacy has changed ownership???
First it was GE. Then Ericsson/GE. Then Comm-Net/Ericsson. Then Ericsson alone. Then Tyco/Ma-Com. Next, Ma-Com.
And I'll bet they'll eventually be bought out by General Electric. :roll:
I used to hate the GE radio line with a passion. But I've grown quite used to it, and have
come to respect their better products while acquiring an even deeper understanding of
just how truly junky their worst products are.
EDACS is easier to monitor safely than SmartNet. But it's harder to set up due to that
utterly stupid LCN nonsense. HELLO, McFly. Anyone home? Internal frequency table ever
come to mind? Define the data channels and the radio knows what standard channel
numbers to go to? Sound reasonable?
The great strength of the GE (all brand variants) line is that their best models have always
been made by Japan Radio Corporation. JRC truly makes top quality stuff. So their
radios are at least very reliable and perform quite well...within the limits of system designs
that may be a bit questionable if not flat-out stupid.
The mere fact that ma-com critical radio systems even exists today is a tribute to the
unerring ability of governmental flunkies to choose radio systems they don't understand
based on the principle of the lowest bidder, coupled with the friendliest sales force,
featuring the prettiest saleswomen...who may or may not be suggestively friendly during
critical negotiations....or so I've heard from not necessarily reliable sources....
Ma-com has had some neat ideas, but frankly, ESK wasn't one of them. Heck, it was
knocked down in a couple of months or less. ESK version of Trunker, anyone?
It amazes me that the state of Florida actually bought into the hare-brained scheme that
Ma-Com proposed...which as it happened, would have been illegal if implemented.
To wit: The initial proposal was to allow third party subscribers to use the system's
excess capacity to generate additional revenue and offset costs. Problem is, the system
allocations are in the public safety division of the band, not the commercial SMR
section. (I think that there are some SMR division channels but I haven't checked.)
Even if there were, they didn't develop a practical way of allocating specific customers
only to specific channels to comply with FCC regs keeping SMR customers out of the
public safety segment of the band.
So, the state bought into a system that couldn't deliver on a BIG promise that was made,
but of course, this info wasn't really made public until after the fact.
Frankly, I have little faith in a radio brand that's apparently SO good that it's been SOLD
four times in fifteen years!
Elroy
