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From twincities.com
There is also a tower map on with the article.
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_11651763
Washington County ready to flip switch on new dispatch system
Smarter radio system will aid disaster response
By Elizabeth Mohr
emohr@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 02/07/2009 11:33:31 PM CST
After more than a decade of brainstorming and planning, Washington County's new $15 million public safety radio system will be up and running next month.
The 800-megahertz system will be a better and farther-reaching communication network than the current system and will ease coordination during emergencies like last May's Hugo tornado.
But for the sheriff's office, which has coordinated the launch, the new system will make everyday calls smoother and safer, too.
"It's not just Hugo. It's anything we deal with," Washington County sheriff's Cmdr. Dan Starry said. "For some agencies, especially fire, along the Ramsey-Washington border, the potential is there daily to respond to each other's calls. Right now, communication is difficult."
Currently, most emergency personnel in the county use a VHF (very high frequency) radio system, which is supported by two main towers. "Dead" zones are common, and the system doesn't allow multiple talk groups.
The 800-MHz system offers a wider range and more clarity, so a deputy in Stillwater could talk to someone in Duluth as if they were down the block from each other, and basements should no longer be a problem area, Starry said. Also, the system allows for more efficient use of channels or talk groups.
Fourteen tower sites will support the network. That provides much better coverage and protects the system from crashing if one tower goes out.
"It's a smart system compared to what we have now," Starry said.
"It's pretty robust. ... The goal is to not have a single point of failure in the system."
All 14 sites have been constructed or mounted — officials were able to use existing cell phone or water towers in some areas — and stand ready for the big switch. Dispatchers have been training on the new computer system, and deputies and officers have been learning to use the equipment.
Piles of radios are being programmed and distributed over the next few weeks. Squad car equipment will be switched out beginning the first week of March. A total of 1,300 radios were purchased for the new system.
The most significant reason for making the switch is large-scale, multi-agency coordination.
That could mean a high-speed chase from St. Paul to Wisconsin or a disaster.
Emergency responders would have benefited from the new system during the Hugo tornado, Washington County radio system manager Dean Tilley said. Because so many agencies responded, communication was difficult. There was no common talk group for the event, meaning a number of agencies used different systems or frequencies, complicating dispatchers' coordination efforts.
At one point, Tilley said, a representative for firefighters and a representative for police — each with a portable radio — stayed together, receiving messages from their respective teams, and coordinated efforts from where they were stationed. With the new system, they would have been able to coordinate while on the move, because both teams could have used the same talk group to communicate.
"It's really to allow members of different agencies to come together," Tilley said.
The county will be one of the last in the nine-county metro area to join the shared radio network, which is part of a statewide effort known as Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response, or ARMER.
The full Washington County switch is expected to start March 2, though a few departments have already begun using the system. The county's public works division, for example, has been on the 800-MHz system for nearly three years, using the backbone system installed for the Minnesota State Patrol.
The switch will begin with the sheriff's department and agencies on the north end of the county, moving south.
The bulk of the money for the new system — more than $11.5 million — came from Washington County taxpayers, the rest from the Metropolitan Emergency Services Board, which oversees the nine-county radio system. A $1 million federal grant was awarded to the county's fire departments to help with their portion of implementation.
For public safety officials, the switch to the 800-MHz system has been worth the wait and the cost.
"This is definitely going to be an improvement for the citizens of Washington County and the emergency personnel who provide the services they need," Starry said.
Elizabeth Mohr can be reached at 651-228-5162
There is also a tower map on with the article.
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_11651763
Washington County ready to flip switch on new dispatch system
Smarter radio system will aid disaster response
By Elizabeth Mohr
emohr@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 02/07/2009 11:33:31 PM CST
After more than a decade of brainstorming and planning, Washington County's new $15 million public safety radio system will be up and running next month.
The 800-megahertz system will be a better and farther-reaching communication network than the current system and will ease coordination during emergencies like last May's Hugo tornado.
But for the sheriff's office, which has coordinated the launch, the new system will make everyday calls smoother and safer, too.
"It's not just Hugo. It's anything we deal with," Washington County sheriff's Cmdr. Dan Starry said. "For some agencies, especially fire, along the Ramsey-Washington border, the potential is there daily to respond to each other's calls. Right now, communication is difficult."
Currently, most emergency personnel in the county use a VHF (very high frequency) radio system, which is supported by two main towers. "Dead" zones are common, and the system doesn't allow multiple talk groups.
The 800-MHz system offers a wider range and more clarity, so a deputy in Stillwater could talk to someone in Duluth as if they were down the block from each other, and basements should no longer be a problem area, Starry said. Also, the system allows for more efficient use of channels or talk groups.
Fourteen tower sites will support the network. That provides much better coverage and protects the system from crashing if one tower goes out.
"It's a smart system compared to what we have now," Starry said.
"It's pretty robust. ... The goal is to not have a single point of failure in the system."
All 14 sites have been constructed or mounted — officials were able to use existing cell phone or water towers in some areas — and stand ready for the big switch. Dispatchers have been training on the new computer system, and deputies and officers have been learning to use the equipment.
Piles of radios are being programmed and distributed over the next few weeks. Squad car equipment will be switched out beginning the first week of March. A total of 1,300 radios were purchased for the new system.
The most significant reason for making the switch is large-scale, multi-agency coordination.
That could mean a high-speed chase from St. Paul to Wisconsin or a disaster.
Emergency responders would have benefited from the new system during the Hugo tornado, Washington County radio system manager Dean Tilley said. Because so many agencies responded, communication was difficult. There was no common talk group for the event, meaning a number of agencies used different systems or frequencies, complicating dispatchers' coordination efforts.
At one point, Tilley said, a representative for firefighters and a representative for police — each with a portable radio — stayed together, receiving messages from their respective teams, and coordinated efforts from where they were stationed. With the new system, they would have been able to coordinate while on the move, because both teams could have used the same talk group to communicate.
"It's really to allow members of different agencies to come together," Tilley said.
The county will be one of the last in the nine-county metro area to join the shared radio network, which is part of a statewide effort known as Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response, or ARMER.
The full Washington County switch is expected to start March 2, though a few departments have already begun using the system. The county's public works division, for example, has been on the 800-MHz system for nearly three years, using the backbone system installed for the Minnesota State Patrol.
The switch will begin with the sheriff's department and agencies on the north end of the county, moving south.
The bulk of the money for the new system — more than $11.5 million — came from Washington County taxpayers, the rest from the Metropolitan Emergency Services Board, which oversees the nine-county radio system. A $1 million federal grant was awarded to the county's fire departments to help with their portion of implementation.
For public safety officials, the switch to the 800-MHz system has been worth the wait and the cost.
"This is definitely going to be an improvement for the citizens of Washington County and the emergency personnel who provide the services they need," Starry said.
Elizabeth Mohr can be reached at 651-228-5162
