Washtenaw TRS to MPSCS transition

[krokus]

I thought this affects enough people in SE Michigan, that I would start a new thread.

Post observations, questions, answers and information relating to public safety communications, in Washtenaw County, transitioning to MPSCS.

 

[krokus]

As most listeners in Washtenaw know, the transition has started. HVA has moved their traffic off of the county's TRS, with other users to follow suit.

Has anyone had success or failure monitoring HVA? I have only heard two transmissions from them on D1, on MPSCS. (I hear plenty of traffic from other agencies.)

 

[smartboy06]

Uhm...they're on there all the time. Do you have surrounding towers programmed in (Northville, Flat Rock, Monroe County, etc.)?

 

[SCPD]

As most listeners in Washtenaw know, the transition has started. HVA has moved their traffic off of the county's TRS, with other users to follow suit.

Has anyone had success or failure monitoring HVA? I have only heard two transmissions from them on D1, on MPSCS. (I hear plenty of traffic from other agencies.)

I hear them all the time on the Holly tower, have for a long time. 2237 (dispatch) and 2238 (admin) are the main TG's.

 

[Thunderbolt]

The Washtenaw County Chapter, of the American Red Cross has switched over as well. I suspect that some of the fire departments will be next to make the changeover. The tech's plan is to start small, then work their up the ladder to the larger agencies.

73s

Ron

 

[krokus]

I forgot to mention that even though HVA has moved off of the analog system, don't remove the TG from your scanner. The analog system is going to be a backup medium for the county, which I am assuming will maintain the existing TGs.

 

[Thunderbolt]

I forgot to mention that even though HVA has moved off of the analog system, don't remove the TG from your scanner. The analog system is going to be a backup medium for the county, which I am assuming will maintain the existing TGs.

Yes, you are correct. There will be three fallback systems in case the MPSCS simulcast should fail for any reason:

1. Washtenaw County Analog TRS.

2. University of Michigan TRS.

3. I-TAC conventional channels.

Yours truly,

Ron

 

[marcp90]

Does anyone know if U of M DPS will be moving to the MPSCS or will they be remaining on their current system?

 

[Thunderbolt]

Does anyone know if U of M DPS will be moving to the MPSCS or will they be remaining on their current system?

In regards to the U of M DPS, this is anyone's guess right now. As I understand it, the DPS wants to be on the same page as AAPD and AAFD. This way they can all intercommunicate on the same radio system. Currently, there are three proposals being studied that will cause some changes down the road.

• U of M DPS joins the MPSCS.
• U of M overhauls their current Type-II TRS, and integrates it with the MPSCS; thus, adding three additional tower sites to the Washtenaw County Simulcast system.
• U of M decides to overhaul their current Type-II TRS, and convert it into an ASTRO 25 system, but remains a separate entity rather than joining the MPSCS. However, this would be the backup system to Washtenaw County Simulcast system.

Yours truly,

Ron

 

[krokus]

I'm not sure how much UM will alter their current TRS, especially considering that AAFD is looking at utilizing that system for comms inside UM facilities. (I don't know if the plan is to go to UM TRS by default, or only when there are problems with MPSCS coverage.)

Coordinating MPSCS onto the current UM towers would be a hassle, but that doesn't mean it won't happen.

 

[i5adam8]

So,are Chelsea Police going to switch over and continue to dispatch on their own, or are they going to contract with the County for dispatching once the system is up and running?

 

[Thunderbolt]

So,are Chelsea Police going to switch over and continue to dispatch on their own, or are they going to contract with the County for dispatching once the system is up and running?

Now that is an interesting question. Its my understanding that they plan on keeping their own dispatch for now. However, this may change later on down the road this or early next year.

Yours truly,

Ron

 

[i5adam8]

So are they even going to start using the new MPSCS radios or keep going on the VHF I wonder.

 

[Thunderbolt]

So are they even going to start using the new MPSCS radios or keep going on the VHF I wonder.

As I understand it, they plan on switching over to the MPSCS. Chelsea will keep their old VHF radios for a while as a backup system. However, given the age of their VHF equipment, which is not capable of being narrowbanded, I don't see them retaining its use for very long once the new digital radio system is fully in place.

This makes me wonder if the Chelsea DPW will also make the transition to the MPSCS as well?

 

[i5adam8]

Anyone have a time frame for when the first agency is going to be up and running on MPSCS?

 

[KD8FSJ]

Anyone have a time frame for when the first agency is going to be up and running on MPSCS?

HVA fully switched several weeks ago. Saline Police just switched on Friday. TG-12323

Paul

 

[i5adam8]

Last I knew there were some problems with the locations for the simulcast towers,did they get this taken care of ? Also where are the tower located ?

 

[Thunderbolt]

Last I knew there were some problems with the locations for the simulcast towers,did they get this taken care of ? Also where are the tower located ?

Yes, all of the radio towers have been constructed and are now on the air. They are located as follows:

1. Dixboro Road in Northfield Twp.
2. Sunset Street in Ann Arbor.
3. WEMU radio tower in Ypsilanti.
4. Bemis Road, just west of US-23.
5. On Jackson Road (Old US-12), west of Baker Road.
6. On Dutch Drive, east of Manchester High School.
7. On Werkner Road, north of M-52.

Yours truly,

Ron

 

[i5adam8]

So far today I have been receiving Saline PD at work in downtown Stockbridge on my Pro-106 with the 800 mhz rubber antenna. It's been coming in pretty clear. A lot better than I have ever been able to hear them on the old system for sure. It will be great to hear the rest of the county on the digital system when they switch.

 

[Thunderbolt]

From an inside source at one of the fire departments, two of the full-time departments have decided to do a complete re-write of the fire template for Washtenaw County. They felt that there weren't enough tactical talkgroups for on-scene and extended fireground/tactical rescue operations. This means that all of the mobile and portable radios for all agencies, will now have to be completely reprogrammed to include the updated template. Its anyone's guess as to how long this process will take, or how it will effect the switchover from the analog TRS to the new digital system.

Yours truly,

Ron