Watertown PD

[brey1234]

WATERTOWN -- VHF low and high bands, repeated UHF radio systems, alternative frequencies, licensed channels is all technical jargon when it comes to discussing different ways emergency personnel can communicate with each other.

That's why the police department wants to leave it to the experts to sort out what's best for the town as plans for a $400,000 communications upgrade move forward.

http://www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=4642

 

[dittrimd]

This plan as well as the other ones noted in the article should be interesting to follow. These towns are coming in very late in the game for aquiring RF in either band VHF or UHF in the public safety range. You can have all the money in the world but if you do not have useable RF you will go nowhere. I say useable becuase the most recent licenses being issued in the state are 2 watts with 14 ERP. With the terrain these towns are facing it could mean a very extensive simulcast system. Tower sites is your next problems. Many of the good sites like the DPS and NU/CLP towers both who are open to free tower space for public safety are so heavily loaded that there is no room for anything on the towers. You are left dealing with commercial towers and if you can get a hold of a person with a pulse to deal with their lease costs can be rediculous. Included wit the fact that many of these sites have no infrastructure you are left with many issues to address.

Mark

 

[W2NJS]

Building and buying a trunked PS radio system

The consultant and Motorola will call for "X" number of sites at "Y" dollars total cost. The
town will say they only have two-thirds of that amount and will opt to build two-thirds of the
specified system. The resulting system will stink, because it will have more coverage holes
than a Swiss cheese. The finger pointing will begin, the name calling will follow, there will
be several instances of officers not being able to call in emergency traffic, etc. etc., and in
the end nobody will be happy, all because the bean counters think it's possible to buy a
radio system like you do lunch meat at the deli. However, what you end up with is a half-
working system instead of just thinner sandwiches.

This scenario has occured so many times you'd think someone would by now have gotten
wise and warned the small towns of the incipient problem. Maybe in this case that will
happen. If you wouldn't buy a new car that came with only three wheels when it was
designed to run on four, why on Earth would you build a radio system that's able to perform at a level that is only 75 or 80 percent of what is needed to insure public safety?

Tom, W2NJS
Washington DC