FesteringMaggot2
Member
Has anyone heard about White County getting a new radio system?
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Its my understanding that Hall Co.'s tower is to provide coverage for the north end of Hall Co. I know a few members of White Co. Fire have P25 radios to communicate with Hall Co. on mutual aid calls. The scuttlebutt that I have heard is that we are getting a VHF p25 MotoTRBO system. I really hope thats not true..
bobbobber;1299063 So much for talking to P25 forestry..[/QUOTE said:OK, what P-25 forestry in GA????? Give up the frequencies Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread.
The thing that bothers me the most, is that these county officials don't even go and do a simple Google search to see if what the sales people are saying is the truth. The only thing required by 2012, is that radios need to be on narrow band fm. Period. BAH!
Larry
OK, what P-25 forestry in GA????? Give up the frequencies Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread.
The thing that bothers me the most, is that these county officials don't even go and do a simple Google search to see if what the sales people are saying is the truth. The only thing required by 2012, is that radios need to be on narrow band fm. Period. BAH!
Larry
US Forestry Hot Shots and wildfire guys are using digital P25, same frequencies for the Southeast Compact and others during wildland operations. Those are available online. 168.775 I haven't heard from in a while but haven't been up there recently. Last wildfire there was a mix of P25 and analog, but one of their commo guys told me they were transitioning to digital only as fast as they can with good success so far (these guys had BK digital radios). They also were heard on 154.280 with some guys from Lumpkin and Forsyth County's wildland contingent.
Georgia Forestry is of course still analog, haven't heard anything new there.
No this is a MotoTRBO repeater that was set up on Long Mountain for use by Mobile Comm of Gainesville.
It may be of great interest to those who monitor communications and live in White County to know that the 911 director and a sheriff deputy, along with a fire captain, are on a panel looking for a new, un-monitorable radio system.
They have been trying out MotoTRBO upon recommendation of the local Mobile Comm salesman. Of course, this will leave White County without the ability to communicate with any other service unless they use patches or borrow radios, as the current idea is to go VHF MotoTRBO and not a P25 compatible radio system.
So much for interop, unless they want to talk to McDuffie County dog catchers? So much for talking to P25 forestry. I guess it's back to analog, but wait, the salesman said that analog was "illegal" after 2012. Hmmm....
The salesman has been telling White County that they must go to a digital system by 2012, which we know isn't true. As far as I can tell, other county agencies have not been asked for input (EMS, Helen FD, Cleveland) but maybe they have. Some members may be aware of this.
Besides MotoTRBO not being approved for public safety use and being completely proprietary, it does have its advantages, mostly being the cheapest digital system out there. I would prefer to not go in a house fire with the cheapest radio, a radio that has been designed for hotels and casinos. But that is not our, the end-users, decision. White County can and should do so much better, but I guess we won't.
Some firefighters, EMTs and others who monitor radio reference should really be talking to their counterparts and have a say in this manner. Why more experts in White County are not being consulted is besides me, but it is concerning to make such a short-sighted investment to say the least.
As far as being unmonitorable, though, this selling point should be addressed. There is only a 10 digit ADP code for "encryption" if they choose it, but more importantly a data card on a computer can decipher the proprietary digital format. Besides that, radios are easy to program and guess with only a small amount of system knowledge. So I'm not sure that their intent to keep outsiders out is really going to work out for them either without going to a different system.
Audio wise, as U4ia420 stated about current reviewers, the system they are talking about deploying has arguably the worst digital audio of any of the radio systems marketed. Again, they are for casinos, businesses and hotels. Not for use in public safety or mission critical systems, and if you don't believe that just look at their own advertising.
Anyway, best of luck to anyone with a voice and time to talk amongst yourselves. Maybe some knowledgeable RR watchers should make themselves visible in discussions if the director has to go to the commissioners and sell this to our unwitting government.
Current MotoTRBO subscriber radios support analog or digital by mode operation, programmable in CPS so your statement about them not being able to operate with surrounding agencies who are still on conventional VHF is untrue.
I don't recommend MotoTRBO for public safety as it lacks even basic APCO-16 compliance but I can see why many users are willing to give it a shot. They want "digital" because salesman have convinced them that in 2013, their otherwise perfectly capable modern narrowband capable subscriber radios and infrastructure will melt into a pile of molten rotted plastic and the FCC will be at the ready with HK MP5's with orders to shoot on site anyone who transmits a wideband or analog carrier between 30MHz and 512MHz so they'd better do it NOW.
I am lost?
Where does any state/federal document say you cannot transmit/receive in "ANALOG"? after 2013.
cshiftlt