WISCOM (2010)

[Tim]

Well there is a lot more to it then what you think.

-DOC is fully migrating to WISCOM, three facilities have new systems and the facilities that already have P25 systems will tied in as WISCOM sites shortly. One more facility is scheduled for a WISCOM site this year. Five additional facilities will be added next year. All transport vehicles are having radios switched out by the end of the year.

- WSP, there was no full cutover due to troopers moving back to conventional due to radio issues. The troopers will be on WISCOM entirely after the entire system is upgraded.
.

My point was that they are NOT on the system yet (Contrary to what is stated in the letter)

- interoperability, there is a lot more to interop than having everyone on the same system. Waukesha, Milwaukee and Racine Counties, along with the City of Milwaukee can and may have WISCOM interop talk groups in their radios. So yes it will improve interoperability. Patching is always possible but not as reliable.

- If there is a large scale incident a agencies from all over the state can come and assist and as long as they have WISCOM interop talkgroups in their radios they are good to go on the Oak Creek system. They can use a system not just simplex channels, VHF and 800 on the same system.

- I see their biggest advantage is price, which is the main point of the write up. Either way the go they know that they need replace their consoles. Going with the County system it will be out of pocket, with WISCOM it can be covered by the grant. At this time there will be no user fees for them on WISCOM.

I agree there is a lot more to interop than being on the same system. You have to have common talkgroups programmed into your agency's template or else you might as well be on different radio bands. Agencies have to train their users regarding when to switch to a common channel. Unfortunately, Its hard for me to say (Since I work in law enforcement), but the fire community is far..far ahead of the law community in this regard.

Within a county, I think it's better for everyone to be on the same system than agencies being on 3 or 4 different systems. That being said, I think its best that either everyone in county went to WISCOM or the new Milwaukee/Waukesha county regional thing.

As far as communications, I also think that planning for more common interop incidents (Police chases, manhunts, mutual aid, active shooters, Etc) is better than planning for something that is less common (F4/F5 Tornado touchdown, 9-11 type attack, major train derailment, Etc). I think its more important to have interop with agencies within a 5 or 10 mile radius than to have interop with state agencies.

As for the money issue...all I would say is be careful. My agency went with the lowest bid for our new radio system. Let me tell you, our radio system is umm....subpar to say the least. With that being said, I think WISCOM is a great system (And very long overdue considering our neighboring states all have had statewide interop systems going for several years now). I have used WISCOM a few times and the audio sounds great. I would love for WISCOM to be as successful as statewide systems in Michigan and Indiana (As far as number of daily users are concerned). Time will tell...i guess.

Tim

 

[ScanWI]

What is the reasoning behind this?

System loading, it is eating up resources needed for daily system users.

 

[mkescan]

System loading, it is eating up resources needed for daily system users.

Maybe Greenfield should take down their patches with Franklin, Greendale, Hales Corners & West Allis.

 

[sfd119]

System loading, it is eating up resources needed for daily system users.

I figured as much. I haven't heard a scan group in awhile actually...

 

[otrebla]

It appears a sixth frequency has been added to the Chilton site, 152.8400.

 

[JT-112]

It appears a sixth frequency has been added to the Chilton site, 152.8400.

That reminds me - around the same time as the DaneCom interference episode, I saw a few southeast sites running on reduced talk paths. IIRC, one of the sites went from 5 talk paths to only 2, which is a pretty substantial reduction.

You definitely don't want a scan group taking up 50% of your capacity either. I don't even have an idea on talk group priorities on the system, but if your scan group is active and FFL starts a three minute patient report, you could have some "bonking" going on.

 

[prowisscan]

WISCOM and DOC Milwaukee

Greetings....

Also, The Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility's site in downtown Milwaukee is now on the air. 851.3625 is the control channel. No traffic was heard yesterday...but today I heard some traffic on Talkgroup 1722 and 1720. I didn't get a chance to listen to the old system to see if its still in use as I was on the fringe of receiving it on the way to work this morning. Will try to later to get a little more information.

Tim

You are correct, the DOC in Milwaukee have abandoned the Motorola 800 system; I am no longer hearing any of their control channels. Unfortunately, where I am located in Milw Co. I can barely receive the control channel of 851.3625 for the WISCOM system, so no monitoring of the downtown facility from my QTH. As of last night, I was seeing the talkgroup of 1799 on the WISCOM Milw VHF site, these transmissions only consisted of open microphone key ups; I'm assuming that it has something to do with the DOC.

 

[JT-112]

Is there any list of active users for Wiscom at the moment?

Without scan groups, it will be hard to tell if the system is up, no I'm not kidding. I've been around the southern quarter of the state a lot recently, there's a whole lot of nothing going on, and there will be a lot less if the scan groups go. This really doesn't match the RRDB, while it's nice to have what the eventual TGs will be, there's no indication if the TG is actually being used or not.

 

[sfd119]

It's actually very busy up here in NW Wisconsin. Sawyer county is on it full time.

Anyway, to answer your question about subscribers: http://www.interop.wi.gov/docview.asp?docid=26095&locid=166

 

[stormy182]

It's actually very busy up here in NW Wisconsin. Sawyer county is on it full time.

SFD119 is right, I still pick up plenty of scan talkgroups up here from Barron and Surrounding countiesstill plus all of Sawyer Counties activity.

 

[N9AME]

Adams County

What site does Adams County use for Wiscom if any I've tried sites in that area and Adams County is never listed in a group.. Thanks

 

[Div106]

For Adams County Scan (25010) try either the Oxford site or Rome Site

 

[N9AME]

Tried both of those Oxford and Rome but have not heard Adams County do hear Juneau County on those. Can hear Adams County on Conv. but is pretty weak signals . guess all the talk groups are vanishing.

 

[jfriberg]

It appears that the 139.76250 frequency is no longer part of the Rib Mountain site since the latest site update a couple of weeks ago. Does anyone know if they are dropping the 139 frequencies statewide or just at specific sites?

 

[Paul-W]

On the Milwaukee VHF site last night I noticed TG 124 pop up several times. This TG is assigned to the WSP. Does anyone know if this was a case of testing being done or is the WSP now on WISCOM in the Milwaukee metro area? From what I heard, the radio traffic sounded like pretty routine stuff.

 

[sfd119]

1x4s are usually Simulcasts of the Conventional channel. 134, 124, etc.

 

[jpjohn]

WSP Eau Claire Post has not been broadcasting their VHF on WISCOM TG154 for at least a week.

VHF only being used.

 

[jfriberg]

Disregard the comment about the 139 frequency. It has been active on the Rib Mountain site today again.

It appears that the 139.76250 frequency is no longer part of the Rib Mountain site since the latest site update a couple of weeks ago. Does anyone know if they are dropping the 139 frequencies statewide or just at specific sites?

 

[jpjohn]

Not a techie so excuse this stupid question:

What is the reasoning behind many of the WISCOM sites being now listed with RFSS of 1? Has this something to do with software updates, infrastructure changes, etc? What does it mean for scanner listeners?

Thank you ahead of time.

 

[OpSec]

All sites on the system are now RFSS 1 (i.e. the whole radio system is one zone, subsystem, etc.) and will broadcast the site # and RFSS 1, instead of a spoofed RFSS ID that matched the site #.

It shouldn't mean much for scanners, as it doesn't mean much for system radios overall other than requiring the reprogramming of site alias and site preference lists...which is a costly proposition for those that aren't self-maintaining, but the change was made for technical reasons pertaining to feature compatibility as the system grows.