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Narrow Band 2-Way Radio Planning Guide

1. Page 2 2 Multiple Repeater Systems Multiple repeater systems differ from multi site receiver systems in that each site functions as a complete repeater station capable of working independently as we will see in the diagram below or linked together with other repeaters and or dispatch facilities Historically a second repeater is added to provide coverage as the operating area for mobiles expands or there is a need for improved coverage to portables Most 2 way radio systems operated in the USA today began with a statewide network of high powered radios typically 300 watts or more to cover multi county areas In public safety and to a lesser extent transportation and utilities the need developed to provide operating capabilities in a single county The Sheriffs were among the first to establish base stations and later repeaters to provide communications for their own use as well as municipalities within their county As portables became more popular the need developed for multiple repeaters to provide coverage in different areas of the county With VHF systems two repeaters generally provided the necessary coverage In the case of UHF that number typically increased to three or even four repeaters and for 800 MHz the number is closer to ten Regardless on the number of stations the initial systems were all based on what we call the Zone Select operating system The diagram below should help explain the functions of a dual station z
2. just 1 900 for system software and licensing covering up to fifteen radios mobile or portable If additional radios require software add 100 per radio or less for large fleet operations Call us at 205 854 2611 or email sales falcondirect com for specific requirements An extremely efficient and affordable vehicle tracking system Known as SimpleTrack is available for use with ICOM F121 221 Standard and S Series analog radios priced at 357 each plus 180 for the UT 321IA plug in GPS board A special base station unit priced at just 1 140 is used with this system the model F1721 03B EMDC The F1721 03 EMDC dispatch station radio connects directly to any Windows based PC either desktop or laptop to display all vehicle activity on the monitor desktop PC and monitor not supplied except as an option on request The dispatch radio includes a palm type microphone and power supply An antenna is not supplied but inexpensive antennas are available as an option A SimpleTrack system brochure is available at www info4u us SimpleTrack pdf It should be noted that both the F3161 4161 series radios with the Quick Silver GPS option and the SimpleTrack plug in board for the F121 221 series radio used with the F1721 03 EMDC base Stations operate in essentially the same way BOTH systems require the OziTracker software system The difference is that SimpleTrack operates on analog radio channels whereas the F3161 4161 series radios operate in th
3. Narrowband and Interoperability Planner Presented as a Service by Falcon Direct Sometime between now and December 31 2012 all 2 way radio users will be required to reduce the bandwidth of their radios from 25 to 12 5 kHz a process called Narrow banding At the same time public safety users are reviewing interoperability coordination with other users This unfunded mandate by the FCC can be a golden opportunity to update your communications system to provide capabilities undreamed of just a short time ago through the miracle of advanced technology The information contained in this Planner deals with the steps involved in modifying and upgrading an existing 2 way repeater system for compliance with applicable FCC rules while simultaneously addressing interoperability alternatives This planner primarily deals with a technology known as IDAS ICOM Digital Advanced System although similar planning guides are available for other systems including Analog DMR Digital Mobile Radio P25 Project 25 and RolP Radio over Internet Protocol If you require additional information please call us at 205 854 2611 or email sales falcondirect com We hope you find this information useful DMR IDAS P25 RolP 2010 2012 Falcon Direct Inc All rights reserved Table of Contents MER GOUGCTION sus cecwcnacsdenss irn EA 3 the Switch COIN Vl ban oesi E Aa 4 PANRERE EEE E 6 Narrowband Implementation sessssessssesessesssseossseces
4. System Single Channel Repeater High Spec IDAS Repeater Three channel Trunked Description IDAS Upgrade Price System Price IDAS System Price Repeater URFR5000 Repeater 995 CY5000 Repeater 2 995 FR5000 2 7 362 Preselector Not included Included Not used 19 Rack Not required Not required 195 Duplexer Use original Included Not used Antenna Use original SC229 1 095 SC229 2 2 190 Transmission Line Use original 150 Heliax 450 300 Heliax 900 Combiner Not applicable Not applicable TC2214 4 500 Multicoupler Not applicable Not applicable RM201 1 800 Trunking controller Not applicable Not applicable UCFR5000 3 4 500 Site Protection 653 653 1 620 FCC License Not included Assume 265 Not included Assume 265 Not included Assume 795 Installation Not included Not included Not included TOTAL PRICE 1 260 4 458 21 862 You can normally assume average installation cost at about 10 of equipment cost on existing antenna structures Note A three channel system with a single 1 100 redundant power supply three URFR5000 repeater modules a 19 rack antennas cable amp transmission line systems combiner and Multicoupler could reduce the equipment cost to as little as 18 170 even less with the alternate 295 station antennas Both trunking system configurations are about the same cost as a SINGLE non trunking P25 repeater and considerably less than either MotoTRBO or NEXEDGE systems V
5. which has activities that NORMALLY do not involve administration other hospitals in the region maintenance and security Family services and Transportation work closely with the OR as does the Emergency Room ER but in a real emergency EVERYONE gets involved as a part of a coordinated effort Thats when the functionality of IDAS demonstrates the real benefits of coordinated computer and communications Page 9 2 As you may recall IDAS is capable of mixed mode analog and digital operation This allows function specific activities to use repeaters dedicated to their specific activities along with current analog radios New radios utilizing IDAS technology can work in association with these same repeaters as a part of a local area network AND the enhanced wide area communications capability of Internet connected stations The diagram below explains this more graphically System Configuration Antenna Gupleser Repeater Bh Hetwork Controller B LA Fa l I l I l l Repeater Di Network J j E pce Destinationto j the Neterork Controller Di As you will note this system uses THREE repeaters all linked together through the Internet They can all use the same frequency pair if properly separated or different frequency pairs at each location When IDAS radios are used in the digital mode any radio on any system can talk to any other IDAS digital radio on any one of the three systems The radios can be mobile
6. DTA 350 IAS 18 HMDRRT1T1928 155 IAS DVNC 1533L 1 163 Programming 50 Assembly Test 80 Included with 1 unit CRT 350 IAS 75 Included to Falcon Direct Estimated 100 653 Not Included Not included Not included 4 769 Note Above prices assume GSA pricing and domestic shipment within the USA Shipping outside the USA will vary depending on carrier method selected See www info4u us SiteProtect pdf The added dimension of a little additional hardware broadband service and the Internet brings our system all together Now any station connected through the Internet or the cloud if you prefer is an extension of every other station Now any mobile or portable or fixed station can talk to any other station connected through the cloud Now we can build systems to meet exacting demands rather than leaving system planning to chance That s what IDAS with IP is all about Now we are ready to add the capability of integrating computers with our network Remember our hospital user He wanted multiple sites for use on a large hospital campus as well as other hospitals within the same region but not within the local campus operating area In this situation we want more than two sites and we will be using portables in lieu of mobiles but the operating principles for a mobile system and a portable system are essentially the same You will recall that this user had specific operating groups such as the Operating Room OR
7. but the mobile antenna can cost 100 or more Or in more simple terms about four times the cost of a standard mobile antenna The real increase in cost is the installation of back office equipment at the dispatch center You will need a dedicated computer with monitor Internet access a system management software program a licensing fee for each seat or connected radio and a significant amount of time and expense associated with setup and training ICOM provides the GPS receiver as an external rather than an internal feature The general thought is that by separating the 2 way radio from the GPS the cost of troubleshooting maintenance and antenna cost could be reduced Readily available GPS replacement mobile antennas are inexpensive and easy to replace Rather than being restrained to the use of a limited range mobile antenna the user has the option of using a high efficiency mobile antenna such as our XTenna For more information see http www info4u us xyztennas pdf The majority of those we serve are involved in public safety transportation or utility activities As a result the location of a vehicle equipped with a mobile radio will generally suffice for field reporting purposes However personal location capability is available through the use of optional speaker microphones equipped with internal GPS receivers and antennas Accordingly we will confine our current discussion to mobile AVL technology although a GPS microp
8. rack which allows us to mount three or more repeaters one on top of the other as shown at the left The cost of the rack is 195 We also have room for the aforementioned combiner and Multicoupler which will be discussed next However before moving on to the external repeater components may we suggest a quick review of the IDAS repeater system which is explained at www info4u us FR5000 pdf As you will note this brochure provides some alternative configurations but with the same ultimate goal as the one defined herein to help you make a smooth and efficient transition from analog to digital communications Now let s talk about those Combiner and Multicoupler things The picture at the left is an internal view of a device known as a Combiner The function of a combiner is to allow multiple transmitters to feed into a single antenna If you have more than one VHF or UHF station a combiner can be a wise investment since you can eliminate the cost of additional antennas and transmission lines while simultaneously improving performance in many cases In general a combiner is most efficient when connected to four transmitters or less The actual cost will vary depending on the frequencies to be used but for budgetary purposes you can assume a cost of 4 500 for a good quality three channel system combiner such as the Sinclair TC2214 A Multicoupler is a device that allows multiple receivers to be fed into a single antenna In addit
9. you can get used to operating on funds that are not a part of what you earn from local revenues You can lose your edge when you become too dependant on others One day you might find that you are no longer capable of sustaining your needs independently That can be a very unpleasant fact when reality sets in We have many examples such as the infamous LEAA Law Enforcement Administrative Assistance program of the 70 s the scientific experiments of Pavlov s dog and even the parable of the frog in the warm boiling water Page 2 7 The point is that grant money may not always be around Evidence strongly supports the idea that it could run out very soon The United States is paying over one million dollars PER DAY in INTEREST on the money we owe China And those multi trillion dollar debts we are spending are beyond comprehension Think of it this way one trillion thousand dollar bills one stacked on top of the other would rise to a height of almost 68 MILES Looking at things in a more practical way divide one trillion by the TOTAL population of the USA to see how much debt is owed by every man woman and child in the USA lt could be safely said that federal grant money WILL dry up and it can be expected to happen very soon With that thought in mind you may find that your local area needs might be better served by investing in the communications system that best suits YOUR needs It is fairly easy to merge different types of technolo
10. Assume 35 per radio I Box System Pricing l Box 12 volt vehicular repeater 995 Receive antenna w Type N connector 20 Transmit antenna roof mount 40 Transmit antenna magnet mount 60 Rx F1 FCC license if required 450 Tx F3 On site installation Call 205 854 2611 Page 2 5 Cross Band Repeaters So far we have discussed all kinds of repeaters wide area repeaters local area repeaters multiple site repeaters and even vehicular repeaters The fact is that virtually any 2 way radio system can benefit through the use of a repeater Repeaters extend range between mobiles and portables for field operations as well as coverage between portables and office dispatch stations in churches hospitals hotels manufacturing plants recreational facilities schools and warehouses A little later on we will discuss how to link all these repeaters but before we do we would like to tell you about yet another repeater It s called a Cross Band Repeater We should point out that when we reference a cross band repeater we are referring to the linking or bridging of a VHF radio and a UHF radio lt is also possible to bridge a VHF or UHF radio to 700 or 800 MHz conventional or trunked radio systems The most common application is to allow law enforcement agencies using VHF radio systems to talk to fire departments many of whom use UHF in particular in Alabama The product most often used for this purpose is called a
11. Dell Inspiron Mini 10 v is an excellent choice for under 300 Additional information is available at http configure us dell com dellstore config aspx o0c dncwfa2 amp cs 19 amp dgvc ode ss amp c US amp l EN amp m_1 RBRU10H amp dgc SS amp cid 39716 amp lid 1003790 l Box uses an analog portable while the RFT can operate in both analog and IDAS NXDN digital modes or the system can be used with P25 systems when operated in the analog mode Think of it For less than the cost of a P25 mobile or handheld you can have BOTH a mobile and a handheld with the communications power of the mobile There is nothing else quite like Box and remember in the analog mode it is compatible with both DMR and P25 radio systems and both analog and digital NXDN systems The heart of the Box system is the same basic transceiver used as the fundamental building block for our base station repeater systems See Page 7 The only difference is that the repeater is placed in a vehicle and operated directly from the vehicle 12 volt battery We use a standard rubber duck type antenna for receiving calls for an associated portable and a choice of mobile type antennas for transmitting back to the associated base repeater station The diagram below shows how it all works Pricing is shown below Don t forget You will need a separate frequency for control use from the portable See Page 18 and you will need to reprogram associated portables with the control frequency
12. IDAS Mobile Base Radios The F5061D VHF and F6061D UHF radios provide outstanding value in mobile communications with up to 50 watts of power 512 channels and a large LCD alphanumeric screen They can operate at 25 12 5 or 6 25 kHz channel spacing in either analog or digital modes with mixed mode capability and a totally new feature called voting scan It s kind of like a free trunking system which uses the S meter level of repeater stations and automatically selects the strongest station or the first station to exceed the preset S Meter level We ll discuss this more on the following page Enhanced MDC 1200 is standard on the F5061D and F6061D series radios at no additional cost as is CTCSS DPL 5 Tone and 2 Tone paging encode decode in the analog mode Additional information is available at www info4u us F5061 pdf Both the F5061D and F6061D are priced at 695 An optional rear mount kit AC power supply or desk microphone adds 129 each for fixed station use See www info4u us xyztennas pdf for information on optional antennas IDAS Portable Radios The F3161D VHF and F4161D UHF radios provide outstanding value in portable communications with 5 watts of power in both VHF and UHF plus the ability to trunk in either or both LTR and digital modes The F5061 6061 mobiles also have this feature They can operate at 25 12 5 or 6 25 kHz channel spacing in either analog or digital modes with mixed mode capability and voting scan Both radio
13. from there Page O Narrow Band Implementation For now we will assume that your duplexer antenna and cable system are OK and that you have AC power available capable of operating a 50 watt radio We understand that you may presently be using 100 watts We also understand that a high power transmitter often creates more problems than it solves That is why in Europe transmitters are typically limited to 20 watts and often as low as 5 watts Many are surprised to find how well these systems work For now we will just say that it is a combination of high spec radios reduced transmitter spurious radiation coupled with very sensitive well protected receivers We propose to provide a new repeater station by ICOM which has adjustable power levels for low 7 10 watts intermediate 10 25 watts and high power 25 50 watts If we are replacing a system currently using a 100 watt amplifier coupled with a pair of mobile radios or an older analog repeater such as the Motorola GMS300 we will set the power of the new ICOM repeater to the level required to be used with your existing 100 watt amplifier We prefer to eliminate your 100 watt repeater if you have one and use the ICOM repeater set to 50 watts but the ultimate decision is with you The price of the ICOM UR5000 repeater is 995 excluding power supply duplexer antenna and cable system Operating at 50 watts with a self contained repeater provides improved talk back range from portables
14. hidden agenda to promote a particular brand or technology You can expect to be subjected to a lot of spin as evidenced by the reference link above You can also expect some subtle revisions in the area of interpretation The fact is that information is evolving and for that reason we maintain a special site at http falconinto blogspot com where you can go for more information on narrow banding digital system types FCC issues and grants Just type in the name of desired topic such as FCC in the Search box at the upper right hand side of the site for a listing of all available information With a good solid knowledge on background and facts you can make a more informed decision on how to best plan for your individual needs If someone tells you there is only one solution be very wary There is ALWAYS more than one solution Admittedly you may not be an expert in regulatory issues technology or grants but there is much information and a few trustworthy individuals who can make the task of communications planning a little easier This information has been prepared specifically for those involved in public safety whether that involves fire and rescue law enforcement transportation or utilities In times of emergency all must work together whether at the state county municipal or rural volunteer level Our objective is to help you develop a communications plan that can serve your needs over the next decade capable of being impleme
15. like for us to handle your license modification just give us a call at 205 854 2611 Now let s move on toa review of other radio systems starting with Multi Site operation Page 1 O Multi Site Systems The definition of multi site as it applies to 2 way radio communications can have a variety of meanings but primarily it means that you have a primary station either conventional base station or repeater that functions as a part of a network to extend coverage Later in this planner we will discuss extending 2 way communications to computers but for now we will confine our review to radios only HISTORICAL OVERVIEW In general all radio systems started in a simplex mobile operational mode In simple terms there was a base station with the ability of providing municipal or county wide coverage as applicable The majority of these systems are either VHF or UHF with a few 800 MHz systems operated in larger metropolitan areas The diagram below more graphically represents how these systems work Dispatch Station Car 2 Transmit amp Receive 155 010 MHz Car 3 System Diagram Base Mobile Simplex system Assuming a distance of 20 miles between the station and each car this system provides adequate coverage to and from all mobiles In addition Cars 1 amp 3 which are within 5 miles of each other can also communicate but car 2 which is almost 40 miles away from cars 1 and 2 cannot communicate with either car The initial imp
16. may simply be to purchase inexpensive analog equipment with the thought in mind to convert to digital when a common operating standard evolves There are some excellent choices available in analog systems For additional information check out our web site at www the end of confusion us Summing it all up At this point most existing 2 way radio users will conclude that the immediate objective is to select the digital technology best suited to their long term objectives generally DMR NXDN or P25 Once this decision has been made the next step would be to file for an FCC license to allow operation in compliance with proposed FCC narrow band standards as well as the selected digital technology The next step would most likely be the selection of a new base or repeater station capable of meeting your long term objectives on a phased approach Page 5 Planning For the Future Now that we have this narrow banding thing behind us we can direct our attention to developing a plan that fits your individual needs In 2009 we prepared a basic migration plan that covers the essentials See www info4u us PathwayPS pdf but we understand that many of our users want to go beyond the basics to more advanced capabilities For the sake of keeping things as simple as possible let s assume that you have chosen NXDN as your preferred technology or more specifically IDAS ICOM Digital Advanced System beginning with a fundamental objective of purchasing a repla
17. the cost burden of P25 technology is not necessary for this application Essentially the user requires two maybe three repeaters covering and generally overlapping areas of operation commonly used by personnel that may travel throughout all three areas Two of the areas are outside and the third is inside a building complex The user wants seamless operation with no channel switching required and has ruled out simulcasting due to high initial cost and high maintenance Hospital Communications From a hospital user requiring extended communications within a large multi building campus a similar but different scenario was presented The current system uses multiple analog repeater stations at a common site Coverage is poor in parking areas and in some parts of buildings within the campus Page 2 9 The needs of most users Emergency Room Surgical Units Family Services etc can be satisfied with the current system either through the use of existing repeaters or on a direct communications basis On a recent emergency drill the communications system failed to meet the requirements of an emergency situation requiring coordination of the combined personnel resources of the hospital Administrative IT Maintenance and Security officials had long recognized the need for radio communications coverage within different zones that could be coordinated as a single operating system The disaster drill clearly demonstrated the need for improved com
18. Service Buildup Programming kit Crating and packing Reship fee in USA Site Protection FCC License Antenna system Installation TOTAL PRICE IDAS Repeater at Site 1 VHF Government Price FR5000 01 Repeater 1 381 ICT 22012 30N 244 HMDRRT11928 155 IAS DVNC 1533L 1 163 MIS 350 IAS 60 Programming 50 Assembly Test 80 152 with manual CRT 350 IAS 75 100 Estimated 653 Not included Not included Not included 4 038 IDAS Repeater at Site 2 VHF Government Price FR5000 01 Repeater 1 381 ICT 22012 30N 244 HMDRRT1T1928 155 IAS DVNC 1533L 1 163 MIS 350 IAS 60 Programming 50 Assembly Test 80 Included with 1 unit CRT 350 IAS 75 100 Estimated 653 Not Included Not included Not included 3 886 IDAS Mobile Radio VHF Government Price Po F5061 526 Ignition sense 20 Antenna 27 Not used Not used Programming 27 Not applicable Not applicable Included 25 5 yr warranty 57 Not Included Not applicable Not included 682 Note Above prices assume GSA pricing and domestic shipment within the USA Shipping outside the USA will vary depending on carrier method selected See www info4u us SiteProtect pdf As you will note in the diagram below a mobile operating in the Birmingham coverage area can talk to the Birmingham dispatcher and mobiles in the Birmingham area but NOT Montgomery units However the driver CAN talk to Montgomery units while in M
19. The problem is that this maximum filtering can often reduce the sensitivity of the receiver resulting in poor talk back range from portables 3 Antennas were generally selected for maximum gain with no consideration given to local topography A high gain antenna such as the DB 224 located on a tower much higher than average terrain may actually not perform as well as a lower gain inexpensive antenna with better down tilt 4 Unfortunately antenna cables and connections rarely were understood as being a critical part of performance As long as the price was right and the cable connected the antenna to the radio the system was complete The problem is that the people who placed the connectors to the cable were often unskilled in what appeared to be a minimal task The selection of cable generally did not address the advantages of copper over aluminum foam dielectric efficiency weather securing outside connectors or securing the cable to the tower to avoid wind damage Other considerations such as dB loss were rarely considered The overall conclusion is that there could be a problem not only with the repeater radio s but also the duplexer the antenna and the cable connectors We understand that it doesn t make sense to throw out everything unless you have an unlimited budget For this reason we suggest that you begin with the replacement of your existing repeater radio s as a logical first step toward narrow banding and proceed
20. ama or two buildings on the same campus or two areas within a single building or any other two locations that may be classed as a different area of operations In our example let s say that most of the time work in Birmingham AL and communicate to my office through a mountain top repeater station This repeater provides me with the ability to talk from a mobile radio within an approximate 40 mile area to my office in Birmingham When get to Jemison Alabama about half way to Montgomery come into range of a second repeater that provides coverage within a 40 mile radius of Montgomery Once get within range of Jemison my radio assumed to be an ICOM F5061 mobile for this example automatically switches to the Montgomery repeater While in the Montgomery area would communicate with my office in Montgomery To better explain how all this works please refer to www info4u us IDAS Roaming pdf On the following page we will provide some budgetary pricing actually used to address the needs of our friends in the Caribbean island nation discussed above This system will consist of two IDAS FR5000 repeaters with high performance duplexers for maximum range No additional electronic equipment is required for voting mode scan Page gt 0 Condensed Equipment Pricing for Dual Repeater System with Voting Mode Scan System Description VHF 50W Repeater Internal AC P S 19 Rack 28 H Duplexer Hi Spec System cables Programming IAS
21. and near equal talk out range to a 100 wait amplifier since connector cable losses to the amplifier are eliminated Further spurious radiation from the amplifier is also eliminated The result is better performance with less power Receiver Transmit URFR5000 50 Watt Repeater Front View URFR5000 50 Watt Repeater Rear View As you will note from the pictures above the URFR5000 is small simple and efficient It comes programmed to your repeater frequency for both analog 25 or 12 5 kHz operation as well as 6 25 kHz NXDN digital operation i e your old analog radios can talk to your new digital radios as well as allowing your new digital radios to communicate PRIVATELY as desired at the individual group or fleet level The URFR5000 measures just 2 7 high 7 deep and 6 7 wide and this includes a cooling fan There is nothing to adjust Just connect the duplexer Receive input to the Type N connector shown on the left of the rear view above and the duplexer Transmit input to the Type N connector shown at the right of the rear view above A DC power cord is supplied next to Transmit input connector for use with your existing power supply Up to 32 work groups can be handled by the standard URFR5000 on a single channel As we said before this incredible repeater replacement station is just 995 Incredibly this station is compatible with the later addition of trunking RolP Radio over IP connection to computers receiver voting sy
22. available in the USA They are as follows DMR Digital Mobile Radio Originally a European standard is most commonly known in the USA as MotoTRBO A new offering known as Hytera is also available in the USA More information is available at www info4u us DMR pdf ISDN radios are a low powered technology available primarily for portable radios used for on site use The primary supplier is Motorola with a product known as the DIR Series DTR550 and DTR650 More information available at www falcondirect com DTR NXDN known as dPMR in Europe is a technology jointly developed by ICOM and Kenwood This is the only technology available today in the USA designed for single channel 6 25 kHz operation More information is available on the ICOM offering at www icomfuture com PNDS Public Network Data Systems One of the changes evolving is the elimination of a difference between voice communications and data communications Traditionally voice communications has been thought of as being analog while GPS and messaging was considered to be digital Today they can ALL be digital and in some cases the use of the Internet plus GPS and messaging can completely eliminate the need for voice communications Page4 Currently there are three operating models for personal communications These include PMD Private Mobile Dispatch CNS Carrier Network Systems and SCS Shared Cost Systems Traditionally public safety users have favored PMD systems si
23. ay to sharpen up the incoming signal from the portable For additional information on the function of a preselector please see http en wikipedia org wiki Preselector Looking at the CY5000 from the top we can see the URFR5000 at the center left and the power supply to the far left At this point this is little more than a basic UR FR5000 repeater with a power supply and housing Now we add a few things beginning with an internal duplexer This duplexer is especially designed to be installed inside the CY5000 housing It goes in the space at the right side of the UR FR5000 It can handle a full 50 watts of power with minimal loss and good isolation to keep Spurious power from the transmitter from desensitizing the receiver We are suggesting that you include this duplexer even though you may already have a duplexer more about this later The next thing we add is the preselector It goes right alongside the duplexer connected by an internal wiring assembly Now we have a completely self contained repeater system specifically designed to enhance the use of both mobile AND portable radios The price for this complete system is just 2 995 complete In the long run your investment will be justified ae Perhaps an additional comment on duplexers might be in order The function of a duplexer is to allow a radio transmitter and receiver to operate simultaneously rather than pushing to talk and releasing to listen as you do
24. ble to analog radios communications systems The codes used for IDAS radios operating in the digital mode are known as RAN Radio Access Numbers Essentially CTCSS and RAN codes provide the same functions privacy and selectivity as applicable Page 2 3 The diagram on the preceding page presumes a separation of around 25 miles between a current repeater Repeater A and a second repeater Repeater B The process of selecting the desired repeater is as simple as changing a channel If a user is within the coverage area of Repeater A he or she would select Channel 1 If they wish to talk through Repeater B they would select Channel 2 Since both repeaters have the same output frequency the mobile or portable user will always hear calls from dispatch regardless of the channel selected In a typical situation users on the west side of the county or city or building complex as applicable would normally stay on the Repeater A channel Users on the east side would use the Repeater B channel If a user travels outside their primary repeater coverage area they just switch to the alternate channel At the dispatch center a similar selection process is used The dispatcher selects the desired repeater to communicate with mobile or portable radios in the desired coverage area This can be done either by changing channels on the radio or selecting the desired repeater using the selector button on a dispatch console As noted earlier IDAS repeat
25. cement for an existing repeater The basic intention is to replace an existing analog repeater with one capable of meeting mandatory and planned technical standards improving portable communications keeping cost as low as possible and planning a path to trunking and computer integration as needs change For comparison purposes let s assume that you have a typical repeater consisting of a couple of mobile radios a power supply duplexer high gain antenna system and a high power amplifier Without getting too technical let us share with you the writings of Stan Wright of Eureka Indiana who describes the process of what he did to build a repeater for his fire department See www eurekaboy com electronics repeaterbuild htm Many users have current repeaters very similar to this The problems many of these users share in common are as follows 1 Repeater or repeater radios cannot be narrow banded Even those that can be narrow banded often do not have the ability to compress the transmission to reduce noise a process called compandering or lack the receiver sensitivity to work effectively with portable radios 2 Many existing repeater stations were designed for mobile not portable use which means that they use the highest possible power typically 100 watts coupled with duplexers designed for maximum filtering Filtering is the function of a duplexer which protects the radio receiver from spurious RF emitted by the transmitter
26. d associated mobiles Answer Generally this question would normally be asked by a public safety user The narrow banding of an existing repeater would be included at no extra charge when adding the new repeater The cost will depend on whether the user is tax exempt or non exempt Add 60 to the costs listed below for non exempt private ambulance services volunteer fire departments or rescue squads There are four public safety coordinators each with frequencies in their assigned pools or frequency banks All have different fee schedules AASHTO charges 460 00 per frequency pair per location APCO 420 00 per pair per location IMSA 400 00 per pair per location and FCCA 380 00 per pair per location Normally we choose to file first with FCCA since the fees are less Page 1 7 When an application has been submitted to the designated public safety frequency coordinator normally FCCA the frequency pool for that coordinator is reviewed for NEW frequencies If after exhausting the common public safety pool and their own specific frequency coordinator allotment pool it is found that no frequencies are available it becomes necessary to search for a frequency from another public safety coordinator with their concurrence If this is required a 100 00 inter service sharing fee will be assessed per frequency per location i e Up to 200 for a new repeater frequency pair We won t know about this latter inter service sharing until the desig
27. dheld will never talk as well as a 50 watt mobile repeater or no repeater This brings us to one of the issues that must be addressed in system planning to make handhelds perform to meet the users needs There are several ways to address this requirement One of the more common is to use a mobile repeater that allows the mobile to pick up the transmissions from the handheld and repeat the call through the mobile The diagram below shows how this works Main Repeater Station Frequency 1 Transmitted by Main Repeater station Received by mobile and handheld Frequency 2 Main Repeater station receive frequency Can be heard directly from mobile but not from handheld due to talk back range limitations of handheld Frequency 3 Cross link transmit frequency from handheld Received by mobile and retransmitted on the mobile transmit frequency to Main Repeater Station THE BETTER SOLUTION The repeater was a great improvement Mobile repeaters can sometimes be used by smaller departments where only a few vehicles are involved However the better solution generally is to add arepeater There are several ways to do this If the handheld radios can hear but can t get back a common solution is to use a bypass repeater This involves using a second repeater that is within range of both the handheld radio and the main repeater The diagram on the following page shows the use of the two existing frequencies already used by the p
28. e IDAS digital model More information on the F121221 series mobile is available at www info4u us F121 pdf As a final comment we should mention that the software system can be set for automatic polling at intervals 6 to 20 seconds Do yourself a favor Do NOT use automatic polling Set your system up for location ID when the mobile transmits or when specifically polled by the dispatch operator Your AVL system will work a LOT better by following this routine We hope you have found this information to be useful Call us if you have additional questions Page 1 3 Trunking Radio Systems utilize three or more frequencies placed in a resource pool then making the first unused frequency available for a mobile or portable radio user needing to communicate with dispatch or other users A basic trunking radio system involves a single repeater site with three or more repeaters managed by a system controller This controller provides automatic dynamic channel assignments as required for mobile and portable radio users In each portable or mobile radio is an optional circuit most commonly referred to as a logic board The logic board provides information to the system controller that allows the controller to determine who talks when they talk and to whom they talk A more detailed explanation of an analog system known as LTR Logic Trunked Radio is available at www info4u us LTR pdf The purpose of trunking is to increase the probability of communicat
29. e or portable AND in each repeater Historically trunking controllers have been separate devices from the repeater made by third party suppliers such as Trident Zetron etc Now it is a simple plug in board that goes into the back of the FR5000 6000 station ct ASE Our reason for pointing this out to you is that a trunking system needs de CH EIL pa r f eeu in X COM ELT _ TAT T 4 4 f a Trey 11 sasit IBRA 100 8 He Ha E a A The UCFR5000 trunking controller board shown above simply plugs into the back of the radio to perform the functions of a network Initially introduced at 1 500 to be competitive to LTR controllers the price of the IDAS digital trunking board is no more than an analog LTR controller just 1 500 The initial version of this controller provides two separate functions The Rear view of FR5000 station with i i UCFR5000 module installed first is a trunking controller which we are now discussing This incredible device can also provide remote repeater management via the Internet We ll be talking more about this shortly For now it is important to remember that the addition of one of these devices to each of your repeaters at a common single site becomes the brains to manage dynamic channel assignment At this point we have budgetary numbers to apply to the planning and implementation to upgrade from an existing public safety analog repeater to digital Here are summary prices
30. e the FCC does not require the use of digital technology for 2 way radio communications the fact remains that digital has some significant operating advantages over analog For this reason the trend is toward digital as it has already been established in cellular and TV broadcast communications with AM and FM broadcast radio close behind The U S Government has already switched to digital 2 way with the established standard based on APCO 25 P25 technology See www into4u us Top 5 Reasons pdf for more information on why many users are switching to digital without waiting for regulatory mandates All agencies of the U S Government are required to purchase only P25 equipment This standard is also applicable to the purchase of 2 way radio equipment funded by 2009 Assistance to Firefighters grants as approved by the Department of Homeland Security DHS state operating plans Having said that we should point out that it is not our role to provide legal interpretations or to act as a watchdog for compliance issues For those that are interested in such things we invite you to visit several of our resource sites as follows For more information about APCO 25 P25 please visit http www info4u us APCO25 For information relating to AFG communications funding please visit http falconinfo blogspot com 2010 02 important message concerning fire htm In addition to P25 there are seven other digital operating standards available or soon to be
31. ehicle tracking either LTR or IDAS is optionally available by adding a 1 140 base station and antenna as required PC and Internet connection not included also required A GPS microphone adds 349 to the cost of a standard F121 221 series analog mobile radio for LTR trunking or to the 695 cost of an IDAS digital mobile or portable radio Page 1 6 FCC Licensing Upgrading existing 25 kHz analog radio systems to Narrow Band 12 5 or 6 25 kHz Very Narrow Band digital operation requires filing with the Federal Communications Commission FCC You can operate NB or VNB analog radios on a standard 25 kHz radio system with no modification of your existing FCC license until December 31 2012 After December 12 2012 you must have your license modified to show that you are operating on 12 5 or 6 25 kHz and you must cease all operations on 25 kHz No exceptions On the previous page we assumed the upgrade of a single channel repeater as well as three repeaters at a single location operating from a single license modified from 25 kHz to narrow band The modification can cover either 12 5 KHz or 6 25 KHz Very Narrow Band operating in either analog or digital modes In simple terms you can operate analog NB radios on an existing license You can NOT operate digital radios on an existing license whether it is 25 KHz NB or VNB unless you modify the emission designators more about that ina moment This applies whether your radio uses P25 All brand
32. eof Page gt 1 Basic Broadband Connected System A broadband connected system allows radio users in Montgomery to talk to users in Birmingham and a dispatcher using radio to talk to users in either city The basic equipment will be essentially the same as shown on the previous page plus the aforementioned broadband connection The chart below defines the cost of such a two site broadband connected system Cost of broadband service not included System Description e mO wouree qhe Time Is now VHF 50W Repeater Internal AC P S Network Controller IP Repeater Link Card Gigabit 4 port Router System cables Data Bus Cable 19 Rack 28 H Duplexer Hi Spec Programming IAS Service Buildup Programming kit Container and Packing Shipping USA Reship fee in USA Site Protection FCC License Antenna system Installation TOTAL PRICE IDAS Repeater at Site 1 VHF Government Price FR5000 01 Repeater 1 381 ICT 22012 30N 244 UC FR5000 01 500 CF FR 5000 02 65 RVS4000 225 MIS 350 IAS 60 DTA 350 IAS 18 HMDRRT11928 155 IAS DVNC 1533L 1 163 Programming 50 Assembly Test 80 152 with manual CRT 350 IAS 75 Included to Falcon Direct Estimated 100 653 Not included Not included Not included 4 921 IDAS Repeater at Site 2 VHF Government Price FR5000 01 Repeater 1 381 ICT 22012 30N 244 UC FR5000 01 500 CF FR 5000 02 65 RVS4000 225 MIS 350 IAS 60
33. er proof tape wrapped around these conneciors The transmission line should always be secured to the antenna support structure with the shortest possible length of cable run horizontally if required Use the cable ties offered by the manufacturer Duct tape is good for a lot of things but not generally recommended for securing transmission lines Do the job right the first time It can save you a lot of money later on There are three commonly used transmission lines RG213 for short runs LMR 400 for lengths of up to 150 feet and if budget permits The better quality cables which use a solid core copper center conductor foam dielectric and an insulated copper outer shield There are a number of manufacturers Our preference is Known as Heliax Heliax was developed in the USA by the Andrew Corporation and it is the standard for the world in communications transmission line We recommend 1 2 Heliax for lengths of up to 150 feet at a cost of 2 50 per foot plus 75 for the required connectors For runs between 151 and 250 feet we recommend 5 8 Heliax at a cost of 4 00 per foot plus 100 for connectors For lengths of 250 feet to no more than 350 feet we recommend 7 8 cable at 5 50 per foot plus 125 for connectors For lengths over 350 feet call us at 1 800 489 2611 for a quote We got off topic just a bit to address the importance of duplexers pre selectors antennas and cable systems The fact is that they are a vital part
34. ers Intermod 282 29 pdf When your budget does not allow the purchase of the SC229 It s a little pricey at 1 095 we offer an excellent alternative with the ZTenna priced at just 295 This is a great product UPS shippable low PIM solid construction and superior performance More information at www info4u us SuperT ennas pdt a The biggest single reason for failure of base and repeater stations is power or more correctly lack thereof We recommend AC line protection for sags spikes and surges as well as lightning protect on the antenna transmission line Backup emergency power generators are nice to have but expensive and unreliable A simple battery backup system with an effective alarm notification system is highly recommended Our exclusive AC Reporter is especially useful for this purpose The complete package is just 653 Additional information is available at www info4u us SiteProtect pdf The biggest single reason for deteriorating performance for a 2 way radio system is an improper selection of the antenna transmission line system and or incorrect installation of connectors on the transmission line If your transmission line has been in use for five years or more we recommend replacement Further we recommend that the connectors be installed by the manufacturer or distributor If you are installing the system yourself be SURE and use a good sealant as recommended by the manufacturer on all outside fittings with weath
35. ers can handle both analog and digital transmissions so there is no need to select analog or digital This is called mixed mode operation which is standard in NXDN and P25 operating systems The early version MotoTRBO repeaters do not have this capability although they can be upgraded at additional cost when this capability is desired In essence an IDAS mobile calling in to dispatch in the digital mode will be heard by the dispatcher with no switching required When the dispatcher answers the response will be in the same format as the received call i e digital calls are automatically answered in digital Analog calls are answered in analog The latest version IDAS mobile and portable radios have an enhancement known as Voting mode scanning The voting mode scanning detects the signal strength level of repeater stations and automatically selects the strongest station This is very useful for roaming between 2 or more repeater sites as it virtually eliminated the need for changing channels by mobile or portable radio users The closest repeater is automatically selected You will recall the system shown on the diagram uses the same frequencies Only the CTCSS for analog operation or RAN code for digital operation is different In some cases it may be desirable to use different operating frequencies for each repeater This allows simultaneous events to be conducted on both repeaters For the mobile or portable user there is no change in operat
36. ging This is great news for those who have already installed MotoTRBO systems NXDN An international open standard offered in the USA by ICOM Kenwood and Ritron For commercial and non federally funded purchases this is in our opinion the best of the operating standards with the ability to operate on both analog and digital modes as well as single channel 6 25 kHz channel spacing Prices are comparable to DMR even though mobile and portable radios have 2 tone paging capability and the standard repeaters can function in both analog and digital modes simultaneously We believe this is the operating standard best suited for the integration of communications and computers More information is at www icomfuture com APCO 25 Also known as P25 is the US standard for public safety communications P25 tends to be a little more expensive than either DMR or NXDN but it is the only technology that meets the guidelines for Department of Homeland Security funding Prices are coming down as more government agencies embrace this technology If you are a government agency and anticipate using federal grant money to pay for your narrowband and digital upgrade P25 is your logical choice More information is available at www info4u us Ready4P25 pdf as well as a special report at www info4u us SAFECOM 2010 pdf A comment on grant funding may be in order at this time Grants come at a price For one thing you lose control see note on P25 above Additionally
37. gle operating system Additional information on the ICOM version of RolP is available at http icomfuture com RolP aspx SDR Software Defined Radio is a fundamental change from a hardware device limited to operating specifically for a designated frequency range SDR represents the initial step in the development of personal communications from a device to an integrated operating system involving the combining of communications and computers For some interesting applications of SDR please visit www info4u us EX Tender pdf TETRA is an international standard very popular in Asia and Europe This technology recently introduced in the USA by HYT America is favored by many utility users although generally unknown by Public Safety who favor P25 Railroads who favor NXDN or the general business community that has not yet established a standard For additional information on TETRA subscribe to our Blog at http falconinfo blogspot com or sign up for our eNewsletter at www falcondirect com SignUp Which technology is best for you Only you can make that decision but we encourage you to make your decision based on facts not an unbalanced sales presentation whether presented by us or someone else Any supplier proposing a single solution for all users is not on your side For example many users will elect to stay with analog technology Is this wrong We dont think so if you choose the right analog equipment Sometimes the right decision
38. goal of continuing to use existing analog radios as long as possible We assumed that you would be looking at the four most popular alternatives for narrow band compliance with a brief overview of each as follows Analog 12 5 kHz complies with all current FOC mandates Analog does not offer the benefits normally associated with digital which includes high level security extended battery life for portables efficient GPS and texting capability although some analog systems DO have limited GPS and text message capabilities that may meet the needs of many users Analog systems currently have a significant price advantage over digital systems and may be all that many users will ever need This is the best alternative for voice paging applications For additional information please visit www the end of confusion us DMR A relatively new term to many users Best known in the USA as MotoTRBO DMR Digital Mobile Radio until March of 2010 was offered only by a single manufacturer Motorola DMR products are now available from Hytera HYT that address some of the shortcomings of the original MotoTRBO offerings The original MotoTRBO repeaters could operate only in the analog or digital modes which limited an orderly migration process Further the MotoTRBO radios do not have 2 tone paging capability a major requirement for volunteer fire departments and others using selective signaling The new Hytera radio will offer both mixed mode and 2 tone pa
39. gy using readily available interoperable devices several of which are discussed in the Planner Physical solutions such as our X Band 50 provide affordable alternatives for bridging analog VHF and UHF radios as well as the aircraft bands and EVEN NXDN and P25 digital radios In the next few pages we will review powerful new technologies based on Internet Protocol which will made computers function like radios and radios function like data terminals You may have noticed that we have given little mention to using public cellular networks or even 700 800 MHz There is a reason for this 700 and 800 MHz systems do not provide the coverage of either VHF or UHF and such systems are basically useless for in building use This has been documented many times and regardless of opinions or studies the fact is that it doesn t work unless building owners are forced to install expensive in building repeaters As far as cost is concerned a conservative estimate is that building 700 MHz infrastructure is AT LEAST five times more than a comparable VHF or UHF system and the mobiles or portables in today s dollars are three times more than DMR or NXDN radio and approximately TEN times more than FCC narrowband compliant analog radios As far as using cellular networks for first responders is concerned that is simply not a valid option Case in point we all remember when the Interstate bridge collapsed in Minneapolis several years ago What virtually no one kn
40. hone is available for the F3161 4161 series portables Additional information is available on request Page 1 2 The Quick Silver GPS module plugs directly into the F5061 and F6061 series radio to allow IDAS radios to send the current position information to dispatch A similar option is available for the F121 and 221 series analog radios Simultaneous status message and GPS data can also be sent When connected to a PC installed with a mapping software application the dispatcher can know the real time activity of all vehicles in the fleet QS GPS 180 The first supplier to our knowledge of AVL equipment for IDAS radios is Boyce Industries of Queensland Australia www boyceindustries com au This system is based on the use of the Quick Silver GPS module or an AVL microphone such as the ICOM HM 170GP Additional information on the Quick Silver GPS module is available at www info4u us qsgps pdf Our personal choice for GPS software used on ICOM radios is Spectrum Digital Imaging Ltd of Vancouver Canada Spectrum Digital offers an efficient and affordable GPS tracking and messaging system known as the OziTracker which is available through Falcon Direct A User Manual that thoroughly describes the operation of this system is available at www info4u us Ozilracker Manual pdf The entire system is software downloadable and easily set up In general the OziTracker is extremely affordable in comparison to some of the other competitors
41. ing protocol However at the dispatch center it becomes necessary to monitor BOTH channels at the same time a very difficult process for a single dispatcher When different repeater frequencies are used it is normally assumed that two or more dispatchers will be available one for the west repeater and one for the east The cost of adding a second repeater is shown at the left This includes the cost of upgrading an existing 25 kHz license High Spec IDAS Repeater to narrow band 12 5 and very narrow band 6 25 kHz for both CY5000 Repeater 2 995 analog and digital operation S229 Antenna 1 095 Antenna side mount kit 250 The price at the right includes a preselector duplexer high a atl Kit performance antenna high grade transmission line and an FCC License Fee 1 095 estimated installation cost actual cost depends on type of Installation Estimate 900 antenna structure used This price quote assumes an Total 7 038 existing antenna structure with antenna mounted on the side of the tower or not exceeding building height by more than 20 feet The FCC license fee assumes a duplication of an existing repeater frequency pair or a new frequency pair as desired plus a tactical channel for on scene or vehicular repeater use And we ll talk about vehicle repeaters on the next page Page 2 4 VEHICULAR REPEATERS Communications is a personal thing Most of us don t use mobile cell phones We use personal cell phones that g
42. ing when necessary along with privacy and selectivity Instead of the police department having a channel the fire department having a channel and public works having a channel trunking pools all of these channels as a deployable on demand resource With a conventional single channel system the channel is unavailable for more than one conversation to take place at the same time Witha trunked system the original conversation on the first channel can be made in private by the police department If a second conversation needs to be established for the police department the resource controller connects the second pair of communicators on a channel borrowed from the fire or public works The more channels you have in the pool the more your chances improve for talking when required rather than waiting in line The net effect is that each channel is capable of more use thereby increasing the probability of quick connection The phone company uses this same principal A hundred private numbers are commonly served by only ten phone lines It s all based on a theory called Erlanger curves It s been around for over a hundred years and is used in a variety of applications including medicine Now that we know what trunking is and what it does let s look at how it s used Single site 3 or more repeaters located at a single site The system can be analog LTR or digital IDAS MotoTRBO or P25 as desired These systems are most commonl
43. ion of a working system is described at www 3rd st com voting htm Suffice it say for now than all analog voting systems require a voter comparator and connection via fiber or phone lines or radio microwave These are known as hard connections A digital system such as the IDAS system by ICOM does NOT require a hard connection The diagram below will better explain the operation of a digital voting system 1 te ag 1 rome 1 ae IP Network The IDAS digital system uses the SETATA ee Internet for connectivity As long as you have Internet connections at your ree primary repeater location and at the a secondary receiver sites you can set up Downlink WUS qe your system by simply adding a SS UCFR5000 IP module at 1 500 each to W 4 your choice of IDAS digital repeater Si X we stations See Page 16 i aT el Z y We offer a special remote receiver especially designed a for use with the IDAS digital voting arnasia system priced at 2 695 plus antenna system as desired See Page 9 We call it the ExRx Essentially it is a URFR5000 transceiver with an AC power supply and a UCFR5000 IP module The diagram above shows how it all works For many users requiring extended coverage a receiver voting system may be all that is required For others we offer a variety of multi site repeater systems which will be discussed on the next page Uplink
44. ion to saving the expense of running multiple transmission lines and the cost of the antennas performance is enhanced by reducing interactive effects between the antennas The talk back range of mobiles and portable radios can actually be improved since the Multicoupler contains an amplification stage that is not applicable in a duplexer or even in a direct antenna connection A four channel Multicoupler such as the Sinclair RM201 is 1 800 Page 1 5 Lets recap now We ve taken care of our FCC licensing purchased a three channel trunked radio system with 19 rack combiner and Multicoupler with an equipment cost of 13 857 maybe even a little less for government agencies and quantity purchase buyers What else do we need Other than an antenna support structure two antennas and associated transmission lines See Page 8 nothing else is necessary except a little planning and a few optional items You may remember an earlier mention that our mobile and portable radios would operate on LTR on IDAS digital trunking systems LTR is a three decade old trunking format designed for analog radios The ICOM F5061 6061 mobiles and F3161 4161 portables both have LTR trunking as a standard feature The digital models quoted on Page 9 have both LTR and IDAS digital trunking capability This means they are compatible with older LTR systems but for new systems the preferred operating system would be IDAS trunking a logic controller both in the mobil
45. is considerably more expensive than NXDN and at this time NXDN is the only technology offering single channel 6 25 operating capability Just remember NXDN is NOT approved for 2009 AFG funding without written approval For additional information you may want to review a recent Blog comment on this subject written in response to published comments by a NXDN supplier not ICOM See _ http falconinfo blogspot com 2010 02 we couldnt help but notice htm for additional information In general MotoT RBO or DMR if you prefer and NXDN have similar operating characteristics In some cases MotoT RBO mobile and portable equipment may be offered at slightly lower cost than NXDN known as dPMR in Europe and the Middle East Single site repeaters are comparably priced with NXDN but if you are considering expanding your system to voting receiver trunking or RoIP capability there is a HUGE price advantage in selecting NXDN and in particular the IDAS system by ICOM We have installed some of the largest MotoT RBO systems in the USA but we do not feel that this technology is well suited for public safety requirements MotoTRBO is especially well suited for the hospitality manufacturing and transportation industries but the inability to provide single channel 6 25 kHz capability lack of 2 tone paging and the inability to provide mixed mode operation through a repeater limits this technology for public safety Additional comments are available at ww
46. munications Equally apparent was the fact that adding a band aid to the existing system was not a solution Government Communications From the communications director for a Caribbean island nation we learned of the need for island wide communications ranging from high elevation mountain tops and sea level communities removed by distances that did not allow single site transmitter locations The bad news is that the user did not want to complicate either dispatcher or field user routines i e manual channel selection was not an option International Communications From a Middle Eastern communications user requiring nationwide communications we learned much about the capabilities of IDAS voice and data networking in areas where direct RF linking was required between a network of stations where no broadband access was available IDAS Roaming The solution to ALL of the aforementioned requirements can be summed up in one word ROAMING As it related to communications roaming means to provide a radio user operating either a mobile or portable radio with the ability to communicate on two or more repeater stations with no physical channel switching required This is called dynamic channel assignment It is very similar to trunking See information starting on Page 23 for more information but more flexible and less expensive We ll provide an example to show how this works Let s say that you have offices in Birmingham and Montgomery Alab
47. n X Band 50 See specifications at www info4u us XBand50 pdf The X Band 50 XB50 is essentially a VHF radio and a UHF radio using a common AC and DC power supply with a bridging network that interconnects the two radios As a fixed station the XB50 can be connected to external antennas See Page 9 for outdoor antennas and cable kits or for indoor or mobile installations see www info4u us xyztennas pdf These units provide essentially the same function whether set up at a fixed location or install in a vehicle They allow VHF radio users to talk to UHF users easily and affordably For dispatch applications the XB50 provides dual base stations with both f stations operating in the VHF mode the UHF mode or one on VHF and one on UHF A low cost desk microphone is available to allow control of either ars station as desired The entire two channel combination is housed in an ae attractive desktop configuration measuring only 19 x 5 x 15 5 and weighing less than twenty pounds Although primarily designed for analog operation special configurations of the XB50 are available for use with aircraft radios IDAS and P25 digital radios Call us for pricing at 205 854 2611 or email sales falcondirect com For now let s review the pricing on the most popular models of the XB50 X Band 50 System Pricing IAS X Band 50 12VDC 110VAC VHF UHF repeater excluding antennas 1 995 IAS X Band 50 V Same as above except with two VHF radi
48. n a common operating platform using open architecture However each manufacturer may use differing technologies for Automatic Vehicle Location AVL Computer to Radio Integration Commonly known as RolP Receiver Voting systems for extended talk back communications and Trunking Multi site control We will address each of these functions in order of importance for the majority of those we serve beginning with AVL Automatic Vehicle Location AVL This is one of the most misunderstood technologies as to what it is expected to do and what it really does We ll do our best to separate fact from fiction by giving a few examples Those familiar with the MotoTRBO system by Motorola know that GPS is available as an internal feature on some mobile and portable radio models It could be assumed that this means the subscriber mobile and portable radios are capable of reporting their position using dual slot i e two 6 25 kHz slots one for voice and the other for data operating on a 12 5 KHz narrow band channel That is partially correct but necessarily what you might first understand First there is the matter of cost The portables require a special dual function antenna one part of the antenna is used for communicating voice and or data and the other part is dedicated to the reception of GPS satellites which are required for determining the user location The cost of the portable antenna is about the same as any other portable antenna
49. nated coordinator has received the application and arrived at recommendations Contingent upon the entity status in public safety e g governmental vs private e g corporation association the 60 00 application also may be due Additionally our 265 00 application preparation fee is also required Summing this all up we can say that the estimated cost for narrow banding an existing VHF or UHF radio system plus adding a second repeater would cost 380 assuming FCCA as the coordinator plus 265 for application preparation This would equate to a total cost of 645 fora tax exempt public safety user IF inter service sharing is not required If inter service sharing is required add 200 and we won t know that until after your application has been submitted As mentioned previously business institutional or non tax exempt users would be subject to an additional FCC license fee The good news is that FCC license authorizations are good for ten years The bottom line is that the total estimated cost for a tax exempt public safety user is 645 subject to the possibility of an additional cost of up to 200 Question What is the cost for adding a third frequency at a fixed location to be used as pocket repeater i e receive the primary station output frequency and retransmit on a third frequency simplex Station antenna will not exceed the height of an existing structure by more than 20 Existing repeater or repeaters as applicable control stati
50. nce there are no monthly charges To some degree this has changed with the utilization of data air cards used with mobile computing systems as well as wide area push to talk communications services such as Nextel and SouthernLINC The shared cost concept originally developed in Illinois and Florida allows government entities generally at the State level to partner with a manufacturer to build complex wide area systems and pass the cost on to the users See www info4u us InterOpPlan pdf for more information One of the more interesting applications of PNDS technology is offered through a device known as a CoPilot which works in conjunction with a public data network normally Verizon the Internet and a systems management company US Fleet Tracking in this example The user is provided with a single device that provides driving instructions and predicts arrival time Dispatchers know the location of all vehicles in the field and can dispatch calls via a keyboard and receive status messages from field units with no voice communications required The true operating cost from small fleet users can often be LESS than operating a conventional 2 way radio system coupled with increased efficiency Additional information is available at www info4u us CoPilot paf RolP Radio over Internet Protocol is based on the idea that every 2 way radio will ultimately have an IP Internet Protocol address This will allow computers and radios to function as a sin
51. nking either voting mode or dynamic assignment more about this shortly The radio transceiver portion is the same as the other repeaters with the notable difference that it has a display and controls to tell you what channel is being used along with the ability to change channels up to 32 if desired You will recall that a minimum of three repeaters is recommended for trunking 5 to 10 is more common Rather than using a common power supply for all repeaters the l l system reliability can be enhanced by using Another big difference is the open space individual power supplies for each repeater available for options on the FR5000 6000 series We DO recommend a common antenna repeaters We normally use this space to inserta system We will discuss this in more detail as dedicated power supply for each repeater follows For a single repeater we use a single antenna and a duplexer for connection to the radio Ina trunked system we do things a little differently We use TWO antennas one for transmitting and one for receiving We do NOT use a duplexer On the transmitter side we use a Combiner which allows multiple repeater transmitters to be connected to a single antenna On the receiver side we use a Multicoupler to allow connection of multiple receivers to a single antenna A single FR5000 VHF repeater with internal AC power supply is 2 454 each or a total of 7 362 for three units To this we add the cost of a 30 high 19
52. nted on a phased approach as resources allow The information contained in this Planner assumes that you are a public safety licensee using an existing VHF or UHF repeater The examples given in this Planner assume the use of NXDN technology The planning process is very similar for P25 DMR and TETRA Well discuss this in more detail later Let s get started 36 20 Avenue NW Birmingham AL 35215 Phone 205 854 2611 Fax 205 853 6178 Web www the end of confusion us Email burch falcondirect com Page 3 The Switch to Narrow Band Falcon Direct has published much information on planning for an efficient and affordable migration from the current regulatory and technical standards of 2010 to those that will impact many VHF and UHF 2 way radio users as early as 2011 and ALL users by the end of 2012 For most users the general thought is that the main concern is simply switching from an operating bandwidth of 25 kHz to 12 5 kHz and ultimately to 6 25 kHz The switch to 12 5 kHz is mandated for 2013 and switching to 6 25 kHz originally proposed by the Federal Communications Commission FCC for 2018 although no date certain has been established for the VHF and UHF bands at this time lt should be kept in mind that reducing bandwidth has the benefit of providing more useable channels within a fixed operating range while recognizing that such a reduction results in reduced audio and secondarily lessened operating range Accordingly whil
53. o where we go Private 2 way radio systems are a little different We don t have towers every few miles or so We may be trying to cover an entire county with a single tower This means that mobile radios work better than portables since they have more power better antennas and more effective grounding through the vehicle body The net result is that mobiles have far greater talk back range than portables even though portables receive almost as well as mobiles The problem is TALKING BACK The traditional solution is to issue two radios one for the vehicle and one for the person assigned to that vehicle That can get expensive Not only is it efficient if often becomes necessary for the user to return to the vehicle to talk back We think there is a better way That way is called the Box System The system consists of a RF Transponder RFT or mobile repeater used with an associated personal 2 way radio not supplied that functions much like a long distance half mile or more wireless microphone that receives calls directly from the dispatch station and retransmits through the RFT back to dispatch With Box your personal radio talks back like a mobile If you wish you can connect your mobile laptop PC to the Box unit to select up to 32 internally programmed frequencies that can be controlled by your personal radio If you dont have a mobile laptop PC you might want to consider the purchase of a low cost Netbook computer The
54. of any base repeater system and your planning should include these items Now let s return to our original topic of narrow band communications Page9 Competitive Comments An earlier review of the different tyoes of narrow band compliant systems was briefly discussed To refresh your memory we are of the opinion that NXDN and in particular IDAS by ICOM is the best of all systems in terms of investment return operating features and compliance with 6 25 kHz technical standards MotoTRBO and P25 are also very popular in the USA and we thought it was important for you to review these other technologies before moving on to options available for basic base repeater stations If you are planning to spend federal grant dollars and in particular grants involving 2009 Assistance to Firefighters AFG funding you should know that P25 is the only technology approved UNLESS you have WRITTEN permission to switch to an alternate technology We offer some of the best choices in the world for P25 equipment and in fact can supply mobiles and portables for under 1 000 each as well as repeaters typically costing 50 less than competitive offerings Additional information on our P25 offerings is available at www info4u us Ready4P25 pdf Our earlier comments on duplexers transmission lines etc would apply to P25 as well as DMR Hytera and MotoTRBO systems Operationally NXDN and P25 have similar characteristics with the major exceptions being that P25
55. on mobile portable or half duplex fixed station radio In essence the duplexer is a filter with one side filtering the transmitter and the other the receiver Selection of a duplexer is based on insertion loss too much filtering reduces range size and obviously cost Frequency separation is another consideration Normal frequency separation for UHF is 5 MHz between the transmit and receive frequencies VHF has no set separations but whenever possible it is desirable to get a spread of 3 5 MHz or more More separation is good Less separation often requires a more expensive duplexer We are pretty particular about our choice of duplexers antennas and related accessories In general we prefer products manufactured by Sinclair Technologies Additional information is available at www falcondirect com daniels sinclair Page 8 It should be mentioned that we do not recommend the DB224 antenna or anything like it since it uses an exposed dipole construction i e the radiating elements and connected by cables that are subject to weather damage moisture corrosion etc as well as increased inter modulation potential We prefer antenna designs with enclosed radiating elements such as the Sinclair SC229 which is described in the aforementioned web link The SC229 features an extremely low PIM Passive Inter Modulation capability which can have a significant impact on performance More info on PIM is available at www sinctech com white 20pap
56. one select system Let s assume two repeaters one in the western part of the county Repeater A and one on the eastern part of the county Repeater B Repeater A Transmit 153 000 100 0 Hz Receive 158 000 with 100 0 Hz CTCSS Repeater B Transmit 153 000 100 0 Hz hS x Receive 158 000 BS with 82 5 Hz cies Mobile TX 158 000 Mobile TX 158 000 TX 82 5 or 100 0 Hz TX 82 5 or 100 0 Hz RX 153 00 100 0 Hz a Pa 3 RX 153 00 100 0 Hz Control Station Transmit 158 600 w 82 5 or 100 0 Hz RX 153 000 with 100 0 Hz CTCSS A f Portable TX 158 600 Transmit 158 600 w 82 5 or 100 0 Hz RX 153 000 with 100 0 Hz CTCSS The diagram above shows a typical two site repeater system Both repeaters operate on the same frequency 153 000 Transmit and 158 660 Receive Both have a CTCSS tone alternately Known as PL or Private Line of 100 0 Hz on the transmit frequency This tone is essentially used to lock out unwanted co channel and or distant signals on the receivers of control stations mobiles or portables operated on this system The only difference between the two stations other than physical location is that a different CTCSS tone is also assigned to each repeater As you will note on the diagram above Repeater A requires a CTCSS access code of 82 5 Hz Repeater B requires a CTCSS access code of 100 0 Hz Before proceeding further we should note that CTCSS codes are applica
57. ons and mobiles to be upgraded to narrow band Answer As noted above Public Safety coordinators all charge differently The coordination fees would be AASHTO 230 00 APCO 210 00 IMSA 200 00 or FCCA 190 00 per frequency per location Inter service sharing fee of 100 may be due here too as noted above Application processing fee is 260 00 and FCC 60 00 if applicable for business institutional or non tax exempt public safety users he bottom line is that the total estimated cost for a tax exempt public safety user is 450 subject to the possibility of an additional cost of 100 Question What is the cost for adding a VHF repeater pair and one tactical frequency narrow band with 4 control stations under 20 and 100 mobiles Answer The cost for the repeater would be the same as the example above Generally assumed to be 645 For the additional tactical channel that would be 190 00 assuming FCCA as the selected coordinator Here also inter service fees may be applicable We will not know until after the application has gone to a specific frequency coordinator they ve worked the application and arrived at recommendations This could result in a secondary cost of up to 300 100 per frequency The application processing fee is 520 00 2 x 260 and possibly a 60 00 FCC application fee for business institutional or non tax exempt public safety users We hope this information has been useful If you have additional questions or would
58. ontgomery but NOT Birmingham Birmingham coverage area Montgomery coverage area lt Jemison gt Where things get a little complicated is when we want to link these stations so that a dispatcher in either city can talk to mobiles in either city If there is major overlap between the repeaters we have to be sure that the stations don t interfere with each other As you will note from the diagram above there is some overlap in the Jemison area This could be a problem if both stations used the same repeater frequencies and were operating at the same time There are three basic methods to address this problem 1 Simulcast with high stability oscillators and a link between the station which can be conventional VHF or UHF microwave or leased wired circuits Such systems are very expensive and prone to high maintenance cost For most users this is not a good solution 2 Set the stations up on different repeater frequencies to avoid interference overlap and link them with fiber optics or WI FI for short distances not applicable in the above example or more traditionally VHF UHF or Microwave This is called Drop Linking the solution applicable for our international communications user referenced on the previous page See www info4u us drs pdf for a system diagram 3 Where broadband connectivity is available the Internet can be used for connecting stations in distant cities for campus applications or combinations ther
59. os 1 995 IAS X Band 50 U Same as above except with two UHF radios 1 995 IAS X Band 50 AV Same as above except with Airband VHF radios 2 495 IAS X Band 50 AU Same as above except with Airband UHF radios 2 495 Vehicle antenna system Two antennas with roof mount and cable kit 80 Vehicle antenna system Two antennas with Magnet mount and cable kit 120 DC accessory cable for temporary mobile installation 25 Desk microphones 2 for fixed station use 250 FCC Licensing assuming public safety if required per frequency See Page 18 450 On site installation Call 205 854 2611 for a quote We now completed the basics on narrow banding analog and IDAS digital system planning for mobiles portables and single or dual site repeaters After a short review we will move on to using the power of VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol Welcome to the future Page 2 6 A Short Review This may be a good time for review of narrowband planning since we have made some basic assumptions that may or may not apply to your individual situation First we assumed you were an existing 2 way radio user with an existing repeater or plans to use a repeater On that assumption we continued with the thought that you were using analog radios with standard 25 KHz bandwidth and you wanted to look at a simple and affordable migration plan first to comply with FCC mandates for converting to 12 5 kHz Narrow Band maybe even 6 25 kHz Very Narrow Band with a
60. ows is that the Department of Homeland Security DHS was within minutes of shutting down ALL cellular networks including Nextel on the premise that the damage had been caused by terrorists If DHS had flipped the switch the rescue efforts would have been severely impaired as many of the agencies in that area relied heavily on cellular networks such as our own SouthernLINC system serving Alabama Georgia Mississippi and parts of Florida In the event of terrorist activity cellular networks WILL BE SHUT DOWN Clearly the utilization of a public network is no solution for public safety Having said that we believe that a true long term plan should be based on you local area needs beginning with what you MUST do which at this time involves modifying your FCC license to meet both current and future needs The time to do this is NOW Before modifying your license you will need to select the best long term technology that meets your overall requirements in terms of operating requirements and financial resources After making your technology choice Analog DMR NXDN or P25 begin reviewing the available offerings from multiple vendors with Falcon Direct being one of them we hope Look at the features and practical applications of optional capabilities offered Review the alternatives available for making a transitional migration to narrow band and perhaps digital as well An evolving plan can save you a LOT of money Pick a vendor you can t
61. portable or fixed as long as they are operated in the digital mode In the analog mode they are restricted to operation on their home repeater unless they manually switch to an alternate repeater channel when required The whole idea is about keeping things simple for the user In an emergency situation the system must be as simple and as foolproof as possible We have added something new at the bottom of the diagram below It s called a Split Dispatch System You can learn more about this system at www info4u us sds odf For now the main thing to remember is that we can now include COMPUTERS as part of our wireless communications network The technology that connects computers and 2 way radios is called RolP Radio over IP The ICOM RC FS10 priced at 1 496 consists of software for a Windows or e VISTA PC and a CT 24 digital voice 7 converter shown at the left of the keyboard The converter allows you to plug in the microphone of your choice or to use the 99 optional CT 23 desk microphone pictured Up to eight repeaters can be a A controlled with the RC FS10 see www info4u us roip for more information on this major advancement in communications Page 9 3
62. rimary repeater and the third frequency used by the bypass repeater may better explain how this system extends coverage Page 2 0 Primary Repeater F1 153 000 TX F2 158 000 RX Bypass Repeater F1 157 000 RX F2 158 000 TX F1 153 000 RX F3 157 000 TX The second method of providing additional coverage applies when the handheld radio is NOT within range of the primary repeater This involves adding a zone repeater As you will note from the diagram below the secondary coverage area is outside the range of the primary repeater po Secondary Repeater Coverage Area Primary Repeater Coverage Area Transmit 153 000 Transmit 153 000 Mobile TX 158 000 Receive 158 000 Receive 158 000 RX 153 000 With 100 0 Hz PL sEm With 82 5 Hz PL PL 82 5 w Some Mobile TX 158 000 RX 153 000 PL 100 0 As you will note from the diagram above a mobile can access either repeater since both repeaters operate on the same frequency The only difference is the access tone 82 5 Hz Private Line Code for Primary Repeater or 100 0 Hz for the secondary repeater Zone repeaters are very popular in counties where more than one repeater is required to provide adequate coverage The example above has been the most popular way to improve coverage for the past 50 years and is still one of the most cost effective and efficient means to extend coverage for VHF and UHF conventional radio systems This is Known as a basic multi site repea
63. rovement was to convert the dispatch station to repeater operation Several benefits resulted First the main station could be moved to an area of higher elevation such as a mountain top tower or water tank to provide greater range It was no longer called a dispatch station Now it was called a repeater station and the associated dispatch station was called a control station nstead of using a single frequency a repeater uses two frequencies one for transmitting and the other for receiving The repeater transmits F1 and receives F2 The control station and mobile use these same frequencies in reverse order as is shown in the diagram below a Main Repeater Station A g IA Mobile Unit Control Station lt Page 1 9 Frequency 1 Transmitted by Main Repeater station Received by mobile and control station Frequency 2 Main Repeater station receive frequency Can be heard directly from mobile or from control station Control station can talk to the mobile through the repeater Mobile portable communication range is also extended through the repeater System design has not changed appreciably over the past seventy five years Most systems are either simplex systems as we saw in our first example or repeater systems as we saw in our last example The problem is that portable handheld radios were introduced in the seventies are replacing mobiles as we move toward personal communications That s great but a five watt han
64. rust one with competence experience and an understanding of your needs We hope that vendor will be us And NOW we are ready to move on to the new and wonderful things you can do by combining the power of the Internet with the radio system of tomorrow here today Page 2 O Integrated Communications There was a time when radios were radios and computers were computers Now that separation of technologies is going away Large manufacturers such as NEC and more recently Harris and Raytheon have begun to integrate voice data and video Smaller companies like Critical RF have done some truly useful and cost effective communications solutions in the integration of voice data and video As a Critical RF marketing partner and applications integrator we coined our own term for this new technology We call it Vodaeo Vodaeo Voice Data and Video working together for you We will come back for a review of Critical RF products and how they contribute to our overall system planning shortly but for new we thought it would be of interest to review what ICOM is doing in the integration of voice data and video Earlier reference has been made to multiple repeaters being used at a common site Trunking extended receivers to enhance portable transmission range Voting and selectable multiple sites Multi Site We did not address multiple sites with automatic selection Passport or simultaneous activation Simulcasting since these la
65. s and models Phase 1 or Phase 2 NXDN ICOM Kenwood or Ritron or DMR Hytera and MotoTRBO To make this topic a little easier to understand we have prepared the following four questions and answers beginning with the basic question of what does it cost to modify my existing license for narrow band By the way if you ve never heard of a Hytera please visit http falconinfo blogspot com our Blog site and type in the word Hytera in the search box at the top upper right hand side of the page If you would like more information about the FCC rules and regulations use the same search box and just type in the words FCC Now let s proceed to the four most commonly asked questions and answers relating to narrow banding existing repeater radio systems Question What will it cost the typical 2 way radio licensee for converting VHF or UHF systems currently licensed for 25 kHz operation to 12 5 kHz to narrow band either analog digital or both Answer There are three answers to this question depending on whether you are classed as a business institutional user 400 public safety governmental tax exempt 265 or public safety non tax exempt such as volunteer fire and rescue squads for example 325 per license per call sign Question What would be the cost for adding a second repeater for a customer with an existing VHF or UHF 25 kHz repeater Cost to include upgrading existing license to narrow band along with the new repeater an
66. s include CTCSS DPL 2 tone paging encode decode and single button switching from wideband to narrowband More information is available at www info4u us F3161 pdf Two models are available the standard model is 695 and the full keypad model is 745 Both models include a high capacity Lithium lon battery and rapid desk charger An optional speaker microphone or spare battery adds 69 each A five year warranty extension is available for 57 per unit additional Page 1 1 Advanced Systems Other than obtaining an FCC license modification for narrow band digital operation we are assuming that you are already licensed by the FCC your system would be completely upgraded to the latest technology by following the guidelines on the preceding pages If you are not familiar with the process of upgrading your FCC license please go to http www info4u us Narrowoband FAQs pdf You NEED to do this BEFORE January 1 2013 Remember If you haven t converted to narrow band and changed your license to reflect that conversion you can no longer operate your system even though you have a license authorizing 25 kHz beyond December 31 2012 Now let s move on to some of the more advanced features of the ICOM Very Narrow Band VNB 6 25 kHz system At this point we will no longer refer to this as a NXDN system which includes all participating vendors of 6 25 kHz operating systems The subscriber equipment of ICOM Kenwood and Ritron all can operate o
67. sec EAE NEEE PEET E EE E ETET EEE NEEE E PEE E E E EE ETE SPec PrO eoi EA E O E TA Page 2 The CONOCIO i As FalconDirect 36 20 Avenue NW Birmingham AL 35215 Voice Guin Video Email sales falcondirect com Web www falcondirect com INTRODUCTION to Narrow Band Planning You ve heard the news Every VHF and UHF 2 way radio currently in operation must be converted from 25 kHz operation this is a designation for channel spacing to Narrow Band NB operation before the end of 2012 There are some individuals that may be telling you that you must purchase a specific type of digital radio to comply with this unfunded mandate which is absolutely untrue One example of misinformation at its worst is available at http falconinfo blogspot com 201 0 03 doofus of day awards himl These statements were made by those who should know better and this is just a sampling of what you may expect as manufacturers and dealers gather around for a feeding frenzy to sell new narrow band compliant 2 way radios Some of the representations being made are simply errors in interpretation or prior statements that have been outdated by changing polices of the Department of Homeland Security DHS in relation to grants or in the case of the Federal Communications Commission issues relating to regulatory operational compliance issues Other information is flat out wrong either through lack of knowledge on the part of the presenter or a
68. seossssossssossssoessesssssossssoesssoesssoesssoessssessssessssesssses 7 Competitive COMM Mlb corseira n EE E Aa 10 System Subscriber Equipment mobile and portable radios ccsscscsceccecscsceccccscsceccccscscececcecsceces 11 PRC ANIC OG SYStemiS oe secrets cancun ia e 12 Automatic Vehicle LOCATION Systemi a cicsicrcnocescancndecantudeueunondanudnoountnanueatencost E EN 13 FCC TIC CASING srsnininahern nner E E ONE EE EA 17 Licensing Questions and ANSWETS eeeenenn tee cone ee ne en kinek ne A EACEA EAEE E eee eee 18 M lti Site Systems serioase tes cwoseuunwdesenes sas seus csaneueseuans uns cdessansueeceeessmcsuesaversent 19 Voting Receiver SystemS cccseccseccseecsccesecesccessceusceseceseceseceseceseceseceaectaeesseetaeetaeetseeteetaeetaeeteessesseetes 22 Multiple Repeater Systems ccccccscscsssssscscsccccccscsceccccecscsscececscncescececucescececscesescecscucescecscucesescecnces 23 FTV MV OUO Sa eener E E EE E E E E E EE E 24 Vehicular Repeater Systems s ssesessssessssesssoesssoesssososssesssoesessesssseossseossssossseossssossssossesossssossssossseoeoe 25 Cross band Repeater Systems ccscscsccscscsccccccscsccccccscsceccececscsccececscsceccecscscesescecscscescecscscesescecsceses 26 MOL SVS TOS raa E N E E E ielo skro ANa Lec ay i PATEE E E E AE E A E E E A E N DMR and P25 SystemMmS sessessessessesoesossescescesoessesoesoscoscescescescesoecoesossesosscesosssessesoesossescsssosscesoesoesesseessese a a a
69. stems for extended portable radio talk back capability and automatic vehicle location systems AVL We invite you to review special informational material on LTR trunking the most popular system in the USA at www into4u us LTR pdf We will go into more detail on AVL voting systems and RolP shortly On the next page we ll look at a more advanced repeater Page 7 The URFR5000 is a truly unique product in that it is by far the lowest priced 50 watt repeater available anywhere but totally in a class by itself in terms of functionality with up to 32 talk groups analog AND digital NXDN capability 25 12 5 and 6 25 kHz channel spacing The small size makes it ideal of a backup repeater and we even use it as a vehicular repeater See www into4u us l Box pdf As good as it is we believe the CY5000 6000 Series repeater is even better At first appearance the CY5000 VHF repeater looks like a URFR5000 mounted on a fancy panel The fact is that it is a WHOLE lot more than that A look inside tells the story a little better Inside this desktop or rack mountable cabinet is a URFR5000 plus an AC power supply a built in duplexer and another gadget called a preselector You will recall an earlier reference to the fact that most repeaters now in service were built to communicate with mobiles not portables Logic dictates that a 5 watt portable can t have the same talkback range as the talk out power of a base station UNLESS you figure out some w
70. t starting at well under 300 Your second option is to purchase analog equipment that can be upgraded to digital for under 500 or you can purchase full NXDN compatible equipment for under 700 lf you would like additional information on our personal choices for analog only economy radios please visit www info4u us BestChoiceRadios pdf We also have some good choices in other radios including a compact waterproof pager radio for LESS than the cost of a good monitor pager and a radio that can be upgraded from analog to NXDN digital on a special comparison guide at www info4u us NB Portables pdf In particular take note of the F3161 priced at 495 which can be upgraded from analog to NXDN digital There are currently no digital voice pagers but since the IDAS system can be operated in both the analog and digital modes a conventional voice pager such as the new WatchDog pager by US Alert can be used with page encoding capability available on all our ICOM mobile and portable radios Additional info is available at www into4u us WatchDog paf Now let s take a look at our IDAS analog Digital subscriber radios For fixed station use an AC power supply and desk microphone is available as well as a full line of inside and outdoor antenna systems The prices shown below are typical selling prices Government and quantity purchase users may be eligible for better pricing Call us at 205 854 2611 or email sales falcondirect com for more information
71. ter system We will discuss other types of multi site systems shortly but before we do we would like to introduce you to another technique used to extend talk back coverage from mobiles and or portable radios in marginal communications areas The IAS Voting Receiver System operates much like the aforementioned vehicular repeater as we will explain on the following page Page 2 1 Voting Receiver Systems Receiver voting systems allow multiple receivers at remote locations to detect the strongest received signal which is then connected to a centralized transmitting station which can either be a conventional base station or a repeater station as desired These systems have been around since the 60 s and most work on essentially the same principal as shown in the diagram below The voter technically known as a Comparator will determine the best received signal from one or more remote receivers Three are shown in the diagram below These remote receivers are connected to the voter by phone lines microwave fiber optic or secondary radio frequencies Each receiver transmits a unique ID generally known as a pilot tone that is detected by the voter The strongest signal received by the voter comparator is selected also Known as steering to allow the best communications from the calling radio N aa pase TiS e foi of Receiver B ta eee eceiver C Diagram courtesy of Daniels Electronics A descript
72. tter two technologies are generally outside the realm of private system budgets The integration of voice and data provides a new dimension to our system planning Specifically we are now able to efficiently and affordably link multiple stations through the use of IDAS technology from ICOM To some extent we can accomplish the same objectives with the Eclipse Series P25 stations See http falconinfo blogspot com 2010 05 new eclipse p25 repeater html as well as the Extender See hitp www info4u us extenderinfo pdf from Critical RF which provides wide area multiple site control of analog stations For now we will confine our discussion to IDAS capable radios To review an IDAS radio is capable of operating in either an analog mode at 25 or 12 5 KHz as well as the NXDN digital mode at 6 25 KHz Several products have been introduced by ICOM to support the use of base stations mobiles portables and repeaters IN THE DIGITAL MODE The following information relates to the use of these products for providing wide area communications using multiple base stations or repeaters to accomplish specific objectives relating either to campus use wide area use or both applications within the same system Within the past several weeks we have received requests that can be addressed by Vodaeo We thought this might be worthy of sharing with you Military Communications From a military user requiring extended communications for non combat operation i e
73. w info4u us FDMA TDMA Comparisons pdf The main point we would like to make at this time is that we offer all three technologies MotoTRBO NXDN and P25 all have their place and represent a significant advancement in improved performance more efficient use of channel spectrum and the potential of merging RF communications to the power of the computer Clearly the merging of communications and computers is a long established concept NEC started in 1990 that is coming into reality NOW We will be discussing this in more detail shortly The cost for empowering the converged technologies of communications and computers at least in our opinion is NXDN and in particular IDAS by ICOM However if you would like more specific information on MotoTRBO or P25 just give us a call at 205 854 2611 or email sales falcondirect com We ll be glad to assist in any way possible Now it s time to move on to our next topic the selection of subscriber equipment mobiles and portables for those of us who are not up to date on some of these new terms like legacy interoperability and infrastructure Here we go Page 1 0 System Subscriber Equipment You essentially have three choices in the selection of NXDN compatible mobile desktop and portable radios You can purchase analog only equipment at significantly lower cost than digital although we question the long term benefit of such a decision Suffice it to say that you can purchase such equipmen
74. y used in casinos hospitals and small metropolitan areas Multiple site Utilizes one or more repeaters at multiple sites to provide wide area coverage with the requirement for mobile or portable users to switch channels Connection between the sites is required which can be by phone line radio links microwave fiber optic cable or the Internet These systems can be designed to provide county wide or regional communications networks Multiple site Wide area Consists of 2 or more multiple site systems connected to each other to provide regional national or even international coverage Think Nextel These systems use very complex and expensive switching terminals to control up to hundreds of stations The analog systems normally use a technology known as Passport Today Internet Protocol IP is the more likely choice for digital radio systems Regardless of which system you use or plan to use the right choice for the first and last repeater station is the same the ICOM FR5000 for VHF or the FR6000 for UHF operation You may recall that we have provided pricing on the UR FR5000 6000 series as well as the CY5000 6000 series earlier in this presentation So the question is What s the difference in this IDAS station and the others Glad you asked Now let us tell you the answer on the next page Page 1 4 The major difference in the FR5000 6000 and other IDAS repeaters is the purpose This repeater is built for tru

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