In the early 1960's- KC-MO had a VHF (Very High Frequency) radio system for it's police- fire and other city departments.
That radio system was reliable but 30 years later by the early 1990's- it was reported that parts for the VHF system were getting hard to find and that the city's radio system needed an upgrade.
In the early to mid 1990's- Kansas City-MO spent nearly $50-million on a new- 800mhz-trunk radio system including new radios for every cop and firefighter.
MAST-EMS was not included in the upgrade.
After numerous technical delays- including re-placement of transmitting and receiving towers- the new trunked system came on-line in the mid-90's. The system continued to suffer sporatic technical problems through the turn of the century.
At one time- the city was going to sue the radio system's installer- Ericsson. It's unknown what ever became of any settlement.
Now KC-MO wants a NEW radio system- and the claim is lack of availability of parts (software) and occasional failures (software- ill-placed towers) of this $50-million system- according to this story TODAY from The KANSAS CITY STAR..
The old system lasted about 30 years- the new system at around $50-million lasts (according to city officials) about 15 years- so we can extrapolate any NEW system to last what- 7 years?
The present radio system works just fine- I know- I listen to it enough.
If the Federal government wants people shifted off a certain radio spectrum- the Feds can PAY for those conversions out of the money made selling those radio spectrums to private corporations.
Kansas City-MO can't afford to replace $50-million radio systems every decade!
That radio system was reliable but 30 years later by the early 1990's- it was reported that parts for the VHF system were getting hard to find and that the city's radio system needed an upgrade.
In the early to mid 1990's- Kansas City-MO spent nearly $50-million on a new- 800mhz-trunk radio system including new radios for every cop and firefighter.
MAST-EMS was not included in the upgrade.
After numerous technical delays- including re-placement of transmitting and receiving towers- the new trunked system came on-line in the mid-90's. The system continued to suffer sporatic technical problems through the turn of the century.
At one time- the city was going to sue the radio system's installer- Ericsson. It's unknown what ever became of any settlement.
Now KC-MO wants a NEW radio system- and the claim is lack of availability of parts (software) and occasional failures (software- ill-placed towers) of this $50-million system- according to this story TODAY from The KANSAS CITY STAR..
The old system lasted about 30 years- the new system at around $50-million lasts (according to city officials) about 15 years- so we can extrapolate any NEW system to last what- 7 years?
The present radio system works just fine- I know- I listen to it enough.
If the Federal government wants people shifted off a certain radio spectrum- the Feds can PAY for those conversions out of the money made selling those radio spectrums to private corporations.
Kansas City-MO can't afford to replace $50-million radio systems every decade!
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1 comment:
Those VHF radios were CRAP. The new trunked system works really well, I agree. Coverage is fantastic compared to the older system.
I know because I use it every day. I wish we had digital transmission and more encrypted channels, though. P25 would be nice. But as pure radio traffic goes, it's good.
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