Incorporating Oregon's community, small business and environmental values, the State Radio Project has four primary goals:
Infrastructure
Repair or replace critical components of Oregon’s deteriorating state radio network and extend the useful life of the existing Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon State Police wireless communications systems.
Narrowbanding
Comply with the Federal Communications Commission deadline to transition state radios from wideband to narrowband transmission by Nov. 1, 2013, and position for future narrowbanding requirements.
Consolidation
Consolidate the ODOT and OSP wireless communications systems into a single unit and allow for shared efficiencies and integration between the four existing state systems.
Interoperability
Provide limited, local interoperability for public safety agencies and lay the foundation for expanded and improved interoperability in the future.
April 2013
Project tests smartphone connections to trunked radio system
While land mobile radio will remain the mainstay of public safety communications for a decade or more, platforms are being developed that allow smartphones to tap into and communicate with an existing P25 trunked radio system.
To learn more, ODOT and Harris Corp. engaged in a "proof of concept" demonstration with Harris' BeOn platform and a designated set of Android smartphones. Interval and external testers used smartphones to connect to the State Radio Project's trunked system installation on Mount Scott in the Portland area.
"The system and the whole process worked extremely well and will be a good lead-in for Increment Zero," the project's trunked radio test bed sites, said Statewide Interoperability Coordinator Steve Noel.
Learn more in the April Monthly Progress Report.
Project Update
Monthly Feature
* The April Monthly Progress Report is based on project data through March 31, 2013.
March 2013
Landmark agreement ensures agencies' shared future
An interagency agreement signed in January marks the first time since the earliest beginnings in 2002 of what would become the State Radio Project that all of the participating agencies have formally committed to a shared future together in all aspects of public safety Land Mobile Radio.
"What we've accomplished is a wide-reaching collaborative effort," said Eulus Newton, enterprise manager for the radio project.
The new agreement defines and establishes agency governance and obligates the participants to cooperate in the ongoing sustainability, maintenance and use of the multistate LMR communication systems. Agreements are now in place to share equipment, resources and training, which will help all the participating agencies save money and time.
Learn more in the March Monthly Progress Report.
Project Update
Monthly Feature
Members of the State Radio Users Group meet monthly to collaborate and ensure the radio system meets their agencies' needs.
* The March Monthly Progress Report is based on project data through Feb. 28, 2013.
February 2013
Quick action, creative solutions keep ice-damaged site operating
Despite Mother Nature's best attempts, neither snow nor falling ice could bring down the State Radio Project's Nicolai Mountain site.
On a Friday in early January, a chunk of ice loosened and fell from the upper section of the site's tower. On its way down, it damaged a high-performance microwave antenna and struck the valve on 2,000 gallons of liquefied petroleum gas, essentially emptying the tanks that power the site's generator.
Even with a damaged microwave antenna and depleted power supply, the Clatsop County site kept on transporting signal. And the immediate response by the ODOT/OSP Wireless Section, radio project staff and contractors ensured that the system avoided an outage.
Learn more in the February Monthly Progress Report.
Project Update
Monthly Feature
ODOT/OSP Wireless Technician Dave Hayden constructs a temporary
structure to protect damaged equipment.
* The February Monthly Progress Report is based on project data through Jan. 31, 2013.
January 2013
Repurposing radios as remote receivers means significant savings
Substantial cost savings will be realized for the State Radio Project by repurposing single-band mobile radios from Oregon State Police and ODOT Maintenance Division vehicles as office remote receivers statewide.
More than 200 Kenwood 5710 mobile radios are coming out of the radio users' vehicles as the new Harris Unity mobiles are being installed. With approximately 75 targeted for reuse in various offices around the state, the reduction in project costs is estimated to be a little more than $550,000. Surplus units can be sold to other agencies and public safety organizations.
Both OSP and ODOT have been receptive to the idea of repurposing the Kenwood radios.
Learn more in the January Monthly Progress Report. Project Update Monthly Feature
The Kenwood 5710 radios being replaced by the new Harris Unity mobile radios in OSP and ODOT vehicles can be repurposed as office remote receivers in some offices around the state.
* The January Monthly Progress Report details project data through Dec. 31, 2012. |