https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Events
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • Microwave/RF
    • T&D World
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Events
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • WHY ATTEND
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Registration Opens April 2019-Join Our Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Wireless Networks


Rise above the ashes

Rise above the ashes

A tower-top preamplifier used in conjunction with a lightweight, movable infrastructure greatly improves disaster communications.
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 1st November 2009

In 2005, the Polk County (Fla.) Department of Public Safety responded to Hancock County, Miss., following Hurricane Katrina. Polk County’s system was the only one on the air for days, trying to cover a county of about 650 square miles. Mobile radio coverage was acceptable, but portable radio coverage was not.

This incident and a number of other disaster deployments over the last five years emphasized a glaring deficiency in the department’s disaster communications equipment — the lack of a tower-top preamplifier. We previously had considered such a preamplifier as part of our design of a mobile unit, but the tower-top units are designed to be mounted on fixed infrastructure. They are large and heavy, with rectangular stainless-steel NEMA enclosures and wind-loading figures far in excess of the capabilities of the 100-foot telescoping tower on our Aluma Tower trailer.

In the 18 months following Katrina, I discussed the problem with several engineers. They all concluded that:

  1. Nothing further could be done to improve the systems on board, and;

  2. The addition of a tower-top preamplifier on a 100-foot tower would not provide a significant benefit.

Then in early 2007, the TX/RX division of Bird Technologies and Motorola pulled off a small miracle — much to their and my surprise.

After one of my scathing commentaries on systems capabilities, Motorola account manager Mike Harrington told me that TX/RX was developing a tower-top preamplifier. Harrington offered to introduce me to the division’s engineering manager, Ken Pokigo, to discuss my department’s disaster-communications needs.

In February 2007, Harrington and I paid a visit to the TX/RX plant in Angola, N.Y. I was treated to a pleasant reception and quick tour of the facility. After some discussion with the engineering manager, we went to a conference room. There I was introduced to Bird and TX/RX senior managers, as well as to the the entire TX/RX engineering staff, who were gathered — much to my surprise — for my presentation. Previously I had offered to do a presentation for the engineering staff, but nothing more had been said on the subject.

I did have a PowerPoint presentation on my laptop and pulled it up, hoping no one picked up on my confusion. Much to my chagrin, I realized a presentation for public-safety first responders does not translate well to the audience I was facing. However, the Bird and TX/RX employees took it in stride and still grasped the issues public-safety agencies face in disasters and in particular the problem I had brought to them.

We spent the following day discussing the specific criteria we were looking to improve, and I received an introduction to the new tower-top preamplifier they were about to release. While about one-tenth the size of what I was familiar with, it was still in the stainless-steel NEMA container, which weighs about 25 pounds — still too heavy for the transportable infrastructure application I had in mind.

We examined the prototype: the components inside the NEMA box were mounted to an upright board affixed to the base of the enclosure. Then we noticed nearby racks of gold-flecked aluminum tubing that marked the TX/RX combiner cavities. I looked at them, then back at the prototype, and asked whether they could mount the components on a round aluminum base and put it in a combiner tube. That would reduce both weight and wind loading.

There was several minutes of silence accompanied by heads swiveling and eyes blinking as the engineers pondered the question and the ramifications. Such a move would change the electrical properties and require significant analysis. We spent another hour or so discussing how it could be mounted and whether it would need all of the features included in their prototype. We then moved on, and I was shown other products they were working on.

Other than a couple of questions by phone over the next few months, I heard nothing more about the project. There had been no real commitment expressed other than they would “look into it.” Six months later, I stopped to chat with TX/RX employees at APCO’s annual conference. There I saw product manager Katie Wright, who turned to me and said, “I was hoping you would be here — we just got it today.”

She pulled from a box a round aluminum tube with two antenna connections on the bottom and handed it to me. It was the prototype for a new version of the device, and TX/RX was planning on announcing it at the conference. I was holding all 11 pounds of a tower-top preamplifier with virtually no wind loading that could be used on lightweight, transportable infrastructure in disasters. I was overwhelmed. Not only had they looked into it, they had spent considerable time and effort developing it into a deliverable product — with little certainty of a large market.

I have to tell you that after 25 years in the communications arena and 35-plus in public safety, I have never been excited by the “boxes” before. I was excited about this one. In a disaster, any improvement, no matter how small, is a big deal. Little did I know just how big a deal it was to become. Six weeks later, in late 2007 I had the prototype in hand and we were able to schedule some actual field-testing.

None of the engineers I had talked to prior had felt that a tower-top preamplifier would render a significant increase in portable talk-in range, given a 100-foot tower. Even TX/RX had some uncertainty regarding how much improvement there may be.

We ran repeated range testing throughout 2008, in different configurations and using various Motorola portable radios. We worked off of our five-channel Intellipeater system and on a conventional 800 MHz Quantar repeater installed in our AlumaTower trailer. Our field testing showed increases between 30% and 51%, with an average increase of 35%. A number of these units have already been sold within Florida to improve disaster-response communications. Several other applications have now been identified where this piece of equipment provides a perfect fit.

In public-safety operations in general, and in a disaster in particular, effective communications often mean the difference between life and death. A 35% range increase in a disaster communications system can be far more than a minor miracle for both the victims and the responders. When good people in good organizations collaborate on behalf of a customer you never know how it will turn out.

Ben Holycross is the radio systems manager for Polk County, Fla.. He has more than 35 years in public safety, with the last 25 years in communications.

Tags: Call Center/Command Wireless Networks

Related


  • California PD: ‘Game-changing’ Live911 streaming of emergency calls accelerates responses
    Police officers in the city of Clovis, Calif., are able to respond more quickly to incidents—saving lives and property—because they use the Live911 application developed by HigherGround to listen to the audio from 911 calls near their location, according to a Clovis police official. Jim Munro, a lieutenant in the Clovis Police Department, said the […]
  • Why Tucson is building its own 4G network
    The city of Tucson, Arizona, is weeks away from finishing the first phase of its 4G LTE network buildout. The city will initially use the network to connect around 1,000 kids in poor households to the Internet but eventually hopes to use the network for a variety of services ranging from smart city IoT operations […]
  • SolarWinds attackers lurked for 'several months' in FireEye's network
    Top execs from FireEye, SolarWinds, Microsoft, and CrowdStrike testified before the US Senate Intelligence Committee on Feb. 23 on the aftermath – and ongoing investigations – into the epic attacks. The attackers who infiltrated SolarWinds Orion’s software build and updates had spent “several months” embedded in FireEye’s network before the security firm spotted them, Kevin […]
  • Buffalo's 48 hours to navigate a mission-critical transition to remote work
    In Buffalo, N.Y., 311 is a vital lifeline for the city, providing an always-on call resource for the city’s 250,000 residents to reach city government. When the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a stay-at-home order, city officials knew a surge of calls was coming, and they needed to act fast to keep their front-line communications channel open. […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Hiding in plain sight: What the SolarWinds attack revealed about efficacy
  • AT&T says FirstNet Band 14 buildout more than 90% done, adoption tops 2 million connections
  • Ransomware? Let's call it what it really is: extortionware
  • Artificial cities could pave the way to driverless adoption

Commentary


Ransomware? Let’s call it what it really is: extortionware

21st February 2021

Redefining communications for today’s mobile workforces

18th February 2021

Hi-tech sewer can help safeguard public health, environment and economies

18th February 2021
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

NTIA seeks potential new FirstNet Authority board members dlvr.it/Rv0YfL

5th March 2021
UrgentComm

Smart-building projects target energy efficiency as launchpad to health and safety dlvr.it/RtyhRY

4th March 2021
UrgentComm

ESN official hints at potentially costly new timeline for UK public-safety broadband project dlvr.it/Rttvzj

3rd March 2021
UrgentComm

Ericsson, Huawei, AT&T attending Mobile World Congress in June, others not so sure dlvr.it/RtrtT2

3rd March 2021
UrgentComm

Newscan: Klobuchar calls on Congress to get serious on tech reform dlvr.it/RtqByn

2nd March 2021
UrgentComm

The era of converged network infrastructure has officially begun dlvr.it/Rtmq62

2nd March 2021
UrgentComm

Biden to follow through on Trump-era China tech ban dlvr.it/Rtmlgt

2nd March 2021
UrgentComm

Hytera, Motorola Solutions DMR royalty dispute to be decided by federal judge dlvr.it/Rthqp3

1st March 2021

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • Microwave/RF
  • T&D World
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X