How do I get my signal to go 75 miles clearly

[dereckpristas]

Through City, rural area, hilly areas, etc. How expensive is this VOIP I've heard about? Can you use 2 repeaters to get the signal from point A to point B? Is anyone in the Cincinnati or Dayton area that can meet with me or give me a call? Thanks! I've got about $15K to spend on a new system and I need to kind of get the ball rolling ASAP. Thanks again!

[nmfire10]

Wow, slow down dude. Are you talking point-to-point (connecting dispatch to a tower or something like that) or field units talking to a tower?

[dereckpristas]

field-to-dispatch

[thebigphish]

well, voip is internet based telephony....and that's NOT what i'd ideally use to connect a dispatch center to field units. Too many other variables come in to play here, not just distance ... if it's flat? low band....vehicle based radios? or portables....number of people? see where i am going here?

[dereckpristas]

Yea, I see where you are going. Basically, field units with mobile radios, the terrain is NOT flat. We are planning on using UHF, just didn't know how to get it to go 75 miles. Can we use 2 repeaters with one in the city and one in between the city and dispatch? That way the repeater in the city transmits to the repeater in between and dispatch transmits to the repeater in between which sends it to the city repeater to the field units? See what I'm saying?

Dereck

[/\/\y 2 cents]

Hi,

I can help get you the coverage you need for a great price. Trust me, save your $15K You can bridge together your repeaters anywhere to give you an incredibly wide coverage area, and once you have the towers sites linked to give you great portable and mobile coverage, it will allow you to also to TX/RX from any of your company computers as well (turns computer into radio.) If you would like more details please visit my website at: http://www.criticalrf.com

You will need 33.6Kbps internet connection or greater not at the actual sites, but within talk in range of each site. We have not had a second of downtime in a year and a half, even with hurricane Wilma. I have many refrences who can vouch for the reliability of this system and also the affordability. You can see a Sheriff's office testimonial here: http://server.eqso.info/

Please get in contact with me if you would like us to build you one of these systems. You can even PM me and do a demo. I am on a 450Mhz LTR PassPORT system in Boca Raton Florida and you can talk to me from a computer up there if you want to log some major range. Then strap that computer to one of your mobiles or repaters and you have 2,000 miles range. Let me know!

Regards,

Steve Calabrese
Critical RF, Inc.
http://www.criticalrf.com
(803)474-4745

[firegood]

That has got to be the coolest thing i have ever seen......

[OX]

Dereck:

I don't know if you can hear Fairfield County Fire on 460.6250 in your county or not, but I can receive that dispatch channel all the way into Delaware County, Morrow County, Licking County, Pickaway County, Ross County, some of Perry County, Muskingum County, Fayette County, Madison County and Union County.

I don't know who put this system up, but they have four simulcast transmitter sites around the county. They have some very rugged terrain in the southeast part of the county being that they neighbor the Hocking hills. They have some rolling hills elsewhere and flat land.

I don't know how they linked them. I think they're using telco circuits for links because the one site I've seen doesn't have any microwave links.

Someone you could call for info would be Kotner at Bloom Fire. This is the link to that department and there is an email link on that page: http://www.bloomtwp.org/fire/

[dereckpristas]

I've done some reading on the website so let me see if I understand this correctly...

I have 2 repeaters in Cincinnati, one for each channel that I need. Each of the repeaters is hooked into a computer in cincinnati and then over the internet our voice is transmitted to dispatch in Eaton. In Eaton, they don't have a radio, they use a computer as a base station for each radio, and therefore the signal is transmitted quite clearly?

Am I right or can someone correct me...Thanks!

Dereck

[wavetar]

I've done some reading on the website so let me see if I understand this correctly...

I have 2 repeaters in Cincinnati, one for each channel that I need. Each of the repeaters is hooked into a computer in cincinnati and then over the internet our voice is transmitted to dispatch in Eaton. In Eaton, they don't have a radio, they use a computer as a base station for each radio, and therefore the signal is transmitted quite clearly?

Am I right or can someone correct me...Thanks!

Dereck

The repeaters themselves don't need to be hooked directly (as there likely isn't any LAN or Internet connection available where they are located anyway). It can be done with a couple of mobiles located within repeater range, one for each repeater channel. These radios would each interface to one of Steve's IP remote controllers, which in turn can either connect via Internet or perhaps through your own municipal LAN network to computers in Eaton, which once loaded with Steve's software can be used as dispatch radio base stations...much like a Centracom or Zetron console, only IP based. Basically your understanding of it is correct though.

Todd

[/\/\y 2 cents]

Todd,

Thanks for the nutshell description of how this whole thing works. You are 100% correct without being too wordy (something I struggle with because I am so obsessed with all of the technical points.) Todd is also 100% correct about using your municipal LAN as well, something I never even thought of. This will provision adequate room for your precious radio traffic and allow you to use a private packet network instead of the public internet and the various ISP switch points. This should also cut your latency by about 10ms if not more since the loop used will be dedicated and will not be held up by ISP traffic loading. Anyways you pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Regards,
Steve

[/\/\y 2 cents]

BTW:

The dispatch in Eaton can either use a computer to dispatch with, or dispatch over the regular means through the repeater/w a control station or a control station hooked to a console. Either way your audio will be clear as a bell in all places because your audio from all end points (repeaters or simplex talk in points/ voters) will be transported in pristine quality.

Also supervisors/ off duty personell can talk on the radio system from any computer in the world with any type of internet providing they have the secure authentication. It literally will turn any computer into a radio on the system which is nice for people inside the office who need to monitor because you dont have to buy a pricey radio or tone/DC remote for the desk. It lets you take advantage and leverage your assets better. It also uses DES (just like the feds securenet Saber's) to transport the aquired audio bitstream from/to talk-in/out points.


Steve

[wavetar]

Todd,

Thanks for the nutshell description of how this whole thing works. You are 100% correct without being too wordy (something I struggle with because I am so obsessed with all of the technical points.)

No problem...I do it for my sales guys all the time

Todd is also 100% correct about using your municipal LAN as well, something I never even thought of.

Oh yeah baby...municipal & large corporate LANs are the thing to look at. Generally tons of available bandwidth, and generally they have it in place everywhere within their jurisdiction/company...in other words, wherever they might need radio coverage! They also tend to be more robust than regular Internet, and there's the added benefit of onsite company/municipal I.T. support to fix the LAN when it breaks...not so with the Internet. I'd say it's a good spot to focus your energies on.

Todd

[wa2zdy]

But is it legal? How does FCC look at the multiple computers, as control points? And are the dispatch locations on the LAN seen as what?

Not questioning the legality, just curious how it's handled. FCC isn't exactly known for always keeping up with technology unless it suits them and they dreamed it up.

[wavetar]

Since the computer is acting in the same fashion as a tone remote or console, remotely controlling a legal & licensed base station radio, I don't think the FCC would have any say in the matter.

Steve isn't alone, Motorola's newest & next-gen equipment have IP capabilities, as well other companies such as Vega offer a full suite of IP based solutions as well. It's the future, FCC or not.

Todd

[dereckpristas]

OK, different question now...

I have 11 ambulances to operate seperate from 19 ambulettes. I don't want them operating on the same channels. So, do I need 2 repeaters, or can one with 2 channels do it.

My understanding is that with only 1 repeater, only 1 person can be talking at a time. So, the ambulances may not hear the ambulettes, but the ambulances can not talk when an ambulette is. Am I right?

I kind of figured when I went into this I would need 2 repeaters...just making sure there isn't an easier way.

[wavetar]

OK, different question now...

I have 11 ambulances to operate seperate from 19 ambulettes. I don't want them operating on the same channels. So, do I need 2 repeaters, or can one with 2 channels do it.

My understanding is that with only 1 repeater, only 1 person can be talking at a time. So, the ambulances may not hear the ambulettes, but the ambulances can not talk when an ambulette is. Am I right?

I kind of figured when I went into this I would need 2 repeaters...just making sure there isn't an easier way.

You are correct. Although possible to use things such as PL to allow different user groups to share a single repeater, when one group is using it, the other cannot. In your scenario, that's likely not acceptable & it makes perfect sense to go with a 2 repeater set up.

Todd

[/\/\y 2 cents]

Just a few comments...

Derick both channels would be passed but the traffic would be kept separate (although using the same system/server, much like trunking having separate talkgroups and sharing a system.) For instance ambulance main channel in town A is linked to ambulance main in town B for a seamless coverage pattern. There can be a town C, D , E, F, and G. Add as many as you like to make one massive coverage blob for free. Ambulette main channel in town A is linked to Ambulette Main channel in town B. There would be no intermixing of the system audio unless you want to configure it that way. Dispatch audio can now be cleanly routed as well to any points independantly or all at the same time. You could use even use DTMF tones from a keypad radio in the field to patch both chnnels/fleets together in times of need on the fly, right from your handheld or mobile. It is all really up to you to custom configure it. That can be the fun part. Talk to you later.

Regards,
Steve