[ScanIndiana] Terre Haute EDACS

[scanindiana@mailman.qth.net]

Greetings. I saw the Terre Haute TRS post and
hoped I could add a little useful information.

I recently just completed my internship with
THPD. It was quite educational. While I
was there, I had time to ask questions
about the radio system.

One of the main reasons for going ProVoice was for
security. This was brought about by the 'meth' problem.
I was told it was not uncommon for scanners to be used
as a means of look out. The issue of the analog talkgroups
being easily monitored on a trunk tracker also came to
light. At the time of looking for a communications upgrade,
the SAFE-T system was not yet under construction, it
was still an abstract idea.

The EDACS TRS was owned by Commercial Radio Service.
The frequencies were licensed by the Vigo County EMA.
The best price for new equipment came from Commercial
Radio Service. So, that was the route they went. It
looks like Vigo County is going to drop the license (it
expires in 2005) so that these frequencies will again be
available. The city now holds its own license on a new
set of frequencies.

The patrol dispatch channel is indeed encrypted. Although at times,
when an officer keys a radio it will start the transmission in analog.
For example you can hear the officer identify himself and then it
will switch once dispatch has answered. There is probable
cause to believe that there are some analog THPD groups.

The radios in the cars are MDT ready. The cable and
interface are there, but the city did not have proper
funds to continue to equipment expansion. Plans in the
future are to finish the upgrade.

The radios that the fire department is currently using are
those that were originally bought for THPD. However,
they were "incompatible" with the "others" and were
given to THFD. I am unsure of why they were incompatible.
Perhaps a ProVoice issue?

There are no VHF radios in THPD cars. However, the
system is set up to allow the 800MHz radios to 'backup'
on 155.6100. I would assume THFD is set up the same
way. During our last major severe weather event, THPD
could be heard on 155.6100.

Another tidbit. There is a talkgroup linked to the SAFE-T
system (ISP's TRS). It is a link to ITAG (Interagency Talkgroup).

Functionally, the system appears to work great for
THPD. In my time there, I only heard two (2) communications
that were garbled and those were just traffic stops. It
is also a good feeling to know that the people in
the house you are about to go into don't know you are
coming.



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