EFJ and Motorola - System Interop Question

[kc2kvy]

OK, please don't shoot me here... I know this is a tough question.

The scenario: a fire department and EMS operate on the border of two counties, one with an 800Mhz digital Moto P25 (their home system), and the other county has an 800Mhz EF Johnson Multi-Net system. They'd like to be able to set up some amount of interoperability... Getting both systems on one radio would require the radio to be an EFJ P25 capable radio, if I'm not mistaken, and the department already has a number of Motorola XTS1500s. The department is VHF equipped as well with modern portables and mobiles.

Does anyone know of a good solution for allowing this department to communicate between these systems simply, perhaps using the VHF for crossband repeat?

[Jim202]

OK, please don't shoot me here... I know this is a tough question.

The scenario: a fire department and EMS operate on the border of two counties, one with an 800Mhz digital Moto P25 (their home system), and the other county has an 800Mhz EF Johnson Multi-Net system. They'd like to be able to set up some amount of interoperability... Getting both systems on one radio would require the radio to be an EFJ P25 capable radio, if I'm not mistaken, and the department already has a number of Motorola XTS1500s. The department is VHF equipped as well with modern portables and mobiles.

Does anyone know of a good solution for allowing this department to communicate between these systems simply, perhaps using the VHF for crossband repeat?

You haven't supplied any info on what model EFJ radio is being used. If your lucky and the EFJ is fairly recent, it may be able to do P25.

Jim

[kc2kvy]

The department only has one EFJ 5300. The county with the Motorola system refuses to allow any radios but Motorola on their system.

[mmckenna]

There are many 800MHz analog interoperability channels to choose from. I haven't seen an 800MHz radio yet that won't do analog. Cheap, easy and reliable, therefore they likely won't do that.

[kc2kvy]

There are many 800MHz analog interoperability channels to choose from. I haven't seen an 800MHz radio yet that won't do analog. Cheap, easy and reliable, therefore they likely won't do that.

Haha, exactly... both counties have the National Interop I-band frequencies in their radios, but don't want to use them for operating on scenes. Those frequencies are kinda buried in the radio anyways, so you can't easily switch to them. Plus, the dispatchers can't monitor them, and for some reason this is a deal breaker for them.

[Jim202]

There are many 800MHz analog interoperability channels to choose from. I haven't seen an 800MHz radio yet that won't do analog. Cheap, easy and reliable, therefore they likely won't do that.

Haha, exactly... both counties have the National Interop I-band frequencies in their radios, but don't want to use them for operating on scenes. Those frequencies are kinda buried in the radio anyways, so you can't easily switch to them. Plus, the dispatchers can't monitor them, and for some reason this is a deal breaker for them.

Ah, the good old politics raises it's smelly management head again. Poor radio operator training, poor operating practices, probably no standard operating procedures, probably no MOU in place and poor management. Other than the radios may have the channels in them, is there anything that these departments can do together?

Jim

[kc2kvy]

Ah, the good old politics raises it's smelly management head again. Poor radio operator training, poor operating practices, probably no standard operating procedures, probably no MOU in place and poor management.

You've hit the nail on the head on all of these.

Other than the radios may have the channels in them, is there anything that these departments can do together?

No... not really, haha. Hence the headache. The EFJ users have only the EFJ radios to utilize, whereas the Moto P25 users have both the P25 and the VHF and a single EFJ mobile at their disposal. If it helps, the EFJ user's pagers activate on "low band" and the Moto P25 user's pagers activate on VHF ("high band").

[mmckenna]

"But it's P25, therefore it MUST be interoperable.... That's what the sales guy told me."

Some of these departments should be forced back to CB until they can learn to play nice.

[Jim202]

"But it's P25, therefore it MUST be interoperable.... That's what the sales guy told me."

Some of these departments should be forced back to CB until they can learn to play nice.

I have often wondered why Congress in the stupid way they operate hasn't come out with a demand that if they are going to supply funding for radio interoperability, that it has to be implemented. If not, then ALL federal funding will be removed from the agency. Maybe it will take using the dollars to get these stupid managers to understand that the old adage of you can't play in my sandbox mentality will no longer be tolerated.

Jim

[FatBoy]

an inexpensive bridge from telex or maybe a higher end tone remote might be right in the budget. Several agencies that I have seen actually have a comm guy(s) on call for interagency stuff with the ability to patch channel/systems together. But this could be handled by a knowledgable IC or Batt Commander. I am mostly familiar with large metro Florida agencies, so I am sure there are other solutions out there. The easiest solution is to use the NPSPAC 800 conventional channels (which should be controlled by dispatchers as they are the ones activating/deactivating them). Interagency politics are probably the biggest hurdle to making easy stuff like this work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GroundRat]

OK, please don't shoot me here... I know this is a tough question.

The scenario: a fire department and EMS operate on the border of two counties, one with an 800Mhz digital Moto P25 (their home system), and the other county has an 800Mhz EF Johnson Multi-Net system.

These just aren't compatible.

Multi-net is an OLD form of EFJ trunking that has slowly died out and is barely supported.

Last I knew, only properly optioned EFJ radios will work on a Multi-Net system - I don't think any other manufacturers support Multi-Net.

The NEW EF Johnson P25 infrastructure mirrors MOTs P25 systems.

[thebigphish]

Analog is already interoperable