Monday's Internet Edition, October 06, 2008.
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News editor - The city's proposed 2003-2004 budget includes $1,840,820 for a public safety communication system that will bring Cove's current system up-to-date but may cause problems for other public safety entities in the area.
The Copperas Cove Police Department has used a traditional VHF communication system for law enforcement communication needs since 1973, while the Fire Department upgraded its low band frequency to VHF in 1992.
Fire Chief Bruce Woods said the switch to the new system is required because the city limits have outgrown the current radio system's effective range. Losing radio contact poses a serious safety hazard to police office and firefighters, he said.
Copperas Cove can't expand the range without interfering with other public safety agencies that operate on VHF, said Woods. The existing system is also lacks the ability to handle the volume of emergency calls received by city public safety entities.
Another reason for the switch is, while VHF radios can't transmit data, the new system will have that capability, said Woods. Police officers currently have to request license and criminal history information from the dispatcher, he said.
"This places a burden on the dispatchers who are responsible for dispatching other police and fire calls while retrieving this information for the officer," said Woods.
Another problem with VHF radios is the general public can easily scan them. Woods said this creates a threat to the police department when engaged in special police operations and on other sensitive calls.
He also said the city's VHF radio system is not compatible with neighboring public safety agencies. Local governments in Bell County use an 800 MHz radio system while Fort Hood uses a 900 MHz radio system.
"Fort Hood will be going to an 800 MHz radio system that will be connected to Bell County's system that will create a public safety regional compatible system," Woods said.
The Coryell County Sheriff's Office, however, would still use the VHF duplex system, the same analog setup that Cove currently uses, said Lieutenant Carl Magee of the CCSO. Cove's new system would not be compatible to the one the sheriff's office has in place now, he said.
Woods said local entities would still be able to communicate with Cove because the new system would retain components of the previous one, allowing for an interface between entities on different systems.
Magee agrees with that communication will be possible but says it will be less effective. When personnel from the sheriff's office wants to speak to an officer from CCPD, he or she will have to call the police department and wait while a dispatcher opens a patch to the CCPD officer, he said.
This process will be time consuming, inaccurate and unsafe for officers, said the lieutenant. He said when responding to CCPD's request for assistance, the CCSO won't be able to monitor the radio. "We won't know what's going on," he said.
Because the CCSO foresees difficulty in communicating with Cove once the city gets the new system, they are currently in the process of evaluating their current capabilities.
The county is using Daley-Wells, the same company that evaluated Cove's communication system, to get information on the cost of moving Coryell County to an 800 MHz system.
Cove's new communication system would utilize 800 MHz digital trunk radios, said Bruce Woods, Copperas Cove Fire Department fire chief.
Gary Young, CCFD training officer, said the radio system would include a five-channel trunking system, which involves the computerized selection of channels for open communication. The trucking system allows for more effective and efficient usage of channels.
The system would also include new public safety console dispatch radios to be located in the police department's dispatch center, 46 mobile radios and 60 portable radios for the police department, 21 mobile radios and 56 portable radios for the fire department, which includes EMS, and 35 mobile radios and 72 portable radios for various other departments.