For 20 million dollars, the people who have to live in the City of Chicago just got ripped off, as did the EMS responders who became the guinea pigs for this system. The audio is overmodulated, and you can hear really severe digital pixelization in the voices. It's comparable to that moment when a digital TV freezes up, only the audio doesn't freeze, it just pixelizes and they sound like robots.
Read about the system here via CBS Chicago
Listen to the CFD Digital UHF feed here
Quote from CBS:
"The switchover from analog to digital radios began Sunday at 8 a.m., with EMS paramedics getting the new radios. Motorola got the no-bid contract in 2006, but tests of the digital system showed garbled transmissions and dead zones"
Public safety crews who have already experienced digital radio systems such as P25 and Opensky across the nation state that the radios are not reliable, and that the audio processor in these radios do not fare well in loud emergency environments such as fire and accident scenes.
The new Chicago Fire Department P25 system has encryption enabled for administrative and other sensitive radio transmissions. All other traffic is in the clear so far.
Shortwave America will be speaking with Larry Langford, the Chicago Fire Department Media Affairs Director, a former licensed amateur radio operator who says he is considering becoming licensed again. That talk will be on one of the Shortwave America shows coming soon.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Focus Asia Pacific by PCJ Radio International
PCJ has this program coming soon, and you don't want to miss it!
PCJ Radio will start test transmissions from our own shortwave relay between August 20th and 25th 2012. Frequency and times will be made available closer to the date. The main targets for the test are East Asia and the Pacific and South East Asia. Stay tuned for more when we get closer to the date.
If you have a mobile device, you can have this and other PCJ Radio International programming on the go, where ever you are by downloading Stitcher Smart Radio.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
April 14th and 15th Severe Weather Communications Coverage
Dear Shortwave America readers and listeners,
It is with sadness that it is announced at this time that severe weather has struck the mid-central area of the United States. Twenty four hours ago, the National Weather Service issued warnings of possible "life threatening" storms capable of leaving behind catastrophic damage in its wake. That warning has become a reality.
CBS NEWS REPORT on the situation.
LIVE coverage of the severe weather events at the Weather Channel.
Here's what you can do to be prepared.
These storms are moving quickly to the East and are expected to continue hitting various places until Monday morning all the way south to Texas as this line of storms stretch in a line from North to South in their Eastward direction.
Emergency communications volunteers using Echolink have stated that one location has a report of possible persons trapped in a pile of debris and that a RadioReference page dedicated to an emergency radio feed has gone down. No information is available as to whether or not it was actually the feed or the page hosting the feed that has become inoperable.
Image Courtesy of The Weather Channel
Forecasters say these storms will lose only a small amount of strength and are hopeful that the worst will only be heavy rain. The greatest threats lie ahead through tomorrow (Sunday).
More on the emergency weather / disaster communications perspective, as well as weather threat updates when those pieces of information become available.
National Weather Service Radar Image
****UPDATE****
15 April 2012: The Weather Channel has today's forecast for dangerous weather.
The greatest chances for severe weather today are in the following places:
Corpus Christi, Texas
Houston, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Little Rock, Arkansas
St. Louis, Missouri
Chicago, Illinois
Reference update from N3JPP for real time storm information: ChaserTV
Shortwave America wants to add a disclaimer here: The people at ChaserTV may or may not all be trained storm spotters. DO NOT attempt to "chase" or track a storm yourself unless you are a TRAINED storm spotter.
It is with sadness that it is announced at this time that severe weather has struck the mid-central area of the United States. Twenty four hours ago, the National Weather Service issued warnings of possible "life threatening" storms capable of leaving behind catastrophic damage in its wake. That warning has become a reality.
CBS NEWS REPORT on the situation.
LIVE coverage of the severe weather events at the Weather Channel.
Here's what you can do to be prepared.
These storms are moving quickly to the East and are expected to continue hitting various places until Monday morning all the way south to Texas as this line of storms stretch in a line from North to South in their Eastward direction.
Emergency communications volunteers using Echolink have stated that one location has a report of possible persons trapped in a pile of debris and that a RadioReference page dedicated to an emergency radio feed has gone down. No information is available as to whether or not it was actually the feed or the page hosting the feed that has become inoperable.
Image Courtesy of The Weather Channel
Forecasters say these storms will lose only a small amount of strength and are hopeful that the worst will only be heavy rain. The greatest threats lie ahead through tomorrow (Sunday).
More on the emergency weather / disaster communications perspective, as well as weather threat updates when those pieces of information become available.
National Weather Service Radar Image
****UPDATE****
15 April 2012: The Weather Channel has today's forecast for dangerous weather.
The greatest chances for severe weather today are in the following places:
Corpus Christi, Texas
Houston, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Little Rock, Arkansas
St. Louis, Missouri
Chicago, Illinois
Reference update from N3JPP for real time storm information: ChaserTV
Shortwave America wants to add a disclaimer here: The people at ChaserTV may or may not all be trained storm spotters. DO NOT attempt to "chase" or track a storm yourself unless you are a TRAINED storm spotter.
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