NEW POLICE RADIO SYSTEM PLAYS WELL
AMONG TROOPERS
TRACY GORDON FOX; Courant Staff Writer
10/14/2000
The Hartford Courant
6/7 SPORTS FINAL
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(Copyright @ The Hartford Courant 2000)
If anyone knew the perils of the antiquated state police radio system, it was
Trooper Bill Bowyer.
Two years ago, no one heard Bowyer when he tried to radio from Voluntown that
he was chasing a man who had set his house on fire and plunged a knife into his
own chest. Bowyer had to call 911 on his cell phone to get backup.
Bowyer still carries his cell phone, but he hopes he won't have to use it.
Within the past few weeks, a new $83 million state police radio system began
operating in all 12 state police barracks. For troopers like Bowyer, the clarity
and range of the new system means having a lifeline in rural areas.
"I haven't experienced any problems," said Bowyer, now the resident
state trooper in North Stonington. "It seems to be a lot better than the
old system." Bowyer said he was relieved to see he even can radio the
Montville barracks from Rhode Island.
The old state police radio system, installed in 1940, had many "dead
spots" across the state where radio signals could not be sent or received.
Large parts of some towns, such as East Haddam and Voluntown, are in such dead
zones. In September 1998, when three state troopers were shot in Willington,
police radios and cell phones did not work when the troopers called for help. A
trooper had to use a resident's telephone to call the Tolland barracks.
The $2,800 radios being installed in every patrol car appear to be able to
broadcast and receive in 98 percent of the state, just as the contractor,
Motorola Inc., promised. But there are still some problems, police say.
For one, the new radios cannot scan from channel to channel. Since every
troop broadcasts on its own frequency, troopers have to switch channels manually
to hear what is going on in an adjacent troop area.
"It means you don't know what's going on next door," said Col. John
F. Bardelli, the state police commander, adding that he otherwise is satisfied
with the system. "It's much better as far as clarity and coverage goes. It
has a number of benefits and some differences. We have to get used to it."
The problem can probably be partly addressed through training, Bardelli said.
Dispatchers will have to learn how to transmit communications about serious
incidents, such as chases, on several channels at one time. Troopers will have
to learn to switch channels when they drive into another troop area, Bardelli
said.
During chases, dispatchers will be able to switch troopers to another
barracks so they won't have to manually switch channels while driving at high
speed. Bardelli said the police are also talking with Motorola about scanning
capability.
Car-to-car communications are significantly louder than barracks- to-car
calls, an annoyance that has startled troopers with the difference in volume.
Motorola is working to adjust the volume.
There still are some dead zones with portable radios, which cost $3,200 each,
but Motorola never promised the same amount of coverage with the hand-held
radios.
Troopers who have waited 20 years for the new system say it's far better than
what they had.
"It's like night and day. If you were at the [Colchester] barracks, you
could very often not talk to the guys in East Haddam. And now, not only can you
hear them, we can talk portable to portable," said Trooper Troy Anderson.
"It's just nice to be able to pick up the radio wherever you are and know
the troop is going to be able to hear you."