Radio Training Slides
Radio Training Slides
Radio Training Slides
700/800 MHz
Poor propagation in undeveloped and hilly terrainVery good building
penetration
700 currently subject to incumbent television stations in some areas
800 currently subject to interference from commercial carriers
4.9 GHz
Microwave propagation used for short range (Wi-Fi type) or point-to-point links
Simplex
Very Reliable
Limited Range
Radio Channel uses 1 frequency
Duplex
Radio Channel using 2 frequencies, Freq 1 to
talk from radio A to radio B, and Freq 2 to talk
from radio B to radio A
Each user must be line of sight with each other
Examples: Cordless Telephone systems, which
both parties can talk at the same time and
listen at the same time.
f1
f2
Some units
dont hear
transmission
because of
obstructions
Unit
1
Unit
4
Unit
2
Dispatch
Center
Unit
Unit
1
Unit
4
Unit
2
Dispatch
Center
Unit
Dispatch
Microwave, Center
Phone Line,
etc.
Unit
1
Unit
4
Unit
2
Unit
Conventional Repeater
Receives a signal on one frequency and
retransmits (repeats) it on another frequency
Placed at a high location
Increases range of portable and mobile radio
communications
Allows communication around obstructions
(hills, valleys, etc.)
User radios receive on the repeaters transmit
frequency and transmit on the repeaters
receive frequency (semi-duplex)
Conventional Repeater
All units within range of
repeater hear all
transmissions through
the repeater
f2
f2
f2
f1
Unit
1
Dispatch
Center
f2
RXTX
f1 f2
Unit
2
Repeate
r
Unit
4
Unit
Conventional Systems
Communicati
ng
PD 1
PD 4
PD 2
Idle
PD 3 cannot talk to PD 4
because PD 1 is using the
repeater
PD 3
Idle
PW 1
PW 3
PW 2
FD 3
FD 1
FD 2
Trunking
Trunking is a method of combining
repeaters at the same site to
share frequencies among users
Spectrally efficient
Allows many more virtual
channels (called talkgroups) than
there actually are frequencies
Computer controlled
Trunked System
f3
f1
f4
PD 1
f2
FD 2
f2
PD 2
PD 3
System
Controller
FD 1
RX
f1
RX
f3
RX
f5
TX
f2
TX
f4
TX
f6
Shared Repeater
Multi-Site Systems
Conventional
Repeaters on same output, different input
Linked repeaters on different frequencies
Remote Receive Sites
Voting
Simulcasting
Trunking
Roaming
Simulcasting
Both repeaters
active at the
same time with
same traffic, but
on different
frequencies
Link
(microwave,
phone line,
etc.)
Voting Receivers
Voter (comparator) chooses
best received signal and sends
that signal to the transmitter
Vote
r
Link
(microwave,
phone line,
etc.)
Central
Transmitt
er
RX Only
Site
Users do not need to change
channel depending on
location. System (voter)
automatically picks best
receive tower site.
Simulcasting
Both repeaters transmit at the
same frequency at the same
time
Link
(microwave,
phone line,
etc.)
Common Analog
Modulation Schemes
FM Frequency Modulation
AM Amplitude Modulation
SSB Single Sideband AM
Almost all analog public safety
communications use FM
AM is used for CB radio, aircraft
communication
Frequency Modulation
(FM)
To modulate means to change or to
vary
Frequency Modulation means changing
the frequency of the transmitter in
proportion to the audio being picked up
by the microphone
The receiver detects the change in
transmitter frequency and uses it to
reproduce the audio signal at the speaker
Frequency Modulation An
Illustration
Microphone Output:
Frequency (MHz)
Volts
Transmitter Output
-1
Time (milliseconds)
154.215
154.205
154.195
Time (milliseconds)
Transmitter
RF Signal
Audio Signal
Sound
Waves
Mic
Modulator
Amplfied RF
Signal
RF Amplifier
Receiver
RF Signal
Demodulator
Audio Signal
Audio
Amplifier
Amplified
Audio Signal
Spkr
Digital Modulation
Signal from microphone is converted
from a voltage into numbers through
a process called sampling
Those numbers are processed by a
computer
Binary information (ones and zeros)
is sent over the air instead of analog
(continuous voltage) information
Sampling
255
222
218
215
203
208
200
199
169
115
84
73
73
52
12
10
Time (milliseconds)
115
0111011
203
12
73
200
52
215
208
11001011 00001000 01001001 01001000 00110100 11010111 11010000
10
199
222
00001010 11000111 1101110
73
169
218
84
01001001 10101001 11011010 01010100
Frequency (MHz)
Volts
Transmitter Output:
0
Time (milliseconds)
154.215
154.205
154.195
Time (milliseconds)
Vocoding
Vocoding is used to reduce the amount
of data that needs to be sent over the air
Used to reduce necessary bandwidth
conserves spectrum
Compresses digital audio analogous
to .mp3 versus .wav audio files
Uses known human speech
characteristics to fill in gaps of data
that is removed
Transmitter
Raw Audio
Signal
Encoded
Digital Signal
Raw Digital
Signal
100111010011
Sound
Waves
Mic
Sampler
(A/D Converter)
Amplified RF
Signal
RF Signal
1100101
Vocoder
Modulator
RF Amplifier
Receiver
RF Signal
Encoded
Digital Signal
1100101
Demodulator
Decoded
Digital Signal
Reconstructed
Audio Signal
100111010011
Vocoder
D/A
Converter
Spkr
Sound
Waves
Possible Permutations
Narrowbanding
Deadline: 2013
What is Narrowbanding?
Effort by FCC to increase the number of
useable radio channels below 512 MHz
Advances in technology allow signals to
take up less bandwidth than in the past
Regulations are changing to take
advantage of new technologies
Starting 2013, all radio systems must
be narrowband compliant
Already a problem.
Not able to use adjacent channels at close distances.
20KHz
Bandwidth
WideBand
20KHz
Bandwidth
WideBan
d
20KHz
Bandwidth
WideBand
Overlap
Overlap
Adjacent
channels
155.745
15KHz
Channe
l
Spacin
g
155.76
0
15KHz
Channe
l
Spacin
g
155.775
Joe Kuran Oregon SIEC
After Narrowband:
Still a problem
Narrowband channels not usable until wideband users
vacate.
20KHz
Bandwidth
Wide Band
20KHz
Bandwidth
Wide Band
Overla
p
20KHz
Bandwidth
Wide
Band
ANALOG
NARROWBAND
11KHz
Bandwidt
h
155.745
Overla
p
ANALOG
NARROWBAND
7.5KHz
Channe
l
Spacin
g
155.76 155.767
155.752
0
155.775
Joe Kuran Oregon SIEC
ANALOG
NARROWBAN
D
ANALOG
NARROWBAND
ANALOG
NARROWBAND
11KHz
Bandwidt
h
ANALOG
NARROWBAND
ANALOG
NARROWBAND
7.5KHz
Channe
l
Spacin
g
155.74
155.76 155.767
155.752
5
0
155.77
5
DIGITAL
DIGITAL
DIGITAL
DIGITAL
DIGITAL
NARROWBAND NARROWBAND NARROWBAND NARROWBAND NARROWBAND
8.1KHz
Bandwidt
h
7.5KHz
Channe
l
Spacin
g
155.74
155.76 155.767
155.752
5
0
155.77
5
Migration Problems
Problems can occur when both wideband and narrowband are
used to communicate on the same channel.
Channels are programmed for either wide or narrowband.
Channels must be programmed consistently for all radios in use.
System Reliability
Failure Modes & Backup Plans
Rebanding
800 MHz Only
What is Rebanding?
Nextel (and smaller, similar systems) caused
interference to some public safety 800 MHz
radio systems
To solve this problem, Sprint-Nextel is paying
to change the frequencies of every public
safety 800 MHz radio system in the country
that could potentially be affected
Depending on the system, this may only
require reprogramming all radios, or it could
mean replacing all radios
See www.800ta.org for more info
Repeater
Loss of Power (downed power line)
Antenna Failure (windstorm)
Catastrophic Site Loss (Tornado)
Patrol Officer to
Dispatch
Most reliable path is
a repeater because
many times the
officer will be out of
range of the
dispatch center
Firefighter to IC
Most reliable path
is simplex because
of the short range
involved. Repeater
failure is no longer
an issue, nor is
being out of range
of the repeater.
Mitigation Techniques
Hardened Sites
Backup Power
Redundant/Backup Sites
Overlapping Coverage
Preplanning (i.e. radio programming)
Portable/Transportable Systems
User Training
Preplanning is Key to
Interoperability
Radios must be programmed with mutual
aid & interop channels beforehand
When the big one hits, its too late
Program as many mutual aid channels into
radios as you have capacity for
Establish communications (make sure they
work) before going into the field
Common naming convention is important
Practical Tips
Hold radio in hand for maximum range (radio on belt
with speaker mic greatly reduces range unless remote
antenna is used)
Dont swallow the mic 2 inches away
Dont yell causes overdeviation, distorts audio,
unreadable
Know how the radio works scan, priority scan, scan
resume, talkaround, monitor, etc.
Ensure the channel is correctly programmed for
narrowband or wideband operation (if this isnt an option
in the radio, its probably not narrowband capable)
Use consistent channel names when programming