Fisher County reviews radio repeater options to improve countywide communications

County staff presented two technical options for improving public-safety radio coverage across Fisher County and noted immediate next steps for field testing.

Speaker 4 told commissioners there are two primary options: (1) repair the existing site and install an additional repeater with a climate-controlled enclosure, which carries the cost of a new repeater and repairs; or (2) perform a propagation study (estimated at $500) to evaluate moving the existing repeater to a 500-foot tower, which could provide county-wide coverage but would incur recurring tower-rental fees estimated at a few hundred dollars per month.

Staff noted trade-offs: moving the repeater might lower upfront equipment costs while adding ongoing rental costs; using the existing water tower has caused signal loss and interference in the past. Speaker 5 reported that the Fisher 1 repeater, which had been down for an extended period, is now operating and that staff plan to perform drive tests to check coverage and communications between mobile units and the Roby area.

Next steps: commissioners were told a propagation study is the first technical step if they want to pursue the tower option; staff will perform signal checks and return with results and more precise cost estimates.