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County radio project nears completion as technician testing begins
Summary
Consultant Mike Day told the Richland County committee that civil, antenna and line work are largely complete at radio sites; voice and DAQ testing are underway and the sheriff's department is expected to begin a 30-day on-air test, with full agency migration targeted after punch-list completion.
Richland County's consultant on the radio/tower project reported substantial construction and equipment progress and outlined the next testing steps during the committee's January meeting.
Mike Day said crews have completed much of the civil work and antenna installations at county sites and that radio technicians have begun voice testing on the new system. Day described a staged rollout: initial DAQ and building tests, a 30-day "burn" in which a single agency (the sheriff's department) will operate on a new channel to validate performance, and subsequent migration of paging, fire and EMS agencies if tests succeed.
"We're really wrapped things up there except we do have the last site needing a little bit of restoration work," Day said, describing punch-list items such as grading and seeding. He explained that drive testing during full foliage (typically in August) will be used for final coverage verification, while DAQ testing and other indoor coverage checks should identify and allow remedies for issues earlier in the year.
Day said if initial testing goes smoothly the county could begin moving agencies onto the new channels this month and complete documentation and warranty handoff shortly after the 30-day test concludes.
Committee members asked about fault testing and redundancy; Day said engineers will simulate failures and verify microwave and fiber redundancy, and that some system tweaks are common during tuning. The committee requested that staff keep the board informed of testing schedules and any coverage shortfalls discovered during the ramp-up.
Next steps: complete site restoration, conduct DAQ/building tests, execute the 30-day sheriff burn, and follow with paging and other agency migrations pending successful testing and any needed adjustments.
