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County to add geo-redundant equipment to radio towers after backup failure disrupted communications
Summary
Public works staff described adding a second 'brain' and other redundancy to county radio towers after a power/failure caused loss of synchronized radio communication; upgrade aims to keep dispatch and sheriff/fire radios operational during outages.
Public works staff told supervisors the county will install a geo-redundant upgrade to the county’s radio system after a generator or power configuration failed and disrupted synchronized radio communications.
Staff explained the county's radio system includes multiple towers (two downtown, one at the Public Safety Building, one near Fleet Maintenance, one on Sixteenth Street near Green Bay Road and one on Silver Lake) that rely on synchronized timing so their signals do not interfere. A single-site failure of the primary synchronization equipment effectively took down communications in one incident, staff said.
To prevent recurrence, staff said they installed a second synchronization unit (the “second brain”) at the Public Safety Building so if the main unit fails, the other will take over and maintain synced transmission. The upgrade is intended to preserve sheriff and county fire radio coverage during a generator outage or similar event.
Staff clarified that emergency-management personnel maintain the towers after installation; public works installs them initially. The system's consoles and some backup dispatch capability are located in dispatch areas and at the Public Safety Building.
Ending: Staff said the redundant sync equipment is now in place and the county will continue to monitor tower coverage and coordination with emergency management.
