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Motorola and partners brief Daniels County on radio modernization; tower relocation tied to Yellowstone County approval
Summary
Motorola, Red Tail and state partners presented a detailed plan to replace legacy dispatch consoles, tie Daniels County into the state trunked system, and relocate a tower (proposed 150 ft) contingent on a Nov. 12 Yellowstone County review; equipment procurement, spares and training were discussed.
Motorola Solutions, Red Tail Communications and state public-safety partners presented a customer-design review for Daniels County's radio and dispatch modernization on Oct. 21, walking commissioners through equipment lists, testing plans and a tower relocation proposal.
Connie Cummings, Motorola project manager, introduced the team and said the project would replace two legacy consoles with MCC 7500E consoles and migrate the county to the state Zone 2 core in Billings. "We're going to replace your two 5500s with two new 7500E consoles," a Motorola engineer said while outlining license transfers and expected functionality.
Red Tail reported progress on microwave backhaul and a plan to decommission and move an existing Yellowstone County tower to Daniels County, pending Yellowstone County Commission approval scheduled for Nov. 12. Red Tail's representative said a self-supporting, 150-foot tower was anticipated to meet height and footprint constraints; commissioners were advised the tower vendor and crane scheduling and potential cost-sharing would be addressed after the county receives formal approval.
Technical discussion covered logging recorders, rack layout, power and climate-control needs, spare-equipment recommendations and a test plan including conventional call tests, patching and instant-recall recording. Motorola added they will provide operator and supervisor training at no additional cost. Procurement lead times of several months were flagged and commissioners were asked to confirm the Motorola equipment list so ordering could begin.
State representatives noted out-year licensing, microwave equipment costs and potential interlocal agreements to define ownership and maintenance responsibilities for microwave links. Commissioners asked that final tower-specifications and foundation dimensions be provided promptly so the county can prepare a site pad if necessary.
Next steps: vendors will send tower foundation dimensions and finalize spare lists; the county will await the Yellowstone County Commission action on Nov. 12 and then decide on procurement and any cost-sharing arrangements.
