Luzerne County 911 radio upgrade set for mid-September

Activation of Luzerne County’s upgraded 911 emergency radio communication system has been pushed back to mid-September, county 911 Executive Director Fred Rosencrans said Wednesday.

The new system will improve emergency radio communication throughout the 906-square-mile county by boosting coverage that is spotty or nonexistent in some areas, ending radio interference and opening up more channels, Rosencrans has said.

The project includes additional communication towers in new locations, updated microwaves and the replacement of a 20-year-old analog radio system with a new digital one for emergency responders to exchange messages. Motorola Solutions Inc. was awarded the radio system contract.

A July target had been set to go live, but Rosencrans said more time is needed to complete work at two remote emergency communication equipment sites.

One is a tower in Evans Falls, Wyoming County, which will help with coverage in Dallas Township and the Kunkle area, he said.

The second involves the mounting of 911 communication equipment on a water tank at the Eagle Rock residential development in Hazle Township, he said. The county wanted to use a magnetic mount to avoid the need for welding and liability exposure if the water tower bladder is damaged. However, Rosencrans said it has been determined some welding is necessary because a magnetic mount alone won’t support the weight of the communication equipment.

With project additions, county 911 now has a total 19 tower sites that allow radio communication in the county’s largely forested and mountainous terrain. The county is switching from 2-foot microwave dishes to 6-foot ones.

Rosencrans said intense system testing should begin in July to verify standards are met when leaves are on trees. He has stressed the county won’t sign off on the system until acceptance testing is completed.

Motorola is contractually bound to provide 95% emergency radio coverage, 95% of the time, over the entire county, including remote areas and the ground floors of structures in both urban and suburban communities, he said.

The system will provide a minimum digital audio quality of 3.4, which is the industry standard, Rosencrans said.

Public school districts also will receive mobile radios with a panic button as part of the county upgrade, allowing school officials to instantly send a message if there is an emergency situation, he said.

After the conversion, the system will be encrypting police channels for officer safety at the request of the Luzerne County Chiefs of Police Association, although fire and EMS channels won’t be encrypted, Rosencrans said.

Rosencrans cautioned against online postings about digital scanners the public can purchase to hear fire and EMS channels after the switch. The county does not endorse or recommend specific scanners for private use, he said.