News ERGON ADDS 18 APPRENTICES
Queensland’s Ergon Energy has welcomed 18 new apprentices to its Rockhampton depot. The apprentices will train as communications technicians, distribution linespersons, electrotechnology electricians and transmission linespersons. State-wide, Ergon has accepted 65 new apprentices in the past year. “The 65 new recruits represent Queensland’s great diversity and include five Indigenous apprentices and six females breaking into the traditionally male-dominated roles,” said the Minister for Energy, Mark Bailey. “While the majority of new apprentices are school-leavers, about a third are aged 21 or older. The group also includes seven current employees who have successfully sought an apprenticeship to further their careers.” More info: bit.ly/2kYqrWk
CHANNEL NAMING STANDARDS
DMR drive testing solution The DMR drive testing solution available from Survey Technologies measures the coverage and performance of digital radio systems. A DMR test-mobile controlled by STI’s Field Test 7 application receives a standard 1031 pattern from radio towers to measure RSSI and BER. Field Test 7 samples RSSI every 5.5ms and BER every 33ms, satisfying all best practices standards for 40 Lambda measurements. Field Test 7 quantifies and displays the measured DMR coverage and performance in detailed tile reports or colored contour plots. Survey Technologies Incorporated www.surveytech.com
VHF/UHF data radio modem The HB-225 VHF/UHF data radio modem is PLL synthesised and has 5 W FM transceiver modules, as well as offering a full modem option (FSK-V23, GMSK and 4FSK). The product supports analog with pre-emphasis and de-emphasis, has a mic and speaker with PTT and TOT, and compact dimensions that make it suitable for many applications. Key features include a TX output of 1 to 5 W, which is programmable in 5 steps; channel space of 6.25 kHz/12.5 kHz/25.0 kHz prog-per channel; a support
A new document issued jointly by the US APCO and the US National Public Safety Telecommunications Council sets out standard channel nomenclature for public safety interoperability channels. The set of standards, originally published in 2010, has been updated for 2017 by the NPSTC Interoperability Committee Channel Naming Working Group and approved by both APCO and the American National Standards Institute. In a report published in 2003, Kathleen Wallman, chair of the Public Safety National Coordination Committee, a Federal Advisory Committee chartered by the FCC, wrote that “The NCC views such standard nomenclature as essential to the interoperability process…” More info: bit.ly/2kPzIz3 10 Critical Comms - Mar/Apr 2017
voice app, plus CTCSS/DCS prog-per channel; POCSAG encode jumper only, with no modification required; POCSAG decode (RAW), programmable via PC; digital squelch programmable via PC: 06 level (open to max mute .6 µV); RSSI output configurable via internal jumper; optical LED status indicator; DB-9 male for analog and DB-15 male for modem option; modem modulation protocol of FSK-V23 (1200 bps), GMSK (9600 bps), 4FSK (9600 or 19,200 bps — PC selectable); serial interface TTL, RS-232 and RS-485 (8, N, 1); transparent data transmitting mode, with RTS as an option; and supply voltage of 12.8 VDC ±10%. Applications include water storage/waste treatment plants; GPS for vehicle fleet location apps; oil and gas field SCADA; security/alarm/duress switch for banking and institutions; weather and flood monitoring stations; mining remote control with high speed for robotics; irrigation system for farms; emergency call boxes; portable traffic lights for councils; and low-power repeater applications. HB Wireless Sales & Service Pty Ltd www.hbwireless.com.au
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