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IN THIS ISSUE:

Washintons Fish and Wildlife Nets New Icom P25 radios

Meet Your Icom Team Jennifer Skinner Administrative Assistant

Fire Department Looks to Icom for Narrowbanding Solution

Accessories of the Month: OTTO Profi le Speaker Mic Evolution H2O Immersion Speaker Mic Tech Corner - Programming a Talk Group for Selective Communication

August 2007

For People Who Make Smart Choices

Washingtons Fish and Wildlife Nets New Icom P25 Radios

2007 Icom America Inc.The Icom logo is a registered trademark of Icom Inc. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. All information and specifi cations subject to change without notice or obligation. 9446

Plagued by aging radios prone to failure and requiring frequent, costly maintenance, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife needed a better solution for its communication needs.

In May, the agency acquired 160 Icom F70DT portable P25 radios for its law enforcement branch. They also purchased several dozen Icom F1821D mobiles for its non-law enforcement personnel.

Although Fish and Wildlife offi cers spend long hours stomping around in remote

forests and wetlands, the agency opted for top-of-the-line digital P25 radios. The decision was partially based on state purchasing rules that mandate P25-compliant equipment. But another reason is that offi cers with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife do a lot more than track down illegal

hunters and catch unlicensed fi sherman.

Fish and Wildlife offi cers provide fi rst response during critical public safety incidents and natural disasters, assisting local, county, and state law enforcement agencies, tribal authorities, and federal agencies. The departments reach extends statewide, crossing hundreds of jurisdictional boundaries, making it a prime candidate for P25 interoperable radios.

We require interoperable communications on a daily basis, says Lt. John McIntosh, supervisor of the communications division of the enforcement program. We work across all 39 counties in the state, and we must be able to communicate with local and county law enforcement agencies.

According to McIntosh, Fish and Wildlife maintains communication agreements with nearly every public safety entity in the state that operates in the VHF band. The various frequencies are programmed

into the agencys radios for interoperable communications at a moments notice.

National Interop, a privately held Northwest-based company that specializes in designing communications systems for public safety agencies, worked closely with the department to choose P25 equipment capable of withstanding harsh environmental conditions.

A key issue was fi nding a radio that could stand up to wet, outdoor environments, says David Billstrom, CEO of National Interop.

Icoms F70 portable offers rugged, IPX7 waterproof protection. Large capacity Li-Ion battery packs provide all-day power, and the radios two-line display allows offi cers to easily view both the zone and channel an important feature since the department operates across a vast geographical area. Other key features include the radios 256 memory channels and large knobs.

McIntosh says the agency chose the F1821D mobile for its good audio quality, and in the case of both the F70 and F1821, the price was very important.

The departments previous radios fi rst-generation P25 portables manufactured by Thales went into service in 2001, making Fish and Wildlife one of the fi rst Washington state public agencies to deploy digital P25 radios.

Purchased via the Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA), the agencys new Icom F70 portables and F1821 mobiles have performed exceptionally well in the fi eld, McIntosh says. Offi cers report the radios o p e r a t e 100 percent better than the previous radios.

F70DT

ianews, your connection to Icom Americas Land Mobile Division! Keep up with the latest products, news and technical information inthis newsletter.

F1821

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ianews / August 2007 / Page 2


Jennifer Skinner is land mobile divisions new administrative assistant. Jennifer (Jenn) started last May and is doing an outstanding job supporting a growing land mobile sales team. Jenn possesses a great sense of humor and comfortable personality very well liked by Icom staff, reps and customers. Jenns top duty is providing administrative support to the Vice President, Product and Marketing Coordinator, Regional Sales Managers, Area Sales Managers, and Sales Reps. Jenn administers promotions and makes sure that the sales team and Icom partners requests are effi ciently and appropriately handled. Jenns assistance in with the Land Mobile Road Shows has helped in making them a great success.

Jennifer SkinnerAdministrative Assistant

Meet Your Icom TeamFire Department Looks to Icom for Narrowbanding SolutionAt best, narrowbanding is a tricky landscape for the LMR industry to navigate. Caught between their need to upgrade with spectrum-effi cient digital equipment and the continually shifting narrowbanding deadlines and regulations, operators are rightfully cautious when it comes to investing in two-way radios.

With the needs of public safety agencies, fl eet operators, manufacturing facilities and other two-way radio users in mind, Icom America introduced a line of multimode two-way radios designed to help facilitate operators move from 25-kHz channels to 12.5-kHz and even 6.25-kHz.

These narrowband-compatible radios are exactly what the Jeffersonville (Ind.) Fire Department needed to transition

from their old analog channels to narrower digital channels. The agency in southern Indiana recently purchased 17 F3061 Series handheld radios and an Icom America Systems 6.25 Digital Voice Repeater (DVR). And later this year, they plan to replace their mobile analog radios with

Icoms digital equipment.

The fi re department was in an awkward position because they had already received a 12.5-kHz license, according to Charlie McIntyre of Advanced Radio Communications, an Icom dealership in Huntingburg, Ind. Further complicating matters, the FCC recently issued a statement encouraging LMR operators to consider skipping 12.5 kHz and moving directly to 6.25 kHz.

We looked at other three other manufacturers products but chose to

go with Icoms 6.25-kHz radios because they are compatible with our conventional 25-kHz spread dispatch channel as well as our newly licensed 12.5-kHz bandwidth channel, said David Kaskey of the Jeffersonville FD. The Icom radio was durable and proved to be the right choice for us given its price, number of features and available upgrades.

According to McIntyre, the fi re department likes the privacy Icoms digital equipment offers. They dont want someone with a scanner picking up their conversations during an emergency, particularly when patient information is in the mix.

The fi re department also needed a repeater that could be easily moved around, and in particular, hooked up onsite during f i r e f i g h t i n g operations. This radio has so many different options, it is sure to meet our needs for the next 10 to 15 years, Kaskey said.

And while Icoms F3061 analog/digital portable radios met the Jeffersonville FDs need for narrowband equipment,

McIntyre credits the demo radios he gave the fi re department with solidifying the sale. Once they tried out the Icom radios, they fell in love with them, he said. My advice for other dealers is to provide demo radios to potential customers and explain what the radio can do for them and then leave the radio for the customer to play with.

F3061

F5061

6.25 DVR Repeater


ianews / August 2007 / Page 3

ianewsnewsOTTO Profi le Speaker MicFor use with Icom F70 series radios

Accessories of the Month

TECH CORNER Programming a Talk Group for Selective Communication

Talk groups allow you to call a select group of radios, excluding others that are on the same frequency. Use the tables below to program minimal settings for Talkgroups.

Memory CH Window

Field Setting/Description

CH Type Set to DigitalDigital Talkgroup ID List No.

Points to a corresponding line in the Digital Talkgroup ID window (alias list).

Squelch Type Set to SEL if you want talkgroup communication only. Set to NAC if you want to communicate to Talkgroups and other unmuted radios.

Talkgroup Strapped ON: Does not allow the radio to change Talkgroups by pressing the up/down keys.OFF: Allows changing of Talkgroups using up/down keys

Digital Window


Digital Talkgroup ID Assign a talk group number and alias to the list. This list is referenced to channels in the Memory Ch.

Option Window


Talkgroup Option Talkgroup Display on Receive

Set to ON.

Confi g Preamble Length

Set to 500.

Key & Display Window


Key Assign a key (P0-P3) for Talkgroups.

To Make a Talkgroup Call

1. Press the key assigned to Talkgroup.

2. Select the desired Talkgroup by pressing the Up/Down keys.

3. Press PTT. The Talkgroup and TX radios individual ID will show on the target radios display.

The OTTO Profi le Speaker microphone (V2-L2CM11) meets the same specifi cations as the Evolution but is lighter and slimmer with a few less features. It is perfect for public safety offi cials to maintain crowd control, for construction site foremen or plant engineers to relay instructions and many more environments.

Features: Housing fully sealed to meet harsh conditions like 40 mph blowing rain. Durable design and construction to meet MIL-STD-810 specs. Heavy-duty cable assembly with strain relief. Earphone jack that accepts standard 2.5 mm plugs. Flexible design to fi t most portable radio confi gurations. Clothing spring clip which can be positioned 360 degrees. Optional 2.5mm earphone kit available.

Evolution H2O Immersion Speaker MicFor use with Icom F3061 Series radios

The Evolution H20 Immersion rated speaker microphone has been enhanced to withstand prolonged exposure to water and temperature extremes. This unit is designed for rugged environments including Public Safety Markets (police, fi re and EMT services), maritime law enforcement, heavy-duty

manufacturing and any other environment with harsh conditions.

Features Designed to withstand prolonged exposure to water and temperature extremes. Durable design and construction to meet MIL-STD-810 specs. Fully sealed per IP68 (Submersed in 1 meter of water for 31 minutes)* Heavy-duty cable assembly with strain relief for demanding applications. Two-position volume control for operation in various noise environments. Flexible design to fi t most portable radio confi gurations. Clothing spring clip which can be positioned 360 degrees. Certain models available with an antenna connector.

Icom America Inc.2380 116th Ave NEBellevue, WA 98004Phone: (425) 454-8155Fax: (425) 454-1509Customer Service: (425) 454-7619Icom America SystemsPhone: (425) 586-6363Fax: (425) [email protected]

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