Batteries in the Field: When we add smartphones and tablets to the mix of public safety communications devices we are adding yet another set of devices that run on batteries that need to be recharged. While there are a number of companies working on charging these devices from the radio energy that is transmitted from a cell site, which could make recharging a non-issue, that appears, once again, to be well into the future. In the meantime, how are these devices to be charged along with the Land Mobile Radio (LMR) handheld radios?
Comparing LMR to LTE Devices: LMR devices are generally designed for battery life of over a shift, which is ten hours or so. But this is with a duty cycle that is generally light. The norm is 80-percent standby (lowest power requirement) to 10-percent receive (mid-power requirement) and 10-percent transmit (highest power usage). The batteries for LMR radios are removable and replaceable and can be run through a “fast charge” system to replenish them in short order. There are also what are known as “clam-shell” battery cases that are designed to be used with disposable batteries, usually a number of AA cells. During major wildland fires when the forest services issue their cache of radios, they are mostly powered by throw-away cells. The batteries used in LMR radios are usually on the bottom of the radio, are easy to take off, and have a lot more battery capacity than batteries that are not removable.
There are a number of different scenarios for LMR radio distribution. In police departments, most LMR handhelds are staged in gang chargers and as patrol officers exit the station for a shift they will grab a radio and sometimes a spare battery for use on their shift and then replace the units in the charger at the end of their shift. In the fire service, since there are normally four assigned to an engine, radios are sometimes in chargers near one of the engine’s rear doors and are picked up as needed when arriving on a scene. Most EMS personnel have radios issued to them at the start of each shift. Of course, there are many variations of this including some departments where the LMR handheld is the only radio each person carries. Read the Entire Post Here
Discovvery Patterns Weekly News Summary Follows:
Urgent Communications Apr 12 12:35
For example, we audited and verified testing of public safety-focused features and functions of wireless devices currently published on the NIST list. This includes Band 14 functionality when applicable, FirstNet UICC [universal integrated circuit card] or SIM functionality, as well as functionality with the …
Kdminer Apr 12 09:45
The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials is honoring thousands of women and men who work the phones for public safety agencies this week. They’re our lifeline, for sure, Undersheriff Ed Trafecanty said. Even when I was on boat patrol, I had the utmost respect for them. They have …
AT&T Newsroom – ATT.com Apr 11 22:20
AT&T and Crown Castle signed a new agreement simplifying and expanding their long-term leasing deal for wireless network infrastructure, which will help AT&T speed up the deployment of 5G technologies and the execution of our FirstNet build.
GCN.com Apr 11 18:45
The online system will also pre-populate data fields for state EAS plans with information from other FCC databases, making it easier for states to update and revise their plans. The FCC directed its Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau to develop and implement the template so that its collection of …
WAFB.com Apr 11 04:45
… to go and what to expect by a public safety telecommunicator. We may take 911 calls for granted today, but it was only 50 years ago that the first emergency call was completed in Haleyville, Alabama, said David J. Redi, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator.
FierceTelecom Apr 12 14:25
This streamlined process should not apply, however, to equipment that is not incidental to overlashed telecommunications lines, such as strand-mounted antennas and other RF-emitting devices, batteries, and power supplies, because such equipment is much more likely to present safety and load …
In Compliance Apr 12 11:45
Other areas of potential focus include communications technologies critical to public safety, homeland security, healthcare, energy, education and transportation. The FCC says that those selected to participate in the Honors Engineering Program will be eligible for continued employment at the agency.
Bloomberg Big Law Business Apr 12 10:45
Federal law prohibits operating broadcast radio or TV stations without an FCC license. Such operations can interfere with licensed broadcasters’ programming and public safety messages, the FCC says. Fighting unlawful broadcasts is a top enforcement priority for the FCC, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said …
The Wellsboro Gazette Apr 12 09:40
In 2017, Pennsylvania opted into the deployment of the interoperable Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, Smith said. The network will be available through a public-private partnership with FirstNet and AT&T to provide the first reliable broadband network for first responders acrross the state, …
wtip.org Apr 12 09:16
… the broadband network, which many say has been set aside for public safety. It’s worth pointing out, specifically for the Gunflint Trail area, that when not in use for emergencies, AT&T can use it for commercial business. This, simply put, means people can use the network for their personal cell phones.
Techdirt Corporate Intelligence Apr 12 08:13
Last year, FCC boss Ajit Pai repeatedly hyped the creation of a new “Broadband Deployment Advisory Council” (BDAC) purportedly tasked with coming up with solutions to the nation’s broadband problem. Unfortunately, reports just as quickly began to circulate that this panel was little more than a who’s who of entrenched telecom operators with a vested interest in protecting the status quo. What’s more, the panel featured few representatives from the countless towns and cities…
TechNode Apr 12 01:50
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last year began allowing operators to deploy narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) technology, which enables devices that use small amounts of data to communicate almost anywhere, over the GSM band. There were over 888 million people …
StateScoop Apr 11 21:45
The list is maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Public Safety Communications Research Division, which received recommendations from the First Responder Network Authority. While NIST is mandated to maintain the list by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job …
Tuscaloosa News Apr 11 07:45
It should be very concerning to citizens but certainly to emergency management professionals, said Simpson, the former chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission. Older alert systems, he said, were never designed to counter an advanced …
WTRF Apr 10 22:45
“We basically built our business on the back of some state contracts which allowed us to have access to all of the state Marks towers, which is essentially the public safety network, so we run a high-quality network that services all of the public safety communications in the state of Ohio,” said Agile …
NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association Apr 5 16:10
Then the large nationwide carriers swooped in to claim the band for 5G use. The FCC is now considering retooling the rules to accommodate both 5G and fixed broadband use. Join us to learn more about the 3.5 GHz process and the strategy for ensuring rural Americans can enjoy this spectrum.
AlleyWatch Apr 5 14:40
In starting Mark43, we set out to usher in a new era of public safety technology by building a cloud-based software platform that both cuts down on time spent on collecting and entering information, and enables first responders to easily manage, share, and act on this data in real-time, wherever they …
Markets Insider Apr 5 13:40
SceneDoc Welcomes TJ Kennedy, Former FirstNet President, to its Executive Advisory CouncilPublic Safety Broadband Veteran Brings Wealth of Experience to …
The Daily Dot Apr 5 11:55
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) plan to cut phone and broadband Lifeline program as a potential death sentence for vulnerable …
Telecompetitor Apr 5 10:45
NTIA said the revamped website is designed to inform the public about NTIA’s work to expand broadband connectivity through educating, convening and assisting stakeholders. The new website is to serve as a one-stop shop for broadband information around the federal government and should make it …
Connect-World Apr 5 05:10
This foundation built on Ericsson Radio System solutions will extend 5G-like characteristics into the 4G domain as Telstra’s 4G mobile infrastructure evolves beyond gigabit speeds, supports millions of connected things through Australia’s only dual NB-IoT (Narrowband-Internet of Things) and Cat-M1 …