Radio System 7.15 Upgrade

The BRICS Trunked Radio System will be upgraded from Motorola’s version 7.13 to 7.15 in March.

Normally, our system takes a two-release jump every two years, rather than upgrading by one release annually. Our previous upgrade, from 7.11 to 7.13, was pushed back significantly to align Butler County’s upgrade schedule with Ohio MARCS. This is why our 7.15 upgrade follows the 7.13 upgrade so closely. Going forward, we’ll be back on track with our two-year cycle.

Impact

• This upgrade does not involve radio reprogramming or significant outages.
• During brief periods, dispatch centers will use backup equipment while upgrades occur that affect radio consoles.
• On particular days during the upgrade, logging (recording) systems will be taken offline to be upgraded.
• As equipment is upgraded at individual tower sites, that single site will be offline for less than half an hour.
  • For any particular site taken out of service, it may cause a reduction in coverage in dense buildings in that area. Since there is considerable overlap between all of our fourteen tower sites, no significant coverage loss is expected and this process may be transparent to end users.
  • BRICS staff will notify dispatch centers during this process and verify there are no significant incidents in progress in areas that might be impacted by the tower work.
  • These same types of outages occur during annual tower preventative maintenance and generally have no effect on field operations.

Schedule

Weeks 1 through 4 (February 23rd through March 20th)
Pre-deployment / pre-configuration tasks taking place at master sites around the state, including our own.

Updated as of March 23rd:

Week 5 (March 23rd through March 27th)
Monday: Potential for brief dispatch center radio console outage
Tuesday: Brief dispatch console outages / site trunking; will use backup equipment
Wednesday: Radio audio logging disrupted while loggers are upgraded
Wednesday: Brief console outage at 9COM, and disruption to some VHF channels
Thursday: Reduced channel capacity for brief periods in afternoon

Week 6 (March 30th through April 3rd)
Brief outages (<20 mins) at dispatch sites while upgrades occur
Tuesday: 1COM, 3COM, 4COM, 5COM, 6COM
Wednesday: 7COM, 8COM, 9COM, 9HQ

Week 7 (April 6th through 10th)
Radio audio logging access disruptions

Updates

Additional information will follow as it is known. Follow BRICS on Twitter at @BRICSalerts for timely notifications.