Radio tower interference results in communication issues for police
By John Joyce
Published in News on May 4, 2015 1:46 PM
Interference to a radio tower out in the county caused sporadic frequency hopping Friday that interrupted communications capabilities for police and first responders, Wayne County Fire Marshal Brian Taylor said.
A $3 million upgrade to the county's ailing communications system completed Tuesday was otherwise successful.
The source of the interference remains unknown, but the impact was far reaching.
"It was system wide -- that effects the entire system -- it effects every user," Taylor said.
The county just switched over to a new radio vendor, Radio Communications Co., requiring each city and county emergency response department to change frequencies.
All radio systems encounter some sort of interference. UHF radio systems, which is what the county uses, are more susceptible to interference than other systems, Taylor noted.
The incident Friday was the first of its kind since the county made the switch. EMS was the first agency to switch over April 14, followed over the next few days by the city and county fire departments and the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
Animal Control and the Office of Emergency Services followed next and the Goldsboro Police Department, the last agency to switch over, did so Tuesday.
"Somewhere around lunchtime, or shortly before that, GPD had some difficulty with their radios," Taylor said.
He and other county officials worked with RCC to isolate the cause.
"There is a new tower site over at Buck Swamp Road taking on a lot of interference, forcing the frequency to roll over several times every few seconds," Taylor said.
When that happens, the radios lose the frequency.
Maj. Mike West of the Goldsboro Police Department said safety was a concern, but the department was able to handle things Friday using cell phones.
"It makes it difficult if our radios aren't receiving. If dispatch has a call they have to call the officer on their cell phones -- dispatch has all our officer's cell phone numbers -- and the officers have to call back to dispatch," West said.
He said the officers carry mobile radios and have radios in their cars, but being that they might be different brands in some cases, losing the frequency can be more problematic.
"It could possibly effect five or six cars at once," he said.
Taylor said the source of the interference could be something local or it could be miles and miles away. On days like Friday, when the weather is wet, cold and windy, the potential for interference can increase he said.
By 4 p.m. Friday the situation seemed to be improving.
Taylor said bugs like this often have to be worked out when implementing new systems of any kind.
"We're going to continue to monitor it. Any issues that come up we will tackle them. There is always something that you miss, but everything seems to be going smoothly," he said.