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800 Mhz Project
The sheriff's office is undertaking a project to replace the 30 year old public safety radio system in Aitkin County. The Federal Communications Commission and the State of Minnesota have mandated a shift to the 800 Mhz (megahertz) band. This system is known as the Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response or the ARMER system.
The Sheriff's Office currently operates 4 law enforcement transmitting
sites and 5 fire and EMS transmitters. (The City of McGregor operates 1
additional site.) Some of the equipment dates to the 1980's. This would
be replaced by 7 transmitting sites common to all responders. Aitkin County
would be responsible for building one tower site while the state of Minnesota
is in process of building the 6 other sites. In addition, transmitters in
surrounding counties would be available to cover the extreme corners of
the county. Once the system is complete, all facilities would be the responsibility
of the State of Minnesota.
The advantage of operating within the system is that law enforcement,
fire and EMS units could operate seamlessly in any part of the state of
Minnesota. During the I-35W bridge collapse in 2007, the ARMER system handled
114,000 push-to-talk commands (radio transmissions) between 16,000 different
radios in the first six hours of the incident.1 The system also allows for
contact with any of our units anywhere within the state of Minnesota.
The Sheriff’s Office currently is pursuing grant funding to offset the county’s
cost for its contribution to the system and assistance for replacement costs
to county responder agencies. The state's system is financed through the
9-1-1 fees charged by telephone companies.
Current goals place the system in operation in late 2010 or early 2011.
For more information:
Statewide Radio Board
Minnesota Statewide 9-1-1 Program
This includes units not responding to the incident.
Source:
ARMER presentation of Scott Wiggins (Requires Microsoft Powerpoint)