Emergency services’ new county-wide radio system should be completely installed by the end of this month.
The new system, which was approved by the Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners last February, connects vehicle and mobile radios with each emergency department.
Over 300 radios have been programmed to reach about 30 channels, several more than the previous system. As opposed to before, when the EMS would have multiple calls going on at the same time with people talking over each other, county 911 director James “Junior” Jackson said this new system is more streamlined.
“Now, everybody can be separated and you can still monitor and hear everything that’s going on,” Jackson said.
The new system cost almost $392,000, which was allocated from the general fund.
Replacing all old equipment with Kenwood equipment and implementing the Fleettalk private radio system, the EMS now uses the same technology across each department.
Before, departments used a mix of hand-me-down and outdated radios. The new equipment is more reliable and consistent, Jackson said.
The county will keep the old VHF system as a way to page the fire department. Jackson said they are connecting old channels to new channels as a redundant system that will be available in case something happens to the new radios.
In addition to the new radios, the EMS invested in another radio tower on Highway 77 in Bairdstown. With three radio towers, the new system’s channels leave the main dispatch channel open for other emergencies.
“It’s been a learning process for everybody,” Jackson said. “Obviously, we know communication is important, but we didn’t know how bad the old system was before this.”
The equipment was ordered a day after the system was approved, but there were delays, so it took around seven months to deliver the radios and paging equipment. Jackson said they have to finish programming in the 911 center and move the fire department paging equipment to the new towers.
“Shipping challenges have become our biggest problem,” Jackson said.