Transmit: a publication of the Arizona Public Safety Communications Commission (PSCC)

              E x e c u t i v e Director's Log

Introducing our newest tool

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C u r t Knight

. . . the new tool I am speaking of can, if used properly, actually become one of the best enablers of our long-term, complex, and vitally important effort.

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dvancing the emergency service communications system in Arizona so it can meet all of the critical interoperability needs of the state's first responders will require, in many cases, the use of dynamic new tools. As the Executive Director of the Arizona Public Safety Communications Commission (PSCC), I would like to introduce you to one of the newest tools to be utilized in helping Arizona dramatically improve its public safety radio communications system. Despite its relative simplicity and lack of a lofty price tag, the new tool I am speaking of can, if used properly, actually become one of the best enablers of our long-term, complex, and vitally important effort. If you haven't already guessed, the new tool I am speaking of happens to be the publication you are reading now. Entitled Transmit, this newsletter will be published as needed by the PSCC Support Office as another means of conveying useful, timely information to you about the ongoing movement to better protect lives and property in Arizona by making historic changes to our emergency service communications system. Ultimately, by reading this publication and staying better informed, it will be easier for you   the stakeholders in this process - to ensure your exact needs, especially as they relate to radio system interoperability, will be met by the final communication's solution. While this issue of Transmit, being the very first, will serve as more of an introduction to the publication, future issues will cover some of the PSCC's recent success stories, upcoming challenges, and complex issues as they relate to moving this state's emergency service communication system forward. Thank you for your continued support of this exciting effort that will undoubtedly have a long-lasting, lifesaving impact on the state of Arizona.

C h a i r m a n David Felix Deputy Director, Arizona Department of Public Safety R a y W. Allen Assistant Chief, Tucson Fire Department A m y Brooks Captain, Apache Junction Fire Department H a l Collett Sheriff, La Paz County / Arizona Sheriffs Association G o r d o n Gartner Chief, Payson Police Department J a n Hauk President, Arizona Fire District Association / Buckeye Valley Fire District Richard Miranda Chief, Tucson Police Department Tracy L. Montgomery Assistant Chief, Phoenix Police Department A n g e l i c a Novoa Chief, Cocopah Tribal Police Department K a t h l e e n Paleski Chief, Northern Arizona University Police Department D a n n y Sharp Chief, Oro Valley Police Department L o u Trammell Director, Division of Emergency Management D a n Wills Battalion Chief, Sedona Fire District D e w a y n e Woodie Fire Chief, Ganado Fire District M i c h a e l Worrell Captain, Phoenix Fire Department

PSCC Support Office
2222 West Encanto Boulevard Suite 400, Mail Drop 3450 Phoenix, Arizona 85009 (602) 271-7400
Curt Knight Executive Director (602) 271-7400 - cknight@azdps.gov K e v i n Rogers Project Manager (602) 271-7403   karogers@azdps.gov Wa y n e Kincheloe Telecommunications Engineer II (602) 271-7404   mwkincheloe@azdps.gov H o l l y Burkenbine Administrative Services Officer (602) 271-7401   hburkenbine@azdps.gov E v e l y n Jablonski Executive Assistant (602) 271-7400   ejablonski@azdps.gov J i m Jertson Publications Editor/Technical Writer (602) 223-2545   jjertson@azdps.gov

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What front-line public safety radio users really want
Recent article serves as reminder to focus on critical factors, not useless bells and whistles
Unfortunately, those helping shape the design of next-generation public safety radio communications systems must sometimes be reminded not to lose sight of what front-line public safety radio users really want. An article published in the August 2006 issue of Law Enforcement Technology Magazine offered just such a reminder and resonated deeply w i t h those involved in the effort to advance Arizona's public safety communications system. T h e article, written by David Storey, showed just how easy it would be to design a public safety communications system today, including actual radio units for first responders, that featured far too many frills and not enough functionality. "According to the latest pipedreams, first responder radios today could encompass the functions of pocket computers, cellular telephones, internet browsers, surveillance devices, and even iPods," wrote Storey. The veteran journalist then asked readers how many of those gizmos and gadgets would truly benefit first responders and their need to be more efficient in the field. Storey then brought up a point that is, and always has been, near and dear to the Arizona Public Safety Communications Commission (PSCC). He said that radio system technology and design strategy "should be driven not by what technology is available, but by the intelligence and feedback received from public safety professionals and first responders who actually use the equipment day in and day out, sometimes under hazardous conditions." He then proceeded to explain why so many unnecessary bells and whistles can creep their way into today's public safety radio communications systems and related components, bogging such tools down and making them more complicated for first responders to use. Judging from his article, the proliferation of flashy, but ultimately useless "gizmos and gadgets" for first responder communication tools is simply the result of such technologies looking for new homes outside of the basic consumer market. As such technologies try to branch out of the consumer market, they can masquerade themselves as useful tools in the public safety arena as a means of making additional money for their manufacturers. Thankfully, Storey's article did provide a well researched list of what public safety radio users say they really want from their actual radio devices. Not surprisingly, no useless bells and whistles made the list. His findings were really nothing new to the PSCC, which has conducted similar research of its own in Arizona, but they served as a terrific reminder that fundamentals, not frills, should always come first when designing communications tools for first responders. As you will see, some of Storey's findings are very similar to the detailed communications desires of Arizona's public safety workers that were identified and then listed in the PSCC's
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AERS: a resourceful bridge to a true interoperability solution
In future issues of Transmit, you will likely be hearing quite a bit about the ongoing deployment of the Arizona Emergency Radio System (AERS), an exciting stepping stone to the final interoperability solution for Arizona's public safety radio communications system. AERS will be providing, within a short period of time, limited radio interoperability to various city, county, state and tribal public safety agencies in Arizona that previously had little or no ability to communicate with each other in emergencies. The system will work by creating an interoperability overlay to local public safety communications systems. Dispatch centers will tie into the AERS sites, which can then connect various agencies to the shared mutual aid asset. The development and deployment of AERS is considered a short-term communications strategy in light of the complexity of achieving a complete interoperability solution for Arizona. However, it will be a critical stepping stone or bridge to the final solution that makes incredible use of some
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Kincheloe brings wealth of experience to PSCC Support Office
Soft-spoken California native has tackled large-scale telecom projects from Alaska to Egypt
Soft-spoken, humble and quick to offer a warm, genuine Enamored with the field of telecommunications since the smile to everyone he encounters, Wayne Kincheloe doesn't ex- day he was introduced to amateur radio, or HAM radio, as a ude any of the arrogance you might expect from a man who child, Kincheloe has been employed by major corporations all has significantly shaped complex telecommunications projects over the country   and in Egypt   who have recognized his of epic proportions. excellence in completing dyNeither does n a m i c telecommunication's Kincheloe, at least on the surprojects. face, exhibit any of the rough, The PSCC was lucky gritty personality traits you enough to make Kincheloe a would expect of a man who full-time member of its Suphas directed, often from the port Office staff in October of front-lines, massive telecom2005 after the Fresno, Califormunications jobs in the harsh nia native decided to come out w o r k i n g environments of of retirement to help Arizona Egypt and Alaska. w i t h its well-publicized W h e n talking to interoperability initiatives. Kincheloe, though, one still Kincheloe's role with gets the overwhelming sense the PSCC will change as the t h a t he couldn't be better long-term effort to advance A day off in Egypt qualified or experienced to Arizona's public safety radio Kincheloe (pictured) had an opportunity to experience Egypt's have significant involvement in communications system enscenic wonders and fascinating history while helping advance the country's telecommunications system. the ongoing effort to dramatiters different stages. cally advance the existing pubCurrently, though, he is lic safety radio communications system in Arizona. helping the Commission by serving as its roving, all-purpose A Telecommunications Engineer II assigned to the Ari- telecom expert of sorts, assisting with everything from reviewzona Public Safety Communications Commission (PSCC), ing and marking up technical submittals to creating detailed covKincheloe brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the erage maps for VHF and UHF radio sites. important job of helping Arizona remedy the current and danHe has also completed exhaustive coverage surveys for gerous "interoperability" shortcomings with its emergency ser- all of the Arizona Emergency Radio System (AERS) sites and vices communications system. designed some of the transmission steering and receiver voting Armed with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, systems for that project using special computer-aided design a master's degree in engineering management and a track record software. of successful communications system design work all over the "I feel like I am helping the PSCC place some of the country, Kincheloe also brings passion into the mix. stepping stones that will help lead to an interoperability solution "The ongoing effort to advance Arizona's public safety for the state of Arizona," said Kincheloe, who is also adept at radio communications system by ensuring it will meet all of the conducting project management for large-scale telecom jobs. critical interoperability needs of the state's first responders is Helping Arizona realize a new, robust public safety radio quite historic," Kincheloe said. "It will save lives year after communications system will surely take the cake, but the proudyear upon its completion and I couldn't be more thrilled or est accomplishment of Kincheloe's career thus far occurred in proud to be involved in this." 1975.

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Kincheloe ...
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That is the year he designed and built the enormous microwave communications system that would support and enable the construction of the Alaska Pipeline. The system, which he designed, built and maintained with the help of a large staff, allowed the thousands of engineers and workers tasked with constructing the Alaska Pipeline to talk to each other and ultimately coordinate urgent job tasks as needed. The communications system featured numerous microwave sites, some of which were solar powered, spread across the 800-mile pipeline construction zone. The system was anchored by a large telephone "switch" in Fairbanks, Alaska and smaller "switches" in every one of the more than two dozen construction camps located along the pipeline's route. All told, the communications system Kincheloe helped build and maintain serviced the more than 50,000 workers assigned to every aspect of the $8 billion pipeline construction project. "My staff and I had a fleet of helicopters and fixed-wing

aircraft at our disposal to quickly respond to any aspect of the communications system on the pipeline that needed urgent attention," said Kincheloe. "My time in Alaska was very exciting and rewarding to say the least." When he is not grinding away in the PSCC Support Office located near downtown Phoenix, Kincheloe enjoys reading and fly-fishing. In recent months, he has also discovered the joy of taking weekend road trips with his wife, Liz, to Arizona's high-country. "I am still relatively new to this state and there are dozens of places here that my wife and I still want to see for ourselves," said Kincheloe, whose favorite road trips so far have included stops at the small, scenic lakes scattered about the Mogollon Rim. In the end, though, Kincheloe's real passion is for telecommunications work and he says he couldn't have found a more worthwhile effort in which to currently apply his skills. "This is a challenging, long-term project that will significantly decrease the risks faced by public safety personnel and citizens during emergencies," Kincheloe said. "Can a communications project really be any more important than that?" way for public safety workers from different agencies to be able to instantaneously connect with each other as needed. In the end, the article resonated strongly with the PSCC because of its desire to dramatically advance the public safety radio communications system in Arizona while never losing focus of what this state's first responders "really want."

Radio users ...
official guide book of sorts   its Concept of Operations. Like the PSCC, Storey discovered public safety radio users want their radios to feature nothing other than: - Ease of use, especially in emergencies - Perfect audio/voice quality and clarity - Longer battery life (which can't be achieved with too many bells and whistles) - Rugged durability and reliability - 24/7 customer service and technical support - Lower cost You might be very surprised he didn't list the desire of public safety workers to have radios that can easily interoperate for cross-jurisdictional emergency communications. This is because the number one item on his list actually included the desire of pubic safety workers to be able to communicate across jurisdictions as needed. It was just explained later in his story, and hidden under his "ease of use" bullet point because, like the PSCC, Storey believes it should not be difficult, puzzling or confusing in any
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AERS ...
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of this state's existing, or legacy, communications equipment. After all, coverage for the system is based on using available towers and connecting area dispatch centers to the radio sites. It is very complimentary to the existing regional communications systems and is not requiring agencies to replace existing systems that may already function well. In the end, AERS is a simple, short-term solution to some of Arizona's critical interoperability needs that can be expanded as needed while the state's final interoperability solution continues to take shape. Stay posted for further updates on AERS and news about the deployment of specific AERS sites.

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