The solution PMR Products designed for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

SafetyNet Client software provides the management functions for controlling the radio fleet and recording all activity, with four workstations in the control room enabling busy operators with many functions to perform access to monitor and react to radio traffic. Each operator has the facility to monitor audio from one or several talk groups and receive individual calls. In the event of a serious incident radio users can generate a priority alert on all of the control room workstations using a dedicated button on their radios.

SafetyNet Locator software provides mapping functions and allows the tracking or location of radio users as they move around the Borough. SafetyNet Locator enables resources to be used effectively and provides for the safety of radio users as support can be sent directly to their location in the event of dangerous or confrontational situations. A full audit trails is provided to check the movement of radio users.

The SafetyNet Digital integrated solution uses Hytera digital DMR portable radios with a multi-site repeater network connected over IP as the main communications infrastructure.

To cover the county with large open and rural spaces, a VHF scheme was specified operating from initially three sites chosen to share the resources with the UHF scheme. Through a period of testing one site was moved to give better wide area coverage and an additional site added to the north to cover the Thames Valley.

The Hytera DMR product range and PMR Products’ SafetyNet Digital management software was upgraded to provide a full integrated solution. The original MOTOTRBO UHF scheme runs in parallel, offering better penetration into buildings in municipal areas. With the VHF scheme offering a much greater coverage range, the mixture of UHF and VHF allows the best features of each to be utilised, fully integrated through SafetyNet software.

Using the pseudo trunk facility on Hytera’s PD785 repeaters, users can make group and individual calls at will and with careful management of the fleet will get instant access without the overhead of an additional control channel. The system has additional capacity to add users onto the Events channels to handle the many activities which go on in the borough at Ascot Racecourse and Windsor Castle.

Hytera DMR radios are specified, providing a rugged hand portable radio with some powerful functions which is used by SafetyNet extensively for the transfer of status, registration, alarms, position information and Man Down functions. The PD785G was chosen due to its large clear screen showing talk group activity and an easy to use keypad for dialling individual subscribers. The PD785G with GPS has the added advantage of being waterproof for use by many users working outside and with flooding a potential risk in the borough; this was considered a mandatory facility.