Public Safety

These are some examples of how Mimer SoftRadio can be used in Public Safety. Not only for those with a blue light on the roof, but also for other user groups that share the same public network and might be involved in a crises situation.

Radios are essential to public safety – click below to learn more

Public Safety Radio Systems

This page is for you that use a public radio system that is mainly built for Public Safety use. It is most likely a Tetra system.

Mimer SoftRadio will help you to build a small or medium size command centre without expensive leased lines and without the operators needing to learn more than how to use a mobile radio.

Mimer SoftRadio uses fixed mobile Tetra radios that are remote controlled from a PC dispatcher or are shared between several PC dispatchers. On the dispatchers PC there is a simple to use GUI with straight forward transmit and listen keys, and when needed a virtual control head resembling the radio, pops up. If you are familiar with handling the mobile radio itself, it is just as easy to do it on the PC.

Apart from radios in the Public Safety radio system also other types of radios, phones and more, can be connected. This makes it possible for the dispatchers to handle all their communication from the same PC and the same headset.

SoftRadio2Example of user GUI with several radios connected

MapView-demo-KölnMimer MapView showing GPS positioned units

Mimer SoftRadio is basically set up by connecting a network interface to each fixed radio and connecting that interface to an IP infrastructure. The interface communicates with the radio and transforms both the control of the radio and the audio into IP data traffic. The PC dispatch software works the other way around and presents the information to the user.

The only thing needed between the radio and the dispatcher is ordinary IP infrastructure. Mimer SoftRadio will work both in a local LAN, a large WAN and/or over the Internet.

Since the intelligence is distributed to the network interface and the dispatch software the system needs no central processor, making it very robust and much less vulnerable than other systems.

Mimer SoftRadio can also be equipped with analogue radio channels, voice recording, logging, map systems etc. There are also special add-ons for DSC-signalling on the marine band, connection of telephone lines and much more.

MTM5400-2Motorola Tetra Virtual Control Head for the MTM5400

Sepura3Virtual Control Head for Sepura Tetra mobiles

Coast Guard

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Onboard the largest ships in the Swedish Coast Guard fleet there is a separate command and control room that is manned when taking care of an incident. It is separated from the ships bridge in order for them not to disturb one another.

In this command centre there is obviously a large need of communicating with the world around. Not just through one radio system but through many radio systems and phone systems that shall be used separately or in combination.

In two operator PC´s with touch screens, goose neck microphones, speakers and headsets the following systems are brought together by Mimer SoftRadio:

  • 2 Tetra mobiles
  • 3 Marine VHF Radios
  • 1 Airband VHF Radio
  • 1 UHF radio for on-board Communication
  • 1 Analogue phone line connected to the ships onboard PABX

Most of the radios are placed in a radio room high up in the mast where they can have good coverage and a short aerial lead for low loss. Down from the mast to the command room there is only need for one common CAT5 cable, making the installation very easy.

All radios and the phone can be operated from both dispatch PC´s. Either through speaker/microphone or through a headset.

At this point all radios and dispatchers in the system are on-board the ship. However in a future this can be expanded through a suitable IP connection. Both land based radios and dispatchers can be connected as well as connecting several ships together. The system can also be expanded with audio recording.

Bild376-1

Drawing of the system onboard
the KBV001-KBV003

Small Fire / Police Command Centre

Many fire stations and also police stations have small command rooms where they place one or two Tetra mobiles on a table. By adding a network interface to these radios and connecting to the local LAN, many more can share those radios, through their PC´s equipped with Mimer SoftRadio.

It gives a much higher flexibility where many more have access to the radios.

If you also place the radios in a high up position with a short aerial cable you will get a good coverage for DMO and repeater mode if the Tetra network would go down.

Organisations that have their own safe WAN network between their centres, like most police organisations, can even cross connect their fixed radios between centres. If the Tetra network goes down and their WAN is still working, they can continue to work through linked radios and dispatchers.

In the example here the dispatcher in City A can communicate with a car in City B. He can also remotely set any fixed Tetra mobile into repeater mode without the need to travel to where it is placed.

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Rapid Deployment

Both police and fire defence can suddenly find themselves involved in a large incident with lots of personnel, but in an area where the Tetra network does not have as much capacity as it does in the cities. Most public safety nets have a very good geographical coverage, but can of course not offer capacity for hundreds of users at the same time everywhere.

An incident can for example be a forest fire or an environmental demonstration in a rural area.

A simple way to strengthen the radio net is to place a couple of fixed mobile radios in repeat mode at the incident site. Then more talk groups can be used at site. By connecting these fixed radios through Mimer SoftRadio to the Command Centre the dispatchers can follow all radio traffic and also use these extra recourses.

Of course shall the IP connection between the site and the Command Centre be of a safe type.

 

Bild459-1Dispatch centre with temporary LTE connections to Tetra terminals in repeatermode

 

Small/Midsize Utility Company

Many utility companies have one or more fixed Tetra radios placed in a control room. By connecting these radios to Network Interfaces and then to the IP LAN, many PC users can share those radios, both in the control room and outside in the utility companies WAN.

This will give a much higher flexibility where “everybody” have access to a radio through their office desk top PC.

Through Mimer SoftRadio not only voice messages can be shared, also text messages can be exchanged with the field personnel. Also pre stored text messages can be used.

If you have work areas where the Tetra network does not have enough coverage indoors or maybe underground for example in a distant power station, you can install a fixed Tetra radio there and connect it through the company WAN to the control room.

Field workers at the site can then communicate and  send emergency calls over DMO from their standard portables through the fixed mobile, when they don´t reach the ordinary radio net. The control room personel will see on what fixed radio the call comes in. In that way they know where the field worker is.

 

Bild460Dispatch centre with Tetra mobiles in
both DMO and TMO

 

Command and Control Vehicles

Operators in Fire and Police command vehicles have a need to communicate in a lot of different systems, and will of course want to use the same control panel and headset for all communication.

In the command vehicles for the Stockholm Fire brigade there where first eight analogue radios, three mobile phones and intercom in each vehicle. This has now been updated to the public safety Tetra network used in Sweden and the number of radios are less than before.

All systems are operated in parallel from three touch screen panels and audio can be selected between headset or speaker and microphone.

Also other counties in Sweden use Mimer SoftRadio in their command vehicles for both radio and phones.

Apart from the dispatchers inside the vehicle, an expansion is possible with for example a tablet PC outside the vehicle through cable or Wi-Fi. This can be used by a dispatcher or commander with full function or just for listening in on the audio.

Through the use of for example a 4G/LTE link more external dispatchers can be connected to the radios in the vehicle and get the same possibilities as the dispatchers in the vehicle. On top of that they get an intercom channel between the inner and the outer command centre.

More reading on Command and Control vehicles on this page.

Bild1bCommand and control vehicle

20180219_111948Two dispatch positions, in the vehicle, each with one touch screen for radio and phone operation.

Military

Within the military both old analogue technique and modern digital systems function in parallel. Sometimes new analogue systems are used during training by the simple reason that they are so much cheaper to buy (COTS) and fast to deploy.

With Mimer SoftRadio all types of radio, both analogue and digital, can be remote controlled from both fixed and mobile command centres. They can be monitored at the same time and also transmitted on at the same time. And they can be cross patched together.

The radios used by the dispatchers can also be a mix of local radios and remote controlled radios from a totally different part of the country.

Military / UN-mission overseas

At an incident abroad radios placed there can be connected over IP and satellite so that a command centre in the home country can follow the incident or even lead it.

More reading on Military usage on this page.

Bild461-1Command centre with communication over both analogue and digital radio systems.

Bild462-1Command centre keeping in contact with
troups over a satellite link.

Bus Companies

Many public bus companies use the public safety systems for communication. This is obviously practical since they get good coverage and a very robust network without heavy investments.

In many cases each bus depo has its own small radio dispatcher that uses a fixed mobile radio to be able to talk to the bus drivers. And then the bus company also has a larger central where they plan the tours and the personnel, here they have a large need for communications.

For both these categories Mimer SoftRadio is the perfect companion. With one or more fixed mobile radios, many dispatchers can, through their PC´s, get in contact with the radio net and the buses.

Command centres that run both digital and analogue systems can use them in parallel in the same dispatch PC´s. In the example on the right a centre in Stockholm takes care of buses in three different towns with three different types of radio systems.

 

Bild389Bus dispatcher working with three different radio systems in three different towns

Industry

Industries often have a number of different radio systems, varying in age and quality. Sometimes analogue, sometimes digital DMR or Tetra. On the side of this there is often also a Tetra cooperation with the local fire defence.

With a Mimer SoftRadio system the guard centre and/or control room can use all the industries radio systems as well as the fire defences radio system from the same dispatch PC´s.

If it is allowed, industry radio channels can be cross connected to fire defence talk groups during a common incident.

With the help of Mimer MapView they keep track of their personnel and get an alert if someone pushes the alarm key on the portable.

 

Bild463Control Room and Guard centre at an industry using both local analogue and Tetra plus connection to the fire defence Tetra.

Prison

Most prisons use a public safety system for communication both under transport and internally.

For the command centre at the prison it is practical to have a couple of fixed radios connected to dispatch PC´s. Then all personnel can work both with the internal communication and with the transport communication. But you still don´t need a costly fixed connection to the public safety nets infrastructure.

To use fixed mobile radios at the prison also gives the advantage that they can be used in DMO mode if the public safety net does not work. A good insurance for unpredicted happenings.

With the help of Mimer SoftRadio can, for example, pre programmed text messages or pre recorded audio messages be used at an emergency.

With a Mimer VoiceLog all communication can be recorded for later follow-up.

 

Bild410Guard house at a prison working with
two fixed Tetra mobiles.