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The PSERN Project is excited to announce that the Coverage Testing in the Primary Bounded Area (PBA) was successful and the PSERN Project Joint Board has approved the results! PBA Coverage Testing was conducted over 5 months, from May – October 2021, and included staff physically traveling throughout King County on every accessible roadway and major waterway to verify that the PSERN System met the requirements. King County was plotted into .2-mile squares, referred to as tiles, and these three coverage assessments were made by covering each tile twice:
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Bit Error Rate (BER) Test - Test of channel performance or signal quality
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Portable to Dispatch Delivery Audio Quality (DAQ) Test -Test of audio quality between a portable (hand-held) radio to a dispatch center
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Portable to Mobile Delivery Audio Quality (DAQ) Test - Test of audio quality between a portable (hand-held) radio to a mobile (vehicle) radio
PBA Coverage Testing Results:
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Type of Test
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Target
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Result
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Bit Error Rate (BER)
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97%
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98.59%
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Portable to Dispatch DAQ
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97%
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99.32%
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Portable to Mobile DAQ
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97%
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99.39%
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These results met the 97% requirement for portable radio coverage on streets within each of the 39 cities in King County and portable radio coverage on waterways where watercraft are permitted.
The PSERN Project and Motorola taught 19 sector specific classes (fire, law enforcement, general government, transit) in November and December, training over 230 attendees from 90% of the agencies. These Lead Trainers learned about the functionality of the new PSERN radios and have been provided materials, including equipment manuals and PSERN specific information. Agencies should schedule internal agency training to share this information and ensure that all radio end-users are familiar with the new equipment prior to receiving their new radios. See the Radio Deployment Wave Chart for estimated wave starting dates.
During the Lead Trainer classes and Pilot Test, agency representatives identified that the larger battery on APX 6000 and APX 8000 radios was causing operational issues, such as added weight and not adequately fitting in holsters or bunker gear. Although a subcommittee of the Operations Board had recommended the larger battery a couple of years ago due to is extended charge, the size difference had not been realized. The PSERN Project consulted the Operations Board leadership and decided that all APX radios will now be provided with a smaller battery, similar to what is used today, to accommodate the operational need. This smaller battery will still meet all specification requirements, including lasting up to 12 hours without recharging for many users. Agencies do not need to take any action. If you have any questions, please contact Technical Supervisor, Sean Douglas.
Multiple milestones must be met before radios can be deployed to agencies. Overall, the PSERN Project feels confident that Wave 1 will begin on January 27th, but more information is being determined for the future waves. See estimated wave starting dates on the Radio Deployment Wave Chart. The following is an update on the status of the Radio Deployment milestones:
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Template Programming – The work for Wave 1 templates is progressing at the needed rate to be done in time for the deployment to begin as planned.
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Radio Order and Delivery – The Project has provided the radio requirements for each wave to Motorola and Motorola has placed the order to the factory.
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Installation and Distribution Locations - Multiple mobile radio installation locations have been identified for each wave, but further discussion is occurring on possible additional locations for Wave 2 Seattle agencies. Portable radio distribution locations have also been identified.
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Deployment Scheduling – The Project connected with all 106 agencies in the fall but were not able to finish scheduling. The two Wave 1 agencies (Seattle Public Utilities and Sound Transit Operations/Link Light Rail) have their date/time/location for each mobile radio installation, along with logistical information. Portable radio distribution for Wave 1 is still being determined.
The PSERN Project continues to work one-on-one with agency contacts to determine their Radio Deployment scheduling details and the process for transition to PSERN. Since that information is specific per agency, the Project is relying on those agency contacts to disseminate that information within their agency. The following is some overview information of how the Project is approaching aspects of Radio Deployment and Transition:
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Mobile Radio Installations – Each vehicle will be scheduled for an appointment to have their mobile radio exchanged and prior to that date, the Project will reach out multiple times to confirm with the agency. If a vehicle misses an appointment, the Project will work with the agency to reschedule them later in the wave.
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Portable Radio Distribution – Agencies will be given the option to exchange portable radios one-for-one at a distribution warehouse or to arrange with the Project for the agency to pick up a batch of radios to do a bulk exchange.
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Addressing Radio Issues Post Deployment – If a radio end-user experiences a mobile vehicle installation, radio template, or equipment issue within one week of receiving their radio, they will need to contact the PSERN Project contact that will be provided to them. After one week, any issues should be reported to the agency’s Radio Shop.
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Progress Tracking – Once the radios are scheduled for deployment, wave start and end dates will be determined, with the wave end date being the date agencies will transition to using PSERN. The Project will track progress throughout the wave to ensure the dates will be met. The Project will consult the Technical Committee and Operations Board to confirm the readiness to transition.
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Stakeholder Communications – When the scheduling is complete, the Wave start and end dates will be shared with stakeholders, along with information about the end date transition to PSERN protocol. Regular updates will be shared through direct emails and in this newsletter. Additionally, Town Hall webinars will be held prior to each Transition for agencies to prepare.
The Project has met two of the three technical milestones to be ready to transition to PSERN and is on track to fulfill the third milestone this week. The following is an update on the Transition to PSERN milestones:
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Coverage Testing – As reviewed earlier, PBA Coverage Testing was successful and results were approved by the PSERN Project Joint Board.
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Operational and Function Test – The Operational and Functional Test was conducted for 30 consecutive business days from October 20 – November 24, 2021, and successfully demonstrated that the PSERN System is properly configured, optimized, and can operate without major failures. The PSERN Project Joint Board approved the results.
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Pilot Test – The Pilot Test began on December 6, 2021, and ran for 30 days until January 5, 2022. The test includes usage of 100 PSERN radios by 13 Fire, 12 Law Enforcement, and 7 Local Government agencies to test known coverage issues and high service call areas while becoming familiar with the new equipment and adjusting to digital audio. No public safety activities will be performed over PSERN during this test. Participating agency testers will provide feedback on their experience using PSERN in their operational areas.
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