8.4 Purchase Portable Radio Equ
CITY OF SALINA
REQUEST FOR CITY COMMISSION ACTION
DATE
7/8/02
TIME
4:00 P.M,
AGENDA SECTION:
NO.
ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT:
APPROVED FOR
AGENDA:
8
FIRE DEPARTMENT
ITEM
NO.
4
BY: Darrell Eastin
BY'
Item:
Authorize purchase of Portable Radio equipment to be used by Salina Fire Department.
Background:
The 2002 Capital Improvement Program includes $30,000 of funding to replace existing Fire
Department Portable Radios and accessories.
The equipment being replaced has served the City of Salina well for many years. However, due
to the age of the equipment, the department has begun to experience increased maintenance
problems, as well as failures during emergency operations.
In the fall of 2001, a Fire Department Committee was formed to study the departments
communications needs. The committee is chaired by Firefighter LePage and coordinated by Chief
Jim Weese. A great deal of effort has gone into the research and development of this
recommendation.
The committee took a very methodical approach. First a list of portable communication
deficiencies and issues were developed through a department-wide effort. Each shift, each
station was visited to discuss and poll the department. From this a list of issues, needs, wishes
and recommendations were developed. The committee then formulated a report for review by all
members of the department.
Based on product evaluation, a detailed specification was developed. Because of the nature and
specialty of the equipment, we realized the availability of vendors was limited. Competitive pricing
was solicited through formal quotations. Vendors provided products for our evaluation. All
products were used and evaluated under live fire conditions during emergency operations. The
Motorola HT 1250 and the GE MRK resulted in the highest performance. Both the I-COM and the
Kenwood models experienced problems with water intrusion under interior fire fighting operations.
Both Motorola and GE have a model of radio on the market that has been engineered exclusively
for the fire service. They are impervious to water intrusion, built with oversized knobs, rugged
cases, and would be the overwhelming choice if it weren't for the price. These radios sell in the
$1500 to $2500 range and are designed for 800Mhz systems. The GE Jaguar also is not
available in our frequency range.
The GE MRK is an excellent radio but is not recommended primarily because of overall size,
weight, knob size and price differential. It does have the best water intrusion rating of the
products considered. We experienced water intrusion with the Kenwood portable. It lost its ability
to receive when subjected to moisture. A quotation was not provided for the Kenwood portable as
the vendor felt it would not meet the specifications. We also experienced water intrusion with the
I-COM radio. The I-COM failed, ceased to operate when subjected to moisture in an interior fire
CITY OF SALINA
REQUEST FOR CITY COMMISSION ACTION
DATE
7/8/02
TIME
4:00 P.M.
AGENDA SECTION:
NO.
ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT:
APPROVED FOR
AGENDA:
FIRE DEPARTMENT
ITEM
NO.
BY: Darrell Eastin
BY:
Page 2
operation. It also failed in a slight misty rain. Moisture penetrated and compromised the display.
It continued to malfunction until it dried out. When references were researched, we found no fire
service application of the I-COM other than the Forestry service. We were unable to establish a
track record for interior fire operations. Decibel output of the I-COM was also unsatisfactory. It
just doesn't have the desired volume or output for fire ground operations. In addition, the I-COM
experienced a muffled effect while transmitting. The I-COM did not meet the specifications for
volume or water intrusion. The Motorola HT 1250 was evaluated without incident and was the
overall preferred radio by the department.
The committee determined the Motorola HT 1250 was the best choice, based on price and
performance.
MODEL VENDOR DECIBEL WATER WEIGHT COST/UNIT COST USER COMPATIBILITY
READING INTRUSION ACCESS.
@ 8"
Motorola M,R.S. 85 good 15,8 oz. $613.00 $760.50 good
HT 1250 Great Bend
GE MRK KA-COM 85 excellent 20.4 oz. $950.00 $1,255.00 good
Salina
Kenwood KA-COM 86 poor 15.4 oz. nla fair
I-COM KA-COM 64 poor 13.1 oz. $450,00 $644.00 poor
Recommendation:
Authorize acquisition of portable radio equipment from Mobile Radio Service, Inc, of Great Bend,
KS in the amount of $26,320.50.
38 Motorola HT1250 portable radios w/NIMH bat. & antenna., FM rated
38 Leather case w/turnbuckle swivel mount
16 Remote speaker mics
16 Rapid AIC single chargers
7 Ear Pieces
Trade in of existing equipment was considered. However, due to the proposed allowance, we
recommend transfer of the existing equipment to the Bicentennial Center and other city
departments as desired.