Alabama Regional Communications System (ARCS)

System Information

• Some Law Enforcement agencies Dispatch Talkgroups in Calhoun & Talladega Counties have added encryption.
• Multiple Tactical Interop. Gateways have been installed at some of the tower sites throughout the system for interop. patching for some agencies.
• Due to lack of funding, some agencies have migrated back to analog VHF or UHF and will only use the 800 system in extreme emergencies or during a disaster through gateway patching as needed.
• White Plains & Quad Cities VFD’s in Calhoun County have added new towers at some of their Fire stations and will be using Hytera analog/TDMA radios on a new TDMA UHF repeater with 7K60FXE Type Emission and can switch to Private mode on the new radios for private conversations as needed.
• Several other VFD’s throughout Calhoun county have migrated back to UHF and are also using the new Hytera radios for interop. with the other VFD’s.
• Calhoun County VFD's are being patched into the 800 system from the Counties UHF system. Some VFD's & Dispatch may be using the 800 system but most are on UHF(RCFP).
• Talladega County VFD's are being patched into the 800 system from the Counties UHF system. Some VFD's & Dispatch may be using the 800 system but most are on UHF(RCFP).
• Some Law Enforcement agencies have added (MDT) Mobile Data Terminals in their vehicles which operate off of the 800 system or via Cellular Phone Air-time Cards. Some agencies have started dispatching calls and relaying information over the MDT units. There is a lot of data use on the 800 system.
• Some users have had difficulty using radios in some parts of the county on the system due to poor coverage and weak tower signal and lack of towers in certain areas which make if difficult to talk or hear sometimes in the rural areas. There are some areas in the county that have little to no signal coverage on the system and it puts the first responders safety at risk.
• Several areas of the system do not have sufficient tower signal overlap in order to provide back up tower capability in case of a single or multiple tower failure. More towers need to be added to increase coverage and signal strength.
• Several new users & or TG's have been added to the system recently and some of them need to be identified and added to the TG list.
• Calhoun & Talladega County is the only two counties currently under the ARCS system.