Icom America Systems and Daniels Electronics offer P25 land mobile radio
equipment.
Icom America Systems and Daniels Electronics infrastructure equipment offers
agencies a completely integrated P25 system solution, with full
engineering, project management and field support to ensure performance.
The agency will benefit from the "one source" opportunity to purchase a
true "turnkey" P25 communication systems with all components designed to
work together and supported by one team.
Digital Interoperability in a Land Mobile Radio (LMR) Network
The need for interoperability is well known in the Land Mobile Radio
(LMR) industry. One means of implementing interoperability is the Common
Air Interface (CAI) defined by the P25 standard that allows handsets
from multiple agencies to communicate in the same area. Interoperability
however is a much larger issue than simply having fire and police staff
communicating between their handsets at the same incidence scene. That
type of interoperability currently only exists in the telephone network.
A second technology being used to achieve
interoperability is IP (Internet Protocol). IP
technology allows multiple communications devices
(telephone, LMR radio, cell phone, PC) to be
interconnected since they are all communicating in
the common format of all digital IP packets. Voice
over IP (VoIP) is the most familiar form of this
type of communication allowing a standards telephone
to talk to a PC based telephone. That same
technology is now being used in LMR networks to
achieve true interoperability.
Radio over IP (RoIP) Networks
Radio over IP (RoIP) is an expanded version of VoIP, transmitting the
radio control signals such as PTT and COR in digital format in addition
to the digital voice packets. With RoIP it is possible to offer end to
end digital signaling from a handset to any other communications device
in the world. RoIP technology eliminates the leased lines previously
used to remotely control base stations by tones and, in a RoIP digital
implementation there are no conversions from E&M to IP limiting the
controls signals available or delaying the speed of signaling. Of course
true end to end digital signaling and communications also facilitates
end to end encryption for secure communications.
Daniels Electronics radios now support true end to end digital RoIP communications with the digital
Ethernet interface provided by the new Universal Interface Card (UIC). As shown in the APCO P25
general system diagram to the right, the UIC interface interconnects the Fixed Station (Daniels
Radio) with a Console, IP switch or RF subsystem at the Ef connection. This interface
provides new features and greater connectivity between P25 subsystems in lieu of the Fixed Station
and Console sub-system interfaces evolving at the TIA standards committee.
The new UIC creates a powerful interface from the RF world into
the IP world that allows Daniels to provide Best in Class digital
connectivity from the radio world into the IP centric world of all
other communications networks.
Daniels Electronics - UIC
The Daniels UIC provides digital Ethernet connectivity from the
Daniels MT-3 analog or MT-4 digital radio system to other LMR subsystems
in a P25 network. The UIC provides Daniels customers with access to the
base station's signals in order to interface with other RF subsystems
and console equipment, thus enabling third parties access to a wide
range of signals, controls and functionalities that already exist on the
Daniels radio modules. The UIC enables:
- End to End digital encrypted communications for secure applications
- Interoperability between agencies in the same jurisdiction and between jurisdictions
- An opportunity to select Best in Class plug and play base stations
- Realization of a RoIP netowrk that is truly integrated
- Reduced interconnection costs
- Simplified setup and configuration
The UIC board incorporates one RJ-46 connector for the (Ethernet 10/100 Base-T) connection to the outside
world and four RJ-45 connectors, for supporting two Receivers and two Transmitters stationed in the subrack. The
USB connection is for connection to a maintenance/programming PC, allowing firmware updates via flashing. (In the future,
updates will be downloadable from the Daniels Electronics website.
The UIC in a P25 Base Station
The UIC provides Daniels customers with access to all of the MT-3 and MT-4 base station's backplane signals,
as well, the front panel connections between the transmitter and the receiver are exte3nded externally out of the radio
via the UIC ethernet connection. This provides additional functionality compared with the analog offering currently
supported Daniels radios via the Aux interface. The goal of this interface is to allow companies to interconnect Daniels
radios to their other communications systems for interoperability applications.
Initial Software release (1.0) of the UIC
The first commercial release of the UIC provides PMC based audio, encryption over the air and a suite of control signals
to the console.
- Receive/transmit baseband PCM audio via UDP protocol over ethernet.
- Control of A side Rx/Tx.
- Channel changing (control of channel select and bank A/B select lines).
- Squelch override control.
- Encryption control (secure/clear control and indication, clear keys control).
- reading NACs in the P25 transmissions.