Chatham-Effingham TRS Upgrades to SmartX

Yesterday evening, I heard an announcement on the Chatham-Efffingham TRS that there would be a "cutover" from midnight to 6AM during which there would be coverage issues at the various sites during the night. The first thing that immediately jumped to my mind was rebanding, so I checked the FCC database again but didn't find any new licenses. My curiosity was getting the best of me, so I took a short nap then got up around midnight to hear what I could hear.

It quickly became apparent that this was not rebanding related. Radio techs were discussing what they were doing and I heard several mentions of SmartX. SmartX, from what I read on a Motorola press release I found in a web search, is an upgrade to the system that will allow for a gradual transition to a P25 system:

"An ASTRO 25 system with SmartX supports both Project 25 (P25) sites and SmartZone sites, allowing a combination of analog and P25 digital radios to operate on the network for enhanced interoperability and flexibility. ASTRO 25 with SmartX enables agencies to gradually expand, upgrade or replace RF sites, consoles and subscribers to ASTRO 25."

Additionally, it appears that it will allow the use of both the current system and P25 systems to work together:

"ASTRO 25 with SmartX allows agencies to fully leverage their existing RF sites, dispatch console and subscriber investments, while offering the highest levels of interoperability between legacy and P25 users. Automatically supporting mixed talkgroups with no patching required, SmartX maximizes user interoperability during migration."

It is my guess that this is a signal that we should look for more changes in the not too distant future.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT