Tait Electronics' latest and most advanced base station, the TB8100, is being used to provide more efficient and reliable radio communications to the South East Queensland region.

Tait Australia dealer Philcomm, and joint venture partner Vertel, have used the intelligent, flexible and high performing base station to set up a new TaitNet MPT1327 radio network.

Nine sites are currently in operation, with 35 TB8100 bases providing coverage around Brisbane, reaching Gympie in the north, the NSW border to the south, and west to the Toowoomba Range.

Philcomm Managing Director Fred Van Tuinen said the TB8100 base station is being used to provide a quality network in South East Queensland through the use of the latest technology and proven Tait MPT equipment.

"The TB8100 is one of the newest MPT capable bases on the market, delivering network reliability and providing longevity for the life of the system," Mr. Van Tuinen said.

"TB8100 is the future, and it keeps our options open, particularly for possibilities of upgrading to digital radio.

"We wanted the best, and we wanted to 'future-proof' the network. With the TB8100 recently launched, it is a good time to set up a new network - we were able to standardise the equipment and the product has several features that create ease of setup and maintenance.

"The TB8100 trunked network is the latest technology which is delivering to customer's superior network reliability and performance," he said. "In fact customers are commenting to us that the quality of audio that they are receiving on this network is very high," Mr. Van Tuinen said. "We are also aiming to provide extensive coverage for portable radios on this network.

Philcomm and Vertel have purchased TaitNet TN5100, which is everything required to set up a large trunked network. Part of this is a Network Management Terminal, TaitNet software that does most of the work. The TB8100 base stations are used to send and receive the voice.

Software-driven TB8100: reliable, easy to use

The TB8100 and its programming are software driven, providing useful information for monitoring, diagnostics and configuration at the click of a button, making network setup and maintenance much easier.

An advanced self-monitoring system reads the base station's current status, determines any action required and then performs it while alerting central control, which eliminates costly external monitor units, saving money, time and hassles.

Providing reliability, the TB8100 Power Management Unit uses features such as Battery Protect Mode, which means no third party equipment is needed to manage battery backup, and On Mains Failure facilitates automatic and seamless switchover to DC supply and back.

Designed and built to last with a 100 per cent duty cycle, the TB8100 can withstand extreme weather conditions with large heat-sinks, advanced fan cooling from front to rear. Sensitive components are not mounted in the path of airflow, and slow airflow avoids danger of moisture build-up and corrosion.

The TaitNet capability is also a significant feature of the network.

The network uses the TaitNet TN5100 Node, which provides a fully featured network with huge capability (up to 950 sites are possible), customisation options, capacity for more than 30 dispatchers, call options such as network wide group calls, and full network management.

The TN5100 can increase the capacity on the network to 2000 subscribers with no further upgrade required.

The TN5100 Network Management Terminal provides complete network control and is used to monitor statistics on failed calls, successful calls and measure call loading on each repeater.

TaitNet also provides Full Off Air Call Setup (FOACSU). Normal call set up opens a traffic channel automatically and occupies the traffic unnecessarily.

By tracking a radio terminal's location, FOASCU will ring the radio until it is answered without occupying the traffic channel, this providing a more efficient means of using network resources and increasing the ability for other calls to get through.

Future plans for the network are to increase geographical coverage, as well as to develop city coverage for hand held radio use.

 

This article appears in the latest Tait Oceania Update newsletter.You can download a PDF version of this newsletter here.