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From YouTube: Day in the Life :: IT Radio Communications
Description
If you've ever asked yourself what the government does for you -- walk in their shoes with our 'A Day in the Life' series. From Social Services, to the Department of Health, to the Sheriff's Office and more. Everyday, county employees work hard to make life in Buncombe County better for it's citizens.
In this episode, follow along with the Information Technology's Radio Communication Department. Learn why what they do is important to the citizens of Buncombe County. Also learn about the new radio tower project that is going up across Buncombe County to make it easier for EMS, fire, and law enforcement services to get you the help you need.
A
A
Today
was
basically
a
troubleshooting
day
here,
we're
having
a
problem
with
a
piece
of
equipment
up
the
tower
that
piece
of
equipment
gives
us
a
secondary
backup
connection
down
to
the
animal
shelter.
This
link
provides
them
a
backup
means
of
having
telephone
and
a
network
connection
down
there
and
so
start
having
problems
with
it.
A
couple
of
weeks
ago,
we've
been
checking
things
here
and
there
trying
to
figure
out
what
the
trouble
was.
We
had
tested
the
cable
earlier
and
this
cable
tested.
A
Okay,
so
we
thought
that
our
problems
at
the
top
today
Jason
climb
the
tower
Jason's
one
of
our
tower
climbers
she's,
certified
through
an
independent
organization
to
climb,
has
all
the
safety
knowledge
and
and
all
the
safety
equipment
after
we
do
our
safety
briefing.
Today
he
went
up
the
tower
and
once
he
got
up
there,
we
discovered
water
inside
the
cable.
So
even
though
the
cable
had
tested
okay
before
it's
a
pretty
good
sign
that
we've
got
a
cable
problem
because
water
is
supposed
to
be
on
the
outside,
not
the
inside.
A
A
The
most
average
day
is
we'll.
Do
we'll
try
to
do
some
maintenance?
Some
preventive
maintenance,
we'll
go.
Do
some
some
site
visits.
We
can
usually
only
get
to
one
or
two
sites
a
day,
but
we
always
have
to
be
prepared
and
ready
to
drop
everything
at
a
moment's
notice
and
go
respond
to
a
radio
problem
somewhere.
We
may
have
a
problem
with
one
of
our
microwaves
or
one
of
the
things
on
the
mountains
or
whatever,
and
we
have
to
be
able
to
to
respond
to
that.
B
It
is
now
a
technology
system.
The
project
is
being
led
by
the
information
technology
department,
but
it
is
very
much
owned
by
the
Public
Safety
departments,
but
we're
just
trying
to
give
them
a
support
system
that
will
allow
them
to
better
do
their
jobs
and
better
communicate
and
move
us
where
we
need
to
be
in
the
future.
A
We
are
replacing,
what's
called
an
an
ODU
short
for
outdoor
unit
and
that's
a
it's
essentially
a
point-to-point
radio,
that's
mounted
on
the
back
of
a
microwave
dish.
So
it's
up
on
the
it's
on
the
dish
on
the
tower
and
Jason
is
up
there
now,
switching
that
this
is
one
of
our
microwave
hop
sites.
The
microwave
is
used
to
connect
the
various
radio
sites
together
and
this
one
actually
connects
three
sites
together.
That's
why
we
call
it
a
hop.
A
We
just
hook
the
power
back
up
to
the
piece
in
here
that
talks
to
that
piece
up
there
and
I'll
use
the
computer
now
to
get
the
configuration
finished.
This
is
an
example
of
the
Diagnostics
that
the
equipment
does
for
us.
It's
telling
me
that
this
one
was
off
line
off
there
for
a
little
while
for
what
five
minutes
or
so
ten
minutes.
So
when
we're
troubleshooting,
we
can
use
these
these
tools
remotely.
A
We're
we've
got
everything
powered
back
up
and
we're
using
the
using
the
remote
interface
here
to
evaluate
the
reliability
of
the
link,
just
to
make
sure
that
that
it's
functioning
the
way
it's
supposed
to.
We
shoot
for
a
reliability
of
99.99%
nothing's,
perfect,
we'll
never
get
to
100%
as
long
as
we're
him
and
we're
using
stuff
made
by
humans.
It'll
never
be
a
hundred
percent
and
we
about
once
a
month
go
through
and
look
at
all
of
our
all
the
technologies,
at
least
measures
uptime
to
make
sure
that
we
that
we're
hitting
that
mark.
A
That's
the
ODU
the
outdoor
unit,
that's
the
the
tower
top
part
of
the
microwave
point-to-point,
radio
and
that's
the
part
that
is
bad.
It's
a
functioning
partially
but
but
not
at
100%.
So
we
brought
it
down.
We've
got
our
spare
one
in
place
up
there,
and
this
one
will
be
boxed
up,
sent
off
to
the
manufacturer
this
afternoon
for
repair
and
replacement.
A
Every
time
we
visit
a
site,
we
look
to
see
what
things
could
happen
to
that
site.
What
what
could
happen
to
that
would
take
it
off
the
air
we
check
all
of
our
grounding.
We
check
antenna
mounts
and
things
like
that,
just
to
make
sure
that
it's
as
rugged
and
reliable
as
it
can
be
when
a
storm
comes
that
generates
the
highest
call
volume
for
Public
Safety,
especially
the
fire
service
folks.
A
So
storms
don't
give
us
quite
the
trouble
that
they
used
to,
but
that's
one
of
the
things
that
we
often
deal
with.
We
always
try
to
keep
one
eye
on
the
weather
if
we
have
a
site.
That's
that's
offline!
That
means
is
the
area
that
it
serves
the
community
of
Fairview,
for
example,
it
could
be
without
public
safety,
radio
coverage.
That
means
that
fire,
Sheriff
and
EMS
personnel
operating
in
that
area.
A
You
would
not
have
communication
back
to
their
dispatch,
so
if
they
needed
additional
help,
if
they
need
to
speak
to
talk
to
each
other
over
the
radio,
they
wouldn't
be
able
to
do
that,
but
each
site
we
have
an
emergency
generator
and
that
is
essentially
a
gasoline
or
diesel
engine
that
runs
an
electrical
generator
and
it
powers
everything
that's
at
the
radio
site.
We
have
an
advanced
warning
system
on
each
generator
and
it
feeds
us.
A
C
My
name
is
Dave
Righetti
I'm,
a
jazz
singer,
I
play
in
venues
in
the
Asheville
area.
Here
now,
after
the
ordinance
was
mandated,
have
non-smoking
menus.
My
health
has
definitely
improved.
My
boys
range
has
increased
I
even
had
positive
comments
from
smokers
who
admitted
that,
although
they
smoked
cigarettes,
they
still
didn't
like
sitting
in
a
room
that
was
just
emanating
a
cigarette
smoke.
It's
very
wonderful
to
play
in
a
smoke-free
environment.
D
Did
you
know
that
the
Buncombe
County
Public
Library
System
has
story
times
for
children
of
all
ages
when
children
are
read
stories
and
interact
with
the
storyteller,
they
expand
their
vocabulary
and
establish
a
love
of
reading
at
a
young
age.
If
your
child
hasn't
experienced
these
interactive
story
times
now
is
a
great
time
to
start.
There
are
four
different
story
times
offered
at
all:
County
library's
school-age
storytime
is
for
six
to
twelve
year
olds.
Preschool
storytime
is
for
three
to
five
year
olds.
D
Toddler
time
is
an
interactive
story,
time
for
children
aged
18
months
to
3
years
old.
Finally,
mother
Goose
time
is
a
lively
language
enrichment
storytime
for
4
to
18
month
olds.
To
find
out
what
story
comes
your
local
library
offers
and
their
times
please
visit
Buncombe,
County,
org,
slash
library,.
E
Hello,
my
name
is
carol
peterson,
I'm
a
buckin
county
commissioner,
and
I'm
excited
to
be
here
to
let
you
know
that
we
have
some
horses
that
are
available
for
adoption
through
the
Asheville
Humane
Society,
if
you're
interested
in
adopting
or
fostering
some
of
these
beautiful
animals.
What
we
need
for
you
to
do
is
to
contact
the
Asheville
Humane
Society,
and
they
will
put
you
in
touch
with
the
proper
folks.
Thank
you.
So
much.
A
In
the
past,
while
I
was
at
EMS,
I
managed
the
project
that
the
radio
system
that
we
have
now
this
new
project
is
much
more
technologically
advanced.
We
will
have
12
radio
sites,
it'll
be
a
fully
digital
system,
which
means
there
aren't
any
analog
transmissions.
There's
not
you
know,
there's
not
like
a
cable
that
you
could
tap
into
and
hear
a
person's
voice
or
whatever
it's
all
digital
from
the
time.
The
dispatcher
speaks
into
the
microphone
until
it
comes
out
of
the
officers,
radio
and
vice
versa.
A
B
Improved
communication
between
all
of
the
public
safety
officials,
interoperability
between
the
municipalities,
fire
departments,
law
enforcement
and
just
overall,
a
better
communication
tool
which
is
delivered
through
IP,
which
does
get
away
from
the
proprietary
radio
systems
that
we
have
had
in
the
past.
And
it
gives
us
a
much
better
way
to
plan
for
the
future
on
how
we
can
continue
to
achieve.
The
communication.
Needs
of
radio
right.
A
Now
our
sites
are
in
West,
Buncombe,
Fairview,
Skyland,
Barnesville
and
Alexander,
and
then
we
have
one
downtown
here
at
the
courthouse.
We
are
adding
to
that
Swannanoa
Broad
River
upper
hominy
sandy
mush
out
in
Leicester
Mount
Olive,
so
we'll
have
much
better
coverage.
We're
having
to
do
that
for
a
couple
of
reasons.
A
One
is
a
federal
mandate
is
making
us
change
the
the
radio
emissions
that
our
system
produces
they're
doing
that
because
of
overcrowding
in
the
in
the
spectrum
where
we
are
that
change
in
emission
causes
the
signals
to
be
weaker,
they
don't
travel
as
well
at
the
new
emission
standard.
So
we
know
that
our
coverage,
while
it's
marginal
already
and
non-existent
in
in
many
areas
of
the
county,
is
going
to
get
much
worse.
A
B
F
We're
going
up
to
our
new
tower
site
at
flattop
Mountain.
It
is
replacing
an
existing
tower
site
that
we'd
lease
on
this
is
going
to
be
a
tower
we
own
and
we're
going
to
gain
about
a
hundred
feet
hundred
and
ten
feet
of
tower
height
and
we're
going
to
be
looking
at
the
foundation.
That's
the
foundation
is
about
ready
to
be
poured
and
we're
gonna
look
and
see
they
just
get
an
idea
of
the
size
of
it
and
what
the
details
are
with
that.
F
This
is
a
flat
top
mountain,
we'll
be
building
a
180
foot
self-supporting
tower
here
and
in
this
hole
they
will
be
building
the
foundation.
So,
just
to
give
you
an
idea
this
this
will
be
filled
to
the
rim
up
there
with
concrete
and
the
steel
reinforcing
bars.
This
is
the
engineers
determined.
This
is
the
amount
of
foundation
necessary
to
support
and
counterbalance
the
40,000
pound
town.
That
is.
F
Tower
we're
using,
which
is
an
80
foot
tall
tower.
We
will
be
replacing
it
with
this
one
that
is
a
hundred
and
eight
foot
tall
for
basis
of
comparison.
This
tower
right
here,
I
believe,
is
150
feet,
so
gonna
be
30
feet
taller
than
that
one
it'll
be
used
for
our
new
700
megahertz
P
25
public
safety,
radio
system.
It
is
one
of
the
twelve
sites,
and
also
this
is
a
microwave
link
between
our
high
top
tower
and
our
Busbee
tower
in
south
ice
field.
F
All
of
our
towers
have
to
have
a
network
connection
with
one
another,
and
so
this
one
is
a
critical.
The
towers
come
in
different
categories
and
this
one
too,
to
withstand
different
weights
of
equipment,
antennas
loading
also
at
the
expectation
of
ice
and
wind.
F
This
is
our
highest
tower
site
and
has
the
highest
potential
wind
speed,
and
therefore
this
is
the
heaviest
grade
of
tower
that
can
be
purchased,
because
this
is
a
roughly
4,600
feet
in
elevation
and
the
the
wind
gusts
here
have
just
necessitated
us
using
the
heaviest
great
a
tower
once
the
tower
is
built.
This
will
provide
radio
coverage
to
the
Fairview
area,
primarily
the
the
tower.
F
A
Big
challenge
that
we
have
is
our
terrain.
Radio
radio
signals
are
by
and
large
line-of-sight,
so
we
know
how
difficult
it
is
to
stand
in
downtown
Asheville
and
see
the
Fairview
or
Standing
Biltmore
and
see
the
Arden
you
just
you
can't
do
that,
because
there
are
mountains
in
the
way
same
thing,
because
we
can't
see
that
radio
signals
can't
make
that
trip
either.
G
B
Placing
a
radio
tower
is
sometimes
difficult,
I
mean,
while
they're
very
much
needed,
and
most
people
understand
that
nine
on
one
and
radio
and
public
safety
is
very
important
to
the
community.
There's
also
a
lot
of
people
that
don't
understand,
radio
towers
and
steel
structures
and
some
of
our
highest
areas
so
trying
to
find
the
land
where
we
could
actually
construct
the
sites
that
would
give
us
the
coverage
we
needed
has
probably
been
one
of
the
overall
challenges.
So.
H
The
first
thing
we
do
is
to
look
at
areas
where
we
need
more
coverage
and
when
we
identify
those
areas
that
we
need
coverage,
we
look
at
population
density
and
parcel
density.
Then
we
start
looking
for
property
just
basically
on
the
computer.
Once
we
identify
a
couple
of
candidate
sites,
we
make
contact
with
a
lot
of
property
owners
and
go
to
those
sites.
If
we
have
agreement
from
from
them
and
look
at
the
terrain
when.
I
Brian
or
the
department
is
looking
at
property
that
that
the
county
wants
to
acquire.
We
have
to
make
some
initial
assumptions
and
investigations
into
the
property.
So
we
look
to
see
if
there's
right-of-way,
the
right-of-way
is
probably
the
number
one
item
and
there
are
properties
that
we've
looked
at,
where
we've
had
to
talk
about
possibly
acquiring
right
away
once
we
once
we're
on
the
property
we're
looking
for
you
know,
does
it
look
like
it's
good
soil?
I
J
I
Might
look
at
a
topographic
map
of
the
property?
Look
at
some
slope,
analysis
of
the
property
and
then
I'll
make
some
initial
maps
so
that
we
can
actually
go
out
and
either
hike
the
property
or
drive
the
property,
depending
on
the
access
to
see
where
a
good
tower
site
on
the
property
might
be.
Once.
H
We
identify
a
candidate
site.
We
then
do
forecasting
models,
so
we
look
at
propagation
analysis,
computer
model
with
ourselves
in
our
in
our
third-party
engineering
group,
to
determine,
if
that's
actually
going
to
you
know
what
kind
of
covers
we're
gonna
get
it's
just
a
computer
model
that
predicts
how
well
you're
gonna
cover
an
area.
It's
a
way
to
to
make
sure
you're.
Not
you
know
wasting
time
or
wasting
money,
wasting
resources,
I
didn't
improperly
locating
a
tower
once
we
do
a
forecasting,
a
forecasting
model.
H
J
Go
out
into
the
field
find
out
what
the
GPS
coordinates
are
of
that
mountain
top,
and
then
it
goes
back
to
a
computer
program
that
makes
sure
that
each
tower
basically
can
see
each
other
because
that's
critical
in
what
we
do,
and
it
also
helps
for
not
only
radio
communications.
But
if
we're
trying
to
pass
the
data,
the
towers
have
to
be
able
to
see
each
other.
So
if,
if
we
find
a
site
in
San
Dimas
that
works
good
to
see
back
north
and
east
and
everything
works
out,
well,
we
contract
with
a
local
engineer.
J
We
take
a
tower
design,
it's
been
provided
to
us
by
IT
and
that's
dealing
with
the
height
of
the
tower,
and
that
tells
us
what
size
foundation
we're
going
to
need
to
hold
this
thing
down.
On
top
of
the
mountain,
you
don't
really
try
to
build
a
foundation
for
a
tower
to
keep
it
from
sinking.
You
really
build
a
base
start
to
keep
from
tipping
over
in
high
winds
once.
A
B
We
were
currently
on
a
radio
system
that
had
reached
end-of-life
and
there's
lots
of
mandates
out
there
around
the
narrowbanding
and
some
different
things
that
were
coming
up
against
that
we're
making
our
radio
system
run
into
some
technical
difficulties.
It
was
going
to
be
hard
for
us
to
achieve
with
the
narrowbanding
on
our
UHF
and
VHF
sites.
We
were
still
going
to
need
to
put
in
more
towers
in
order
to
get
the
coverage,
that's
appropriate
for
public
safety
with
Ksenia,
giving
us
the
700
system.
B
This
made
it
a
good
time
because
it
was
a
huge
savings
to
taxpayers,
because
I
mean
the
system
that
we're
being
gifted
is
probably
in
excess
of
four
million
dollars,
but
with
that
we
needed
to
re-engineer
Andry
figure
out
which
of
our
current
sites
could
be
used
and
what
additional
sites
we
needed
to
put
up
and
put
in
place
so
that
we
would
have
the
coverage
needed
for
Public
Safety.
We.
A
Support
all
the
public
safety
communications,
whether
it's
a
dispatch
or
whether
it's
a
firefighter
on
the
scene
that
needs
additional
help
or
god
forbid,
a
deputy
pinned
down
under
his
car
with
gunfire.
We
need
them
to
be
able
to
call
for
more
help,
call
for
resources
and
communicate
with
one
another.
I've
been
a
Buncombe
County
employee
for
30
years.
I'm,
really
proud
of
that
did
29
right
at
29
years
at
EMS
worked
as
a
field
paramedic
to
begin
with
and
moved
up
into
the
training
office.
I
had
some
emergency
management
responsibilities
there
too.
A
So
now
what
I
do
is
support
the
public
safety
radio
systems.
We
see
all
the
public
safety
agencies
as
our
customers,
fire
departments,
all
the
County
fire
departments,
every
sheriff's
deputy
every
paramedic.
We
see
all
those
folks
as
our
customers
and
it's
important
for
us
to
provide
them
top-notch
emergency
service.
A
If
that's
what
they
need,
whether
they're
on
the
scene
of
a
search
mission
or
on
the
of
a
car
wreck
whatever
it
is,
we
take
a
lot
of
pride
in
providing
them
really
fast
and
efficient
service
I
have
a
little
bit
of
an
idea
of
what
they
need.
Communications,
wise
and
I
know
the
frustration
that,
when
you
push
that
button-
and
it
doesn't
work
and
you're
tempted
to
throw
the
radio
across
the
road
and
I'm
glad
to
be
able
to
bring
to
bring
that
perspective
into
the
technology
department,.