Radio Technology
OVERVIEW:
The Sheriff's Office Radio Technology Section is charged with the acquisition, installation, testing, and ongoing maintenance of
all agency owned communications and many ancillary electronic systems. These systems include traditional LMR two way systems,
which operate on VHF, UHF, 700 and 800 Megahertz (MHz). Our section also maintains and supports 3G cellular telephone, 4G LTE
smart phone devices issued to agency members who are "on call" 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. Like many specialty units within
the Sheriff's Office, Radio Technology is an on call unit around the clock for emergency situations and emergency repairs.
OUR MISSION:
Services provided by the radio technology unit include installation of emergency equipment into agency vehicles, preventative
maintenance, user training, inventory and property control, programming and repair of two way radio and cellular telephones,
maintenance and repair of incident response vehicle electronic systems, FCC licensing, repair of miscellaneous electronic systems
such as public address "PA" systems, audio visual support, marine and aviation electronics, satellite and microwave
telecommunications. Supporting the numerous electronic systems installed within the new Lake County Emergency Communications and
Operations Center (ECOC) has recently become part of our mission, as well as supporting field incident and special event response.
COUNTY WIDE RADIO PROGRAM:
All Public Safety first responders within Lake County, including the Lake County Sheriff's Office participate in the consolidated
700/800mhz Public Safety Countywide Radio Program, owned and operated by the Lake County Board of County Commissioners. This system
which went live in July 2009, allows all law enforcement, fire-rescue, EMS, and corrections communications to take place on a single,
unified system. This system, purchased from Motorola Solutions, Inc., consists of 18 tower sites, strategically located across the
county to provide seamless, reliable and instant communications between the Lake County Sheriff's Office, Lake County Fire-Rescue,
Lake EMS, The Villages, the municipal police and fire departments within Lake County and the 911 center located at the Lake County
ECOC. This system is a Project25 (P25) standards based system, and utilizes the VHF, UHF, 700 and 800 MHz public safety spectrum to
communicate with first responders in the field. The system consists of over 3,750 mobile mounted, portable (hand carried), aircraft,
marine, and dispatch console radios countywide. The Lake County Sheriff's Office is the largest user of the countywide system with
approximately 1,350 active radios.
The Sheriff's Office participates on the countywide radio program team on a daily basis, to ensure the proper implementation of the
network. This occurs throughout the county via user coordination meetings, development of operational and technical planning, and
on-site supervision of contractors performing routine maintenance.
INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS:
The Lake County Sheriff's Office is an active participant in statewide and regional interoperability efforts, thru the Regional
Domestic Security Task Force (RDSTF) Region 5, the Orlando Metro Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), and the Florida Region 9
Committee, that is tasked with developing and implementing statewide plans for the 851-854 MHz, 764-806 MHz, and 4.9 GHz public
safety radio spectrum. Recent efforts include involvement in the national public safety broadband network "FIRSTNET" implementation
planning.
INCIDENT RESPONSE:
The Lake County Sheriff's Office Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) contains a highly specialized and trained team of incident response communications personnel.
This team is on call 24 hours a day 7 days per week, and has the ability to respond to any location deemed necessary by the Sheriff.
Our team is equipped with deployable radio systems, portable towers, cache radios, repeaters, satellite equipment, high frequency long range systems, wireless computer, telephone and video systems,
emergency lighting/power and other incident response equipment. Our team is trained and qualified in Incident Command System (ICS), National Incident Management System (NIMS),
and the team contains several qualified communications unit leaders (COML), communications technicians (COMT), technical specialists, and tactical medical staff ratings (EMT).
Recent deployments include Major hurricanes in and outside of Florida, The Leesburg Bikefest, Arts and Craft Festivals, sporting events, and recent visits to Lake and Sumter County by dignitaries.
Our team members participate as part of the Florida Communications Unit, in addition to the Region 5 All Hazards Incident Management Team which is based in Lake County.
STAFF:
The radio technology section is currently staffed by three full time and one part-time personnel.
Our section is augmented by several CIRT team members, 2 reserve/volunteer Deputy Sheriff(s),
and several volunteer program members who are highly trained in the telecommunications field.
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