Radio Technology

The Sheriff’s Office Radio Technology Section is an integral part of the countywide radio program, owned and operated by the Lake County Board of County Commissioners. Lake County has recently undertaken the largest communications system upgrade since the 1970’s when the county began operating repeater systems. Lake County recently contracted with Motorola, to upgrade and update the existing radio system to a digital Project 25 trunked system. This project, when completed, will permit all law enforcement, corrections, fire/rescue and EMS communications to take place on a common system for the first time in Lake County history. This network will operate on 700 and 800 MHz frequency bands, set aside only for public safety communications. The network will consist of over 3,000 portable (hand held), aircraft and mobile radios, as well as multiple dispatch consoles located at the nine (9) public safety answering points (PSAP’s) within Lake County. The Sheriff’s Office participates in the countywide radio program team on a daily basis, to ensure the proper implementation of the network upgrade as it occurs throughout the county via coordination meetings with users and agencies, development of operational and technical planning, and on-site supervision of contractors. In addition to the involvement in the Countywide radio program, the Radio Technology Section is responsible for and maintains over 1,000 communications devices such as mobile and portable two-way radios, repeaters, base stations, dispatch consoles, pagers, cellular telephones, video systems, wireless telemetry, satellite radiotelephone, and many specialized systems. Many of these systems and devices operate under jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Rules and Regulations, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 47, Parts 80, 87, and 90. Services provided by the radio technology unit include installation of emergency equipment into agency vehicles, preventative maintenance, user training, audio visual equipment installation and maintenance, programming and repair of two way radio equipment and mobile cellular telephones, maintenance and repair of command vehicle electronics, special event and incident support, FCC Licensing, and repair and maintenance of miscellaneous electronics systems, such as public address, marine, and aviation communications systems. Like many specialized units within the Sheriff's Office, the radio technology unit is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. The radio technology department also participates in statewide and regional efforts to ensure interoperable communications. This takes place via the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), Region 5 Domestic Security Task Force Committee for Interoperable Communications, and the FCC Region 9 Committee tasked with developing instituting statewide plans for the 866-869 MHz, 764-806 MHz and 4.9 GHz public safety radio spectrum bands. Our current system utilizes VHF high band, UHF and 800 megahertz (MHz) frequency bands to communicate with first responders in the field, and to provide mutual aid communications with adjoining jurisdictions. The Lake County Sheriff's Office also participates in the Florida Interoperability Network (FIN), that links dispatch centers statewide, to provide interoperability with other agencies. To learn more about the Florida Interoperability Network, click here. For a copy of our agency ten codes and signals, click here. For additional information, you may e-mail the Radio Technology Unit, by clicking here. Page updated 9/20/07