Branden Bodendorfer

OnFocus

Hosted by: Branden Bodendorfer

New Marshfield Police Department radios went into service this week on January 13.

"We've slowly been transitioning out the old radios with the new ones," said Police Chief Rick Gramza. "Based on individual's work schedules and availability, we've been training them on how to use the radios, because they're significantly different than our prior ones."

The long-awaited portable radios were purchased to alleviate the signal issues the department was experiencing in various parts of the city. Upgrades to the tower system for the radios will occur sometime early to late spring.

Radios were tested from poor signal areas prior to purchase. "That's when we realized we also needed the tower upgrades, because even the best radios weren't going to fix all of our problems," explained Gramza.

The new radios are 6.5 watts compared to the 5 watts of the former. Already the transmissions have been noticeably clearer, even on the outskirts of the city.

If the county ever decides to encrypt all channels or go digital, the radios will be able to accommodate those transitions, he said.