News
ADDITIONAL EQUIPEMENT ADDED
The first half of 2019 has been spend adding
additional capability for the RACES radio room.
RACES has had some money allocated from Somerset County's Office of
Emergency Management to purchase new equipment. Equipment such as Yaesu
and Alinco radios were purchased, and have since been installed.
Somerset County can now participate in Statewide EMRAD (EMergency RADio)
tests with other County's and the State Warning Point in West Trenton.
Soon, HF antennas will be operational and Somerset County will be able
to participate in all the tests on all bands. After the antennas are
tested and working, plans are already in the works to replace the aging
Ten-Tec HF radio. That radio will still be kept and tested so it can be
used as a backup radio, along with the rest of the radios that have been
recently replaced. A computer will dual touch screen monitors has also
been installed since the Internet can play a large part in emergency
communications as long as it's up and working. As strides are made,
we'll keep posing them here.
RACES COORDINATOR NAMED
July, 2019 marks a milestone for Somerset County RACES. Robert Inzano was named the Somerset County RACES Coordinator. Currently, Robert is Somerset County's Communications Specialist. Working underneath the Communications Manager, Robert works on the County's P25 radio system infrastructure, subscriber units (field radios), conventional systems, and many pieces of equipment in the County's 9-1-1 center. Robert was also a 9-1-1 Dispatcher for over 15 years, and continues to take shifts from time to time.
Looking toward the future, Robert is working closely with another colleague, Ken McCormick. Ken is the County's part-time communications technician, as well as Robert's right-hand man for RACES. Robert and Ken plan to start a County based RACES team, and also hopes to see municipalities start their own teams. Plans to add equipment to the RACES radio room are underway, as well as adding additional antennas for HF.