[FedCom] TSA radios FedCom Digest, Vol 61, Issue 2

[Dan A. Yemiola]

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>    1. TSA to buy 20,	000 HT's for agents to "whisper" at each other


<<<<<MAJOR SNIP>>>>>>

>>> According to the statement of work, the radios will possess the
following capabilities:

<<<SNIP>>>>

The most important new spec here is:
>
> ? Weigh no more than 12 ounces, including the battery;
<<<<<SNIP>>>>>
>
> Hmmm - the TSA already has encryption capabilities on their current
> XTS 5000 P-25 radios, so this would be nothing new for them.

Thea major change in the SIZE and Weight of the new radios!

The <<Major change>> here is the WEIGHT limit (12 oz) for the new radios
versus the over two and a half pounds for a fully loaded XTS 5000 or XTS
3000.

12 oz is about the weight of a small HT and even though the RFP calls for
a belt mounted transceiver and a mike/earphone combo, you could carry a
radio of this weight clipped to the epaulets on the shirt of a TSA
uniform.

You could NOT do that with a XTS series radio.

Also, since the radios will mostly be used by personnel who are within
shouting distance of each other, the radios DO NOT need to be more than
say 100 to 500 mW (milli-Watts) of output power, which will alow the RF
output sections of the radios to be smaller and lighter.

Imagine something like a FRS HT that meets MIL-Spec 810-D.

Several Amateur HT meet and exceed the RFP Weight limit right now off the
shelf.
Take a look at the  Kenwood TH-F6A or an Icom IC-91A all that you would
need to do is up-band the RF section to 160MHz, and replace the D-STAR
module with a Project 25 Chip.
Both easy projects to do when you are talking about a 20,000 unit
production run.

This project is eminently do-able and for well under US$1000 a unit.

Dan Yemiola
AI8O
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