By LOHR McKINSTRY
MORIAH — Fire-department dispatching in southern Essex County is a gamble until a new transmitter is installed on the county's Belfry Mountain tower here.
The VHF low-band public safety radio on the tower failed two weeks ago, Essex County Emergency Services Director Donald Jaquish said.
The transmitter is a tube set manufactured in the 1950s, he said, so parts are no longer made for it.
"Wells Communications came down and replaced some parts, and we ran it at half power the last two weeks."
He said they could still reach and dispatch departments, but areas that were already marginal could have been a problem.
Wells Communications of Plattsburgh is the county's radio-system maintenance contractor, and Jaquish said their technician finally managed to cobble the transmitter back together from spare parts.
"We actually got the antenna relay out of the technician's garage."
He said they just it got back to full power.
"We put two new tubes in it. They had melted."
Wells has estimated the cost of a transmitter replacement at $17,000, with $14,000 of that for the radio itself.
"This is going to be part of the new radio system going forward, so it will not be obsolete down the road," said Supervisor Randy Preston (I-Wilmington), who chairs the County Public Safety Committee.
Jaquish said the county's low-band transmitters on three other towers must also be replaced eventually.
"I don't think we're ready to set up the other ones," County Manager Daniel Palmer said. "Let's find out for sure."
The county's new radio system, now being designed, will still use low-band paging, Palmer said.
Jaquish said Wells estimated it will take four to six months to get a new radio installed because it must be custom-built first by the manufacturer, Daniels Electronics.
The Public Safety Committee has approved replacing the Belfry Mountain transmitter.
E-mail Lohr McKinstry at: lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com
