Cape County to improve radio communications with towers

The quality of radio communications between emergency responders and law enforcement in rural Cape Girardeau County and their bases may soon improve with the addition of six radio tower sites.

Cape Girardeau County commissioners approved entering a $640,000 contract with Motorola during their meeting Thursday for a project that will install a loading receiver system of towers in areas of the county where radio signals are often interrupted.

The project will be funded by a $540,000 federal grant and $60,000 in Proposition 1 funds through the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. Richard Knaup, the county's emergency management director, said improvements to the system are needed because members of rural fire districts and sheriff's deputies often can't be heard responding on the radio when they are working in fringe areas of the county, especially to the southwest, where the landscape levels dip.

Installation of the new radio antennas will "drastically improve" that situation, Knaup said, because when a radio communication hits the airwaves, the system constantly samples for quality and picks the antenna with the strongest signal to relay the communication.

Motorola has contracted with JCS Wireless of Cape Girardeau to install the system under the supervision of a Motorola engineer. Knaup said the project should be complete within the next six months.

Commissioners did not appoint any new members to county boards as was on Thursday's agenda due to District 2 Commissioner Paul Koeper being at a training session in St. Louis and unable to attend the meeting.

eragan@semissourian.com

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