New Console is Installed at Charter Communications of Asheville

^{Top and Above: A look at the new consoles of Charter.}

In this Issue:

Dispatchers at Charter Communications new dispatch center can now communicate with cable technicians throughout Western North Carolina from a new state of the art communications center at Charter’s Hendersonville Road offices in Asheville, North Carolina. The center features the new 911/radio communications consoles from Moducom and Motorola control base equipment. Dispatchers make and receive phone calls directly through the consoles using LCD touch screen monitors. Radio communications with Asheville, Buncombe County, Waynesville, Black Mountain and Burnsville technicians and installers can be accomplished with the touch of an on screen “button” on the new consoles.

Charter began using the new dispatch center in June to consolidate all their dispatch locations in one facility. Asheville Communication’s technicians installed the consoles over the weekend to minimize any disruption in Charter’s critical dispatch communications. The Console controls repeaters in Asheville, Black Mountain, Waynesville and Burnsville replacing base stations in each individual Charter office. Five of the console positions are located in the main dispatch center and one position is located in the new Customer Service Building. The positions are connected to a main electronics bank through T-1 cables. The console positions operate independently from each other so a problem with one position does not effect the other positions. Each position utilizes a Windows NT computer with a space saving LCD flat touch screen monitor, Charter dispatchers can hear phone calls and radio communications through one headset and can patch radio traffic from one channel to another. The system also includes an instant recall recorder at each position so dispatchers can playback radio communications instantly. Charter personnel maintain communications with their technicians 24 hours a day using the new center.

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^{Above: The New EX500}

Combining the sophistication of HT Series and the compactness of the Visars, Motorola has come out with a new 16 channel radio that will have a little of everything for everyone. Motorola has called it a ‘powerful yet streamlined communications tool with exceptional features:

Push-to-Talk ID (Encode) - Identifies your outgoing calls on other users’ radios.

Selective Call (Decode) - Lets you receive a specific group or individual call.

Call Alert (Decode) - Notifies you of incoming calls when you’re a short distance away from your radio.

Radio Check (Decode) - Tells others whether your radio is activated.

Emergency (Encode) - Sounds an alarm or alerts dispatcher in urgent situations.

Selective Radio Inhibit (Decode) - Allows system owner to disable stolen or missing radios.

Other features include:

X-Pand™ Audio Enhancement—Clearer, crisper audio quality.

Internal VOX—Voice operated transmission capability with optional headset allows hands-free operation.

3 programmable Buttons :

Adjustable Power Levels—help optimize coverage and battery life .

Priority Channel Scan—Program radio to more frequently scan transmissions on your most important channel, to help ensure you don’t miss critical calls.

Monitor/Permanent Monitor—Quickly and easily monitor a specific channel at the touch of a button.

Repeater Talkaround—Unit-to-unit communication allows radio to bypass the repeater when necessary, to help ensure continuous radio contact.