Icom 9000 F70 Series Installation guide

As Reported in Icom America’s Newsletter - March 2011
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For People Who Make Smart Choices
Icom Wins NYC Transit Order for Close To
9000 F70 Series Radios
As part of their goal to build a “state-of-
the-art communication-based signal system
to replace the mechanical signals dating to
1904,” NYC Transit is now using a custom
system of more than 8,800 Icom F70 radios
to manage eet-wide communications across
their train, subway and bus system.
With 47,000 employees working a net-
work that covers more than 5,000 square
miles, and using 734 train stations, efcient
communication is the lifeblood of a system
that 8 million passengers in all ve New York
boroughs and surrounding counties each
day.
The RFP went out last year, and the
competition was tough, but the requirements
were even tougher.
“NYC Transit needed nearly 9,000 radios,
each customized for the operator who was
using it,” reports Chris Lougee, Vice President
of Icom America Inc. “Beyond that, they
needed things like custom rmware, custom
circuit boards that could be swapped, a
database allowing them to track every radio
and even engraving on the hardware itself. All
of which they wanted to be able to maintain
themselves and train people on, which meant
the winning bid would also be creating train-
ing manuals and teaching NYC Transit’s own
technicians how to physically maintain the
hardware.”
In December 2010, Icom delivered 8,825
of these highly customized packages to
NYC Transit. Each package contained: an
engraved radio, belt clip, antenna, charger,
extra extended life battery, noise cancelling
speaker microphone, adjustable shoulder
strap, and a user manual. All the equipment
is intrinsically safe, each serial number is part
of a customized database enabling them
to track each radio and all of them include
safety features like a man-down function.
And, as requested, Icom will be training NYC
Transit’s technicians to repair the radios, as
well as providing spare parts and 300 printed
circuit boards for swapping.
“This is what we do, it’s what makes
Icom special,” explains Lougee. “We are
a big enough company that we can deliver
top-of-the-line equipment at a competitive
price. But we’re also nimble enough that
we can customize any aspect of an order
to meet a client’s unique needs. Further,
because so many of our operations are do-
mestic, we have relationships with vendors
who can do everything from engraving to
custom leather carrying cases. That’s what
makes us different.”
ia
“Because of our relationships and
attention to detail, we’ve seen clients
create systems that seemed out of
their reach just a short time ago.
It’s very rewarding for us to be able
to do this.”
— Chris Lougee, Icom America
Vice President

For People Who Make Smart Choices
ianews / March 2011 / Page 2
ianews
Icom Wins NYC Transit Order for Close To
9000 F70 Series Radios (cont’d)
Above: A typical MTA bus makes its way thru the city.
Left: Taking the A train under the streets of Manhattan.
Below: Inside Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal.
Icom America Inc.
2380 116th Ave NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Customer Service: [phone]
Icom America Systems
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]
Indeed, as big as this project was, it is
right in line with what Icom has done for
clients all over the world, in both the public
and the private sector. Icom has put together
similar packages for the public and private
sector alike: The US Army and Marine Corps,
the Afghan National Police, Iraqi Minister of
the Interior, the US National Park Service and
JC Penney, among others.
The NYC Transit project, as many of Icom’s
projects have been lately, is geared towards
migrating existing communication systems
to meet or exceeds the FCCs narrowband
regulations that go into effect in 2013. These
new radios not only meet the narrowband
standards, but are interoperable with exist-
ing legacy systems and upgradable to P25
digital in the future. This makes it possible
for organizations of all sizes to upgrade at a
pace that is feasible while building a system
that will last well into the digital future.
Interoperability with an eye to the future
is a hallmark of Icom equipment, which is
also used by Amtrak and other AAR carriers
like BNSF, CSX and other major transport
companies.
“This is a great time for all of us,” says
Lougee. “The switch to greater efciency is
an obvious win for operators, and because
of our relationships and attention to detail,
we’ve seen clients create systems that
seemed out of their reach just a short time
ago. It’s very rewarding for us to be able to
do this.”