Dominic F. Tusa; BSEE; email
Founder and Partner

Drawing from a professional career span of 25 years involving virtually every aspect of public and private radio communications (HF-SSB, analog and digital voice FM radio systems, private microwave, multiplex and telephone signaling systems), Tusa has a documented record of successful, high performance radio solutions. Recently, this expertise was put to the ultimate test where three radio networks designed by Tusa were subjected to the force and destructive power of Hurricane Katrina. Katrina proved to be the worst natural disaster to impact the United States and all three Tusa-designed radio networks operated during and after that storm’s passage.

Gilbert G. Stock; BSEE, MD; email
Senior Technology Advisor

Provide feasibility assessments of emerging VoIP radio technologies;
Development of HF-SSB transmitter devices and systems;
Conduct coverage propagation analyses (Okamura-Adaptive Model);
Preparation of Life-Cycle and Initial Purchase Cost Analyses;
Conceptual design of M/W infrastructure networks;
LMR trunked simucast network optimization;
FCC license application preparation and filing.

Gil is a retired private practice physician with BS and MS degrees in Chemical Engineering (Tulane University). He is a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.

He has considerable experience in 800Mhz Reconfiguration Planning, Negotiation & Planning; RF Propagation Modeling; Antenna Development & Design using NEC; RF Network Coverage Testing; Interference Investigation & Resolution; and Technology Assessment.

Carl Allen Cutts; BSEET; Partner; email
Senior Technology Advisor

Public safety experience in the design and specification development of 800MHz voice/data trunked radio networks, including Motorola's Astro 25 digital system, Motorola's TETRA System and M/A-Com's EDACS system. CCNA certification plus over eleven years experience in LAN/WAN networks. Expertise includes knowledge of IP routing, Cisco routers and Catalyst switches, Frame Relay, Virtual LANs, in addition to an understanding of Wireless LANs and their requirements.

Al Martineau; email
Consultant

Drawing from a professional career span of 30 in the New Orleans Fire Department, Martineau’s experience as a Fire Captain and then later as the Department’s IT Manager bridges Technology to Client needs. Recently, this experience was put to the ultimate test where New Orleans Parish Fire Dispatch Centers were engulfed by Hurricane Katrina floodwaters. Martineau’s experience, first as a Fire Captain, allowed him to structure bits of remaining infrastructure into workable IT systems.

Peter A. Caruso; email
Dispatch Center Consultant

Drawing from a professional career span of 35 years involving virtually every aspect of public safety dispatch communications, Caruso has a documented record of technical innovation coupled with effective dispatch team management.

John (Jack) Hart; email
Senior Consultant

More than 30-plus years experience in the design and implementation of large-scale radio networks and supporting systems, from the first commercial cellular telephone systems, through statewide trunked public safety networks and large-city 911 dispatch center consolidations. Proven expertise in radio site development and highly-reliable interconnectivity planning. Formerly held senior technical management positions with the Bell System/AT&T, Motorola (Program Management), Bell Laboratories and General Dynamics.

Larry Labry; email
Consultant

Labry is a 25 year veteran (ret.) of the New Orleans Police Department. His experience ranges from Police Dispatcher , 911 Center Shift Commander and Commander of NOPD’s Electronics Support Section. During his career he was directly involved in the selection and installation oversight of the City’s 800MHz Public Safety Radio system, the E-911 Telephone Switch, Digital Recording systems for the 911 center and NOPD’s Mobile Data system.

Jack (Tripp) Forrest; email
RF Consultant

Drawing from the experience gained as a lead radio engineer for State of Florida’s 800MHz Public Safety Radio Systems, Mr. Forrest is heading a program for development of internal TCS software tools and processes geared toward radio frequency coordination (County, Parish and Statewide) and radio interference mitigation. While previously employed by Florida’s Department of Management Services, Tripp likewise developed or refined numerous software applications used by Florida’s counties to self-mitigate 800MHz interference (i.e., FRIP) as well as those for the identification of potential tower site resources.

Mr. Forrest is currently based in Tallahassee, Florida but will relocate to TCS’ home location in Covington, Louisiana later this year. A graduate from Florida State University, Tripp holds a degree in electrical engineering with a specialty in RF propagation and electronics.

Todd Mechler; email
RF Consultant/Project Manager

Mr. Mechler’s career began with the United States Air Force, where he advanced to the level of Lead Instrumentation Trainer. Later, Mechler earned a bachelor’s of science degree in electrical engineering from Florida State and is now completing work for advanced master’s degree studies.

Prior to joining TCS, Todd was employed by the State of Florida’s Department of Management Services. In that capacity, Mechler was responsible for the management of MED 8, a State-Wide Mutual Aid EMS Radio System and MEDCOMM, a system used daily for medical control between incoming transports and receiving emergency rooms. Additionally, Mechler was the Subject Matter Expert for the Florida Department of Health, the Florida Department of Management Services and the health and medical community at large. This included 232 hospitals, 276 EMS agencies, 67 counties and 5 air transport agencies.

Mr. Mechler is based in Tallahassee, Florida where he supports ongoing TCS projects in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida.

Wendy Bradford; email
Marketing Consultant

Ms. Bradford's prior marketing career, since 1990 and until now, has been geared toward hardware and software solutions specific to public safety operations. Those solutions had included VOIP, telephony, mapping, computer aided dispatch, records management systems, mobile data terminals, automatic vehicle locators, and liability audio recording systems.

Ms. Bradford is based in the New Orleans area. She will be directly supporting TCS operations and clients throughout Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia as well as directing an expansion of TCS marketing activities throughout the Midwest and Eastern areas. Ms. Bradford is a graduate from both the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York) and Southern Junior College (Huntsville).

Carl Rader; email
Consultant

Mr. Rader’s experience in the field of electronics and radio engineering spans 30 years. His specific public safety project experiences include project management, RF system design, computer networks and emergency operations center design and construction. While employed as a project manager for Broward County, Florida he was directly responsible for the construction of a countywide 800MHz simulcast radio network valued then (mid 1990s) at $33.9M. Later, Mr. Rader provided system engineering services for the construction of Broward’s E-911 primary and backup dispatch centers; a computer-aided dispatch system and allied mobile data systems. Recently, Mr. Rader was employed as the Director of Emergency Communications Support for Ada County, Idaho. There his project responsibilities included 700MHz trunked radio, VHF radio, mobile data, AVL and systems supportive of E-911 operations.

Mr. Rader is a graduate of Union College and the College of New Jersey. He has earned a degree in electrical engineering and holds two US patents in the field of maritime navigation. Carl is based in Coral Springs, Florida where he will be serving TCS public safety clients and projects throughout Florida as well as Georgia and the central Gulf Coast.

Affiliations
IEEE, APCO, NEMA, NABER, and RCA

Jan Edwards; 1952 - 2010

TCS Consultant and amateur radio enthusiast Jan R. Edwards (W5EV) passed away on July 16th after waging a courageous battle against cancer. He was 58 years old.

Jan became a TCS consultant in September 2007, but his interest in radio was seemingly from birth. An avid amateur radio operator since his pre-teen years, Jan enjoyed all things involving short wave radio communications but had a particular interest in CW (Morse code). In fact, this early interest in radio and CW lead to his joining the US Air Force and becoming a radio intercept operator stationed in Germany in the early 1970s. As an intercept operator, Jan would copy Russian military code groups (five character/letter groups that were encrypted to obscure the meaning of messages) for eight hours a day. These were transmitted daily by Russian base stations to facilities world wide. Likewise, we did essentially the same. Anyone doing this for months at a time gets good at copying error-free code.

Jan related an interesting story radio people would enjoy. He was copying code on his normally assigned channels. It was his birthday, but so what…he was far away from home and didn’t expect a birthday cake with candles. Suddenly, the Russian operator he was monitoring stopped sending the routine, mind-numbing code groups and began sending a sting of V’s…..dit-dit-dit-dah; dit-dit-dit-dah…..which was used to get the distant receiving operator’s attention that a new message was coming next.

The next thing Jan heard in his headphones came from his Russian counterpart in clear text Morse: “Happy Birthday”. Of course, Jan typed it out as received then stopped cold, eyes wide open. Realized what had just happened, he took off his headphones, gave the paper to his supervisor and took a smoke break in shock. It appeared that the Russians knew everything about our code listening facilities and, hopefully, we knew as much about theirs!

Jan took his acquired skills home and soon became a shore station radio operator at Tropical Radio, WNU. It was at WNU he met his future wife, Yankee. From there he entered the merchant maritime service as a shipboard radio officer and spent many days and weeks out at sea. He saw many wonderful sights and visited many interesting ports during that time. He completed his sailing career with Texaco and next became involved in public safety land mobile radio through Ericsson (now Harris Corporation) in the late 1990s.

Jan and I became best friends while studying Morse code to acquire our amateur novice class licenses, some forty-seven years ago. And that friendship grew steadily over those many but now short years, always helping each other whether a new project needed to be conquered or a personal challenge had to be overcome. We built antennas together. Designed radio gadgets together and even taught amateur radio classes at one point. No matter if it was towing his nearly-always dead Fiat or hanging out at the Funky Pirate Bar and talking blues with Big Al Carson, we’d be ready to roll.

Jan Edwards had perhaps the driest sense of humor ever. Who else could confront two topless ladies in a New Orleans hotel elevator, each having body-painted eyes on their ample breasts, hoist a drink and say with a straight face: “Ladies, here’s looking at you!”

Jan passed away peacefully in his ham shack, where he was most at home.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, although we were both on the ropes in far different ways, we found the strength to push each other to endure and overcome. That’s what best friends do and that’s why he is so terribly missed.

73 OM. CUL

Nick Tusa, K5EF