Tait MPT 1327 is alive and well in Barbados
at Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI).

The Tait MPT-1327 trunk system makes it possible for Mobile & Marine Systems Ltd. to use their spectrum allocation more efficiently.

The Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI) is the international gate way for Barbados and is a hub for several airlines servicing the islands of the Eastern Caribbean. Every year 2.4 million passengers use the facility. The airport also handles air-sea transfers for passengers destined for the numerous cruise ships that sail the Caribbean Sea. The Grantley Adams International Airport is also home to one of the Concorde aircraft. When this aircraft was in service it made weekly flights from London to Barbados.

Until recently each airline used a mix UHF and VHF hand portable radios. With no repeater service it was difficult for the check-in counter to reach the gates. Calls had to be manually relayed by the base. Installing a base station was very expensive as running the antenna feeder to the roof was a major undertaking. There was no radio communication between the various agencies operating at the Airport.

A new terminal is being built to meet the passenger needs for the next 15 years. As this project entailed the renovation of the existing terminal and the construction of a new terminal for arrivals there was a lot of dislocation during construction. Mobile & Marine Systems Ltd. was approached by GAIA Barbados Inc., the management company for the airport, to recommend an effective solution to solve the communication problems of the airline and service companies operating at the airport.

After looking at various options Mobile & Marine Systems Ltd installed a new Tait MPT 1327 cell close to the airport. This gives 100% coverage of the entire complex using Tait T5000 handheld radios.  The system operates in the 450 MHz band and the in-building penetration is very good. There are no dead spots. This cell uses the T800II modules with two traffic channels in addition to the control channel. We expect to expand the traffic channels as more users come on.

We set up each airline on a separate fleet and programmed the radios for group calls. Group calls were used as the staff was constantly on the move and the radio changed hands several times a day. Making radio unit to radio unit calls was not practical as staff are assigned to fixed locations and not the radios. Some Tait ORCA 5035 radios are used more than 18 hours each day and are supplied with 2 batteries.

Where the customer requires a base station a Tait T2040 or TM8200 and matching power supply is used. The transmit power is set to low power. A "rubber duck" antenna connected directly to the BNC connector is used instead of an external antenna. This resulted in a significant cost saving. It also made the base very easy to be relocated when the contractors gave the clients 24 hours to move to a new location as their present site was being demolished.

Inter fleet or inter group calls can be easily made. The inter-fleet call feature enables the staff of one airline to contact another airline, when dealing with in-transit passengers, the baggage handlers or security without leaving their station. The alphanumeric display on the Tait 5035 radio makes selecting the fleet or group to be called very easy.

The hand set feature is very useful when information is being passed that the passengers do not need to know. It is also useful on the ramp when the radio is used near to a high-pitched aircraft engine.