November 22, 2013 – Washington, D.C. - Bexel is widely recognized as the leading global provider of broadcast services, but our work does not stop there. When the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) needed a critically important, fully customized communications system, they turned to Bexel for a solution.

WMATA, a tri-jurisdictional government agency created by the United States Congress as an interstate compact between the District of Columbia, the State of Maryland, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, has service vehicles strategically located throughout the entire Washington metro area to support repair facilities. These service vehicles consist of two separate but attached rail-based cars that are manned by different crews, and posed unique communication issues.

‰"For the teams out in the field, communication is vital,‰" explains Jim Dugan, senior project engineer for Bexel. ‰"WMATA needs to transport track maintenance vehicles throughout the city, but the city-wide radio repeaters are not reliable in tunnels, and this posed a safety problem. When the maintenance vehicles stop to service the tracks, the crew on the ground can be hindered by handheld two-way radios, especially when communicating to the onboard crane operators. They needed a wireless system that facilitated communication between cars and enabled the track repair and maintenance staff to work hands-free. It was an efficiency issue, and ultimately a safety issue for everyone involved.‰"

The existing, city-wide mobile radios on the service vehicles operated by WMATA posed another set of challenges, so Bexel was tasked with interfacing these radios with an enhanced hands-free solution. "The main reason WMATA called upon Bexel was to interface the new local wireless intercoms with their older, mobile radios,‰" continues Dugan. ‰"We developed the HME MB300ES base station systems to accomplish that. The wireless belt packs worn by each crew member have two channels. One channel is marked ‰'Local', and limits communication to one base station serving the onsite team. The second channel, ‰'Radio',‰ enables the team to communicate and listen to the city-wide repeater channel, eliminating the need to hold a separate two-way radio in addition to their wireless headset. This allows the crew to remain truly hands-free in the field."

Phase one of Bexel‰'s ongoing project with WMATA was completed with the initial installation of 32 systems. There is currently a second phase, comprised of 12 additional systems scheduled to be completed in January 2014. HME initially recognized the need for an integrator to be brought in to help solve the challenges that WMATA was facing and immediately recommended Bexel.

‰"As an HME vendor with a Washington, D.C. hub, they knew Bexel was the right choice for this project,‰" says Dugan. ‰"We customized everything in the development of this interfacing solution, even the HME product. We also added a few enhancements, like a custom black box recording device. In addition to the features WMATA was originally looking for, it was determined late in the project that having the ability to record these communications would be beneficial. We researched and found an existing technology that would work with customized mechanical enhancements, and subsequently developed an interface with the radio systems. We were able to provide them with an additional level of system functionality.‰"

Bexel engineers are provided with WMATA credentials and safety gear as required, and go out on the tracks themselves to perform the installs. ‰"It's actually fun to be out there, working with the local crews,‰" concludes Dugan.

‰"We love our television work, but this project was an interesting challenge and a nice change of pace. We came onboard, analyzed the situation, developed a solution, and built the system they needed. It‰'s what we do, regardless of the industry we‰'re doing it for.‰"

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