THE COMPANY I WORK FOR DID TESTS INVOLVING THIS NXDN STUFF RECENTLY AND THEY HAD ME PARTICIPATE. THIS INVOLVED BASE STATIONS, AND MOBILES ONLY, NO HANDHELDS. WHAT WAS FOUND IN THESE TESTS (WE DID THEM FOR SEVERALS HOURS, TRYING TO CREATE AS MANY SCENARIOS AS POSSIBLE) WAS THE AUDIO TO BE VERY "BASEY" SOUNDING. ONE OF OUR GUYS SOUNDED LIKE A ROBOT, RATHER THAN A HUMAN BEING. THINGS WORKED GREAT WHEN WE WERE WITHIN A COUPLE OF MILES OF EACH OTHER. BUT WHEN WE GOT INTO THE "DEAD SPOTS", THE SIGNAL WAS COMPLETELY LOST. ALSO, WHEN ONE RADIO "STEPS" ON ANOTHER, THE SIGNAL IS COMPLETELY LOST. WITH THE ANALOG, AT LEAST WHEN YOU GET INTO ONE OF THE DEAD SPOTS, YOU STILL HEAR THE AUDIO MIXED IN WITH THE SQUELCH AND WHEN YOU GET "STEPPED ON", AT LEAST ONE OF THE TRASMITTING UNITS WIN. WITH THE DIGITAL, YOU DON'T GET ANYTHING. WE EVEN HAD SEVERAL SITUATIONS WHILE RUNNING OUR TESTS WHERE THE ONE PERSON WAS MOVING AROUND IN THE TRUCK AND WHEN WE LOST HIM, THAT WAS IT. NO WARNING, NO NOTHING! WHEN HE WAS "STEPPED ON", WE HEARD NOTHING. AFTER AWHILE, THE HEAD GUY HELD A JOB DEBRIEFING WITH ALL OF US, AND BASICALLY JUST SHOOK HIS HEAD AND SAID, "I REALLY HOPE WE NEVER HAVE TO SWITCH TO THIS STUFF" AND THAT WAS THAT. I DID USE MY ANALOG ASSIGNED RADIO TO SEE WHAT THE DIGITAL TRANSMISSION SOUNDED LIKE ON IT AND TO ME, IT SOUNDS LIKE A HIGH PRESSURE WATER HOSE SOUND OR MAYBE A TOILET TANK FILLING UP TO THE TOP WITH WATER. PLUS OF COURSE, WHEN YOU KEY UP THE ANALOG RADIO, THE DIGITAL RADIO SHOWS IT IS RECEIVING A SIGNAL, BUT NOTHING IS THERE, BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING FOR THE NXDN RADIO TO ENCODE. ALL I CAN SAY, IS I DON'T LIKE IT AT ALL. I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IT IS GREAT FOR CELL PHONES, BUT NOT FOR THIS TYPE OF OPERATION, BUT THAT IS JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION.