MALAGASY NATIONAL POLICE

g. Personnel -_.
Assistant to f Doucet is merely a novice. He and 27
radio.operators assigned to the network are all Malagasy
with-the exception of Majunga. 'Their OW Traffic averages
15 WPM.- In the past.they were recruited from the ranks
of the Police but they are being given specialist status
and recruited directly from civilian life. (See page 45.)
(Judging by the work he is performing, M. Doucet is himself
an experienced and competent technician.)
h. Maintenance Laboratory -
The test equipment is quite adequate and- consists of
Heathkit, VTVM grid dipper
Oscilloscope
French signal generator, tube tester and resistance
capacity instrument.
Good assortment of hand tools
However, tubes and repair parts are in very small supply.
i. Hours of Operation -
Although Tananarive station is "open" 24 hours daily,
all other stations are open from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. Usual
operator staffing is two men per city. If special circumstances
warrant, stations are sometimes held open as
long as required.
J. Traffic Loading -
Load is very light. Headquarters handles average of 30
telegrams per day. Enciphering and deciphering is manual
and performed by a security office under the Director of
Police. Within individual Provinces, a small amount of
traffic between cities is handled.
k. Tananarive metropolitan two-way radio system -
A snall system has been built by the French Technician
with salvaged equipment. It is limited to two base and
three mobile units. They are VHF A3, running from 3 to
10 watts, non-crystal controlled. The system is normally
not in use. On very special occasions the Technician
"tunes" up the equipment and it is used for an hour or
so, but as vehicles drive down the streets the units
get out of tune. This system is considered by the Team
to be worse than useless.
1. New Stations -
Mr. Rakotonandrianina pointed out that they desired to
install new fixed stations at: Airport, Manakara,
Mananjary, Ambositra, and Moramanga.
m. Propagation Factors -
Fortunately, the net control station at Tananarive is
very centrally located. The Island is approximately
- 43 -
SAtIaa