There were times when Longmeadow police would radio in information and dispatchers would only hear static.
About 14 miles away, radio dead spots in Chicopee would leave officers without backup in case of emergency.
But that has all changed now that Longmeadow police and firefighters have switched to a state-of-the-art radio system that the town of about 15,000 people really couldn’t afford on its own. Next week, Chicopee police and firefighters will be turning on new radios that leaders have been lobbying to purchase for at least six years.
“It is night and day. So far, the performance is better than we imagined we were going to see,” said Longmeadow Deputy Fire Chief Jay MacSata, who was one of the key people who worked on the project to replace the radios.