Method for minimizing message interruptions during hand-off in a multi-site radio

In a multi-site, half-duplex, trunked communication system including a first site controller, a second site controller, a transmitting communication unit, and at least one receiving communication unit, a method of minimizing loss of interruptions of a randomly sourced message of unknown duration and varying information rate transmitted over a carrier signal, to cause minimal information loss during a hand-off operation, by any of said at least one receiving unit, from the first site controller to the second site controller, each said at least one receiving unit including a traffic discriminating means for identifying audio holes in the transmission of said message and means for identifying a traffic slow condition, the method comprising the receiving unit performed steps of:

• analyzing, by the associated traffic discriminating means, the carrier signal as a function of signal quality to identify a degraded signal condition;
• analyzing, by the associated means for identifying a traffic-slow condition, the sourced message, as a function of at least one of its duration and its information rate, to identify a window-of-favorability condition;
• and
• performing a hand-off operation, with minimal information loss, on the basis of said degraded signal condition and said window-of-favorability condition.