"Unusual" voice on Phoenix FD Dispatch?

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rwier

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For me, over time, Phoenix scanner traffic has became almost like background music, or white noise. However, after I awoke this morning, I reacted to a "female" voice from a scanner across the room. I investigated, and it turned out to be coming from the Phoenix FD Dispatch Channel. After a few moments of thinking "what an unusual syntax/voice", it occurred to me that it might be a "computer" voice. Has there been talk of any such "voice testing" concerning the RWC operation?

I believe one of my neighbors works in a Phoenix 9-11 Switchboard Room. I rarely see her as she has a strange schedule. If I can remember the question (lol), I will ask her (when I see her) if the voice is human or digital.
 

MFD4305

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She's Ba-ack

Rob,
I've heard this digital voice being transmitted - usually for a brief time - off and on since I moved here a little over a year ago. There have been several earlier threads on "her" use. This morning's on-air presence is longer than I've heard previously, FWIW, and the first I've heard for a while.
 

rwier

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Rob,
I've heard this digital voice being transmitted - usually for a brief time - off and on since I moved here a little over a year ago. There have been several earlier threads on "her" use. This morning's on-air presence is longer than I've heard previously, FWIW, and the first I've heard for a while.

Thanks,
After a few minutes of listening, I decided that this is definitely not a "live" human. Interestingly, most parts of the dispatch are easier for my ear/brain system to understand, but for me, the address numbers and street names run together like mush.
 

Jay911

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Is it Locution CADVoice? That's being used by many dispatch centers all over North America now.

CADVoice 2 - YouTube

The voice is a real human voice - she is an employee of Locution who speaks your city's entire master street address guide into a computer, and coupled with the standard database of terms (i.e. "building fire", "engine one", etc), dispatches are assembled a word at a time.
 

KB7MIB

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There has been some testing recently. There's another thread here about it.
Apparantly, the first test period had at least one failure, when the voice dispatch went out, but the station package never activated, or activated several minutes after the voiced dispatch, and a cover assignment had already been sent out.
Some other testing has occured in recent months, typically in the quieter/slower pre-dawn hours, for an hour or two at a time, usually preceded by a live dispatcher announcing the test period.
I don't know if/when it may go full time.
 

MFD4305

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One Other Thing....

Another "difference" I've noticed is that the automated digital dispatch does not identify specific ambulances [Southwest or PMT] on EMS dispatches - which, of course, are most of the runs. A human dispatcher will identify "Southwest 157" for instance, while the automated digital dispatch simply says "southwest ambulance."
FWIW
 

Kars10az

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You may want to listed closer. In places like Glendale, the ambulances aren't voiced by the human dispatcher because SW assigns the units. The Alarm Room doesn't know which unit it is until SW assigns it to the call, which is after the call is dispatched.
 

KB7MIB

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I don't know about the Glendale-based Southwest units, but the Surprise units were specified by the live dispatcher in the past.
The PMT units were specified by the live dispatcher as well.

John
Peoria
 

Kars10az

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Glendale isn't the only City that does it that way, but I don't remember that the others are. I've been out of the Alarm Room for a couple years now and who knows how much I've forgotten, or how much I actually still remember. I still keep in touch with my co-workers, some more than others, but we don't usually talk shop, although they have talked about the computerized voice. I haven't found one dispatcher that likes it.
 

Tim

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Greetings...

Here in Wisconsin one agency that uses this system loves it. The only problem I have heard (Which I find funny) is that this agency uses Zones for responding apparatus to check locations of a call. One of the zones they use is "S", so when Mrs Computer says "Zone S"...it sounds more like "Zone A$$". Always cracks me up.

Tim
 

rpgaun

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I found it a bit funny that during the testing the other morning the "live" dispatcher had to interject to clarify the dispatch or check if a unit is responding. One that stood out was a Sky Harbor medical dispatch. The computer only gave the address for the airport (and it’s one big airport). So it missed the Terminal number and gate location, etc. Now I believe that the complete call/dispatch information is on the MDT in the truck but I’m not sure.
 

Kars10az

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It doesn't read out anything but the address for any call. Most trucks have MCT's, but the MCT's rely on the cellular systems. If there's a cellular system failure, there's a MCT system failure. It could be widespread, or localized. Then there's the trucks that don't have MCTs. I think it's a safety issue, but who am I? Each terminal has its own address in the computer. I know, I put them in there, so it shouldn't be using a generic address at the airport. However, the runways don't have physical addresses and use a generic address. Hopefully a plane doesn't crash at Sky Harbor while the MCTs are down. It could be interesting.
 

rpgaun

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Most trucks have MCT's, but the MCT's rely on the cellular systems.

So, a system the size of Phoenix dose not have a dedicated sub-system for their MCT's?? WOW, what a blunder in system communications. Even in Vermont the PDs have dedicated systems for their vehicle computers. As of the time I left fire departments were not using mobile terminals.
 

desert-cheetah

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I heard it for the first time yesterday and it sounded really weird, even though I've heard it on the Seattle live feed. What I found a little interesting was that at 7am, a human voice announced over the air that they would be using the voice synthesized dispatch until 1500. A few seconds later there was the first call and it was synthesized.

As for them only identying the ambulance by the company name and not a unit designator, I'm pretty sure human dispatchers use the ambulance name and number because I noticed right away that the unit designator wasn't used on the automated dispatcher.
 

Kars10az

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In certain cities, the ambulance company (usually Southwest) determines which ambulance gets dispatched AFTER the RDC dispatches the call. You hear only the company name because an actual unit is not yet assigned to the call yet. Once the ambulance company chooses the unit to send, they add the unit to the call on CAD and the dispatcher typically voices the unit ID on the TAC channel for the responding units. All done. In the rest of the cities, CAD determines which ambulances are going, and these units are read out as part of the initial dispatch.
 

rpgaun

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In the rest of the cities, CAD determines which ambulances are going, and these units are read out as part of the initial dispatch.

Is this because in those cities (IE: Peoria, Scottsdale, etc) the contract calls for dedicated units for the 911 calls?
 

W8RMH

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Private ambulance companies do their own dispatching because they usually do private transports in addition to 911 coverage. The 911 dispatchers would not dispatch for private, mostly non-emergency calls. The company I worked for would receive the call by phone from the county and dispatch on the private company frequency. The responding unit would then switch to the county frequency.
 

KB7MIB

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The PMT units dedicated to a city are dispatched by the RDC, instead of by PMT dispatch. (Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler, Peoria, IIRC.) In this case, the specific unit is announced.
Southwest units were included in the RDC dispatch, but not actually dispatched by the RDC, they were dispatched by Southwest, so the specific unit number isn't typically mentioned.
I could have sworn I heard Southwest units in Surprise being specifically dispatched, but I could be wrong.
And just the other day, I thought I heard the auto dispatch say Southwest Ambulance for a medical call in Peoria. Has the contract switched back to Southwest from PMT again?

John
Peoria
 

rpgaun

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To the best of my knowledge PMT still is doing Peoria. This morning I saw PMT194 running hot to a call.
 

ICP963

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Since PMT and SouthWest are both owned by Rural Metro, is it possible they `could' cover each other if need be?
 
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