What am I missing.....

[lmriggs]

....by not monitoring tones? I only monitor the voices. Perhaps I don't even understand the purpose of tones.

 

[jimmnn]

....by not monitoring tones? I only monitor the voices. Perhaps I don't even understand the purpose of tones.

Tones are at the beginning of most departments dispatches, the best are South Metro basically a stand by for a computer voice.

These same tones are also used to open station doors, automatically turn on lights, turn off the gas source to stoves or ovens in the stations and one I recently saw even mutes the big screen TV..

Jim<

 

[chris_a_rodgers]

These same tones are also used to open station doors, automatically turn on lights, turn off the gas source to stoves or ovens in the stations and one I recently saw even mutes the big screen TV..<

This company has pretty much what you explained plus some other features, instead though it's controlled more by a CAD system then by tones, but I find it really cool.
http://firestationalerting.com/products.html

 

[firescannerbob]

....by not monitoring tones? I only monitor the voices. Perhaps I don't even understand the purpose of tones.

You're not missing anything except maybe something to perk your ears up a little to listen. CSFD doesn't use tones, and El Paso County just uses a short alert tone (which tends to be shrill and annoying, but it does get ones attention).
As for the PURPOSE of the tones, thats been well explained already, but there are a myriad of other ways to do the same functions...audible tones is probably just the cheapest method.

 

[Gilligan]

Are you referring to fire tones? Or PL/DPL tones? Fire tones are used to alert specific stations to a call. PL/DPL tones are used to open the squelch on two-way radios. In a way, they serve the same purpose. But fire tones are audible to the human ear and PL/DPL tones are sub-audible (you can't hear them). Companies use PL or DPL tones to keep their radios quiet until somebody within their company keys up on the frequency (many frequencies are shared by several users).

 

[lmriggs]

OK, so there are good reasons to use them on the fire station end. I didn't realize there could do as much as they apparently can. But as far as I am concerned, I have no need for them.

Thx for the responses.

Lee

"I will be tomorrow what I start today."