ERROR ON DRAGNET

[W2MR]

I was watching Dragnet today and looked closely at the Motrac control head. It was an Extender model which means it was a low band model with a noise blanker. The car's antenna was high band.


Only a radio-technician would notice this, of course.

 

[Jimru]

It's fun to discover stuff like that!

It's easier with the sound off, at least for me...

 

[gmclam]

I've seen all kinds of errors on Dragnet. What's really interesting is that the show was used for training of LAPD.

 

[Jimru]

I've seen all kinds of errors on Dragnet. What's really interesting is that the show was used for training of LAPD.

Training? Hah! I wonder how that panned out over the years. I also, as a kid, used to watch "Adam 12", another production by Jack Webb (as I'm sure you know!).

I used to assume that show was as accurate as a TV show could be, but I'm sure if I watched an episode now, I could find all sorts of things wrong.

 

[Mojaveflyer]

Dragnet Errors

I heard that 'Adam 12' and 'Police Story' were the two most requested TV shows in the California prison system for years... Evidently the cons thought those shows were accurate.

 

[KB7MIB]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; U; en-US) Gecko/20081217 Vision-Browser/8.1 301x200 LG VN530)

The cases they handled were based on true cases, IIRC, which is why they may have been used for training purposes. That doesn't mean that every prop is going to be exactly correct. (I believe "Emergency!" was also based on real incidents.)

 

[W2MR]

'Emergency' had a great affect on public safety in my area in the early 1970's. For example, most volunteer ambulance squads were simply a transportation service with basic first aid. I watched them advance to EMT/Paramedic level units with good voice and data links to local hospitals. Thanks to new technology and the fantastic devotion of volunteers many lives have been saved over the years.

 

[Jimru]

My all time favorite cop show is the original "Law & Order". I can watch the same episodes over and over.

I would be interested to hear what an actual detective would have to say about the procedural accuracy (or lack thereof) of the show is.

In the Sixties there was a pretty good show, also based in NYC, called "NYPD". Had some good acting in it.

 

[plato]

Dragnet & Adam-12 used for training.

In the early 70's, I was a summer police officer in Wildwood, N.J. The " training" I had was watching the above mentioned T.V. shows and listening to the police scanner! There was no class one or two as there is today. The above mentioned shows taught me police and dispatching procedures. It worked! I was told I did a good job! I tell people today the above story and they laugh!

 

[W2NJS]

My all-time favorite was the officer of Engine 51 speaking into the back side of his microphone.

 

[Jimru]

In the original "The Taking of Pelham 123" movie, there is a scene where Robert Shaw is talking to Walter Matthau over the radio in the motorman's position, and Shaw clearly forgets to press the PTT button on the mic, not just once, but throughout the entire scene!

Only a radio head like me would notice that...

 

[JT-112]

My all-time favorite was the officer of Engine 51 speaking into the back side of his microphone.

Happens all the time in real life. I've been assuming for decades now that the folks who designed noise-cancelling mikes long ago went stir-crazy after seeing their stuff misused over and over again...

In the original "The Taking of Pelham 123" movie, there is a scene where Robert Shaw is talking to Walter Matthau over the radio in the motorman's position, and Shaw clearly forgets to press the PTT button on the mic, not just once, but throughout the entire scene!

Only a radio head like me would notice that...

You don't see it much these days, but don't forget that foot pedals for PTT were fairly common in a lot of applications.

That movie is classic!

 

[Jimru]

The original was much better than the 2009 remake!

I don't know if they were using foot switches in the NYC subway then (or now).

 

[impalass427]

Back to the OP Post. The slide switch in the top center of the control head says "trans filaments". The early Motracs had this switch to save the battery by turning off the filaments in the tube power amp section of the transmitter so just the transistorized receiver could be left on when the motor was not running.. There are tons of Goofs on Dragnet and Emergency! The funniest one was on Emergency when they punched in an animal hospital's phone number on a 8 channel Regency crystal scanner, then used a GE base mic to talk to the Vet by radio

 

[ResQguy]

The original was much better than the 2009 remake!

I don't know if they were using foot switches in the NYC subway then (or now).

Not many people know that story was actually told three times. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (TV 1998) - IMDb

 

[Jimru]

Not many people know that story was actually told three times. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (TV 1998) - IMDb

I'm one of those that didn't know! Great cast, too!

Thanks, gonna try and hunt it down online.