Hospital Radio Encoder

[WuLabsWuTecH]

Hi All,

I'm hoping the expertise on these forums can help me understand something and also help with a minor problem we have at my station house.

For contact with some hospitals (because we don't have MARCS) we have to use a slightly modified mobile radio with a keypad. We dial in a code first (2-4 digits) and then we can talk to the hospital. My understanding is that by dialing in that code, we are essentially "toning out" that hospital so their squelch opens and they can hear us on the radio. Unless they are keeping their radio on monitor and not alert, they won't hear anything we are saying unless we key in the right code first. This is the explanation I got from someone, but a google search yielded nothing (I doubt searching for radio encoder was the right search term) so please correct me if I am wrong.

So anyways, since there seems to be these codes that are standard across the state, but is there a standard list anywhere? They don't seem to correspond to the MARCS hospital numbers, and a couple of the numbers got wiped away on the back of our truck and no one seems to remember what they were!

Thanks,
-WuLabsWuTecH

 

[SCPD]

I imagine an active radio tech could answer. I remember back in the day they actually used a rotary telephone dial. You could hear the pulse dial on 155.28, 155.34, 155.40 etc. I would imagine they are just using touch tones now. But I could be wrong.

 

[medic611]

To my knowledge there's no statewide list. Central Ohio use to have a list of hospitals and their encode numbers, that was before Marcs and trunking systems were common. Majority of the calls are done via cell phone anyhow.

 

[ecps92]

Your State or Region EMS Board would likely know the Answer

Many of those Encoders are still in use around the Country.

FYI older thread on the devices at
http://forums.radioreference.com/motorola-forum/184373-hospital-based-ems-radio-dial.html

Hi All,

I'm hoping the expertise on these forums can help me understand something and also help with a minor problem we have at my station house.

For contact with some hospitals (because we don't have MARCS) we have to use a slightly modified mobile radio with a keypad. We dial in a code first (2-4 digits) and then we can talk to the hospital. My understanding is that by dialing in that code, we are essentially "toning out" that hospital so their squelch opens and they can hear us on the radio. Unless they are keeping their radio on monitor and not alert, they won't hear anything we are saying unless we key in the right code first. This is the explanation I got from someone, but a google search yielded nothing (I doubt searching for radio encoder was the right search term) so please correct me if I am wrong.

So anyways, since there seems to be these codes that are standard across the state, but is there a standard list anywhere? They don't seem to correspond to the MARCS hospital numbers, and a couple of the numbers got wiped away on the back of our truck and no one seems to remember what they were!

Thanks,
-WuLabsWuTecH

 

[quarterwave]

The hospital in question should know...

Ours used to have pulse, then added DTMF, later they just added PL....now that's all they use is PL. Squads from all over several counties come in, and they all use the PL. I haven't heard an encode in years.

 

[WA0CBW]

This sounds like the hospital H.E.A.R. system.
BB

 

[16b]

My understanding is that by dialing in that code, we are essentially "toning out" that hospital so their squelch opens and they can hear us on the radio. Unless they are keeping their radio on monitor and not alert, they won't hear anything we are saying unless we key in the right code first. This is the explanation I got from someone, but a google search yielded nothing (I doubt searching for radio encoder was the right search term) so please correct me if I am wrong.

Your understanding is correct.

So anyways, since there seems to be these codes that are standard across the state, but is there a standard list anywhere? They don't seem to correspond to the MARCS hospital numbers, and a couple of the numbers got wiped away on the back of our truck and no one seems to remember what they were!

Pretty sure there isn't an official statewide list, but if you're just looking for some of your local hospitals' codes, you could:
1) Contact the hospitals. This could be painful if they don't have anybody who knows anything about radios (which, unfortunately, is likely).
2) Contact your local medical helicopter group (not sure what part of the state you're in). I'm sure they don't use that method of contacting hospitals anymore what with MARCS and cellphones and all, but they may still have the information around.
3) Contact other local EMS departments; even if they don't use VHF to talk to the hospitals, they may still have the equipment in their trucks and/or have a list of codes sitting somewhere. My local fire department still has VHF radios, complete with DTMF code lists for the local hospitals, in the back of the medic units as a backup system.

 

[Mtnrider]

Our "Hear" system back in the day the Tone numbers matched the state hospital number. 191 then if we needed the county dispatch 190.....but since we have no hospital....and i forget the hospital numbers they go to now.

 

[MLW1058]

Usually the first number(s) are the county number and then whatever the code thats been assigned to that particular hospital.. If theres only one or two the numbers are probably county # 01 or 02

 

[w8prr]

I was involved in putting the base radio in our local hospital about 35 years ago.. We picked out of thin air the number 211 because it was the hospital phone ext in the er. It is still the same code today!

 

[ohiodesperado]

HEAR system

You RE TALKING ABOUT THE vhf high band HEAR system. Not sure what the H E A R stands for but that's what is being referred to.

Each hospital had a code. At one point the state kept the list of codes and issued the codes to new hospitals. THe codes are DTMF. Hospital radios had a DTMF decoder so they were not listening to all the traffic on the frequency. 155.340 is the only one typically in use in the central Ohio area. Hospitals are still required to have a HEAR base station. There were also special desksets (tone remote units that look like a desk phone) that had the special decoder / encoder in them. THe system was designed not only for medic units to talk to the hospital but for hospitals to communicate with other hospitals. The other frequencies mentioned were assigned for the hospital to hospital communications.

As far as a list, that's going to be difficult to find.
We needed to assign a number to a new facility in Northern Columbus and finally got some info from the county, but no list is known to exist any more.

 

[ecps92]

HEAR - Hospital Emergency Ambulance Radio (Missouri ambulances & hospitals frequency; 155.34 MHz)

You RE TALKING ABOUT THE vhf high band HEAR system. Not sure what the H E A R stands for but that's what is being referred to.

 

[tjbroussard]

Stil use it...some

We maintain the HEAR in South Louisiana as a backup. Test it with encode every Wednesday morning. 155.340 if you're near and miss the tones....

PS: I am looking for old HEAR mobile encoders for my '72 ambulance...

Terry
N5QWA

 

[W8RMH]

I believe HEAR was the same in every state. I had used 155.340 to communicate with hospitals in Ohio and Kentucky, but we didn't use encoders. It isn't used much here anymore, except maybe in the very rural counties.

 

[WX5JCH]

Hear= Hospital Emergency Alert Radio

We took out the encoder and we're running csq
Now we hear units from both states Oklahoma and Texas.
HIPPA laws cut down on a lot of traffic. We use cellphone for transmitting ECGs. Everyone in town has a scanner so news travels fast. We don't tone out our EMS they use phones


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jpadley85]

HIPPA laws cut down on a lot of traffic. We don't tone out our EMS they use phones
Tapatalk

I don't know why you would say that - HIPAA (not HIPPA) laws have exceptions and provisions built-in specifically to allow EMS/FIRE/Public Safety agencies to use their interoperable radio system to transmit patient info. HIPAA is not the primary factor that affects agencies' choice to abandon conventional radio systems...

 

[kg9nn]

I don't know why you would say that - HIPAA (not HIPPA) laws have exceptions and provisions built-in specifically to allow EMS/FIRE/Public Safety agencies to use their interoperable radio system to transmit patient info. HIPAA is not the primary factor that affects agencies' choice to abandon conventional radio systems...

Yes, the law has exceptions. But our lawyers told us "How would it sound to a judge to say 'We knowingly send information about our patients ...'" So they won. Now we use cell phones. Not to mention the cell phones are cheaper, cover anywhere our guys do transports to, and are 'cool.' We traded periodic $3k radio purchases, two voting receivers with $200 a month leased lines, periodic $30k base station replacements for a $250 monthly bill. Better use of our resources.

 

[dwelty]

Ohio HEAR frequency

Central Ohio used a 3 digit number. Each hospital had a number assigned to it. Champaign and Clark County has the 3 digit number as well (As explained above by W8PRR). 211 (no pound sign) for Urbana Mercy and #314 for Springfield Regional.

Western Ohio has the standard pound sign (#) followed by a 4 digit number. That number consisted of the 2 digit county number, such as 55 for Miami County, then a 2 digit number for the hospital. That 2 digit number started at 32. So the first hospital in Miami County was #5532 (which was assigned to Stouder Hospital in Troy, back in the day, and is now assigned to Upper Valley Medical Center). Several EMS crews in this area still use the HEAR frequencies every day to call in reports. All hospitals in the region still have the base radios, and Miami Valley Hospital use to do a radio check with all hospitals in the region once in a while, but I haven't heard anything like that in a long time. They do radio checks with the hospitals on MARCS.

Indiana used to do HEAR radio checks as well, I could hear all of central and eastern Indiana, but again, haven't heard those in a long time (maybe on Indiana's Safe-T system now?)

 

[n3obl]

In PA they pretty much phased out the dial up encoders. Some countys the hospitals all share a common freq with just different PL's to select the hospital you want. I still use radio for all notifications. Its easier and quicker than trying to grab my cell phone.. Most radio reports around Pittsburgh are quick and dirty like 30 seconds. Some places Ive traveled to like in florida gives a 2 minute dissertation on everything about the patient ("ie a bedside report and then some")

Frank

 

[Firefox89]

When I worked in Ashtabula County a few years ago they still had an encoder system for squad calling hospitals. I do not remember the codes used though.