landonjensen
Member
I have one question for the LEOS. When my local pd dispatch runs a plate on the radio, isnt that what MDT's are for? If not, what are MDT'S main purpose's?
Mdt's And Radios?
- Thread starter landonjensen
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Rayjk110
Guest
Usually text messaging, IE if the person is drunk, or naked, or doing something you wouldn't normally want to say over the airwaves, it is sent over the MDT. Plate/VIN checks can also be done this way.
In our county, it is tied to an 800MHz data repeater.
In our county, it is tied to an 800MHz data repeater.
MDTs / MDCs / laptops in PD units are typically for running plates and DLs. However, if the agency does not have wireless data in those cars yet (Verizon, Cingular, Sprint, 800 data systems, etc.) they will use them for report writing and other local (to the car) type tasks.
landonjensen
Member
yes they dophil_smith said:
vs1988
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I know from ridealongs with my local PD that the officers use the MDTs to run reg/lic checks. However, they still go over the air to double check the information. The MDTs are also used for "silent dispatching", and Instant Messenging.
IMs are usually used for informal chit-chat like who's picking up dinner etc.
IMs are usually used for informal chit-chat like who's picking up dinner etc.
w4rez
Member
Judging from the voice traffic I hear locally, they spend more time trying to make the MDTs work than what they do actually using them. Who's bright idea was it to make those things Windows-based anyhow?
dustin486
Member
You also have to remember that if the officer is currently driving, then he will probably use the radio to run the plate as it is very dangerous to do that on the MDT while trying to operate the vehicle.
KE4ASQ
Member
w4rez said:
Bill Gates *Laughs*
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N_Jay
Guest
The windows jokes are really stupid.
I would guess that any issues are coverage or back end.
I'm not sure I would want Linux in front of most officers. :roll:
I would guess that any issues are coverage or back end.
I'm not sure I would want Linux in front of most officers. :roll:
w4rez
Member
Who's joking? I'm certainly not.N_Jay said:
Nope.
A well designed MDT system would make the underlying OS completely transparent to the end user. It could be Linux, MacOS X, or MSDOS for all they know or care. The system should require very little computer literacy to be able to operate. After all, they are being paid to be police officers, not computer geeks. Have you used a Tivo? Do you know that they run Linux? Do most people even care? Do you have to know Linux in order to be able to use one?
What would you do if your trunked system crashed or simply became inoperable as often as what your typical windows installation does? Why do you think some zone controllers are running Solaris instead of NT/2k/XP/Vista?
DickH
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landonjensen said:
I can't speak for the cops, but my Fire Dept. uses them extensively. All run info. is shown on the screen along with maps, hazardous warnings, arson investigation info. - a multitude of things.
One valuable thing is when a firefighter is injured, we don't ever use his or her name over the radio because a relative could be listening.
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N_Jay
Guest
w4rez said:
1) Check out the trend in trunked system management OS's
2) Do you know of any MDT/MDC systems running other than MS in the vehicles?
3) Do you have any experience with an MDT/MDC system?
landonjensen
Member
When my dept says responding from MDC, what does this mean?
w4rez
Member
No and this is quite unfortunate. an MDT system need not be a general purpose computer. It would work quite nicely as an embedded system, and should be designed around an OS better suited to being embedded. My OS of choice would probably be QNX, or a stripped down and customized BSD variant.N_Jay said:
Not with MDT/MDC systems but I have tons of experience in all things networking and computer related. I could go into detail but I didn't know that I had to qualify my statements and opinions with a CV.
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N_Jay
Guest
w4rez said:
With more and more mobile applications being developed, an embedded OS is no longer best for an MDT. That is why almost everyone has moved to MDCs.
Think of the MDC as the desktop. Do you know many people running Linux on the desktop?
There are lots of good choices for backend systems, but XP is starting to become preferred even in the old Unix world. There is a chance that the backed of large systems may never go 100% MS, but I would not bet my life on it.
As for "MDT Problems", just don't jump to the assumption it is at all related top the OS in the field equipment. That would be like assuming that every trouble call on your network is a broken mouse.
w4rez
Member
While this may be the case I'm not sure if it's a good trend. You can make a unix-based OS just as, if not more user-friendly than any MS offering. Apple has already proven that to us. Furthermore if I were developing and marketing mobile data communication equipment I would prefer to base it on one of the free Unix variants because this gives me much more control over every aspect of the finished product, and also gives me an enormous amount of customization that just isn't possible with MS.N_Jay said:
I will agree with you here, at least. I quit running Linux as my primary desktop many years ago simply because the applications that I wantedand needed to use just weren't available under Linux. This does not have to be the case with MDCs, however.
MS will never replace larger systems such as the Sunfire 15k, at least not without completely abandoning their current OS design in favor of something more scalable.
The only reason MS has the market share in the server world that they do is because a). It's easier to train monkeys to admin the system and pay them 30k a year and b). most of the people that make the purchase decisions wouldn't know "the right tool for the job" if somebody smacked them in the face with it.
As for "MDT Problems", just don't jump to the assumption it is at all related top the OS in the field equipment. That would be like assuming that every trouble call on your network is a broken mouse.[/QUOTE]
Oh I'm not saying that *all* problems are related to the OS, but just judging from what I hear on the radio, plus my own personal experience with MS products is that more often than not, it's something with the OS.
Of course applications under Unix or any other OS can misbehave too, but if the OS is designed properly, a single applcation isn't going to take down the entire computer. Back when I ran Linux and Solaris as desktop operating systems, when I had an application that got out of hand, I killed the application and restarted it, and didn't have to reboot the entire system.
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