Radio procedure: quick question?

[boatbod]

Would anyone care to explain why radio procedure for MSP, and other public service units in the area requires the calling party to announce their unit designation before that of the unit they are calling. This is of course completely reversed from what I'm used to hearing on the marine and amateur bands.

thanks
Graham

 

[n4voxgill]

because that is the way they have always done it. That prodedure is used arond the nation. Then some do the reverse.

 

[bwhite]

Some areas, like Carroll, have MSP sharing the dispatches with local PDs so I suppose that it is preferred to know who is calling. Doesn't seem like it would matter in what order.

 

[eyes00only]

I am sooo used to saying my ID to Dispatch, or ID - Dispatch, that when someone on our system does it the other way it drives me nuts.

Jerry

 

[ocguard]

Where I started in public safety, that was the way it was done. "Medic 1 to dispatch" and "dispatch to Medic 1" etc... I moved and had to get used to saying it the other way, and it does make ALOT of sense to me now... "County from medic 1" and "medic 1 from county"... think about the way you talk normally to other people. When you call someone on the phone you dont say "Me to you," you say "you, this is me", for example, "Mike, this is Bob." It took alot of getting used to but it is natural now. And it's the recommended standard amoung most public safety communications organizations.

 

[suzukirider]

i think "unit first" sounds easier as someone monitoring.

i think when you announce your unit after the unit you are contacting it is possible for more confusion to result. OTOH...people can get used to anything.

unit first allows you to establish XXXX TO YYYY...directionality rather than doing the math in your head while communications are taking place.

"YYYYYY this is XXXXX...blah blah blah blah" means u have to do some math to reverse the XXX and YYY while the comm goes on whereas unit-first has no such gymnastics.


abe

 

[suzukirider]

also...in an emergency, everybody on the system knows who is talking which can help in the heat of the moment.

unit second isn't intuitively clear to all parties on the system.

abe