Is the Dept (Woodbridge) going to full duplex in their communications? Listening to their communications this evening (such as they were) it sounds as if though they are full duplex. The cars were received/dispatch not received. But then again, they are exceptionally sloppy in their radio protocols. Many times a car calls in...and there is no answer. So who knows? Do you know?
Woodbridge PD
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any chance you're just listening on the input of the repeater?
Thanx, but no. In any event, dispatch was answering and dispatching most of the time today. WPD/WFD had an emergency today which required a PD/FD response. Half of the time there was no answer or a belated answer from the desk to call in from POs on the scene and WFD personnel. I guess as a former police officer I have the perspective that the radio is your lifeline and no matter what you're doing at the desk (barring an intake on a 911), the radio comes first above all. I instituted a civilian dispatcher program in an area department and I drilled them: The car calls, you answer. If you're indisposed...inform the cars you are not available for 5 minutes or so.
It would appear that some APCO level training is order for the desk people at WPD.
It would appear that some APCO level training is order for the desk people at WPD.
Woodbridge looked into going to NWCTPS a few years ago, nothing ever came of it though. Having one dispatcher is a little difficult sometimes though, that’s why all these smaller towns are regionalizing.
I still have a copy from the late 70s the master plan to regionalize dispatch for West Haven, Orange, Milford and Woodbridge. Then there was the proposed master plan to regionalize/consolidate all of the Valley towns from Naugatuck on down not only for dispatch but police and fire services in one area called "Birmingham". Suffice it to say every agency, every chief had an endless multitude for reasons of "Not My Town!". Although participation in/with NWCTPS did come to pass in a number of towns which were to have been a part of "Birmingham".
The only thing that came out of proposed regionalized dispatch with West Haven, Orange, Milford and Woodbridge was the recommendation that they migrate to UHF from their then amalgam of VHF hi and low frequencies. Took some time and some skillful Motorola salesmanship to have that come to pass.
The only thing that came out of proposed regionalized dispatch with West Haven, Orange, Milford and Woodbridge was the recommendation that they migrate to UHF from their then amalgam of VHF hi and low frequencies. Took some time and some skillful Motorola salesmanship to have that come to pass.
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Wow, haven't heard of that one in a while. A borough of Derby, IIRC.
Wow last time i listend to full duplex was the old med radios of the late 70s they had 2 complete radios in 1 huge box.
Woodbridge is like 99% of everyone else using a repeater around them 1/2 duplex.
the dispatcher can hear a unit call in while talking but the field units wont hear it, unless you do like NYPD SOD and put the audio to the unselect speaker and turn it up in the back ground, then it sounds almost full duplex.
Woodbridge does multi select the Fire & PD channels together when there is a call they are both on, you will hear the dispather answer a PD car on the fire channel but you wont hear the pd car and vice versa
Looking at NWCTPS (But you can insert any dispatch center) they dispatch 12 Fire Departments, 13 Ems Services, and are the primary 911 PSAP for 8 towns (Leaving Waterbury out as its a separate entity in NWCTPS) for day and eves they have 4 dispatchers and overnight 3 dispatchers.
So they are no different than a town that has 1 dispatcher for multi town services, they don’t have enough dispatchers to answer 1 911 call from each of the towns they are PSAP for at 1 time, so who dies? If 2 or 3 towns have major incidents, they would not have the staff to handle that and 911.
So who’s May-Day goes unanswered?
Regionalizing only works if it is done correctly and you have the correct man power to do it, NWCTPS is not doing anything any other regional system isnt doing, they are rolling the dice that everything doesn’t happen at the same time, if it does, during the law suit you show you did the best you could do with what you had, blame the director and fire them. Happens all the time
New York State police amazingly still uses full duplex heavily on several troops for their primary operations.
Much like how single town centers bank on everybody in town not calling 911 at the same time. There’s no perfect way to regionalize, but for the most part it works out alright
I know about that which you have written ("Woodbridge does multi select the Fire & PD channels together when there is a call they are both on, you will hear the dispather answer a PD car on the fire channel but you wont hear the pd car and vice versa"). Thanx for the input. It would appear Woodbridge has a dispatcher problem and that there is no on air discipline. A car will say "102" and then in the same breath rapid fire state his/her message. Not "102 to radio". Wait for the dispatch to acknowledge and then slowly and clearly state the message. Also they should learn: press the transmit button wait a very few seconds and then speak. Also, don't release the mic button until you're though speaking and lastly, speak into the microphone in your hand not while it remains mounted on the console. . Every so often they have a professional sounding desk person (the "10-4" guy) who obviously knows protocol. Speak slowly, speak clear, press transmit before you talk, release only after you finish talking.
Half of the time it sounds like a bunch of guys on an FRS radio. In my day, a fellow officer came close to dying as a result of an assault upon him. the radio protocol/procedure was so poor that the desk person (sergeant, no less) ignored the initial truncated call for assistance from the officer. A sixteen wheeler came along, the driver witnessed what was happening, intervened, subdued the assailant and then got on the patrol vehicles main set. I remember the call "I don't know where I am, but I got an injured officer and he needs help". Guess what: No response from the desk..the was sergeant off to the John to read "Law & Order" Magazine . We, the other three cars on tour, heard this transmission and started asking Who are you? Where are you? Give us landmark and we came with all due speed to the scene. The rest is history.
John G must have been part of that "master plan". I worked for C-MED NH back in the day before my present gig. The regionalization of the Valley has been talked about for years, it was there with us dispatching Ansonia, Derby, Bethany and Seymour Fire / EMS, and Shelton EMS along with VEMS. NWPS had Oxford, Beacon Falls & Prospect (not the valley but a lot of M/A with the northern towns). NWPS pretty much is the regional area since they took on the majority of the old C-MED NH towns. One of the major hurdles was the ownership of the PSAPs, which for the most part are controlled by most of the city / town PD's, where the 911s actually go first. So the regionalization dispatch center plans were "secondary PSAPs", with the exception of a few, like CMEDNH with Bethany, TN, QV, and KX (RIP) holding the PSAPs for their respective towns. Just think if people listened how different things could have been today.
As for Birmingham, that was only a village and later a borough that comprised the downtown of the town / city of Derby. It existed as an industrial village from 1834, originally named Smithville. It was changed to Birmingham in 1836 upon the urging of Anson Phelps due to its large industrial base, named after the great British industrial center. In 1851 it was incorporated as a borough within Derby and was disincorporated in 1893 after Derby's town government was consolidated with the borough government as a city. All of Ansonia, Seymour, Oxford and parts of Beacon Falls were part of Derby, not Birmingham. Derby has existed since its settlement in 1654 (from Milford and New Haven colonies) and naming in 1675. The entire area was never named Birmingham.
The original Ansonia was just the downtown and North End areas of the present City of Ansonia, settled and named after Anson Phelps in 1844 when he built his new factory there, which was still part of Derby at the time. Ansonia was incorporated a borough in 1864, and its charter revised in 1871. in 1888, Ansonia's borough leaders circulated a petition to separate from Derby, thus in 1889 the Town of Ansonia was created including the old borough, Hilltop, Derby Hill and West Ansonia areas. Ansonia-boro maintained a separate government until early 1893 when the town and borough governments were consolidated into the present city. Ansonia was the first incorporated city between Bridgeport, Waterbury and New Haven, followed by Derby a few months later.
Unfortunately people have really messed up telling / writing the history of what "Birmingham" is / was and 99% of it is wrong. Sorry for the history lesson, but all your thesis are due by Friday 5 pm. Class dismissed!
Well said, thank you for an interesting and enlightening post!John G must have been part of that "master plan". I worked for C-MED NH back in the day before my present gig. The regionalization of the Valley has been talked about for years, it was there with us dispatching Ansonia, Derby, Bethany and Seymour Fire / EMS, and Shelton EMS along with VEMS. NWPS had Oxford, Beacon Falls & Prospect (not the valley but a lot of M/A with the northern towns). NWPS pretty much is the regional area since they took on the majority of the old C-MED NH towns. One of the major hurdles was the ownership of the PSAPs, which for the most part are controlled by most of the city / town PD's, where the 911s actually go first. So the regionalization dispatch center plans were "secondary PSAPs", with the exception of a few, like CMEDNH with Bethany, TN, QV, and KX (RIP) holding the PSAPs for their respective towns. Just think if people listened how different things could have been today.
As for Birmingham, that was only a village and later a borough that comprised the downtown of the town / city of Derby. It existed as an industrial village from 1834, originally named Smithville. It was changed to Birmingham in 1836 upon the urging of Anson Phelps due to its large industrial base, named after the great British industrial center. In 1851 it was incorporated as a borough within Derby and was disincorporated in 1893 after Derby's town government was consolidated with the borough government as a city. All of Ansonia, Seymour, Oxford and parts of Beacon Falls were part of Derby, not Birmingham. Derby has existed since its settlement in 1654 (from Milford and New Haven colonies) and naming in 1675. The entire area was never named Birmingham.
The original Ansonia was just the downtown and North End areas of the present City of Ansonia, settled and named after Anson Phelps in 1844 when he built his new factory there, which was still part of Derby at the time. Ansonia was incorporated a borough in 1864, and its charter revised in 1871. in 1888, Ansonia's borough leaders circulated a petition to separate from Derby, thus in 1889 the Town of Ansonia was created including the old borough, Hilltop, Derby Hill and West Ansonia areas. Ansonia-boro maintained a separate government until early 1893 when the town and borough governments were consolidated into the present city. Ansonia was the first incorporated city between Bridgeport, Waterbury and New Haven, followed by Derby a few months later.
Unfortunately people have really messed up telling / writing the history of what "Birmingham" is / was and 99% of it is wrong. Sorry for the history lesson, but all your thesis are due by Friday 5 pm. Class dismissed!
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