ADAM-12 error

[garys]

Boston PD used telephone style handsets until the late 1970s, maybe even the early 1980s.

Their earlier radios were full duplex on VHF, so the observer would use the handset to talk to the dispatcher. That was carried over into their early UHF "Mark 12" radios. Those were also full duplex. When they went to the Micor radios, the cruiser radios were no longer full duplex, although the dispatch consoles were.

Dispatch consoles are still (as far as I know) still full duplex so that field units can break in while the dispatcher is talking.

Boston EMS used Motorola "MEMCOM" radios that were designed for ambulance to hospital communications. Those were full duplex as well and equipped with handsets for the front control head and headsets for the rear control head. The two dispatch channels were modified to be half duplex only, but the headsets were still used.

Those radios were used into the mid 1980s and where replaced by Syntor radios. At that point the dual head/single radio system was retired. The front radio used a regular microphone.

The EMS dispatch consoles operated full duplex, just as the police consoles did. Which is the configuration to this day. Again, as far as I know.

It was not uncommon for public safety mobiles to use the telephone handsets, but I don't know that anyone does that any longer.

Remember watching the 1960's TV series "NYPD" ( great cast and gritty show) and their car radios had a telephone style head set used as a microphone and speaker ...was this just a gimmick for detectives/ supervisors only??

Saw some of these auctioned by the Yonkers, NY, PD in the very late 1970's along with the standard Motorola radio heads.

Also saw one in the "French Connection" car chase, Black uniformed NYPD cop calls in via above type head set to set up the road block at the George Washington bridge...now that the toll is an obscene $12.00, I feel like driving through it too!! LOL

 

[frankdrebbin]

That is a nice replica car from Adam-12. I was driving back to our shop one day and saw a black and white (which we don't have) turn towards the county sheriff's dept and I caught a glimpse of the LAPD door emblem and whipped a U-turn and followed it to their office. Turns out our county sheriff is a big Adam-12 fan and this was his car finished down to the details. I didn't get a chance to see the interior for authentics sake but if I see it again I'm making a point to look that baby over.

 

[frankdrebbin]

An LAPD "radio car" is just a regular black and white patrol car. "A" cars (as in 1Adam12) were two man cars, "L" (Lincoln) cars were single man units, as in 1Lincoln10 who was a sergeant. The leading number was the station/division (in this case Central Division), the ending number was the unit or beat designation. LAPD also uses "non-geographic" identifiers for citywide special units.

On Emergency, Cap was a dysfunctional radio user.In the station scenes, he tended to talk into the back side of the hand mic. In reality, extending the HT antenna on xmit gave the antenna better efficiency. The radio would still receive with the antenna collapsed, but not as well--didn't really matter in a strong signal area, but would make a difference in the fringes.

Both Adam 12 and Emergency (as well as Dragnet) were Jack Webb productions. Webb was a stickler for authenticity and I'm a bit surprised that Captain Stanley's radio backwardness wasn't caught and corrected.

I read that when Webb was looking to replace the original Station 51 Captain he hired Mike Norell because he "looked" like a fireman.