GPS Mic Testing

[bneilson]

Hello all,

I just copied a female testing GPS Microphones on Event 16 (TG: 18912).

She would key up and say "Testing GPS Microphone ##" and then unkey. When she unkeyed there was a data burst after the transmission.

Event 16 is assigned to Cache County but the RID I am showing as a West Jordan PD unit (RID: 39275)

 

[Utah_Viper]

I was about to come ask about this

 

[bneilson]

This might be what is being tested:

http://www.motorola.com/staticfiles...ocuments/_staticFiles/GPS RSM Fall 07_New.pdf

 

[Rolfman]

Any odds on the cops enjoying the indea of being easily located at "anytime". Will always be nice when there is an emergency but. . .

 

[wbloss]

Hello all,

I just copied a female testing GPS Microphones on Event 16 (TG: 18912).

She would key up and say "Testing GPS Microphone ##" and then unkey. When she unkeyed there was a data burst after the transmission.

Event 16 is assigned to Cache County but the RID I am showing as a West Jordan PD unit (RID: 39275)

I'd hesitate to say "assigned" to Cache - this use happened last July for the Cruise-in - linking Cache's VHF Event repeater to UCAN - but this was before wholesale use of UCAN in Cache, so may have been a one-time casual event. Have NOT heard since then here.
Wally

 

[Observer1]

Most officers already have trackable GPS in their laptops. Moving it to the handheld radio isn't much of a change.

 

[Sunshineandmonkeys]

This might be what is being tested:

http://www.motorola.com/staticfiles...ocuments/_staticFiles/GPS RSM Fall 07_New.pdf

Neat gear, but they're fugly. The old Jedi mics look MUCH better........and there's my 2 cents.

 

[bneilson]

I'd hesitate to say "assigned" to Cache - this use happened last July for the Cruise-in - linking Cache's VHF Event repeater to UCAN - but this was before wholesale use of UCAN in Cache, so may have been a one-time casual event. Have NOT heard since then here.
Wally

I had a meeting with Cache Dispatch a few weeks back for an upcoming event and they said they would likely use Event 16. So it sounds like this might be (or become) the default. The "Talkgroup Use" document on the UCAN site lists Event 16 as "Assigned as needed." It was updated in January 2009 and does list St.George and Cedar City for Event 8. This is interesting as there is more UCAN in Cache then down south.

 

[qlajlu]

This may be straying from the original topic of this thread, but I have questions that have perplexed me for quite some time. I think the advances made over the years in police and fire communications is fantastic. An instant GPS location is great particularly when there is a foot pursuit, but has it gone far enough?

Aircraft pilots have, for years, worn masks during flights to supply oxygen and place a microphone in position for hands free communications. The fire departments are constantly using breathing apparatus when they are involved in fighting structure fires and especially for searches of structures. When I hear communications from personnel on the fire ground I hear the breathing apparatus supply the oxygen AND I hear the firemen SHOUTING in order to communicate through their radios. The result is often a communication that is not understood.

Questions (working firemen on this forum speak up):

1. Why don't "they" place a microphone INSIDE the mask on a fireman's breathing apparatus to eliminate the need for shouting? It seems to me that placing the microphone inside the mask would also cut down on misunderstood voice comms.

2. Would a GPS mic be useful on a fireman's radio?

 

[bneilson]

So just to be clear I am not a fire guys...

Your comments are interesting qlajlu. I have copied the same traffic and have struggled to understand the firefighters. There has to be a better way. If they are using their normal speaker mic and yelling through their mask there has to be a better way. I always thought they had a built in like what you described with pilots. But now that I give it some thought, you are probably right.

I am not sure about a GPS mic for a Urban firefighter but for the wild land guys I think it would be great. The Urban guys it would help until they went into the building and then the results would be less then great. I have seen a few of the departments sporting the video mic by Earhugger (a Utah company). Again not sure of the advantage here unless they could transmit the video back to command.

 

[Rolfman]

You want to get off topic. . .

What they need to invent is a GPS unit for vehicles that can receive a page from dispatch that sends the location of the call.

How many times do you hear first responders asking for a reference of address because they are just not sure.

 

[Observer1]

You want to get off topic. . .

What they need to invent is a GPS unit for vehicles that can receive a page from dispatch that sends the location of the call.

How many times do you hear first responders asking for a reference of address because they are just not sure.

The MDT's used by at least SLCPD, SL County and Taylorsville have the location of the call on the screen, the cross coordinates, and then a map, showing the call, plus the location of their own unit, and any other units responding. The map updates as they drive.

 

[Rolfman]

Sorry should have made it more clear. The first responders I was referring to are fire, EMS, and ambulance.

What made me type that was a medical call out here in Tooele County where the Grantsville ambulance was responding to a call in the County and did not know where the street was. I hear this at least a couple times a day out here alone. The MDT’s for police officers makes sense but you could make a small unit like a Magellan for a car to keep the cost down that receives a page of a street address making it the destination point for the unit. That way each unit has it’s own unique paging address or number. Seems to me there is a need and market but not sure there is a product. You see the same approach with Life Flights Outerlink paging where they launch the bird for a general area and page the coordinates when they get them.

 

[Observer1]

Depends on the area. SLC Fire has the same MDT capability as SLCPD. If it were really a big issue the easiest thing would be to buy a Garmin etc and manually put the address in as you're headed to a call.

 

[jim202]

The idea of the mic inside the SCBA for fire use is not new. Problem is that there are so many
different types of radios in use today, that the companies that make the SCBA have not made the
first step in building in the mics. Look at it this way, they would have to provide how many
different models to meet the requirements of the fire service. When something went wrong
with the mask portion of the system, it all goes for repair. Then how do you test the radio
mic part of it? Too many variables at this time for them to make the move.

It would be a good idea, but there are a number of hoops to jump through before we will ever
see this in the fire service. Then on the other hand, a large group like the New York, Boston,
Chicago and the like departments probably could force the issue. So far it hasn't happened.

I have been in the fire service for well over 35 years and sure wish this could get past first base.

Jim

So just to be clear I am not a fire guys...

Your comments are interesting qlajlu. I have copied the same traffic and have struggled to understand the firefighters. There has to be a better way. If they are using their normal speaker mic and yelling through their mask there has to be a better way. I always thought they had a built in like what you described with pilots. But now that I give it some thought, you are probably right.