Hospital Based EMS Radio With Dial

[Plectron479]

worked for many years in the ER and we use to have a Dial Type Motorola radio that we could talk to EMS and the county Station wagons, that they used to throw and go. Yeh this was in the 70's. I would like to find a non functioning radio to have for my desk. If he was able to pick up a frequency that would be ok, but if it never worked that would be fine also. Any ideas where to look for this dinosauer?

 

[Mike-KC8OWL]

You might want to post the same message over on the BatLabs forum board

Batwing Laboratories

 

[RKG]

If your "dial" was a Touch-Tone panel, I'd say it sounds like a HEAR radio.

 

[ecps92]

It likely was a HEAR Radio, but prior to the DTMF there was the use of Rotary Pulse [tried to find and old like to the pictures] with an underlying audio-tone. [Bob - think of the 280 notifications/alerts -the old pulse was still used in the 80/90's along with the DTMF] Maybe Ed will chime in...

If your "dial" was a Touch-Tone panel, I'd say it sounds like a HEAR radio.

 

[CCHLLM]

The key word is "SECODE" dial encoder and decoder for the pulse type mechanical dialer. I have one in front of me that once was in the console at a NCSHP comm center. It was usually tied to a remote radio controller or a console if it was a base station. That model was followed by a DTMF pad that enabled electronically pulsed dialing or DTMF tones, whichever was appropriate for the system in question. I tried Google but got nothing. Maybe when I get some time later today I'll search more.

 

[jim202]

worked for many years in the ER and we use to have a Dial Type Motorola radio that we could talk to EMS and the county Station wagons, that they used to throw and go. Yeh this was in the 70's. I would like to find a non functioning radio to have for my desk. If he was able to pick up a frequency that would be ok, but if it never worked that would be fine also. Any ideas where to look for this dinosauer?

Like one of the other commenter's, it was a SECODE pulse encose. It had a steady tone the pulsed it
when you dialed it. One of the tones was 2800. Forget what the other tone it used was. That goes
back too many years.

 

[Citywide173]

The only ones I remember were SECODE, and they were part of T1600 remotes. I don't recall anything from a portable aspect.

 

[b7spectra]

Back in the 80's when I worked EMS, we had the smaller unit in our ambulances. With the HEAR system (155.3400) in most all hospitals, the channel was "coded" with either 4-7 "digit" encoders. Most all hospitals would keep the encode turned on so they didn't have to listen to all the hospital calls. When I wanted to talk to hospital "A", I would just look on the code sheet and it would tell me to "dial" 1234. When I started, you could hear a tone being sent out and the rotary would break that tone with every pulse. When you were finished dialing, you would simply announce "Unit ## to "A" Hospital" and they would then hear you. In the later years, they switched over to a DTMF pad (just like a fire tone out) to activate the radio on the hospital end.

I'm hoping to find a picture of one of the ones we had in our ambulances!

 

[rfradioconsult]

Secode dial encoder installed in a t1600 series remote, you would dial a 3 digit number to open the squelch on the station you were calling, most operated on 155.34 MHz, tone freq was 2805 Hz.

 

[CCHLLM]

The one I have is one used by NC intercity base stations for law enforcement comms and the tone is definitely 2805 Hz. I know there were tone sets available for 1605, 1805, 2305, and a couple more as there are some defective tone reeds for those freqs in my old service parts box.

 

[ecps92]

Thanks Ed, yup thats it, SECODE was used by many many mobiles [never portables] and base stations.

It's been awhile, since I heard the 280 Disaster Net tests, is it only DTMF now ? or is still SECODE used?

The only ones I remember were SECODE, and they were part of T1600 remotes. I don't recall anything from a portable aspect.

 

[ecps92]

I saw a web site that had photos, but can't find the URL, this was back pre-2004

Back in the 80's when I worked EMS, we had the smaller unit in our ambulances. With the HEAR system (155.3400) in most all hospitals, the channel was "coded" with either 4-7 "digit" encoders. Most all hospitals would keep the encode turned on so they didn't have to listen to all the hospital calls. When I wanted to talk to hospital "A", I would just look on the code sheet and it would tell me to "dial" 1234. When I started, you could hear a tone being sent out and the rotary would break that tone with every pulse. When you were finished dialing, you would simply announce "Unit ## to "A" Hospital" and they would then hear you. In the later years, they switched over to a DTMF pad (just like a fire tone out) to activate the radio on the hospital end.

I'm hoping to find a picture of one of the ones we had in our ambulances!

 

[Plectron479]

sounds like you guys hit it on the head. On the radio you would hear the dial going through as a hospital would test it with another hospital or when I was in a ambulance transporting a patient. We had to dial in a few numbers to open up their radio and then we could get a patch to the hospital. In the madison Wi area, we would contact Dane Co control and they would patch us up with the hospital. In the rural hospital we would just pick up the mike and transmit to get the local hospital or we could dial them. If you had your scanner tuned to 155.340 you would hear the dial tones going through their cycle and then the last tone to open up the radio being called. Wonder if they have those in the junk bin somewhere?

 

[rcvmo]

CCOMS/ or Cleveland, Oh., so to speak had that up until maybe a year ago. That HEAR station could blow us away in Detroit and Ann Arbor.
rcvmo

 

[cmdrwill]

Hear System used 1500 hz 'rip and step'. The 1500 hz tone was interrupted by the dial. The dialing speed was the same as the dial phone which interrupted the telco battery.