M/A COM Channels Magazine story on PA-STARNet OpenSky system

[HM1529]

Ben, interesting comment. . . .911 should have a second radio from health. . . is this just eastern area or statewide. . . . health has the radios at hospitals and some of the EMS providers have portables but 911 here (Fayette) hasn't gotten an additional radio.

Curious. . . . very curious. . . . . .

Tony

Our EOC may have one from Health because Montgomery County is its own EMS Council (single county as opposed to many other areas of the state where there are regional EMS councils). Just guessing there.

Montco's radio from PEMA sat on a shelf for quite some time before anyone from PEMA ever came out to show someone how to use it. I have no idea what their current status in our EOC is (turned on or not, etc).

Hospitals down here do have OpenSky radios with the DOH profile in them. DOH apparently does a roll call on its net. Hospitals in Montco have the OpenSky radios for the DOH net and also county radios for the county hospital net (which as far as I know has only been used during tests).

I found out last week that the Bucks Co Health Dept has at least one OpenSky mobile assigned to it as part of some bioterrorism response set-up. I flipped through the radio (with permission from the folks I was working with) and there were voice groups for both PEMA and DOH (as well as a couple Global channels) in the radio. If the other county health departments in the Philly area have a similar arrangement, I've never seen the radios.

The Bucks mobile contained the following voice groups (presumably in two different profiles*):

DOH_SE (southeast)
DOH_ST (statewide)
EMS_SE (southeast)
EMS_ST (statewide)
HOSP_SE (southeast)
PEMA_SW (statewide, not southwest)


SE_Dist
SC_Dist
SW_Dist
NW_Dist
NC_Dist
NE_Dist
CENTRAL
Global 2
Global 1

I can only assume these district channels are DOH districts, but I really don't know for sure. If so, it doesn't make sense since there is a DOH_SE channel in the first group. PEMA only has three regions (east, central, west).

* - Since I don't have my hands on these user unfriendly radios very often, I wasn't sure where to find the profile names. These two groups were accessed by hitting the up arrow to move between groups and then the left and right arrows to move through the channel names...any insight Tony?

 

[Steveradio]

I miss understood him, sorry.. They have two radios that are normally "TURNED OFF" not two sky radios. They have a UHF base for corrections/ parks & utilities that never gets turned on much and of course the sky radio that never works.

Steve

 

[talviar]

Our EOC may have one from Health because Montgomery County is its own EMS Council (single county as opposed to many other areas of the state where there are regional EMS councils). Just guessing there.

The Bucks mobile contained the following voice groups (presumably in two different profiles*):

DOH_SE
DOH_ST
EMS_SE
EMS_ST
HOSP_SE
PEMA_SW (statewide, not Southwest)


SE_Dist
SC_Dist
SW_Dist
NW_Dist
NC_Dist
NE_Dist
CENTRAL
Global 2
Global 1


* - Since I don't have my hands on these user unfriendly radios very often, I wasn't sure where to find the profile names. These two groups were accessed by hitting the up arrow to move between groups and then the left and right arrows to move through the channel names...any insight Tony?

Understood on the EMS Council issue. Don't spend enough time in the EMS arena to know what Harrisburg DOH and such did with the equipment.
Channel naming sucks from the Harrisburg group on the talkgroups. . . . SW=Statewide in some channel groups SW=South West in some channel groups. Need the secret decoder ring to remember which one is which at times.

"Profile name" isn't something you will ever see. Here is what happens. Opensky radio turns on. Goes thru its boot up and then logs into the system. (Have to get sheet out to tell you where the log in id is--looks like a phone number though) The Log in ID tells the system controller to get the "profile" associated with that log in ID.
A profile consists of the talkgroups and talkgroup "zone names" that are in the radio. (Hope I remember right.--will look thru my stuff and try to find it though) There was another name for "zone names" and sticks in my mind that as with all things from harrisburg --gobeldeegook and such--that zone names --> profile and there are two definitions to profile on the radio--again need secret squirrel magic decoder ring to interpret.)

Ben-->I'll find my training manual over the weekend and drop a note to you direct with a few items and put the rest in the group posting here.

Tony