Hi all! I'm new here but looking for some help. I hope I'm posting this in the correct spot. My dispatch center utilizes the MCC 7500 and we are trying to figure out how to set up 2 tone paging for our fire department. As of now we simply use the alert tones built into the system but are trying to move away from that. Would we need to have the quickcall module for the MCC 7500 (if that even exists)? We are on a trunked P25 system. If anyone has any answers it would be greatly appreciated!
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MCC 7500 Console Fire Paging Setup
- Thread starter zrcook
- Start date
Yes I do. I haven't been able to figure it out in there.
You really really need to ask this question to the system administrator/radio service provider/authorized technician for your console.
Way too many times a tech is called out for a "problem" only to find out someone tried to modify something on their own but didn't tell the tech, only to rack up several hours of labor.
Way too many times a tech is called out for a "problem" only to find out someone tried to modify something on their own but didn't tell the tech, only to rack up several hours of labor.
This, especially since PM changes are needed.
Ditto on that. If you're trying to page manually, Motorola has an inexplicably peculiar hex scheme for determining the two tones that will be sent (for example, entering something like 1e71 will send two specific tones, while 1e7h will send something completely different. This oddball scheme is a holdover from the Centracom Gold Elite.
Best to have a properly trained tech set it up so that a quick-access button can be created for each pair of tones and transmitter pre-select that's needed.
+1 for getting the system administrator/technician involved, Provisioning Manager (look for three green light's - bad Star Trek type of joke with my crew there), able to access and edit via Elite Admin, and logged in as astrousr or equivalent to make changes is not for the curious.
We just moved to MCC7550e consoles, and little things are different from the older MCC7550 dispatch consoles.....different enough to be annoying. Might be wise to have the local Motorola Service Tech handy as well unless you want SZ$ popping up on the console resources, or odd audio indicators within those console resources flashing.
We just moved to MCC7550e consoles, and little things are different from the older MCC7550 dispatch consoles.....different enough to be annoying. Might be wise to have the local Motorola Service Tech handy as well unless you want SZ$ popping up on the console resources, or odd audio indicators within those console resources flashing.
First, see if you can send a page manually. The procedure is explained in the MCC7500 user' Guide.
Sending a Standard Page (Manually)
Procedure:
1 From the toolbar, select the Standard Page button.
2 In the Standard Page dialog box, select the Manual tab.
3 the Manual tab, in the text box, enter a <Pager ID>.
4 Perform the following actions:
a From the Format drop-down list, select the paging format.
b From the Resource drop-down list, select the paging resource.
c From the Frequency drop-down list, select the paging frequency.
If any of that is unclear or you don't have the answers to fill in the fields - you have confirmed the need for technical assistance.
Sending a Standard Page (Manually)
Procedure:
1 From the toolbar, select the Standard Page button.
2 In the Standard Page dialog box, select the Manual tab.
3 the Manual tab, in the text box, enter a <Pager ID>.
4 Perform the following actions:
a From the Format drop-down list, select the paging format.
b From the Resource drop-down list, select the paging resource.
c From the Frequency drop-down list, select the paging frequency.
If any of that is unclear or you don't have the answers to fill in the fields - you have confirmed the need for technical assistance.
Thank you all for your replies! So I likely should have clarified, I will not be doing this myself. I am working our system admin and comm guys to figure this out as well as our Motorola rep. They have never heard of fire tones and so they are a bit confused. They thought I was just talking about the alert tones and their suggestion was to just change the audio file for these but that is not the solution we are wanting to use. I guess my basic question would be if we need another piece of software or a module in order to use this function? All of our portables and mobiles have the Quick call II module. Thank you all very much for your help!
KevinC wrote: I suggest you get new “comm guys”
Agree 100%
You don' need to add any software or "modules" to the system. Paging has been a console feature for decades.
Assuming you have a record of the QC-II tones that are programmed into your portables and mobiles, a proper "comm guy" translates them into the console 'Pager ID'
Then you sit at the console and send the page manually. Once you have verified the ID, format, resource, and channel, a proper "comm guy" can add paging resources to a desired configuration folder.
Then, all the dispatcher has to do to alert you is click on a Quick-page 'button'
Agree 100%
You don' need to add any software or "modules" to the system. Paging has been a console feature for decades.
Assuming you have a record of the QC-II tones that are programmed into your portables and mobiles, a proper "comm guy" translates them into the console 'Pager ID'
Then you sit at the console and send the page manually. Once you have verified the ID, format, resource, and channel, a proper "comm guy" can add paging resources to a desired configuration folder.
Then, all the dispatcher has to do to alert you is click on a Quick-page 'button'
There is a spreadsheet out there (pretty sure I got it from Motorola) which allows you to select two different QC2 tones, and the spreadsheet will spit out the proper hex code for the console to generate the correct tones. I'd attach the spreadsheet file to this message, but I can't find it.
Contact your Motorola service rep and/or system technologist and ask for a copy of it; since the 7100 and 7500 consoles still use that same format to manually send tones, the spreadsheet has to be floating around up in Schaumburg somewhere. And you'll need those hex codes to set up paging pre-select buttons on the console (minimum necessary info is the hex code, and the name of the resource(s) you want to route the tones to).
I'll concur with everybody else, though; if your 'comm guys' have no idea what fire tones are, you need new comm guys. Two-tone paging is part of the Land Mobile Radio 101 course; any tech out in the field should know what it is.
I suggest you get new “comm guys”.
Funny! (Unfortunately not off base)
As others have referenced, doing this right is not for the meek. For system admins, this is/should be within their ability. BUT the 1st thing YOU need to do is define what are the goals of your dept. (End user and Console) A well thought out paging template accounts for paging/alerting (Examples below)
All individual shifts.
Admin staff groups (EX Batt chiefs, Lieutenants, etc)
Other individual groups (EX Hazmat, Water Rescue, etc)
Do you want to alert specific fire stations?
ALL CALL
Other considerations. Will you be paging/alert over a conventional analog system, P25 conventional, P25 trunked? (You mentioned you are on trunked system, but many fire departments leverage both conventional and trunked when dealing with alerting and voice needs)
What type of device are you expecting to alert? LMR Radio? Tone and Voice pager? Station alert? (Or combinations)
Etc., etc,
Your dispatch center "could" do this without Provisioning Manager. (IE Manual Page), but I guarantee your center will hate this. From a console perspective, your end goal should be single button paging. (Individual and/or group)
