MECA Digital: complaints, conjecture, opinions, rants, rumors

[kb9sxk]

:::::yawn::::::

 

[kb9tfh]

Why does everyone have to be so negative? Cant we all just get along?

 

[AK9R]

For one the call taker is the dispatcher for MECA this is NOT hendricks County...

Interesting that MECA would deviate from the procedure used by just about every major dispatch center in the country. Thanks for the update. I'm sure that you have inside information about how MECA operates and confer regularly with MECA's managers.

 

[mmccardia]

I sorta skipped most of the above since it was alot of arguing back an forth. As one whom uses the new system and is responsible for my 40 Officers that use it-- I am very concerned how it works for the police. So far here are my observations. Dispatch center has some serious problems in their consoles that havent been fixed due to a political flap. This is causing the rank an file to say this system sucks. In reality once those are fixed it will be much better but still has some training issues. The biggest is you have to hit the ptt and wait a 1/4 longer and speak clearly into the mic. If you do that the system is clear as a bell. Had a pursuit one of my cars was talking too soon and not clearly and you could not understand them, other officer was calmer and he came through clear as a bell. A much stronger and clearer signal than the analog. I live in that antenna farm of 79th and Michigan area. On analog I might not be able to hit in from inside my house--now its perfect.

Its got some pros and some cons we will have to work through.

 

[rdale]

I watched WISH's newscast last night and the dispatcher story led off (DirectTV thinks I live in Indianapolis so I can get my Purdue games )

Apparently the old system let the calltaker hear the caller and the radio in the same headset. Now they have the caller in the headset and the radio on a desktop speaker. With 71 other speakers in the room 911 Commander wants the board to spend $350K to buy a device to put the radio in their headset too, but the board won't meet to approve because they don't see the need.

 

[loumaag]

...You can quit with putting down people on this fourm as your area also not a "Moderator of this fourm at hand" Scanner freak is in charge and you are not.*Please close this thread* and lock it down!!!

I, for one, wish you would take your own advice. You can neither request or demand (as you often do) that a thread be locked or a post be removed just because you think it is "rude". Stop it.

This entire thread has wandered from the stated purpose in the original posting, and it started with the second post made by the OP. Either it goes back to original intent or I (or some other moderator) will close it.

 

[Dispatch2323]

Pusuit just ended on SE district...Officers asked the officer in pursuit to get rid of back ground news...we can't hear you...kind of hard to kill your siren in a pursuit....transmissions were awful with the siren on.

 

[GTO_04]

Pusuit just ended on SE district...Officers asked the officer in pursuit to get rid of back ground news...we can't hear you...kind of hard to kill your siren in a pursuit....transmissions were awful with the siren on.

Digital radios don't work so well with sirens. I noticed that on SAFE-T also.

GTO_04

 

[AK9R]

...transmissions were awful with the siren on.

I've noticed this, too...on analog talkgroups on SAFE-T.

 

[usswood]

I remember seeing a COPS episode where the pursuing office's siren was auto killed when he hit is PTT key, once the key was released the siren came back on. Has MECA consider this option??

 

[jerk]

I watched WISH's newscast last night and the dispatcher story led off (DirectTV thinks I live in Indianapolis so I can get my Purdue games )

Apparently the old system let the calltaker hear the caller and the radio in the same headset. Now they have the caller in the headset and the radio on a desktop speaker. With 71 other speakers in the room 911 Commander wants the board to spend $350K to buy a device to put the radio in their headset too, but the board won't meet to approve because they don't see the need.

You know the board might not want to meet like I do with my board meetings, it's summer time and people are doing other things. So they get canceled.

Apparently they don't see the need for a regular or an emergency meeting. But I'm not a mind reader and testing apparently turned up no issues that needed immediate fixing.
But 71 speakers in a room would be a bit noisy, but the light helps, especially if it is a latching (and flashing) one. Sounds like a training issue for this distant and uninformed reader. :wink:

 

[AK9R]

I remember seeing a COPS episode where the pursuing office's siren was auto killed when he hit is PTT key, once the key was released the siren came back on. Has MECA consider this option??

That's relatively easy to do when you have a vehicle-mounted radio. Since MECA is issuing the police officers only handhelds, there would have to be some sort of RF sensing device that cut the siren when the radio was keyed. On the other hand, the fire apparatus mostly have vehicle-mounted radios.

 

[rdale]

You know the board might not want to meet like I do with my board meetings, it's summer time and people are doing other things. So they get canceled.

If it's serious enough for a public official to come on the news and say "someone could die from this" -- I think at least one meeting might be in order.

I would hope the board that you run doesn't involve public safety if you cancel them whenever you have something else to do.

 

[jerk]

If it's serious enough for a public official to come on the news and say "someone could die from this" -- I think at least one meeting might be in order.

I would hope the board that you run doesn't involve public safety if you cancel them whenever you have something else to do.

Yep, sure does. So what. That's life, join it and do something about it or remain anonymous poster wanting to talk the talk but not walk the walk. And some issues take time and won't be fixed overnight. Hysterical blather from "officials" doesn't mean there really is a problem fix being worked on or solution forthcoming soon.

And I'm sure you're an expert on boards and when they have to meet now. Just because they say someone may die from it doesn't make it so, not by a long shot. And they have the facts; you and I don't.

This is what every "official" sucking at public money cries when and if they don't get their way. Someone's going to die. Guess what people die every day with or without the government. And they have the rule of safety on their side, if they don't think it's safe, don't do it or get into another line of work. Go to another department has has radios that "work." The first public safety rule... scene safety.

 

[rdale]

Yep, sure does. So what. That's life, join it and do something about it or remain anonymous poster wanting to talk the talk but not walk the walk.

He wasn't anonymous - he was quite clearly the 911 Commander... There's no question.

 

[djl998]

Interesting that MECA would deviate from the procedure used by just about every major dispatch center in the country. Thanks for the update. I'm sure that you have inside information about how MECA operates and confer regularly with MECA's managers.

Um, have you ever listened to IMPD on your scanner? That is indeed how they do it. The dispatchers take calls and put out runs over the air. The person who performs all the other dispatch functions is the control operator. The control op marks officers in/out of service, runs names, etc. Unless they're changing it for some reason, that's how it works.

 

[W9NES]

Ok, I have a question.If youwill look at MMCCARDIA posting #24 of this fourm you will see that he is getting the MECA signal fine in his home and he lives in my area of 79Th and Michigan Road.After seeing his posting on this matter I would ask what I can do without putting up a outdoor antenna with is EXTRA cost to me and is not needed after what MMCCARDIA has said in his posting.I have tried the attenator on my Uniden BC 996T to the on position. Attenator does it s job and I do not get any signal or a turnking channel.When I Take this off I get the signal and off and on trunking channel followerd by NFM. anyone have any ideas as far as settings vs putting up a antenna that I Cannot put up due to the Homeowners Association in my area.Please advise,Thank You.

 

[SCPD]

Joe McAtee used to be the head sheriff for Marion County years ago now he over sees the 911 call center
There are two issues in the 911/Dispatch center

1 The 911Call taker/Dispatcher takes the 911 call and hears that in there head set then they place that call on hold or mute and dispatch the call to PD/FD but they can only use a small Motorola speaker on the desk where in the past both audio was sent through the head set and with 72 Motorola speakers it is to noisy and if the person on the 911 call is loud they can miss what is on the speaker.

2 The 911 console receives the 911 call from ATT phone line or fiber and then sends it to the new computer system and the CAD the problem is the new system does not see the caller ID or location and does not connect right to the CAD and there has been dropped calls as well.

When you call 911 in Marion County it goes to the call taker/dispatcher console then the computer software “Microsoft based” takes the call ID or location sends it to the CAD and the call taker at the same time inputs the callers info in to the CAD then the CAD recommends witch PD officer or Fire Dept takes the call to the incident and the call taker then puts that 911 call on hold or mutes the audio and then dispatches the run based on the CAD info. How ever the CAD has been wrong on the dispatch runs.

ALL of the 911 consoles have been replace with new ones and new computers with new software that links into the new digital radio system this was part of the 37 mill or now about 41 mil for the project

Now as for the radio system it has its own issues
1 Noise issues as with any digital system we all know about
2 The Emergency buttons hanging up the system ”may be fixed”
3 Radios that where not programmed right or software errors
4 Garbled audio in some locations
5 some in building coverage issues
6 some TG not hitting right or on wrong freqs “ may be fixed”

 

[rdale]

Ok, I have a question.If youwill look at MMCCARDIA posting #24 of this fourm you will see that he is getting the MECA signal fine in his home and he lives in my area of 79Th and Michigan Road.

There are no settings you can tweak.

Location location location.

Try different spots in your house. Try upstairs vs downstairs.

Without an external antenna, you are not looking good.

 

[DiGiTaLD]

On analog I might not be able to hit in from inside my house--now its perfect.

Sounds to me like he is on a real subscriber radio and talking about getting in to the system - not trying to listen to it on a made in China wideband scanner.

It would blow your mind if you put a real subscriber radio right next to a scanner and listened to the same traffic. It's a world of difference. For the millionth time, the scanners just do not do well with the LSM CQPSK simulcast P25 CAI.