Pager Programing

[Camerons1217]

I am looking to purchase a pager as I am about to be affiliated with a nearby department. Is it possible to purchase a pager and program it with information on the radio reference page listed below.

QV Quinebaug Valley Fire Dispatch (Connecticut) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference for QV Quinebaug Valley Fire Dispatch (Connecticut)

www.radioreference.com

 

[mmckenna]

I am looking to purchase a pager as I am about to be affiliated with a nearby department. Is it possible to purchase a pager and program it with information on the radio reference page listed below.

QV Quinebaug Valley Fire Dispatch (Connecticut) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference for QV Quinebaug Valley Fire Dispatch (Connecticut)

www.radioreference.com

Not if you are expecting it to work correctly.

If you are 'affiliated' with an agency, they should give you a properly programmed pager.
If they are expecting you to supply your own, wait and make sure you get all the information you need from them. Ideally, they'll have a recommended make/model and the correct programming software and cable, and likely a premade file to load into it.

 

[ofd8001]

I agree with the above mostly. There may be some budget limited organizations that are unable to provide pagers, though probably few and far between.

Assuming there is an expectation for you to provide your own pager (or use of a scanner in Fire Tone Out mode), the organization should be able to provide you with the correct programming info.

I do see they have a dispatch frequency that is commonly associated with paging. (My home county uses the same frequency for tone and voice paging.)

 

[mmckenna]

It would be foolish to rely on information from a hobby radio site to program public safety radio equipment.

There's a mix of VHF high band and VHF low band dispatch channels. Knowing which band pager to purchase to receive the tones is not covered by the database. Knowing the tones specific to their department/station is not covered by the database.

If the agency is expecting a new member to purchase their own pager, they will likely:
1. Have a recommended radio shop that will make sure the individual gets the correct model/band and that it gets programmed correctly, and likely at some sort of agreed upon or contract pricing.
2. Have a recommended model that they have programming cable/software for, along with a proven good file to load into it, which would remove the risk of a new person programming it incorrectly and missing a page when they are needed.
or
3. Have the correct/verified data to provide to the individual so they can have the pager programmed themselves.