Radio Dispatch (CAD)

[RescueGroup]

Hello Guys,

Greetings from Denmark.

I hope you guys can point us in the right direction and maby supply us with some feedback.
We are in need of a small and easy CAD-setup for when we do event safety/event security.

We are experiencing problems when having many radios in play at once. Often we simply lack the ability to create alias for a certain UnitID on the fly – and get them decoded on our dispatch computer. We are therefor looking for a small one or two man dispatch setup. (we have computers, monitors etc.)

Our radio fleet today consists of approx. 150/200 handheld radios (Kenwood TK3160/TK3360 – European version)

We use a 5-tone(EIA) radio setup, and decodes signals on a Kenwood TK-8189e or TK8160e.


Best and kind regards
Mark

 

[dgruver911]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you here, but as an assistant director of a Dispatch center I think you are looking for a complex solution to the wrong problem.

CAD software is not going to fix this. CAD, in very simple terms, is for entering calls and tracking units, and generating activity reports. What it sounds like you are looking for is radio dispatch console software that displays the radios ID, or just simply a decoder that you can connect to your dispatch radio that displays them. The console software will cost you a ton of money and involve more equipment than you really want to carry with you to various events; The encoders not so much, but I'm not all that familiar with them, perhaps someone else can shed some light.

Either way, it sounds like it comes down to radio discipline. Why are the radio ID's so important to need to be displayed? Are the users not speaking clearly enough to be understood, or are the dispatchers not able to hear them due to the setup, environment, or other factors? Or are there just simply so many units talking that no one can tell them apart? Having the ID pop up is not anywhere as important as the radio traffic they are speaking. Perhaps some better radio etiquette and/or setting up an incident command system where you assign divisions on separate channels so that only the divisions chiefs talk to dispatch would alleviate the problem. This is the way ICS works around the US...not everyone needs to talk to everyone else, plain and simple.

I know this may not be the answer you were looking for, but hope it helps.

Hello Guys,

Greetings from Denmark.

I hope you guys can point us in the right direction and maby supply us with some feedback.
We are in need of a small and easy CAD-setup for when we do event safety/event security.

We are experiencing problems when having many radios in play at once. Often we simply lack the ability to create alias for a certain UnitID on the fly – and get them decoded on our dispatch computer. We are therefor looking for a small one or two man dispatch setup. (we have computers, monitors etc.)

Our radio fleet today consists of approx. 150/200 handheld radios (Kenwood TK3160/TK3360 – European version)

We use a 5-tone(EIA) radio setup, and decodes signals on a Kenwood TK-8189e or TK8160e.


Best and kind regards
Mark

 

[Firebuff880]

Hello Guys,

Greetings from Denmark.

I hope you guys can point us in the right direction and maby supply us with some feedback.
We are in need of a small and easy CAD-setup for when we do event safety/event security.

We are experiencing problems when having many radios in play at once. Often we simply lack the ability to create alias for a certain UnitID on the fly – and get them decoded on our dispatch computer. We are therefor looking for a small one or two man dispatch setup. (we have computers, monitors etc.)

Our radio fleet today consists of approx. 150/200 handheld radios (Kenwood TK3160/TK3360 – European version)

We use a 5-tone(EIA) radio setup, and decodes signals on a Kenwood TK-8189e or TK8160e.


Best and kind regards
Mark

Are you looking for Computer Aided Dispatch or a Radio Console like the Telex RoIP dispatch system..
Telex Radio Dispatch

 

[DisasterGuy]

I have to agree with dgruver. If this is critical to you however the simplest solution would be a very simple database that matched the radio ID to the user.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

 

[RescueGroup]

Hi dgruver911,

First - I'm sorry for the late reply, somehow the notification e-mail got marked as *SPAM* :|

Your right - We are diffently looking for at dispatch console software, to make it easier for our operators.

Radio dicipline is much needed, but many radio users are volunteers who have no experience with radios and offen will not be able to attend a course in radio dicipline. So we have to work with what we got, and therefor it will be helpfull to assign a name to a radio, maby also a comment with the location.

Our own security/safety staff works in teams with internal simplex comms and the teamleader has an extra radio on the MOC(mobile operations centre) security-channel.


Your reply was most helpfull. We have already bought an encoder/decoder system from Midian electronic and also Kenwood KAS-10.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you here, but as an assistant director of a Dispatch center I think you are looking for a complex solution to the wrong problem.

CAD software is not going to fix this. CAD, in very simple terms, is for entering calls and tracking units, and generating activity reports. What it sounds like you are looking for is radio dispatch console software that displays the radios ID, or just simply a decoder that you can connect to your dispatch radio that displays them. The console software will cost you a ton of money and involve more equipment than you really want to carry with you to various events; The encoders not so much, but I'm not all that familiar with them, perhaps someone else can shed some light.

Either way, it sounds like it comes down to radio discipline. Why are the radio ID's so important to need to be displayed? Are the users not speaking clearly enough to be understood, or are the dispatchers not able to hear them due to the setup, environment, or other factors? Or are there just simply so many units talking that no one can tell them apart? Having the ID pop up is not anywhere as important as the radio traffic they are speaking. Perhaps some better radio etiquette and/or setting up an incident command system where you assign divisions on separate channels so that only the divisions chiefs talk to dispatch would alleviate the problem. This is the way ICS works around the US...not everyone needs to talk to everyone else, plain and simple.

I know this may not be the answer you were looking for, but hope it helps.

 

[RescueGroup]

Hi Firebuff880,

The telex setup is simply to expensive :| but thanks

 

[sirsmiley]

If you are using kenwood radios, why are you not using the alias that kenwood uses? They can do DTMF/MDC1200 and the alias/ids will show up on your radios right? You can see who is talking....You can even do over the air reprogramming on most newer models of kenwood radios....

you can also get various software to pull data from a kenwood mobile hooked up via serial port to a pc that will display an id/alias who is keying up..

That is one advantage of the kenwoods over the trbo where they do not support over the air alias (and the alias needs to be programmed into every radio)

On a kenwood (at least nexedge digital even conventional) it will spit out the id/alias onto the radio via the transmitting radio

 

[kb4mdz]

The dispatcher is really the front line of radio discipline; sometimes called 'net control', both the job function and the pattern of operation. Just because you have many volunteers who may not be able to attend classes doesn't mean they can't be taught proper etiquette; it just has to be done a) remotely, and probably more important, b) by good example.

(an image just came to my mind here; Dispatcher should be like a 'pack leader' showing calm assertive leadership, like shown in the show we have here in the States, called "Dog Whisperer"; with Cesar Milan. ).

Define the protocol of information transfer; unit callsigns, format of delivery, calling & responding, etc.
Reward proper operation of users by responding to them quickly & concisely, very very very subtley ignore (punish has such negative connotations!) users who don't operate correctly, Never criticize over the air; make notes & take issues offline immediately afterwards if needed. Perhaps provide 'cue cards' to users to refer to, with the 'bullet points' of protocol.

Work hard on fixing the people problems of your operation; use technology (the unit ID/alias thing, for example) to enhance that; don't use technology to fix a people-problem.

An aphorism: When you go to train your dog, make sure that you're smarter than the dog. Same for people.