Unit ID for apparatus

[dwhitneysr]

OK I get it that Unit IDs change like the wind, however would not individual apparatus such as fire engines, aid units and such not get a static unit id assigned?

Would be nice on my 436 to go ahead and enter those if my assumption is correct.

 

[RBMTS]

Yes you are correct that apparatus ID's usually stay the same. So feel free to program in the ID's that you catch. However keep in mind that sometimes personnel will call in or respond while using their portable radios. So a LT or a Captain might be replying on their portable radio as one of the apparatus units and you might wonder why your radio is not displaying the unit properly on your display. That is where the difficulty comes in.

 

[troymail]

OK I get it that Unit IDs change like the wind, however would not individual apparatus such as fire engines, aid units and such not get a static unit id assigned?

Would be nice on my 436 to go ahead and enter those if my assumption is correct.

Radios (and IDs) assigned to some equipment rarely changes. fire and ems apparatus "mobile" units fall into this category, public works units, etc. The biggest exception here is when equipment is replaced or upgraded - many times this results in new IDs. Another exception is when large department has "reserve" units that are placed in service when the first-line unit goes in for PM or other repairs.

Portable radios (at least in my area) are assigned to units like "Engine 1" (i.e. "Engine 1 portable A", "Engine 1 portable B", etc.). However, some senior officers may have their own portable radios assigned to them personally.

On the police side, while radios (IDs) remain "police units", in my area, the officer "post" assignments change from one shift to the next. In most cases, the best I found I could do is assign a radio to a district.

It's a fun part of the hobby but you really need to keep up with the changes - and they can happen on a daily basis.

 

[dwhitneysr]

Thank you

Thanks I really appreciate the responses, just another aspect to apply as time permits. This week was to make scanner.from-wa.com live

Dave

 

[ffemt613]

To tack onto the topic of Unit IDs (and if i need to start my own thread, let me know and i will), does anyone know of a database on RR that has all the IDs or has anyone thought of possibly trying to come up with this for Fire/EMS and Law?

 

[RBMTS]

There isn't one in RR in any formal mode. People can always create their own database and post it into the RR Wiki. It would need constant updating as the data could change frequently based on the above threads.

 

[QDP2012]

OK I get it that Unit IDs change like the wind, however would not individual apparatus such as fire engines, aid units and such not get a static unit id assigned?

Would be nice on my 436 to go ahead and enter those if my assumption is correct.

As others have mentioned, apparatus IDs won't change often, if the radio is mounted in the vehicle, or if it is assigned to a specific person. Some jurisdictions rely solely/primarily on portable radios. IDs can change often in that case. In many jurisdictions, with some regular listening and tracking of the RIDs, you can probably find several that stay reasonably static.

To tack onto the topic of Unit IDs (and if i need to start my own thread, let me know and i will), does anyone know of a database on RR that has all the IDs or has anyone thought of possibly trying to come up with this for Fire/EMS and Law?

There isn't one in RR in any formal mode. People can always create their own database and post it into the RR Wiki. It would need constant updating as the data could change frequently based on the above threads.

ffemt613, as RBMTS mentioned, the RID/UID data is stored in the RR Wiki; the RRDB is currently not able to handle such data.

In the RR Wiki, the top-level category for RID/UIDs is: RR Wiki: Category:RID/UID Lists. If you follow the link, and scroll-down the page, you will see the state-specific subcategories, like RR Wiki:Category:Washington RID/UIDs.

Any Wiki article that contains RID/UID information should have the appropriate state-level RID/UIDs category applied at the bottom of the page. As you will notice, only a few of the RR Wiki:Category:Washington Trunked Radio Systems have RID/UIDs lists, so far.

If you have any questions about editing an existing Wiki page, or creating a new one, please feel free to ask them in the \Wiki forum.

Hope this helps,

 

[superfreak]

Just an FYI, you can crumple up notes on Seattle Fire IDs. They all are changing.

 

[lowboy654]

To tack onto the topic of Unit IDs (and if i need to start my own thread, let me know and i will), does anyone know of a database on RR that has all the IDs or has anyone thought of possibly trying to come up with this for Fire/EMS and Law?

This is what the Wiki is for look there if its not there then please fell free to add it there.