Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Mark, my words !
WOW has this day been hectic ! Or maybe I should say YEAR !!
B4 eye 4get, knew aUdIo PHILES posted !! Check the Websight !
(the following was compiled over the last two daze)
I’m sitting here with the 800 Mega Hurts Flu (it’s possible) and watching my 911 display on my computer screen and besides a fuel spill on the turnpike on Fire TAC 10, a major mobile home fire in Loyalhanna Township on Fire TAC 3, someone exposing themselves to young children on PD District 4 TG 64, another turkey scamming the elderly, Irwin Police having problems hearing each other on TG 38, District 6 – Rostraver Police on their TAC Channel thinking they are talking in secret when in fact the whole world (via GMan’s web link) can listen to them, Indiana County Saltsburg Fire Department Station 131 attempting to call 911 without any luck, EMA Director 57 screaming so loud in his microphone that my neighbors heard him and they don't own a scanner, no one can understand his orders at a FIRE SCENE (audio on this later)… what a mess.
The 800 Meggy Hurts system has dumped quite a few transmissions and has begun to start it’s echo reject mode along with it’s digi-crap noise, then it revebs at a 193kb per second trigger until it finally gives birth to a new talk group.
HEY, This is what great EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION systems are made of ! Junk MOTOROLA crap on a funked up and poorly designed system running on Telephone Lines that are prone to fail.
Remember folks, this is more of a TELEPHONE SYSTEM then it is a RADIO SYSTEM with all transmissions going over phone lines BEFORE it ever goes over the air. Remove the phone lines and we DO NOT have a communications system. ZAP, BANG, CRASH, POW. MARK, my words !
When the system goes into fault it starts to send “reject” commands, then I see a “ -1 “ on my dispatch screen. I haven't a clue what 911 sees on their monitor as I've never been invited up to the center, but I would imagine it's something like an upside down middle finger with thorns.
I had approximately 100 to 150 “ -1 “ hits in a row and WHOEVER has the portable radio with the serial number of 25447 (ESN) has problems, transmitting on just about every TalkGroup we have with nothing more than a key up. No voice, just playing around during this extremely busy radio period ! This is not a toy, although some of the radios look like them.
Johnny (Director 57) was all over the place too including a guest appearance on EMA SOUTH TALK GROUP #8, which I don’t think has ever been used before ! It’s nice to see that 911 was even monitoring that Talk Group. Now if they would monitor the talkgroups that actually have people calling them, that would be GREAT ! (not a dispatcher problem, poorly set up software !)
Shito, Johnny was as busy as Bill Fleming today (Bill, guy up at 911. Has a title of Supreme Commander of All Things Electronic ! Actually, I don’t know Bill but all the people that I talk to respect him as opposed to the comments I hear about Dan Stevens. Bill is suppose to do good work, like me... and his real title is Chief Training Officer, Clean/NCIC Administrator).
Bill and I are going to have lunch tomorrow but he doesn’t know it yet. I’m just waiting on his phone call. Hey Bill, Joe N. has my phone number, just ask him. I’ll even let you buy !
Lights and Siren Optional.I received an interesting email from someone “in the know” and I was enlightened on several aspects of our 911 center. That is some of the stuff this Blah-ger enjoys reading, stuff from the beginning of our 911 system up to today. Of course the email sender will remail Anonymous, my promise to all.
I can only remember as far back as Dick Hunger. That is when we had GOOD MANAGEMENT at the WESTMORELAND CO. DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY. That man had a head on his shoulders, and we had GREAT COMMISSIONERS backing him up, like TERRY MAROLT (God Bless his soul, he was one of the NICEST and KINDEST gentleman you would ever meet, and no one sitting in a commissioners chair right now can come close to taking care of business like Terry did for this county ! I knew him for 38 years and believe me, if he were still alive we would not have this 800 Mhz problem !)
(Terry Marolt - a true friend of the county - the Commish)
I did not have a chance to contact the Department of Homeland Security today, but within the next few days I’ll make my follow up call. I’d like to meet with the next person that comes to Westmoreland County for their follow-up inspection, perhaps I could put him through the Blah-gers TEST !
While we are at it maybe we could open 10 more boxes of new radios to see if 4 out of the next 10 are D.O.A.
In some 800 Meggy Hurts updates, Norvelt Ambulance Station has their 800 Mhz radios now but they aren’t in use just yet. J.F. has called for some training classes for all medics and users of the system.
Mutual Aid Ambulance Service (MAAS) is NOW COMPLETE ! All ambulances, portables and bases are installed and programmed and most of them work (gasp). More and more MAAS is using the 800 service, more and more they are saying "WHAT", "10-9", "Go back to VHF so I can hear you".
Welcome to the Twilight Zone !
Oh, and while I'm thinking of this... how come MAAS has all of these county radios, but they are not on the "county" system, meaning they do not get dispatched from the 911 center. They are a separate entity.
They are on the same set of 800 Mhz Freak Quencys, but not really a part of the 911 system. They even have their own set of Talk Groups including dispatch, TACS and Pizza Ordering.
I'll have to give this one some mora thoughta...
Markle VFD still hasn’t received their BASE RADIO back from Staley’s. Remember this is the third radio that they have had for a base radio and all three were D.O.A.
I have a theory. You buy a radio from Motoroldla, when you receive it the "WARRANTY" begins, but the radio doesn't work ! So you send it back UNDER "WARRANTY" and it is returned D.O.A. again. So after 6 or 7 times of doing this the radio actually comes back and works for a week, but now it's "OUT OF WARRANTY".
So you send it back again, OUT OF WARRANTY and it is repaired in LIGHTNING SPEED at a cost of $1,300, or roughly 45,000 Yen. It works from this point on or until the firmware expires, which you will then need to send it back to the factory for an update.
Mind you, this is only a theory.
I was taken back in thoughts this early AM to the FIRE TRUCK FIRE that Oklahoma, Fire Station 49 had.
Remember, as I understand, Radio Maintenance People or someone assigned or associated with them installed a radio in one of their trucks and didn’t leave enough room for the wires to bend under the hood and by opening and closing the hood once or twice just cut the HELL out of those wires, causing the Fire Truck to catch fire.
When I think about this I can only laugh… WAIT PLEASE !
I do not laugh at the fact lives could have been lost and property WAS, nor do I laugh at the fact it put Oklahoma Fire Department in a Hairy Picky Wickit, nor do I laugh at the extra manpower it took Oklahoma cleaning up all that mess, nor am I laughing at the chance it could and probably will happen again… BUT I LAUGH BECAUSE THE RADIO TECH ACTUALLY WIRED THE RADIO LIKE THAT !
MY GOODNESS, that is Radio Course 101. In fact I bet a chef at the Sheraton Inn / 4 Points could install radios better than I've seen being installed in these expensive fire trucks and police cars. Good Gravy Mr. S...
Incorrect Radio Installation, Course 101: To you mechanics, that would be like putting oil in the gas tank or for you painters it would be like using a tooth-pick as a brush, or to you attorneys, it would be like you using Dr. Seuss to write your next brief, need I say more ?
I just hope Okalahoma FD gets a new truck out of the whole ordeal and a nice new EF Johnson 800 Mhz Radio.
Oh, and speaking of EF Johnson I had a nice conversation with EF Johnson’s Westmoreland County Radio Representative, Kip Wilson.. He was quite unaware of the Follies that are going on and promised to check out the Blah-g. Nice man that Kip is.
Hope to see more EF Johnson radios in use here in the county soon… I’m glad someone can give Motoroldla some competition !
MARK, get out your programming book.
Programming note: A bit of humor (If I’m not enough for you) follows below. Please, put down anything that has small bones in it before reading.
Who wanna know more ?
If you are totally confused about this radio system and how it works and why I am concerned about the safety of our first responders and the general population of Westmoreland County and why this Blah-g even exists and you would like me to explain it to you on a one 2 one basis … just send me a private email and we can set up a time where I will call you.
Yes, you don’t even have to pay for a toll call, how is that for service !
Because I am only one person and you are many (let me think about that), this free service is reserved for those first responders like cops, firemen, medics and the like.
NO PARK MAINTENANCE, NO COURT HOUSE MAINTENANCE, NO TOW TRUCKS, NO ROAD CREWS, Damn !
All those other “services” received 800 Meggy Hurts radios and they ARE NOT first responders… and we paid for them !! I get so pissed at our Commissioners for allowing this system to get so out of hand.
I could have had 500 PLAZZEMA TEE VEE’S for what we paid for those services to have 800 Meg Ah Hurtz Radios !
Ok, 500 Plasma TV’s is a bit much. So, give me the 20 Corvettes instead ! Same difference.
OR, get this. For what we paid to have those NON-First Responders on our Emergency Communications Network of the Future we could have fed 1,000,000 needy families this Christmas time.
Or at least bought 18.2 families a NEW HOUSE !! Geeeesh !
God Help Us !
DECODED,
K3SAM
http://800.k3sam.com – website for you
news@k3sam.com – email address for all, tips and comments
just for the hell of it...
Almost 150 years ago, President Lincoln found it necessary to hire a private investigator, Alan Pinkerton, for protection. That was the beginning of the Secret Service (SS).
Since that time, federal police authority has grown to a large number of multi-letter agencies, FBI, CIA, NSA, INS, IRS, DEA, ATF, etc.
Now comes the Federal Air Transportation Airport Security Service . Can't you see them now? These highly trained men and women in their black outfits with large white initials across their backs. . .
F. A. T. A. S. S.
I feel safer already!
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TOP 10 THOUGHTS FOR 2005
*Number 10 - Life is sexually transmitted. *
*Number 9 - Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die. *
*Number 8 - Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich. *
*Number 7 - Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.
*Number 6 - Some people are like a Slinky.....not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.
*Number 5 - Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing. *
*Number 4 - All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism . *
*Number 3 - Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty cents? *
*Number 2 - In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal. *
*AND THE NUMBER 1 THOUGHT FOR 2005: We know exactly where one cow with mad-cow-disease is located among the millions and millions of cows in America but we haven't got a clue as to where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe we should put the Department of Agriculture in charge of immigration*
FATASS, right ! have a nice day... da Blah-ger
