Batboard

On top of the HT750's there is an orange button, what is this used for???

Typically programmed to be a emergency alert button that an officer would push. Dispatch would typically recieve a radio ID that an officer was in trouble. Through RSS/CPS that button can be made to do alot of things.

our genius dept made that the "revert to home" button...rather than the emerg. ID

[quote="thebigphish"]our genius dept made that the "revert to home" button...rather than the emerg. ID[/quote]

See if you can get the details for the conversion?

some of the options are emergency siren, scan on/off, nuisance delete etc... Check the CPS for complete list.

My dealer programmed mine to repeater talkaround; I made him change it to emergency alert as soon as I found out.

Same thing on the Vertex radios, whose orange buttons were obviously copied from the HT1000. Completely programmable in the RSS; my two VX-900s are set for SCAN/G-SCAN/NO SCAN sequencing by successive button actuations. Of course these are non-PS radios, otherwise I might have them set up in a different way.

On our Kenwood radios that don't use PTT-ID or emergency features, I use it for the backlight

Wow! Thanks For the quick replys!

on the HT-750 it can not be set up as Emergency only as siren on off

Kit:

That is only true of very early firmware versions. After one of the firmware revisions (somwhere in the R03.xx.xx range??) they enabled MDC Emergency support on the HT750.

What is this "siren" thin you keep talking about? What does it do, make a woo woo woo over the air??

HumHead wrote:Kit:

That is only true of very early firmware versions. After one of the firmware revisions (somwhere in the R03.xx.xx range??) they enabled MDC Emergency support on the HT750.

Only in the 16-channel versions, firmware version 5.00.03 & above.

Todd

On our 5AN HT-1250*LS radios, you get "Siren" -you press that and it emits an ear splitting car alarm sound. Useless--good for scaring the crap out of custmers on the casino floor. You can also put Channel Revert on it and perhaps make up an Emergency channel for it to switch to. You have to have a 6AN and or Waris with firmware at a certain level to get the MDC alerting for dispatch.

i wish i would have known that when i picked up 2 in 2000 for the rail road i would have gotten 16 ch or just spent a little more for the 1250.


new in 2000 new batts 2004 in rail service still going strong

Yeah siren mode simply does that - emits a siren. It dosent do anything over the air though.

It plays a siren over the speaker. What the hell is the point of that???

Kind of like the "panic" button on your car key fob...

In case you lose your radio and a kid picks it up and hits the button... Makes it easier to track it down.

similar to man down like on SCBA's.

We have this programmed on our portables at the station and it is only to be used when we are sperated for some reason and can not call for help.

There is a downside to programmable buttons; virtually all fire departments in the Boston area use the same portables but have different button programming, which means that if you pick up a portable from another department (maybe you are running for coverage without a pilot), you don't know what the buttons do.

In my judgment, this problem is compounded by the practice of using the orange button for anything other than emergency, and therefore the programmers around here strongly discourage that. If your system doesn't take advantage of the emergency function, we program this button for null. It would be a bad thing for someone to pick up a radio, press orange thinking it will turn on the display light, and inadvertently send an emergency alert.

RKG:

Just out of curiosity, what is the model/mfr of that HT that's widely used in the Boston-area FDs?

Regards,

HT1000, for both the PDs and FDs. In last couple of years, some FDs have gone to HT1250s, and shortly all MetroFire (District 13) will likely migrate to XTS5000, which will become the MetroFire standard.

For my money, the HT1000 is one of the best portable radios ever brought to market. It has more than enough features, and later models will handle the narrow splits. It is nearly indestructible (except for the antenna connector); I've had some that had been sitting in 6 inches of water for a hour that were dried out and put back into service without a glitch. We program the A-B-C switch for Scan-Repeat-Direct, so it can be done by feel, and (since few departments use more than 3 or 4 channels), we duplicate the working channel programming from both sides of the selector stop (i.e., ch. 1 and 16 the same, 2 and 15 the same, etc.), so channel selection can also be done by feel. If only we could train users to accept that "antenna" and "handle" are not the same, we'd have a radio that will last forever.

On my STX821 it can be set to "Volume Set" "Emergency" or "phone patch."

Does anyone know why the Sabers use a secret hidden button for emergency activation located on the "secure/clear" toggle switch?

Louie

LACityFD wrote:Does anyone know why the Sabers use a secret hidden button for emergency activation located on the "secure/clear" toggle switch?

Louie

Don't know why, but I actually like it that way. I have had no inadvertent emergency activation on my systems and astro saber (unlike say my XTS radio). I dont think the button needs to be orange and easily accessible, as long as your personnel is trained on how to use the radio and send an alarm if needed. I feel as if the Saber not-so-orange button is also a lot more difficult to press my mistake - idk, works for me.

While on the topic: is there any other radio other than the system saber (and vx-5r yaesu, but lets keep to M only please) that will emit a beeping signal with any voice traffic on PTT? I think it is an excellent feature - that way you can always tell if an activated unit is talking...

As in: a) accidental activation b) dispatcher checks welfare over the air c) user resets and states no problem
Or
a) user in distress activates b) dispatcher checks welfare over the air c) unit in distress does not reset. instead checks over the air that he is "ok", but beeping in background, which cant be heard on the transmitting radio waves red flag...

Just a wild thought...

Well some Fire Dept's use the orange button and siren through the speaker for use in man down in a structure. It can help to locate a firefighter by the siren sound. Mostly it was used before SCOTTS air packs had PAtH device for man down.

That all I know the in radio siren was used for.

WOW! I never knew that the secure toggle had a botton in there! Very interesting... What is everyone prgimg that button to do other than emerg?

Some have the button, some don't. Here's what it looks like (on an "R")

http://oh3tr.ele.tut.fi/~ftp/modificati ... ssaber.jpg

wavetar wrote:

HumHead wrote:Kit:

That is only true of very early firmware versions. After one of the firmware revisions (somwhere in the R03.xx.xx range??) they enabled MDC Emergency support on the HT750.

Only in the 16-channel versions, firmware version 5.00.03 & above.

Todd

That's odd, I have an HT750 here (AAH25RDC9AA2AN), R05.09.06, and it doesn't support MDC alerting from the top button.

I use mine for hi/low power.

I use mine for MPL (on an MTS2K, no idea if a Waris can do the same.)

On my Jedi series, I use the orange button for NUISANCE DELETE.