Batboard

My department has a GM300 (actually two GM300s tied together as a crossband link) in our radio room. We can tone ourselves out using the VHF GM300 by pressing the +/- button and then hitting the button on the desk mic. We use an 8 second long tone.

Is it possible to add more tones to the GM300? We're thinking about controlling the town's tornado sirens with two tone paging. Can I add more tones to the GM300? I think I would need to add three or four sets of QCII tones. If so, what would the procedure be (i.e. number of keystrokes) for setting off the new tones? Even better would be an external interface to the accessory connector so that we could just push a different button for each tone you want to go off.

Whatever I come up with has to be easy easy easy to use...any suggestions to get me pointed in the right direction would be great.

Thank in advance,

Andy

Well, you can add multiple sets of tones to the GM300 by going in and adding more entires in to the phonebook? or something like that. There is a list manager for MDC/QCII that's kinda like a phonebook option - you put a certain number in there that would call up that item, and key the radio up, it'll put the tone/page/whatever out.

However, I don't think there's a way to trigger the different commands using external wiring, unless, you were to tap the actual pressure pads that are +/- and select.

I don't remember how many different sets of tones you can have, but you can have a number of them.

But, you'd have to simply hit select, use +/- to select the mode (CA = Call Alert, SC = Select Call, etc) then hit +/- to find the # for the tones, and hit PTT.

It's been a long time since I programmed a maxtrac - so I'm rusty on the exact menu items in the software to go into, someone who has touched the software in the past 6 years might be better suited to explain. But, you can add multiple sets of user selectable QCII tones without much of a problem to the GM300.

-Alex

Ok I found a UHF GM300 to play around with and learn the software a little bit better. I can see how to add multiple tones...that shouldn't be any problem. I have another question now.

There are two ways I can send the tones out (that I've found so far). I can either use the Select Call (flashes "SC" on the radio) or Call Alert (flashes "CA" on the radio). If I use Call Alert (what the department is currently using), it appears that after the tone is sent the radio stays in Call Alert mode for about 15 seconds. If the PTT is hit during that time, the tones are sent again. To get out of CA mode you have to hit a button on the front panel of the radio. Same thing happens when in Select Call mode, but the difference here is that if I hold the PTT down during the page, then I can talk after the tones are done. If I release the PTT though it's just like CA...stays in SC mode for some time before reverting back to normal operation and if I hit PTT during that time the tones are sent again.

Is there a way that I can get it to revert back to normal operation immediately after sending the tones without having to push panel buttons?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Andy

I don't believe so.

You'd have to hit select again to change modes...

Depending on if your in CA or SC - it might take a press or two.

-Alex

I found something to help with this, even if it doesn't solve it completely. In the RSS there is a parameter that dictates how long the radio stays in "SC" or "CA" mode after the select button is pressed. The same amount of time applies after the page is sent. It was at 15 seconds...knocking it down to 3-5 seconds is better...just wait those 3-5 seconds until "CA" stops flashing, then talk.

Andy