waking up for the pager

jmr3865 · Post by **jmr3865** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 4:51 pm

Does anybody have any suggestions about waking up for the pager. I used a amp charger, it is worse with that. I even have one of those old plectrons. That doesnt do it either! I need help!

stvnd53 · Post by **stvnd53** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 5:10 pm

Put the pager on your wifes side of the bed.When it goes off in the middle of the night,she will throw it at you.If that don't wake you up,your on your owne!Learned this the hard way!

jmr3865 · Post by **jmr3865** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 5:13 pm

I'm single!

Sun Apr 24, 2005 5:39 pm

jmr3865 wrote:I'm single!

Lucky bastard.

Good idea though Steve!

jmr3865 · Post by **jmr3865** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 5:44 pm

yea, too bad it wount work for me, but sounds good! You dont even have to ASK for that to happen!

jim · Post by **jim** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 6:03 pm

Install a trigger relay in the charger base with a latch circuit. Install a noise-maker of your choice along with a lamp to annoy the hell out of you. Using a 120V receptacle through the relay, you can plug in a standard lamp.

Sit the pager where you can't reach it in bed.

If that doesn't wake you up, use a Federal 350 series 120V buzzer.

jmr3865 · Post by **jmr3865** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 6:05 pm

whats a trigger relay?
latch circuit?
whats a federal 350?

Vern · Post by **Vern** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 6:25 pm

Try an X-10 module. They used to make one that would turn on a lamp module whenever a relay was closed across it's terminals.

jmr3865 · Post by **jmr3865** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 6:26 pm

what's an x10 module? I am looking for sound, not visual

CuriousGeorge · Post by **CuriousGeorge** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 6:30 pm

jmr3865 wrote:what's an x10 module? I am looking for sound, not visual

http://www.x10.com/

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 8:53 pm

Get a vibrating pager and put it between a couple aluminum pie pans. Makes a hell of a racket.

The Federal 350 buzzer will wake the dead. Not for the faint of heart though.

Bet let me go here... if you are SO out of it that an amped charger won't wake you up, should you REALLY be running calls at that time anyway? At that point, it very well may become a safety issue.

mr.syntrx · Post by **mr.syntrx** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 9:09 pm

Use the relay output to trigger a mechanical Q-siren hooked up to a 24V power supply.

SlimBob · Post by **SlimBob** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 9:45 pm

Well, that's one way to get help on fire calls.. if the neighbors aren't into it, they will be... or they will sleep otherwise...

nmfire10 · Post by **nmfire10** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 6:26 am

An amp charger with the volume all the way up doesn't wake you up? Holy S*($#. If I turn the volume on mine all the way up, It will be a delayed response due to having to scrape myself off the cieling. It startles me out of bed so suddenly, my heat pounds hard enough that I'm surprised it doesn't break a rib.

Try getting an external speaker and plugging it into the charger's speaker jack. That will give you more bang. Maybe even a speaker that has a built in amplifier to make it even louder.

Don't take this personally, but if you have to ask what a relay and latching circuit is, it is probably better you not mess with 120vac switching. It would suck to have it be your own house that the page is going out for. This is something that nothing more than a louder speaker should solve.

thebigphish · Post by **thebigphish** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 11:20 am

nmfire10 wrote:Don't take this personally, but if you have to ask what a relay and latching circuit is, it is probably better you not mess with 120vac switching. It would suck to have it be your own house that the page is going out for.

at least if it's his own house, he can be first onscene.

jmr3865 · Post by **jmr3865** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 11:30 am

thanks for the replies, Is there anything that I can get that is say, cheap? I have a siren speaker, Would I be able to hook that up to the pager?

jim · Post by **jim** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 11:40 am

I like the idea of vibrate mode in a pair of pie pans!

Install a 1" wide shelf 4 feet above your bed where you sleep. Set the pager on the 1" wide shelf and place on vibrate mode.

For added effect, attach a weight to the pager.

When something hits you in the head, you have a call.

thebigphish · Post by **thebigphish** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:07 pm

jmr3865 wrote:thanks for the replies, Is there anything that I can get that is say, cheap? I have a siren speaker, Would I be able to hook that up to the pager?

dude, i just want to reiterate this to you...there is something more fundamentally wrong than just "not loud enough" from the pager. How do you wake up for your job? Do you have some kind of sleep disorder? I would say that if a minitor exploding by your head can't wake you up, then i think that there are more pressing issues at hand.

look at the problem, not the hack job quick fixes. What happens when you start experiencing auditory loss from this super-minitor you want to build? Think workman's comp will cover it? How about your quality of life? Is it worth it?

I'd look for another line of work...

fire_master_21 · Post by **fire_master_21** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:09 pm

For added effect, attach a weight to the pager

Looks like he is wanting to stay awake for the page not fall back asleep before dispatch advises what that page is for

jmr3865 · Post by **jmr3865** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:12 pm

I just want something cheap that will wake me up. The amp charger will not wake me up. I was wondering if there was a cheap little device, thats all! It's only when I am in a deep sleep. Otherwise, I do wake up!

fire_master_21 · Post by **fire_master_21** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:19 pm

When I am at work I just turn up the base station to wake me up. If that doesn't work then my Engineer wakes me up. If I am at home and I don't hear my pager got off then most likely I am to tiered to do anything anyway and I would just end up worthless on scene anyway. And if it is a really bad call anyway where you deprtment just has to have you there they will find a way to tell you that they need you.

EddieC · Post by **EddieC** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:57 pm

jmr3865 wrote:Does anybody have any suggestions about waking up for the pager. I used a amp charger, it is worse with that. I even have one of those old plectrons. That doesnt do it either! I need help!

A guy at work rigged up a battery powered siren to a micro-switch (a very sensitive switch, Click here for pictures.)

He put his pager on vibrate mode and put it up against the switch. When he got a page, it would "walk away" from the switch, triggering it, and set off the siren.

You can get a micro-switch that will handle 110VAC... use it to switch on a radio, lamp, vacuum cleaner, etc.

Sometimes the simplest solution is the best

Eddie

Cowthief · Post by **Cowthief** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 7:27 pm

Hello.

For the maximum in sound.
http://www.mallory-sonalert.com/
Connect one across the red indicator lamp.
Easy and cheap fix.
But, now you may want the speaker to make more noise.
Replace that chintzy speaker with something for car audio sound.
The speakers run around $25 a pair.
The sonalert is $12 tops.
Replace the indicator lamp with a 1 watt LED and you are all set.

Jay911 · Post by **Jay911** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 2:15 am

Yikes... an amplified base won't wake you? I used to be able to have my feet on the floor in the fraction of open carrier before the tones went off. But that's just me

If this pager has a pin that goes 'hot' on alert, like the Minitor II does (I don't recall if you said what you had), and you are comfortable with electronics or know someone who is, you could make all sorts of contraptions that would activate upon the alert pin going hot. My grandparents had a strobe and mechanical bells attached to their telephone - we got that from Radio Shack as a complete unit. You could do something similar. I also think there's a company out there that makes a 'bed shaker' (everyone keep your minds out of the gutter!) for deaf, hard of hearing, etc., that is normally tied into telephones or alarm clocks. But I don't recall exactly who makes it or where you'd get it.

Anyway, like I say, connect to the alert output and do all kinds of things.

tvsjr · Post by **tvsjr** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 6:46 am

fire_master_21 wrote:When I am at work I just turn up the base station to wake me up. If that doesn't work then my Engineer wakes me up. If I am at home and I don't hear my pager got off then most likely I am to tiered to do anything anyway and I would just end up worthless on scene anyway. And if it is a really bad call anyway where you deprtment just has to have you there they will find a way to tell you that they need you.

Yep, you hear the tones drop again... second tone = get yer ass out of bed, on your feet, and move!

tvsjr · Post by **tvsjr** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 6:50 am

thebigphish wrote:
jmr3865 wrote:thanks for the replies, Is there anything that I can get that is say, cheap? I have a siren speaker, Would I be able to hook that up to the pager?
dude, i just want to reiterate this to you...there is something more fundamentally wrong than just "not loud enough" from the pager. How do you wake up for your job? Do you have some kind of sleep disorder? I would say that if a minitor exploding by your head can't wake you up, then i think that there are more pressing issues at hand.

look at the problem, not the hack job quick fixes. What happens when you start experiencing auditory loss from this super-minitor you want to build? Think workman's comp will cover it? How about your quality of life? Is it worth it?

I'd look for another line of work...

Damn, ragging on him pretty hard, aren't you?

I suspect he's pretty much like me. I sleep *really* soundly. I need to add a light to my amplified Min 4 to wake me up. Once I'm up and awake, I do just fine, but it takes quite a lot of impetus to get me to that stage. He's likely got the same problem. And believe me, it's not something that can be easily fixed.

jmr3865 · Post by **jmr3865** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 7:49 am

It's called sleep apnia, + I sleep VERY soundly. When I wake up, I am good to go. I wake up faster for a call, rather then work! I have a minitor 4! I am hoping to get something that bypasses the amp charger because I gave it away to somebody who will wake up for it, and not the standard charger since, it doesnt help me. Actually, I hear it more often with the reg charger then the amp when I do hear it!

SonicSounds · Post by **SonicSounds** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 10:47 am

Buy the louder, new and improved Minitor V!!

Jon

Cowthief · Post by **Cowthief** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 11:44 am

Hello.

Now I understand.
Yes, I also find the pagers speaker gets my attention more.
It is in part the frequency and tone of the sound, part the distance.
This is also true of car-kits for cell phones vs the built-in ringers.
I have the circle M car-kits headlamp flasher connected to a sonalert.
Not louder, checked with a dB meter, but clearer.

jmr3865 · Post by **jmr3865** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 1:04 pm

is the v louder?

Would i be able to get the insert for the earphone jack for the IV and hook up a bigger speaker, would that work?

nmfire10 · Post by **nmfire10** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 6:20 pm

There is a jack on the back of the amplified charger for a speaker. Just plug it into that.

jmr3865 · Post by **jmr3865** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 6:23 pm

I gave away my amp charger because it was hurting me instead of helping me, by that, I mean, i would wake up more with the standard charger, then the amp charger (when I did wake up, with wasnt often!)

thebigphish · Post by **thebigphish** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 7:06 pm

tvsjr wrote: Damn, ragging on him pretty hard, aren't you?

That's really not my intention...i have plenty of people in my dept w/ sleep apnea (including a chief who is next to useless after midnight), i was just saying that this louder and louder thing can't be good for him...on a physiological level. What's to say he doesn't hook up a 295HFS+ horn ring output to the alert line on the minitor, and airhorn himself awake....and blows a chamber of his heart out when he takes an adrenal gland full of adrenaline all at once? I'd be worried about chronic hearing loss (depending on the utilization level of his dept), his body's reaction to jolting away from a solid sleep, friends and family (who are not going to want to be in the same bldg with you), all these things...

Some people just aren't meant to wake up to certain things...

<grin>
or on the lighter side...

install the girlfriend module, compile it w/ the flags /stay-over-frequently & /light-sleeper & /early-morning-job... and then watch what happens when you get your first alert with just your minitor. Bet you that you won't miss a midnight scramble again.

</grin>

Emsfreak · Post by **Emsfreak** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 9:36 pm

I was in a bad mood and I started to read this post. Know I think I wet my pants. This has to be the best string so far this year. To funny. And I know what your talking about with the pager. The older I get the less I hear the pages. But at the same time a low noise will wake me up. I might be talking out my rear end but I feel that its the pitch of the tone. I wake up more for the Minitor II than my Mini IV. Or im just geting old

jmr3865 · Post by **jmr3865** » Wed Apr 27, 2005 7:30 am

I think I woke up for the 2 also.

MotoVio · Post by **MotoVio** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 3:43 pm

If you could find a way to make 1 of these activate when a page came thru, it would be awesome... and scary

http://www.dactec.com/store/detail.tpl? ... y=personal

I own one, my friend got it from radioshack, My eardrums were almost Pwn3d by it several times, not a play-toy

kb9suy · Post by **kb9suy** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 3:56 pm

You would be suprised how many people dont wake up to the pager going off at night. It's the worst when your on shift an you get thrown out of bed to get woken up or you think your at home so you just roll over an reset it. One thing you might want to try is radio shack makes a speaker that can go in your pillow I did this and plugged it in the back of the amplified speaker it really did the job. I will say this the minitor2 tone sounds way different then the 3 an 4. Audio had more punch. Just my 2 cents.

The worst is that your so out of it you roll over an reset the pager and wake up in the mourning realzing that the tone out was for a fire or extrication an your mind just wasn't functioning. I hate that. Or come into the station an everyones wondering were you were last night for the big fire.

jmr3865 · Post by **jmr3865** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 5:06 pm

I dont event wake up enough to reset it!

thebigphish · Post by **thebigphish** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 5:42 pm

VioLenT wrote:If you could find a way to make 1 of these activate when a page came thru, it would be awesome... and scary

http://www.dactec.com/store/detail.tpl? ... y=personal

I own one, my friend got it from radioshack, My eardrums were almost Pwn3d by it several times, not a play-toy

not hard. latching circut off the minitor alert output from the amplified charger would close the trigger switch on the alarmy-thing.
th3n !t +00 c4n 0wN j00.

Cowthief · Post by **Cowthief** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 5:42 pm

Hello.

You had to jar my memory.
We use a low power transmitter for the Islamic Azan, the call to prayer.
The radios can be anything from a pager set for carrier, scanner, what have you.
In quite a few cases, the pagers audio is sent to an external speaker.
A small electric guitar amp seems to work best for the older people.
As you age, you lose the ability to sense the higher notes.
A guitar anp is usually set up for the lower notes, and the things are somewhat inexpensive, at least in the smaller sizes.

kb4mdz · Post by **kb4mdz** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 6:04 pm

Well, everyone, granted it's on the expensive side, but if you feel you must be woken up, there's a lot that could be done with the Federal Tone Alert Receiver:

http://www.federalwarningsystems.com/pr ... ?prodid=25

Very versatile, very programmable, 2 sets of SPDT relay contact outputs, & audio output. And then look on sites for hearing & vision impaired people for flashers, bed-shakers (don't even think of going there, guys!!) and such.

http://www.accessibleenvironments.net/h ... mpared.htm
http://store.yahoo.com/phonemerchants/amalbedshak.html
or how about this little baby added on:
http://www.phonemerchants.com/wheeltelstro.html

(tho I loved thebigphish's "install girlfriend module.."; but I've already done that & married her before I started carrying an on call pager!)

Flash of insight!: Instead of a bell, buzzer or what have you, a recording of a baby crying its lungs out!!! (but wife claims I >never< woke for our kids!)

Chuk Gleason
Cary, NC

jim · Post by **jim** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 6:27 pm

Here you go. Let's mount this on top of your house.

http://www.jmarcoz.com/sirens/eureka2.jpg

stvnd53 · Post by **stvnd53** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 9:46 pm

Are you sure it's you?Motorola makes a pager that only goes off for"WORKING FIRE,MVA ROLLOVER.,etc"Every dept buys a few of these!Oh,and yes Plectron did make a few of these,also.

nmfire10 · Post by **nmfire10** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 2:31 pm

Ummm. Hold on a second here. What the hell does Sleep Apnea have to do with this?? Plus, if you actually had this disorder, I would think you'd know how to spell it.

Sleep Apnea has nothing to do with not waking up or sleeping deeply. It is a disorder that interupts your breathing while asleep, hence the apnea and sleep. I don't see what this has to do with waking up for the pager.

thebigphish · Post by **thebigphish** » Sun May 01, 2005 4:10 am

from what little i know, is that the apnea disrupts the normal sleeping patterns...to the point where the body compensates the apneic times (how ever short they may be) with longer periods of deeper sleep at random intervals...

so the apnea prevents the body from sleeping normally, and it kind of fluctuates. That's what my (so inflicted) chief told me, but what do white hats know?

x1sspic · Post by **x1sspic** » Sun May 01, 2005 10:53 am

Sleep apnea (OSA) can be a very serious disorder. You can find info about it here: http://www.sleepapnea.org/

A friend of mine has this disorder, and when she was tested in a sleep lab, was found to have hundreds of periods of apnea during the time she was there, with her oxygen saturation dropping as low as 30% during these episodes. In any event, when afflicted with this disorder, you never get rested sleep. You fall asleep easily (during meetings, while driving... etc.). There is treatment for it - and I believe there was recently an article about this in JEMS for those of you that have access to it. I also happen to have mild OSA, and was fortunate to be able to have a sleep lab nearby that I could be tested at.

mr.syntrx · Post by **mr.syntrx** » Sun May 01, 2005 1:39 pm

I know someone who has it.

He went to the sleep clinic twice, forked over a huge wad of cash, and not a damn thing happened when he was there. Always happens at home or anywhere else, but not in the sleep clinic.

nmfire10 · Post by **nmfire10** » Mon May 02, 2005 5:48 am

I still don't see how it prevents you from waking up, or makes you SO tired that global thermo-nuclear war won't wake you up. Does it just casue such a lack of sleep that you are so tired you can't get up?

SlimBob · Post by **SlimBob** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:08 am

Lack of sleep. Had a friend who didn't realize it until he was driving his Porsche and almost passed completely out behind the wheel. Me? I make certain I combat it with as much caffine as possible if I feel sleepy. I don't drive sleepy. The way I drive, you can't.

waking up for the pager

waking up for the pager

WAKING UP 4 PAGER

Re: waking up for the pager

Plectron from hell.

heh

Pager amp.

Related front.

Waking up for pager...