SteveOFD

Anyone hear of any other Departments/Agencies moving over to the new System? I heard Banksville FD doing testing around their district the other night. Also, wanted to bump the thread before the fourteen day lock.

For model train and hobby supplies try my Brother in Law's place Dutchess Train. Ask for Bob. His store is on Vassar Road, East of Route 9 in Poughkeepsie.

I don't know much about them, but I from what I have heard they were located on Spring Street off of Benedict Avenue in Tarrytown. Maybe one of the Tarrytown/Elmsford guys might know more.

For all of us "old timers" who remember, this list is from back in the day when "County Control" was a small room in the back of "Parkway Police" (County Police) HQ.

"Station 7"??? Nah, I think it should be Station 60, since it's next door to 60 Control.

Believe me, TR54 has the whole list and all Departments are listed. It probably just takes time the take the snapshot then post it. Way to go Tim!

Not to hijack this thread, but speaking of telephone numbers, up until the early 1980's to call someone else within the Village of Croton on Hudson (271 exchange) you only had to dial that person's four digit number, no prefix needed.

From the December 26,2007 The Journal News legal section: "Notice of Public Sale of Ladder 68...the Board of Fire Commissioners of Yorktown Heights Fire District is hereby authorized to sell at public auction one 1968 Seagrave 100' center mount ladder truck...4:00PM February 12, 2008...".

The scanner can either be set for scan or tone out, so if you use it for tone out you are defeating the purpose of a scanner. Currently the Uniden/Bearcat BC15T, BC396T, BC996T, BR330T support this feature. See more info at Fire Tone Out Info.

I remember my Dad's "scanner" from way back when. It was NOT a scanner, it was a tuneable receiver that went from 30-50MHz. You would tune it by moving the dial to adjust higher or lower in the band, much like a radio from older automobiles. He made two marks on the display, one to tune the "bar" to PD (37.10MHz), the other for FD (46.26MHz). You were lucky if you got it on the mark the first try. For best reception you had to wait until a unit was transmitting, then fine tune it until you got the "best" reception.

Trunking is where a group of frequencies (i.e. channel A, B, C, D, E ,F) are used in a System that is shared by various users. These users are grouped in to what is called Talkgroups. Talkgroups (TG for short) are the equivalent of conventional channels, where in conventional systems similar agencies use the same frequency (FD on FD channel, PD On PD channel). On a trunked system frequencies are shared (reused) by all agencies FD, EMS, PD, etc.) When an FD Talkgroup user keys his mic it sends a signal to the System that he needs access Voice frequency to transmit his message. The System assigns a frequency for this transmission (in this example channel , then sends a signal to all FD Talkgroup radios that there is a transmission for them on channel B, and all FD Talkgroup radios automatically tune to channel B. Two minutes later the FD user wants to transmit another message, this time the System assigns channel D for the transmission. All FD Talkgroup radios tune to channel D for this message.The FD user operationally will not, nor does he need to know which frequency he is using fo a specific transmission, it is done automatically by the System. All Talkgroups will share all the frequencies in the System. Talkgroups will not hear other Talkgroups transmissions even though all Talkgroups use the same frequencies. Typically users can access other Talkgroups by changing the "channel" dial on the radio to access other users transmissions. That's trunking in a nutshell. See this thread EMTBravo Westchester Trunked System for more detailed info. In particular see the Wiki's interspersed through the post.

I've heard from two different sources, and supposedly there is a memo out about this, that the new trunked system is maxed out. Maxed out meaning that no new user (apparatus or portable) radios can be programmed for use on the system. I know the BeeLine buses are using the system extensively, and the South Zone is one frequency short of what was proposed, but why the limit on users when there are four or five Voice Channels available? Anyone have any info on this.

A list that I have from the 1960's/70's lists Verplanck apparatus as E172 & E173 and Amb.8.

I don't know how this would affect Fire Apparatus pictures, but when I took a Photography class in college they taught about "the rule of thirds". What the "rule of thirds" is is the points of focus that the viewer will naturally focus on when initially viewing the photograph. To determine these points divide the picture into thirds both horizontally and vertically. The intersections of these points are the focus points of the photo. See this link Wikipedia - Rule of Thirds for more info.

If I recall correctly, they did this (make the spare Mack E102) with the Mack that Mutuals' current Pierce replaced.

alsfirefighter, I agree with you 100% that the Fireground Channels are underutilized. As a Company Officer, upon arrival on scene I announce on the Apparatus Low Band radio that I will be monitoring Fireground x, to let all other units (and as a subtle reminder) that we do not need to be transmitting Fireground Ops on High Power Apparatus radios.When I leave the rig I tell the Chauffeur that I will be on Fireground x so I can verify that I will be in communication with someone on scene. Yes it is unsafe to operate on a repeated frequency (which a lot of members do not realize that the Trunked System is a sophisticated repeater system). On a technical note you mentioned that there are so many other Talkgroups to put operations on, these Operations and Tactical Talkgroups utilize the same five frequencies that the Fire or EMS Talkgroups use. Therefore, whether you are using a Fire, EMS, Operations, Tactical or Bus Talkgroup, there can only be five conversation occurring simultaneously.

Point #1 re: Buses. I can not attest to how this system was programmed due to not being invited to attend the Train the Trainer training for the system offered by the County, but trunked systems do have the programmability to provide priority access to designated Talkgroups. What this means is that a Fire or EMS Talkgroup will be given priority to a voice channel over a Bus Talkgroup. Also, if I understand the technology correctly, a Bus Talkgroup would be preempted from it's conversation to give a Fire or EMS Talkgroup access if all voice channels are in use. Point #2 re:simulcast. This simulcast mode is how the system was designed. If units from the same Talkgroup are in both zones, yes the transmission will be simulcast on both Zones. If all units from a Talkgroup are in one Zone (i.e. all Chiefs and Apparatus from Battalion 13 are in their respective Fire Districts and no where else) their transmissions will only be simulcast over the North Zone towers. Vice Versa for the South Zone.

If I recall correctly they auctioned the MiniAttack off on EBay at least a year or two ago.

From Firehouse.com New Rochelle FD awarded $280,000 for Apparatus acquisition from the Assistance to Firefighters Grants round 19. Congrats NRFD.

In my Dept. the Ex-Chiefs upon completion of their term, become a Deputy Chief. They get red lights for their POV's, portable and mobile radios and they do act as IC when the current Chief's are unavailable. Every other year we get a new Deputy Chief, so there are very few times, if at all, that a Company Officer could be an IC.

Steve - my name & OFD (Ossining) - my FD.

You mean Fire Engine Lime Yellow or Red. lol.

By ID what do you mean? Please list the ID #('s) you are receiving. This might help.

Just a thought, if you are short on spare hose when you repack, just have the nozzle length and the pump length the same color. This way the nozzle and pump operator will be seeing the same color line.

I just read in the Nov/Dec 2007 edition of Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment that, in New York, Hastings FD, placed an order for an American LaFrance Liberty Pumper, 1250GPM, 1000 Gal. tank with delivery in May. The listing seems odd because the order was through the ALF factory division in Clay, NY, not Garrison Fire or Campbell Fire. Is there another Hastings FD in NY?