Minitor 5

[csf248 0]

anyone have a minitor 5 yet? how do you like them?

[Remember585 815]

I've had one for a few months. For the most part it works well. My only complaint is that for some reason, it "goes off" for no reason. The other night while I was at work, my other half called me and said it kept activating. It's been doing that more and more.

Personally, I'd like to see the Sonars come back.

[Guest]

??

Edited October 7, 2005 by Crest10707

[Guest WolfEMT]

The 3's, 4's, and 5's are garbage. The 2's were the best...

[Firefighter57 0]

The 3's, 4's, and 5's are garbage. The 2's were the best...

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i've got a 2. I am not sure if its 60 control or not but ill get mine going off for no reason and i also have alot of times where it wont go off at all. so if it is the pager, i guess they havent fixed it from 2 - 5

i did hear that you could program and personalize the 5s more. somthing about putting different tones in.

Edited October 7, 2005 by Firefighter57

[Bababoosky 24]

I know that with some of the 2's and 3's rf interference from cell phones have been know to activate the pagers....

[JohnnyOV 2]

I know that with some of the 2's and 3's rf interference from cell phones have been know to activate the pagers....

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Yea, i was just going to mention that. Mine goes off everytime my cell phone switches towers

[HFD750 6]

I also have a 5 with voice record,It also goes off sometimes for other departments well, I should say once. It was 3am and my pager went off and I heard the county dispatching town of mamaroneck. I called the county and asked if we had a run the gentlemen on the phone said no, So I played back my pager for him. He said thats me on your pager but we didn't dispatch Harrison. All in all I like the 5 better then all the others. Just thought I'd share that story with you I thought it was pretty funny.

Edited October 7, 2005 by HFD750

[doug_e 0]

I've got a 5 and find it OK. One thing that bothered me was the battery kept slipping out until I found that the lock wasn't fully engaged. Otherwise it has been working fine. Not very sensitive, though. Nothing like the 2's were.

I've found that when agencies keyed up at the same time the resultant hectrodyne caused my pager to unlock (multiple times) with a solid tone, not the usual pulsating tone. I've heard from quite a few of our members complaining about this issue.

Recently I've been using an ICOM IC-F60 UHF transciver. It is an alerting two-way radio that isn't too much larger that the Minitor 5. I've got it programmed with BMFD's crossband repeater, BMFD Ops talk-around and repeater, and BMFD EMS Ops T/A and R. So far so good. It's not a bad radio with a few annoying exceptions.

1. There is no keylock feature programmed and the buttons on the front can accidently get pushed which can take you out of the alert mode.

2. The alarm is too short and too low. I think that can be reprogrammed, though.

3. The volume is too sensitive and is either too loud or very low and the alarm is dependant on the set volume. Also the knob is very easily turned raising or lowering the volume by rubbing against clothing when on your belt.

In case you wanted to know...

[TBarnum 2]

The sound from the speaker comes over crackly and the battery does not hold a charge for long out of the charger.

[Remember585 815]

My Minitor V battery holds a charge for 2-3 days without a recharge.

As for that "big word" Doug used, seems like everytime Mohegan keys up at the same time as someone else (which is probably 5-6 times minimum per day) my pager opens up.

BUT - it also goes off for no apparent reason, no cell phone nearby, no microwave popcorn making, etc. etc. etc.

I love my II's - I never, EVER should of given mine up.

[TBarnum 2]

I agree, EVERYBODY keep your II's

[PEBBLES43 0]

I've had a 5 for quit a few months now. I like it better than the 3 & 4's. My battery also holds charge for 2-3 days. The coverage is better. I think it picks up other Depts. tones when it has been squelched improperly, ex: when you try to squelch while the Dispatcher is still speaking. The 2's are becoming a thing of the past. We are now using two 2's to make 1 pager. Parts are becoming scarce.

[Guest x2371]

I have also had a 5 for a couple of monthes abd I haven't had too many of the said problems but I really love the stored voice option. It is great for the some of us that forget the house number on the way to the alarm

[rsm5674 0]

I have also had a 5 for a couple of monthes abd I haven't had too many of the said problems but I really love the stored voice option.  It is great for the some of us that forget the house number on the way to the alarm

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The range on the 5's are not as good as promised by Motorola. Ive been in a number of locations where my pager has not gone off in and around my fire district.

[Porsha911gt3 8]

I was just wondering does the Minitor V still have the classic tones from the other Minitor Pagers

[ny10570 745]

From what i understand, nearly all of the problems peopel ahve been having, alert length, accidental alerts, etc are programing fixes

[PVFD113 6]

I have had a V for a few months--in low band--which is the least sensitive of the units--and I have to say--the reception is far superior to the III and IV. The stored voice is a nice touch--if you can handle the "squelch" while you are waiting for the dispatch. We sometimes have a delay after the tones before the actual dispatch comes over--took a bit to get the recording time set to an acceptable level but it is nice. False trips have not been a problem--and I have--3 sets of 2 tone and 2 long tones on freq 1 and 2 sets of dual tones on freq 2--silent scan rules--that is for sure. For those that have issues--could be a few things--such as--a long tone that is close to an "alert" tone (like Fairview) that with a little interference trips--or--2 dept dispatching about the same time--especially with all the UHF repeaters--if your first tone is the same as some one getting dispatched and your second tone is the same as another dept getting tones (or radio clashing causes distortion)--that could be--especially in Putnam--we have a few departments that have their first tone as 707.3--I would recommend having the pager read and verified--maybe check the squelch as well. Possibly some factory default tones left in or sometimes -- for those who have used or seen the software--where it asks the type--IE User, Plectron,GE--ETC- I find it works best in User--what happens is it sometimes does not accept certain HZ depending on the system selected. Like--you have a Motorola console but a different encoder--you select Motorola 707.3 and it might come back with 707.1 or 707.9 or whatever--sounds complicated I know but it is not the easiest to explain-easier to show. As far as battery life--I have gotten 3 or 4 days out of the battery in silent scan--and one of the dept's gets toned out ALOT. The only gripe I have so far is--when the pager is in the charger amp-and receives a call--there is a noticable hum even in the playback. I asked our rep--and I was told to see if the next batch that came in had the same problem--as Motorola was having issues with the charger amps--which is why they are so delayed. It could be an issue with the older "first run" edition.

Whew--sorry for rambling--any questions PM me. I have the software so yes I have played extensively with it--and no--can't quite figure out how to add more "musical tones" to the unit--the ones in there are a nice touch for those multi tone or agency people out there.

[csf248 0]

I love my 5!

my old 2 was shot.

the clip was broken, and my battery would last 3/4 of a day if i was lucky

the 5 is great, and i love the playback

only downside is i cant use the vibrate feature, because my tones are to long. it will vibrate and then squelch, so it defeats the perpose.

also my department does not dispatch out of 60 control, so i dont have the problems mentioned above as far as other departments setting mine off.

[hatr1k 6]

My 5 is awsome. As far as what problems people are talking about, most of the m seem to be programable fixes. The option to change the type of alert tone is quite nice. there are 8 different other choises besides the normal beep and vibrate. Something different makes it less anoying. And now i can tell the difference right away between my fd and vac pager. The range on them is awsome. I was never able to pick up audio in mamaroneck or long island with my 2, 3 or 4. with the five it works flawlessly. and having it last for 3 or 4 days without a charge is nice too.

[RZ502 12]

I do miss my minitor II but the only prob was no vibrate. I saw aftermarket ones for sale but i never tried. Im on my 2nd IV and i love it. My dept. got all 5's with no record or cool fetures so its a very heavy IV with a led battery indicator.