Give me a thought on a Radio

[CBVFC]

I'm looking to get myself a personal portable. Anyone got any recomendations? What I'd like is something that can do lo-band and possible hi-band (or atleast listen to hi-band). I'd also like one that I can program in the field, ya know got little buttons on it so that I can program freq. Oh yeah, and most importantly it's gotta be cheap. No body in my department really knows much about these kinds of things seeing as how our officers are the only ones given portables. The rest of us just get pagers. So if anyone knows of any good brands or specific types let me know aight?

[JTL]

Hmmm...West Virginia? You guys have radios??? Damn, South Carolina last again!

[StayBack500FT]

Allow me to, in the most respectful tone I can, say this... If the department doesn't provide you with a portable, odds are you don't need one.

[sgt128]

I agree with Stayback500ft... If your department doesn't issue you one, you probably don't need one.
My dept issues personal portables to us officers (Lt and up,) as officers speak on the radio more than the others. We also occasionally issue them to active on call paramedics. Other than these cases, the only portables we have are on the equipment.
It is much better to have the portables on the apparatus rather than in POVs. It also encourages people to use the radios when they are needed as opposed to when it is convenient.

[bfpd36]

Stayback has a good point. Allow me to state a couple of more.

Your dept's FCC license shows a certain number of radios they can have. If you buy one, you could get your dept a fine or worse yet a revoked license.

Our dept issues the officer's radios. We also have some on the trucks for the crew to use on calls. A young lad on the dept stepped into a sweetheart of a deal on a portable and bought it. He promised he wouldn't use it except on calls.
He did fine for a while and then he was in his own car in another town. He observed a minor accident, decided to pick up his radio, give himself a radio # and called it in. Unfortunately, the conditions were just right and every white shirt in the county heard him. He now has a radio shaped paper weight on his desk at home!

Not to mention what you are looking for would be a very expensive item. I'd like to have that too, but I would be scared to death to carry it for fear of breaking it!

good luck

[bfpd36]

Stayback has a good point. Allow me to state a couple of more.

Your dept's FCC license shows a certain number of radios they can have. If you buy one, you could get your dept a fine or worse yet a revoked license.

Our dept issues the officer's radios. We also have some on the trucks for the crew to use on calls. A young lad on the dept stepped into a sweetheart of a deal on a portable and bought it. He promised he wouldn't use it except on calls.
He did fine for a while and then he was in his own car in another town. He observed a minor accident, decided to pick up his radio, give himself a radio # and called it in. Unfortunately, the conditions were just right and every white shirt in the county heard him. He now has a radio shaped paper weight on his desk at home!

Not to mention what you are looking for would be a very expensive item. I'd like to have that too, but I would be scared to death to carry it for fear of breaking it!

good luck

[CBVFC]

Thanks. We don't actually have any portables except for the ones that the officers have. I do know of one of our members who actually happens to have such a radio that I described. That's why I wanted one. He's not an officer, he just has one. Don't really know the FCC rules and regs though. But I think since his radio is personal and not departmental it doesn't affect their numbers, I think he just had to get liscense for the ones that he uses (freqs). Honestly I don't really know what I'm talking about, but it sounds good don't it?

[NJFFSA16]

The FCC would definitely frown on that practice. The station license for the specific frequency is issued to the state, county, municipality or individual department and it would not allow for personal radios. The department could be subject to a fine...or, in the worst case, loss of license.

If you decide to go ahead with this purchase, I would hope you check with the license assignee before you jeopardize their operating priviledges.

NJFFS/WA2HUQ

[CBVFC]

You all have defiantly given me something new to think about. I never really thought of a radio having that many problems before. Thanks for the info.

[FiRsqDvr45]

I believe every member on a scene should be provided a radio. It is a costly venture I realize but one that is critical to firefighter communication and safety. If your department can't provide you one I would hope an exemption would be made to allow you to use one of your own as long as you abided by guidelines and procedures. In the case of a department that only issues officers a radio that is great until the officer's partner becomes seperated from him and can't call for help or describe his location or the officer falls thru a floor and is incapacitated. Every member operating having a radio is just as important as every member wearing a PASS device.

Just my humble opinion.

Be Safe...

[StayBack500FT]

Originally posted by FiRsqDvr45
If your department can't provide you one I would hope an exemption would be made to allow you to use one of your own as long as you abided by guidelines and procedures.

This becomes a problem when all members are issued a portable.


For example:

"Cletus 109" has to key up to advise dispatch that he's enroute to the dumpster fire at Cherry Lane...then "Cletus 104" reports in service from his mother-in-law's house five miles away..."Cletus 129" is enroute "Code Red" from the ball field and is reporting heavy smoke in the sky...not to be outdone, "Cletus 219" reports enroute and he thinks he sees a funnel cloud in the area..."Cletus 57" reports on location of a car leaking gas in the parking lot of the Piggly-Wiggly..."Chief Cletus" calls to see if anyone bothered to stop at the station to pick up a rig, but is cut off by "Cletus 57" who's requesting a haz-mat unit and a representive of the National Weather Service at his location because he thinks he can see the funnel cloud too and he wants the gas cleaned up before it gets there...MEANWHILE..."Cletus 104" is severely lost because his directions were cut-off by "Cletus 129"...he is also scared and requesting his Momma..."Captain Cletus" requests all units to move to a tactical frequency, so they do...each one to a different channel...EXCEPT for "Cletus 125" who just realized they had a call because his two year old had the mic keyed for the past 1/2 hour causing tons of static and Sesame Street music to be broadcasted on the dispatch channel...ALL THE WHILE...Dispatch is desperately trying to contact "Chief Cletus" to tell him his dumpster fire has extended into the neighboring nitroglycerin plant and he has had no units reporting enroute from his station....but all he hears is...."Sunny days..sweeping the clouds away..................."

[firefighter26]

Stayback, that is great stuff...

Just one question: How did you get a transcript from our last call?

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

The other day, my crew and I got in the rig to go out to do inspection details... I sat on my portable radio and thought "damn, that's uncomfortable..."

[Trkco1]

Gonzo's story gives new meaning to talking out ones ***

[firefighter26]

Captains.... Radios.... Sitting.... Uncomfortable....

To many options….. must control myself….

[CBVFC]

I've got an idea from what you've guys said. I know it'll cost a pretty penny, but.... How 'bout getting a bunch of radios set up at the department that way people can grab them up when they grab their bunker gear going to a call. No body but the officer's get's to keep 'em, but they get to use 'em. I figure we could use about ten or so (we're small, don't got many responding members). Anyone know where I might be able to get some pricing info on this before I suggest it to the Chief? Eh?

[FiRsqDvr45]

How about mounting them in trickle chargers in the units so each seat or position has one assigned to it? If the truck has just a bench in the front then mount 3 radios,etc.

[CBVFC]

I won't tell you the problem with mounting them in the appartus, I'll let you figure it out from this. We got five vehciles. 9-60 is our brush truck. It can seat three (maybe). 9-30 is our attack truck (small mini-pumper that we take everywere can seat three). 9-12 is our Engine (seats two, that's it, no more). 9-20 is our Tanker (seats two again, we are getting a new one, but I think it will only seat two also). And then we got 9-80 a mobile vehcile (old ford bronco with a lightbar and sirens and radio, seats 5 or six plus gear in the back). 9 times out of ten we end up having to take atleast two of those trucks plus a whole slew of POV's if it is a big call. That's why I was thinking of maybe having one spot in the bay that we can grab a radio as we run and jump into our gear. Can get costly though I'm sure. Especially since we will have to get some new coats for a few of us (like me). We use a mish mash of gear. My bunker gear consists of an overall style pants with two pockets and my jacket has a zipper and no pockets at all. Well it does have one inside, but I just stick my medical gloves in there. We really don't have the funds for all this new stuff, but we need it. Badly.

[SHED376]

I agree with a couple of earlier posts that everyone should have a radio. My reasons for this are roughly the same as those mentioned earlier. At the same time I can see what Stay Back is saying. We have a close by dept. and when they get ANY type of call, you hear 8 different personal (chief, asst. chief, captains, l.t.'s) going en-route, and still no truck has left the station. I know our county dispatchers hate this!!! I am with a career dept where everyone gets a radio no matter what (sure, we have that kind of money). I also run with a volunteer dept. that refuses to give radios to the "rank and file" (they have money to do it, just won't). I am constantly at odds with my volunteer chief over many issues, this being one of them. My "problem" is that if you set the rules, teach proper communications, you should be allright. My old volunteer dept. simply said if you do something stupid like talk just to be heard, or go directly to the scene when you're not supposed to (only a few were allowed to go direct to scene) then you got spanked and and possibly suspended. If this continues you cut the "un-teachable" member loose. I think alot of it is about control of your troops.
I know very little about FCC rules/regs regarding licensing and the number of radios a dept. can have. I never knew there was a limit, I just thought you had to be affiliated, and approved through an agency.
For those who do have their own personal radios, and have not been assigned call signs, then don't use them to call stuff in, use a cell, you can usually give more info. this way. I do have a call number, so I can, do, and will continue to call in emergencies to our dispatch, but when I call they know exactly who they are talking to!
Sorry for the long ranting post!!!!
Stay safe brothers....

[firefighter26]

The idea of having a "central radio depository" is not new, and it can work out rather well. In my department, the chief, the deputy, the captain and the training officer (who is the ex-chief) get portable radios (16 channel HT1000's) The rest of us get four mode Mintor III pagers (only have a problem with 1 out of 20 so that isn't bad, maybe we got lucky).
4 officer with portables
2 portables in Rescue 4
1 portable in Engine 1
1 portable in Truck 5
3 radios in located in the station for general use
2 older radios located in the radio room for general use
2 even older radios located in the storage room (they don't have very good range)

The radios in our station, without getting into describing a floor plan of the apparatus bay, are pretty much centrally located and easily accessible to anyone.