23 May 2005

NKNOC Labs Live Scanner Audio News

In case you were wondering, the NKNOC Labs live scanner audio feed was taken off the air for a time this date, for maintenance purposes.

As stated on our website, the audio server does require periodic maintenance, which is not always able to be performed during off-peak hours. Those of you who wrote in asking if the "end had come" need not be alarmed. The Labs intends to keep the feed going as long as we are able to, and we are currently looking at several new ways of expanding the server's ability to provide additional ports for more simultaneous listener connections. As we've previously alluded to, unlike the live scanner audio service we provide, these upgrade options are not free and will require capital expenditure against the NKNOC Labs budget. Stay faithful, and stay tuned, for more news on these options in the very near future.

As always, the NKNOC Labs welcomes your suggestions, comments and questions, so please write us using any of the contact methods on our site, or click HERE to send us an email. We look forward to hearing from all of you, in particular all of the men & women serving Westmoreland County as Police Officers, Firefighters, EMS Technicians, 911 Dispatchers, and Call Takers. Send in any news about your station or your experiences with the new radio system, and we'll post them here if you wish. Love it? Hate it? Let us know. Surely some of you at least have something to say about that little orange emergency button that seems to get pressed without you knowing it? Until County Radio calls you to check on your status that is! ("Please reset your emergency signal. Hold the button in until you hear the tone.")

Don't forget to check out K3SAM's weblog (use the link at right), and the K3SAM website for the best list of frequencies, photos of W.C. VFD stations & their antenna systems, and plenty of other good info.

Scan on...

15 May 2005

WCDPS 800Mhz Radio System Update

Latest Update on the 800Mhz Radio System from WCDPS:
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WCDPS Newsletter
11 May 2005
COUNTY-WIDE 800 MHZ RADIO SYSTEM UPDATE

The 911 Center began dispatching emergency response organizations on the new county-wide Motorola Astro- 25 digital 800 MHz radio system on November 1, 2004, beginning with District 1 police units. Since that time , WCDPS has been putting police and fire departments on the air at a fairly steady pace.
During the week of May 9, Zone 1 fire departments and most of the ambulance services in the District 1 police area went live on the system. They will be followed shortly thereafter by fire departments in Zone 2.

The 800 MHz system has already been successfully used in several multi-agency incidents to achieve communications interoperability among fire, police and EMS units using assigned county-wide TAC channels. Other features that have been tested and used successfully include cross-band interconnecting with low band frequencies at the incident scene, and using mobile data terminals (MDTs) over the 800 MHz system in police vehicles.

A major interoperability test of the new system will occur on Saturday, May 21, during the airport exercise at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport (see article below) .

SPECIAL NOTE:
THE 9-1-1 CENTER IS NOW ACTIVELY DISPATCHING ON THE 800 MHz RADIO SYSTEM. ALL 800 CHANNELS WILL BE FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY AND WILL NOT BE USED FOR TEST MESSAGES OR CASUAL CONVERSATION.

WCDPS VISION
To become a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania leader in the development and execution of public safety programs and procedures through teamwork and partnership with other agencies and organizations sharing a similar vision.
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The System FAQ page has also been updated with additional info. Check it out here:
WCDPS FAQ Update

12 May 2005

Gone in 60 seconds

Using just a minute here to thank those of you who have recently taken the time to send in your thoughts about the live scanner feed. Your encouragement & kind words are much appreciated. As is obvious, it was decided to keep the feed going for the time being, albeit with the number of simultaneous listener restrictions remaining in place. A reminder that when receiving a "server busy or not found" error, it just means that the server is full, so you'll need try back again a little later (once again, don't be Porky the scanner audio Hog! Please disconnect when you're not listening.). We here at the Labs are still considering our options in ways to make the live audio service available to more of you at once. As with any business decision that requires the spending of capital, it usually comes down to what final effect it will have on the bottom line. Further updates will be posted here, so check in often.

We'll leave you with the 'Thought for the Day' -

"Always remember, that you are a unique, one of a kind individual, just like everybody else!"

GMan