More Radio Problems
If you've been the recipient of the "new" narrow band radios, you may have noticed that the batteries are running out halfway through your tour with astonishing regularity. The Department denies it has anything to do with the reprogramming, but might have something to do with the batteries currently in service.
Now comes word from a couple different locations that the techs are coming into districts and replacing every single battery charger that have the old "red, yellow, green" indicators with a new version that actually has a "% remaining" indicator display.
So once again, someone isn't telling the entire truth and the Department appears to be trying to get by with some half-assed incompatible charging stations that don't match to the batteries currently in service. This is a monstrous safety issue, especially in the later stages of the tour where sometimes half the watch is working with chirping or dead radios.
Now comes word from a couple different locations that the techs are coming into districts and replacing every single battery charger that have the old "red, yellow, green" indicators with a new version that actually has a "% remaining" indicator display.
So once again, someone isn't telling the entire truth and the Department appears to be trying to get by with some half-assed incompatible charging stations that don't match to the batteries currently in service. This is a monstrous safety issue, especially in the later stages of the tour where sometimes half the watch is working with chirping or dead radios.
Labels: safety issues
posted by SCC at 12:05 AM
120 Comments:
so what??? go in the middle of your tour and change your battery every single day... it gives you an extra 15 or 20 minutes of not getting jobs and to talk a well deserved breather in the station not to mention saving your personal for later... im not saying dog it, but in these summer days youll have plenty of time to play police... take it slow and give yourself sometime to recover from the summer madness... 15 or 20 minutes out of that car in the station drinkin a cup of water will do you good... take the problem and turn it into something good for you... but if you need to call a ten one and that sum-a-bitch starts chirpin then you got yourself one hell of a problem! But lets hope that doesn't happen
The motorolla website says the battery last 8.5 hours. Our tours are 9 hours. No matter what it doesn't add up!
so much for Homeland security? we are ready for another 9-11! this whole department is a joke.
Oh, come on... Now you're telling me the Almighty Chicago Police Department is going to give us sub-par, shitty, paid top dollar but got bargain basement equipment, Equipment? Naaa, this Department cares about us!
to sum it up, they disconnected long cord and slaped a short stem antena and fancy coiled mike on it! Nothing but bad feeds, static and dead batteries in no time. We get nothing but the best of the worst!
Haven't experienced this problem yet. Take an extra battery when you check out your radio until they solve this problem.
Either way, this department is guilty of providing faulty equipment that could cost officers lives, especially since alot of officers are riding without a partner.
But as far as they see it, its not a problem because nothing has happened as a result of it.
A class action lawsuit would get this department's ass in gear pretty quick.
try using a dept radio in the subway! you are on your own. my cell phone works better.
maybe with all the money motorolla is going to save by staying in this broke ass state they can fix em
I wonder where the East Coast Department's get there radios from...
I'm just saying
Off the wall question, but since it's Cop on Top Weekend, does that mean my man Drew Peterson get's a top floor room for the weekend?
NO body, no victim, yet still locked up, in Cook County he would be Commander LOL
The radio problem begins and ends with the department policy of purchasing equipment in a piecemeal manner then squirreling it away in the warehouse for five years before releasing it to the troops as "cutting edge."
The shit is obsolete already when the purchase orders are ok'd and the right people get their dicks wet.
Batteries and such can and WILL degrade.
And while we're at it...
They may as well yank all of the useless electronic gadgets out of the squads... None of that shit works when you need it to. None of that shit is integrated or compatable with any of the other shit and depending on the time of day, fate's fickle finger and the assumption that shit itself can be picked up from the clean end, the damn vehicle itself may or may not actually start/be drivable.
Ron Huberman and others like him need to be kicked in the ass... Hard... Repeatedly... With both feet... Until days get better and we're all whistling while we work.
We'll be happy to provide the steel-toed size 12EEE bootery for free...
Automated case reporting as it exists in Chicago is fucking tedious, counter-intuitive and truly fucked up. It was designed and implimented by someone masquerading as a cop.
As we said from the beginning... What was so fucking hard about digitizing the existing paper reports? The only drop down boxes should be for additional victims/additional info and a SINGLE PAGE for notifications.
This is part and parcel of the silly and dangerous shit that happens when a major metropolitan Police Department is beshat with clouted, wanna play Police, political appointees whose only claim to fame is being a member of the Lucky Sperm Club.
(*knock-knock* "what's da password?" "HHMMMPH!" "c'mon in!")
...Whether by injection, ingestion or gestation.
It's all an ugly baby and the exempts are & have been kicking pockets in each other's asses to be first to jump out the one damn window that doesn't have bars on it to get away from paternity testing.
The McSupe is having rounds of interviews with all the brass on Tuesday. Rumor has it that all units will be cut approx. 40% and that the cuts will be seniority driven to show no signs of impropriety. These cuts will be across the board to show no favoritism to one unit over another. This will give the street the 1000 bodies that our RSP mayor promised. Maybe one of the brass will be able to diagnose the radio problems to save their job. Hang on boys and girls and please stay in your seats until the ride comes to a complete and screeching stop.
More OEMC garbage being shoved down our throats! And they have a commander (J.L.) and a captain (M.R.) hiding in OEMC running that program. Someone needs to seriously investigate the waste of homeland security grants and 911 surcharge money that OEMC and "J.L" PISSES AWAY on shit that never works!
SCC....
Someone probably goofed and purchased the wrong kind of batteries for the current chargers. Motorola batteries come in different flavors. There are "smart" batteries that communicate with "smart" chargers in order to charge the battery correctly. Placing a "smart" battery into a legacy charger will result in improper charging.
How about when you are standing near another officer who is on the same radio zone and the dispatch is only heard on one of the radios? Happens all the time.
Take 2 extra batteries with you.
If you are denied, file a safety grievance.
We get nothing but the best of the worst!
5/22/2011 12:38:00 AM
Well, at least it's not the worst of the worst.
That standard is reserved for our politicians, and their cronies.
Is any other district having the terrible problems with AIRA as experienced in 019? Most cars cannot use AIRA in the cars. Ever. For anything.
If we need to do a case report the car goes down and we go into the station and hunt for a working computer.
Everyone has long since given up calling 4-DATA for help or getting problem tickets.
They act like it is a localized problem, that car only is experiencing problems. Computer techs say the problem is systemwide. The City did not build enough capacity into the system and it just plain does not work most of the time.
I know that I have been able to do a case report in the squad car just once since summer of 2010.
There is no alternative, we cannot use the paper reports any more. The car must go down and go into the station to do a case report.
No one seems able to get this fixed, from the commander on down. So, no case reporting outside of the police station.
Is anyone in other districts having this problem?
We are all familiar with the emergency button on the pdt. Motorola built an emergency button on our radios (the shrouded red/orange button). You can check the radio specs on-line to verify.
Unlike other public safety agencies, oemc nor our dept has made the effort to turn that function on. I guess its not a priority to anyone working in an administrative or policy making position.
No, the function is not gps enabled, like the pdt it is simply a way to alert the dispatcher immediately that you have an emergency in case you cannot talk or get your radio up to your face.
It cannot be !!!
There is a police Captain running this program.
Take 2 extra batteries with you.
If you are denied, file a safety grievance.
5/22/2011 02:53:00 AM
...and then file a class action lawsuit as mentioned above. Next contact the U.N. Commission for the Rights of Non-Indigenous Persons.
How about we just buy our own radios.Register them like our guns. Then send all the dog asses that work the radio rooms back out on the streets. Have your Sgt assign cars.
1000 divided by 25 = 40 divided by 3 = 13.3. Its a start..... Think about all those EVENT NUMBERS????????????????????
Anonymous Anonymous said...
The McSupe is having rounds of interviews with all the brass on Tuesday. Rumor has it that all units will be cut approx. 40% and that the cuts will be seniority driven to show no signs of impropriety. These cuts will be across the board to show no favoritism to one unit over another. This will give the street the 1000 bodies that our RSP mayor promised. Maybe one of the brass will be able to diagnose the radio problems to save their job. Hang on boys and girls and please stay in your seats until the ride comes to a complete and screeching stop.
5/22/2011 01:42:00 AM
I hope you are wrong. I am a young, dynamic, aggressive MSF officer. I have four years on the job and I really like my unit. I want to contribute to the MSF and I would not be happy working in districts like 005, 006, 007, 009, 010, 011, 015, etc...
McSup was in 003 for 3rd watch late roll call. He told us that expect more people in the District and very soon. He went on too say that some people will be mad, he can't make everyone happy even though he wish he could.
Impres batteries need an Impres charger to work right so they are replacing chargers. http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/Product+Lines/IMPRES/Batteries. Motorola sells batteries that are anywhere from a 1700mah NIMH battery to a 4150mah lithium ion battery. What is OEMC buying, the cheapest ones?
Here is what I don't understand. Why do we still have full size radios? My cellphone is 1/5 the size of the radio, fits in a pocket and has a battery that lasts 2 days between charges. Why can't the same technology be put into a radio that is 1/3 the present size, has a 12 hr battery and a bluetooth type mic? Or is the term kickback in the contract there somewhere?
have to agree with 5/22/2011 01:00:00 AM poster. Working VSEP CTA 9 outta 10 times I just call the ad desk to run a name because the radio does not work on ctwy 5 etc.
I could leave my partner and go topside, but that is not acceptable.
chirp! chirp!
Can any of the techies out there explain the difference between wide band and narrow band as it pertains to us?
I can get my zone either way, is there a better choice?
And, I don't know a W/C or D/S in any district that would not let a PO take out an extra battery. So just take one out, for those days that you "can't take the breather" like 12.21 suggests.
Don't get pissed off about this situation.It's really nothing new.
Buy an aftermarket car charger from the internet. Now you have your own for $35
Anonymous said...
so what??? go in the middle of your tour and change your battery every single day... it gives you an extra 15 or 20 minutes of not getting jobs and to talk a well deserved breather in the station not to mention saving your personal for later... im not saying dog it, but in these summer days youll have plenty of time to play police... take it slow and give yourself sometime to recover from the summer madness... 15 or 20 minutes out of that car in the station drinkin a cup of water will do you good... take the problem and turn it into something good for you... but if you need to call a ten one and that sum-a-bitch starts chirpin then you got yourself one hell of a problem! But lets hope that doesn't happen
5/22/2011 12:21:00 AM
Well said my friend. That is what they called common sense years ago. Safety must come first for beat officers so learn how to survive and change the battery when necessary.
Another sad, sad case of " connected " no bid, " where's my end " business as usual, Crookcago way.
Quality equipment? Fuck that, I got a nephew who's got some junk to sell at only 4 times the real cost...surplus from North Korea.
Worked for another "department" in the mid 90's and we had the 3500 series of this very radio. Special functions personnel had take homes and I once had my battery charged at a suburban department with same model. IT LASTED TWO DAYS! ! Was explained that they had a "deep cycle charger " that would drain down battery completely then recharge ... Oh the three position toggle switch is also dangerous as your vest or jacket flips U to different zones. Every day we have city wide units come over the air sometimes frantically unaware they're on the wrong zone! Bring back the Sabers! !
Radio Systems Fail First Responders.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXFkYGsFJmM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4WmZ78GIsw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3y_eVmRbEA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eloDbosACcs&feature=related
Not only are the batteries bad but the radios keep cutting in and out. At times we can only hear every other or third word coming out of someone elses broadcast.
Start e-mail OSHA with this complaint.
Sure the Police radios don't work....but those planter boxes are the Cat's pajamas!!!
Hey I will change a battery out every hour and take 20 minutes doing it. It's called quality down time. If ya can't beat em??? Join em. I care just as much as the city/department does. So I guess I just don't give a rats ass!
to sum it up, they disconnected long cord and slaped a short stem antena and fancy coiled mike on it! Nothing but bad feeds, static and dead batteries in no time. We get nothing but the best of the worst!
5/22/2011 12:38:00 AM
---
To sum it up, you are wrong. First of all, the radios you are referring to are new XTS5000. Second, having the antenna on the radio rather than the mic makes no difference. Third, having a coiled cord makes no difference. By the way, narrow band or wide band have no effect on battery life. Outdated battery chargers do, however...
They had replaced all the ones at C.F.D. firehouses for the very same reason. Apparently, all of these batteries were under warranty but there was no way to check the life cycle of the battery. The city saved a few bucks by using the cheaper charges, but managed to lose a boatload on batteries that fell out of warranty.
ot any one in 001 know if daley still has body guard detail and officers at front of house
let news media know , also notify news media of low crime and calls for service on mr daley's block
sneed column states daley and maggie are living in a downtown apt
because of maggie illness
is CPD still guarding an unoccuppied town house
if so , another slap in the face to citizens of chicago
hire private security mr daley
looks like new age for 3% cola raise for cpd and cfd born after jan 1955 is 60 with a 30 % cap
That's what Citywide 5 is for.... Didn't anybody ever tell you that?
SOMEBODY FORGOT THAT OEMC PAID FOR THE RADIOS USING CORRUPT METHODS OF ACCOUNTING ALA LUBERMAN!
WHERE DID U THINK THOSE MILLION DOLLARS OF RADIOS WERE GOING TO CALL TAKER?
AND USED BATTERY'S DONT HOLD CHARGES U FIGURE IT OUT
Kind of off topic but not really. Why is it that I have to do seperate reports for everything? I had to do a case, arrest and trr and they all ask the same thing. Can't someone figure out a way to incorperate it all in one report.Depending on the watch commander sometimes I just cut and paste my narrative from the case to the arrest. Because for some reason the watch commanders have not figured out that an arrest narrative just needs PC info. Everything else is the same information, this is 2011 and we as a department are stuck in 1985 technology wise. I wish it was 1985 then we could act like the real police again. Streamline line everything have Bret Goldstick design a computer system and then he can get me a sandwich when he's done.
12:21 is absolutely right. The Department buys this already outdated cheap-shit equipment via the City, who pockets the saved money difference, with everything. They've been doing it forever. So just remember #1, your own safety and tat of your brother and sister officers, and #2, your big 2% raise, that is a perfect example of how much the City, and the CPD really care about you. Take your time, and head in for a fresh battery BEFORE yours goes dead. Immediately down ANY unsafe for ANY reason squad car. Remember, the City ALWAYS has money to throw at any LIBERAL cause, and ALWAYS screws the police somehow. So use your heads and stay safe during the long, hot, violent summer, and don't rush into ANY situation , especially without proper equipment and manpower, despite what ANY boss looking to make himself look good to the higher up's for another promotion wants so he/she can look better to the pushy higher-ups. It's politics to them, but it's life and Death for you. Stay safe, and God Bless the Real Cops of the CPD.
the impres batteries will work with the current chargers, but only charge to maybe 50%,the older,non impres batteries still work with these older chargersand all batteries will be this,impres model after the new chaegers finally are installed.this new equipment should be called doesn't impres.
At least five cars per tour requesting fresh batteries
This is straight off of that show Chicago Code! Radio episode aired a couple weeks ago. LOL
Who new/ this shits be going on for months
We have them and zero problems
A little off topic:
Thursday's on-line edition of the Chicago News Cooperative- James Warren's column reported that on April 29th, the federal magistrate ruled in favor of the Federal Monitor's request for the authority to discipline (suspend, terminate) exempts who violate Shakman. Since police sought and rewarded money from the Shakman settlement, logic follows that the monitor will be able to discipline police brass. If you are qualified and are passed over for promotion or assignments, all you have to do is point out the facts, the brass can't legally justify giving it to a less qualified indivual because he or she is connected to, dating or taking care of someone high up.
--not a cop
A) Im calling BS on this SCC. The Department WOULD NOT LIE to us in the Patrol Div. (DTEB and Chucky would in a heartbeat)
B) Homeland Security/FEMA has made 10 Federal HLS bands. Wonder if the New narrow bands have those in the "DEAD" positions?
Just returned from the CFD/CPD football game.........comical to watch all of the exempts jockeying for position with the new supe.......guess a lot of these guys don't want their resumes filled with multiple meritorious promotions coming to light.....what a joke....
go to the station for an extra 15 or 20 minutes will make me sick seeing the 3 p/os on management 2 on the desk one in the lock-up in 16. then when a p/o brings it up at rollcall the lt. said thats the 16th district mascot he needs to be on the desk
ha, after the game that the cpd won today the firemen were obviously sore losers. A copper wearing a cpd shirt heckled by firemen... well the copper, walking with his two little daughters one of which was on his shoulders and his wife with him also... the fireman were clearly drunk... guess how many boys in blue came to the aid of this copper... zero. That includes myself also and ill admit it... After I drove off I was disgusted in myself and others in this department and what we have become. ten years ago myself and 30 other coppers would have told the hose pullers what time it was.. now, we are deballed... sad to say including myself. Are we that scared now to avoid any and all confrontation??? even when confrontation is warranted to help a guy out??? whatever, today I realized how bad of shape we are in.
i never leave the station without a spare
sneed column states daley and maggie are living in a downtown apt
because of maggie illness
is CPD still guarding an unoccuppied town house
if so , another slap in the face to citizens of chicago
hire private security mr daley
5/22/2011 12:04:00 PM
The Daleys reside in a townhome that is entirely surrounded by fencing. How about letting their homeowners association worry about the security of its residents, instead of US providing FREE security for essentially the entire complex?
Anonymous said...
We have them and zero problems
There is no problem cause I told you so.
Signed CMD. JL and Capt. MR
ha, after the game that the cpd won today the firemen were obviously sore losers. A copper wearing a cpd shirt heckled by firemen... well the copper, walking with his two little daughters one of which was on his shoulders and his wife with him also... the fireman were clearly drunk... guess how many boys in blue came to the aid of this copper... zero. That includes myself also and ill admit it... After I drove off I was disgusted in myself and others in this department and what we have become. ten years ago myself and 30 other coppers would have told the hose pullers what time it was.. now, we are deballed... sad to say including myself. Are we that scared now to avoid any and all confrontation??? even when confrontation is warranted to help a guy out??? whatever, today I realized how bad of shape we are in.
5/22/2011 05:10:00 PM
Seriously. What are you babbling about?
Hey, quit yer bitchin' about radios. The new supe has more important things to take care of right off the bat--like meeting with fr. pleger. That was so important it had to be done in his first week here, dontchaknow?
Yeah, things are going to change. Idiots. You just didn't learn from the last experiment, hmmm?
Liken the supe coming here to a change in dealers in Vegas. Game still the same? Yup. Rules still the same? Yup. Cards still the same? Yup. Reshuffling.
I hope you are wrong. I am a young, dynamic, aggressive MSF officer. I have four years on the job and I really like my unit. I want to contribute to the MSF and I would not be happy working in districts like 005, 006, 007, 009, 010, 011, 015
Four years on the job!!!U have no business in a unit stroke!!!!!!!!1
The Daleys reside in a townhome that is entirely surrounded by fencing. How about letting their homeowners association worry about the security of its residents, instead of US providing FREE security for essentially the entire complex?
5/22/2011 05:12:00 PM
he can hide, but he can't run no more.
for the last four days radio chirking....
I hope you are wrong. I am a young, dynamic, aggressive MSF officer. I have four years on the job and I really like my unit. I want to contribute to the MSF and I would not be happy working in districts like 005, 006, 007, 009, 010, 011, 015, etc...
5/22/2011 08:02:00 AM
Wow, four whole years on the job! How many of those four years were spent in MSF? Six months in the academy, three months doing nothing with your FTO's. That's the problem with this job today. You can be agressive in any one of the districts you mentioned but that's already beneath you with your four whole years on the job. How about you worry about contributing to the CPD instead of just the MSF.
I was once told that the city just rents the radios from Motorola? They have smaller, better radios but the city wanted ones that were harder to damage, lose or steal... Don't want to pay the extra rental fees!
I keep finding extra batteries in the storage areas inside the doors of the Tahoes? Guess thats a good place for them, after all, it's all about whoever keeps leaving them there...
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Is any other district having the terrible problems with AIRA as experienced in 019? Most cars cannot use AIRA in the cars. Ever. For anything.
If we need to do a case report the car goes down and we go into the station and hunt for a working computer.
Everyone has long since given up calling 4-DATA for help or getting problem tickets.
They act like it is a localized problem, that car only is experiencing problems. Computer techs say the problem is systemwide. The City did not build enough capacity into the system and it just plain does not work most of the time.
I know that I have been able to do a case report in the squad car just once since summer of 2010.
There is no alternative, we cannot use the paper reports any more. The car must go down and go into the station to do a case report.
No one seems able to get this fixed, from the commander on down. So, no case reporting outside of the police station.
Is anyone in other districts having this problem?
5/22/2011 05:46:00 AM
First of all, why do you care so much? Remember, stress is for people who give a shit! I care about much about this department as they care about me. If I can't do a report in the car, then fine "squad, my AIRA in the car doesn't work and I will be in 019 on a report". And then take your time getting there and make sure your report is nice and thorough (this takes time). Then hit the streets again and if you need to do another report then repeat the above process again and again.
Rumor has it the mascot at 016 will be assigned to the airport.
The new batteries don't work with the old chargers, so not putting a full charge, but the green light comes on saying its charge.
Was told that new batteries contain a different NICAD which doesn't charge properly with old charger.
Anonymous said...
The McSupe is having rounds of interviews with all the brass on Tuesday. Rumor has it that all units will be cut approx. 40% and that the cuts will be seniority driven to show no signs of impropriety. These cuts will be across the board to show no favoritism to one unit over another. This will give the street the 1000 bodies that our RSP mayor promised. Maybe one of the brass will be able to diagnose the radio problems to save their job. Hang on boys and girls and please stay in your seats until the ride comes to a complete and screeching stop.
5/22/2011 01:42:00 AM
I hope you are wrong. I am a young, dynamic, aggressive MSF officer. I have four years on the job and I really like my unit. I want to contribute to the MSF and I would not be happy working in districts like 005, 006, 007, 009, 010, 011, 015, etc...
5/22/2011 08:02:00 AM
Guy, you post your crybaby BS all the time. You cried the same way when the Area 5 Saturation team got disbanded. Grow a pair. If you're in MSF, you already work in districts like the ones you named. Why do you think you're too good for patrol?
What's even more of a saftey issue is the fact because of the poor quality of radios us dispatchers sometimes can't hear the officers clearly, talk about an upgrade some zones only got worse.
McSup was in 003 for 3rd watch late roll call. He told us that expect more people in the District and very soon. He went on too say that some people will be mad, he can't make everyone happy even though he wish he could.
5/22/2011 08:04:00 AM
He also made an appearance in A/3 said more bodies to be coming on days. Also apologized said he wished he could do more with less.
I hope you are wrong. I am a young, dynamic, aggressive MSF officer. I have four years on the job and I really like my unit. I want to contribute to the MSF and I would not be happy working in districts like 005, 006, 007, 009, 010, 011, 015,
------
Too bad. So sad.
what about the dispatching? another joke!
Down state, the red/orange button works. Its called the OH SHIT button. If you hit it on purpose, then you need help right away. But if you hit it by accident... then OH SHIT... believe me, that microphone can hear a bee sneeze at 50' away. We are assigned the radio, so the dispatcher knows who set it off. You have a tone then clear air for 15 seconds... its a big help when your in a battle and cant reach the microphone cord.
Daley house has become a Special Attention, in reality they havent lived there for a long time due to Maggies inability to do the stairs.
The real question not being asked it how did Daley procure his "apt" which is actually a floor at the new building on Wabash across from the Cultural Center. In order to speed up zoning changes etc etc a unit was made available for him for penny's on the Fair Market Value.
Maybe they could issue us call box keys again
Just remember the battery lasting 8.5 hours is if the radio used less freqently. The wattage output also uses more of the battery. Motorola sells heavier duty batteries, but any idiot knows the city buys the cheapest accesories. Even the mic cables are the lowest and cheapest ones. The coiled mike cords are the best and don't go out 1 percent as much as straight cord ones do. We are the only city that has interference and constant zone outages. cw2 has been out of service for almost 90 percent of the time in the last 2-3 months. We stll have the Sabre radios. With the changes you have constant crossver from different zones and private companies.
Oddly enough....CFD had their radios re-banded last shift...and guees what??? NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The city that works....
WRT: "....Second, having the antenna on the radio rather than the mic makes no difference. Third, having a coiled cord makes no difference...."
=====
Hey junior I disagree.
UHF radio is line of site and the lower to the ground the antenna is the more things there are to get in the way of disrupting the propagation of the signal.
Granted we may be talking a difference of a mic mounted antenna at shoulder level vs. a hip level stub, nevertheless it is a difference.
Now suppose that difference is enough that the squelch level is affected -- such as sitting close to the floor in a vehicle. The longer that radio sits with it's squelch open the greater the drain on the battery.
Two tips for the rookies.
The higher the antenna the better.
If your radio is cutting off words when transmitting it needs to be serviced. It may be the mic, or mic cord, or it could be out of adjustment.
Sometimes, backing away from the mic or speaking a bit softer in the latter case will get you thru in a pinch.
Who needs radio's when you have a crystal ball unit that can predict where you should be and when?
Oh and send the updates telepathically that's all?
WRT: "The motorolla website says the battery last 8.5 hours. Our tours are 9 hours. No matter what it doesn't add up!"
yeah .. well that's why I always set my watch 30 minutes fast...j/k
ot-- good to see new sup at football game. but at halftime was a huge ballsucking event/----mccarthy was surrounded by gorman roti mr & mrs leo schmitz matt oshea (19th ward) and fop prez shields
We are currently using low capacity Nickel Cadium batteries. We should be using at the very LEAST Nickel Metal but the more appropriate would be Lithium batteries.
Can you hear me now?
"More Bars in More Places" :)
I've been taking out any extra battery since we got the narrow band.
off topic..I worked 99 yesterday in a A/1 district with a rash of shootings...5 people were assigned to the desk along with a SGT. The sad part of this is that I was safer alone :(
"guess how many boys in blue came to the aid of this copper... zero. That includes myself also and ill admit it... After I drove off I was disgusted in myself and others in this department and what we have become."
That's our MAIN problem; WE DON'T STICK TOGETHER.
Read the blog. Listen to all these whiners complaining about bullshit: McCarthy's facial hair, too many desk people, TRU, MSF, etc.
WE'VE played a major role in the low morale in the department. The city just capitalized on it.
Stop bitching about other coppers and the "greener grass" on their side.
Suck it up. Be a man.
Go anywhere near the lake front and the radios don't work at all!! I think it is more than the batteries.
I got my own radio. Paid just over a hundo for it. Battery lasts 3 tours.
014 is no diffrent 4 days straigjt batteries dead half way into tour
Anonymous said...
How about we just buy our own radios.Register them like our guns. Then send all the dog asses that work the radio rooms back out on the streets. Have your Sgt assign cars.
5/22/2011 06:55:00 AM
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OK, now we've heard from the "real police", look you stupid dick, one of the hardest working and competent officers on our watch does radios and I take offense that you would dog her out like that, I'd rather work a car with her than you. What, you think that's all they do up there? They go up and down more stairs a night than you do going back to the radio room to give you radios, parkers, movers and rifles. The rest of the night they do other tasks, of course, they're not real jobs like yours at the coffee spot, but they are jobs that have to be done.
FYI:
An AT&T employee showed me something he can do with his iPhone4, he has a scanner app on it that gets any scanner frequency known to man. He just clicked the correct zone and was listening to my zone, on his iPhone!
He said it is good when there is a presidential visit to avoid traffic tie ups. Right, also so any asshole can listen to the police and act accordingly.
We have to go begging, hat in hand, for a fucking battery that will last our tour and here anyone can listen to all our police frequencies with a damn iPhone!
And top police officials across the country are literally begging Congress to allot police & fire departments more radio bandwidth for emergency only use!
What's wrong in this damn country? Bet some cell phone company gets the radio bands so someone can sell more pad computers, police and fire won't pay for them. They can't make money on us. And this ten years after 9/11 when the glaring deficiencies in emergency radio communication was exposed for the whole world to see.
Now ten years later and we are still begging just to be allotted the bandwidth! This is shameful!
We are out here every day and fucking Congress is mulling it over who gets more of the radio spectrum! This fucking sucks!
To all, Rebanding the radios was not a option, the city was forces to do it by FCC. Almost all of you have no idea what your talking about however, yes, there is a battery issue. The city continues to by cheap batteries and the new work schedule has a lot to do with it. Also, fire has been having radio problems for years and they have a digital system, digital sucks. The captain handling this knows whAt he is doing, the problem is and was the city not listening to him for four years about this issue. Maybe they will do something about it now.
OEMC radio tech.
I hope you are wrong. I am a young, dynamic, aggressive MSF officer. I have four years on the job and I really like my unit. I want to contribute to the MSF and I would not be happy working in districts like 005, 006, 007, 009, 010, 011, 015, etc...
5/22/2011 08:02:00 AM
Guy, you post your crybaby BS all the time. You cried the same way when the Area 5 Saturation team got disbanded. Grow a pair. If you're in MSF, you already work in districts like the ones you named. Why do you think you're too good for patrol?
5/22/2011 08:31:00 PM
Hey Einstein: I do believe this was sarcasm. Geez.
OK, now we've heard from the "real police", look you stupid dick, one of the hardest working and competent officers on our watch does radios and I take offense that you would dog her out like that, I'd rather work a car with her than you. What, you think that's all they do up there? They go up and down more stairs a night than you do going back to the radio room to give you radios, parkers, movers and rifles. The rest of the night they do other tasks, of course, they're not real jobs like yours at the coffee spot, but they are jobs that have to be done.
5/23/2011 03:38:00 AM
Ok, I don't agree with the poster calling radio room personnel dog asses and I'm not going to "dog out" anyone on this job for working whatever spot they have but please don't compare someone working the radio room to someone working the fucking street for fuck sake. I'm sure myself and thousands of other officers take offense to that as well.
The real question not being asked it how did Daley procure his "apt" which is actually a floor at the new building on Wabash across from the Cultural Center. In order to speed up zoning changes etc etc a unit was made available for him for penny's on the Fair Market Value He was suppose to move to that million dollar condo about 4-5 yrs ago but another of his scandals hit the newspapers and he didn t move. Walsh constuction is holding the note to that condo instead of a bank so im sure he will not have to pay anything. Pay to Play at it s best.Wonder if he claim it on his taxes some day.Hello IRS...
First of all, why do you care so much? Remember, stress is for people who give a shit! I care about much about this department as they care about me. If I can't do a report in the car, then fine "squad, my AIRA in the car doesn't work and I will be in 019 on a report". And then take your time getting there and make sure your report is nice and thorough (this takes time). Then hit the streets again and if you need to do another report then repeat the above process again and again.
5/22/2011 07:45:00 PM
I hope the coppers where ever you live have the same attitude so that we can see you posting about the dog asses who took forever to respond to your loved one's 911 call!!!
A class action lawsuit would get this department's ass in gear pretty quick.
5/22/2011 12:57:00 AM
Yup!!!
How about when you are standing near another officer who is on the same radio zone and the dispatch is only heard on one of the radios? Happens all the time.
5/22/2011 02:08:00 AM
Damn that shit happened to me a few days ago when I was standing near my partner in the station. As soon as we started walking to the door to get in our car my radio started working properly. I didn't know what the hell was going on. This is terrible. Hopefully no one gets hurt because of this.
How about we just buy our own radios.Register them like our guns. Then send all the dog asses that work the radio rooms back out on the streets. Have your Sgt assign cars.
5/22/2011 06:55:00 AM
***********************
OK, now we've heard from the "real police", look you stupid dick, one of the hardest working and competent officers on our watch does radios and I take offense that you would dog her out like that, I'd rather work a car with her than you. What, you think that's all they do up there? They go up and down more stairs a night than you do going back to the radio room to give you radios, parkers, movers and rifles. The rest of the night they do other tasks, of course, they're not real jobs like yours at the coffee spot, but they are jobs that have to be done.
5/23/2011 03:38:00 AM
Appreciate your defending officers that work the radio room but you're talking to someone who's obviously has no clue and probably couldn't work the radio and do reports, bonds or anything else that needs to be done to help out the desk. What sgt is gonna assign radios?? They'll never be on the streets working the radio room...you have watches ending and starting..not to mention tact leaving. So dumb ass radio room hater needs to stop.
now, we are deballed... sad to say including myself. Are we that scared now to avoid any and all confrontation??? even when confrontation is warranted to help a guy out??? whatever, today I realized how bad of shape we are in.
5/22/2011 05:10:00 PM
Be a man. Take one for the team. Don't blog drunk.
Hang on boys and girls and please stay in your seats until the ride comes to a complete and screeching stop.
5/22/2011 01:42:00 AM
Funny quip!
I hope you are wrong. I am a young, dynamic, aggressive MSF officer. I have four years on the job and I really like my unit. I want to contribute to the MSF and I would not be happy working in districts like 005, 006, 007, 009, 010, 011, 015, etc...
5/22/2011 08:02:00 AM
DUH! Those are the dist you already work! You don't want to take calls. Just admit it!
Anonymous said...
I hope you are wrong. I am a young, dynamic, aggressive MSF officer. I have four years on the job and I really like my unit. I want to contribute to the MSF and I would not be happy working in districts like 005, 006, 007, 009, 010, 011, 015, etc...
5/22/2011 08:02:00 AM
It's pretty obvious whoever wrote this was just fucking around, trying to get a rise out of those who took the bait. He did it. Lighten up people.
UHF radio is line of site and the lower to the ground the antenna is the more things there are to get in the way of disrupting the propagation of the signal.
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Yes, but UHF radio GOES THROUGH SHIT! One or two feet of height is not causing the problems being described here!
Happens to me every watch. Now i just take an extra battery with me.
What, you think that's all they do up there? They go up and down more stairs a night than you do going back to the radio room to give you radios, parkers, movers and rifles. The rest of the night they do other tasks, of course...
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Yes you are right, but you are forgetting that the person is a POLICE OFFICER and her place is ON THE STREET!!! Not, in a radio room. That spot should be only for light duty officers or civilian (part time). We need every "Swinging Richard" on the street!
Been in MSF since it formed, Have had equal if not better arrests on the 'beat' in my district(s).
Being in a ' Unit ' does not make one a supercop. It does highlight the 'paper jumpers'.
It's so obvious when the '4 year SuperCop' writes a post. Please Stop.
-MSF Command Staff
As bad as one may think the AIRA system is, you have no idea how complicated it is to automate a records system, especially one for a law enforcement agency.
It is not a simple order-taking application.
It is hard to find people that know and understand computers, databases, networking and police procedures. Plus be absolutely secure. And to handle the volume of cases that Chicago handles. What is it, close to 2,000 new cases a day?
Whatever system is developed has to implemented "on the fly." Can't shut down your operation while you get your case reporting system debugged.
Anyone out that that thinks they can design a better system, have a go at it. A lot of big name companies have taken a crack at it and slunk away. Tho they were trying to develop a universal application that they could sell nationwide. Most law enforcement agencies are so varied that virtually every one requires custom software. Very expensive to develop, especially in these tight money times.
The city does have a problem hiring good software people. Long hiring process, residency requirement, makes it tough. Plus really good software people don't magically show up at your doorstep.
You don't have one vendor handling the product from start to finish but several companies that may not be interested in working with other companies.
The current system has many great features. In the Detective Division, you get a call from a citizen asking about their case, but they lost the RD#. You can find their case in a few minutes, and pull up all the reports.
Criminal histories? A minute away. Not like the old days when if you wanted a criminal history, you called downtown to get the IR# and them called another number to get the sheet read to you. One learned not to call after 2230 hrs because they were asleep and would not answer the phones.
As for radio bandwidth, there are only a certain number of frequencies suitable and available. Generally, higher frequency=less range. yes, there are commercial considerations. As for the AT&T guy with the iPhone, he can connect to the internet through his phone. We don't need the internet on our police network because that exposes our data and network to every hacker in the world. And the more complicated a system becomes, any system, the inherently less reliable it becomes.
The Department's technical problems are probably multi-faceted, so I won't lay the blame squarely on one reason.
For starters, the City's vendor process is revolting and forces the City to pay way over market value for things (like batteries). It's such a fleecing it should be criminal.
Another issue is how grant money is handled. What a heartbreaking waste that leaves the Dept short-changed.
But one really mind boggling mystery is...why is a police commander in charge of IT? Why don't you put someone from the private sector with a technical degree and IT experience in charge of IT?
The depth of technical problems in the Dept is just way out of J.L.'s league. It's time to bring in some professionals. How has he lasted this long when things just get worse and worse?
Science marches on -- they have just developed a new battery at U of I Circle labs, I believe, that has tremendous potential. The way they described it, fully charging an electric car will take about as long as filling the gas tank on a regular car. Camera batteries, radio batteries, etc. will charge fully "in seconds." It's a real breakthrough, they're just starting to work with it.
City of Chicago will buy a ton of rejects on a no-bidder from the V-D Company, ten years after everyone else is using these.
There are a couple of guys from 001 (CT and CS) on 3rd watch who love to hear themselves on the radio as they narrate a story only to end with a code but their batteries never seem to run out. We should ask them where they get their radios cause they have killer battery life the way they use them! Get to the f'n point 19P it and move on because that's and officer safety issue...SMH at these fools
I hope you are wrong. I am a young, dynamic, aggressive MSF officer. I have four years on the job and I really like my unit. I want to contribute to the MSF and I would not be happy working in districts like 005, 006, 007, 009, 010, 011, 015, etc...
5/22/2011 08:02:00 AM
Guy, you post your crybaby BS all the time. You cried the same way when the Area 5 Saturation team got disbanded. Grow a pair. If you're in MSF, you already work in districts like the ones you named. Why do you think you're too good for patrol?
5/22/2011 08:31:00 PM
Hey Einstein: I do believe this was sarcasm. Geez.
5/23/2011 06:18:00 AM
I don't think so. Same poster, with same nonsense when he thought he was going back to the district from the sat team.
what was wrong with the radios we already had ? is this more waste fraud & abuse of the taxpayers money ?
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