On Fri, 05 Aug 2005 21:12:29 -0500, John P Vassel
wrote:

We dont freelance in fire/ems, but perhaps you're not talking about what
it means to me.

I'm thinking Ken was talking about some media work or photography, not
actual firefighting.

Minitor II's used tone reeds... now sometimes difficult to get, and
prevented you from quickly changing tones.
III's are synthesized, and pretty much non-existant. IV's replaced them
quickly, never did get the real scoop, but I think it was a
manufacturing issue.

Ah - the III and the IV are effectively the same radio. The difference
is that the IV has a better mode switch and different case. Everything
else is the same. There are sensitivity issues, but many people wrote
that off to synthesizer noise. I've got a IV and it decodes below the
squelch level.

IV's are out, and now so are the V's. We use IV's, UHF tho, and havent
had a single complaint with them. They are available in a variety of
flavors, with/without stored voice, vibrate, 2 channels, etc.

I've only prepared specs for the Minitor V as in eight years all of
the others may end up working unpredictably after narrowbanding
(mandatory on VHF High band and UHF after Jan 1, 2013).

Steve

Steve & Susan wrote:

On Fri, 05 Aug 2005 21:12:29 -0500, John P Vassel
wrote:

We dont freelance in fire/ems, but perhaps you're not talking about what
it means to me.

I'm thinking Ken was talking about some media work or photography, not
actual firefighting.

Yes - video.

Minitor II's used tone reeds... now sometimes difficult to get, and
prevented you from quickly changing tones.
III's are synthesized, and pretty much non-existant. IV's replaced them
quickly, never did get the real scoop, but I think it was a
manufacturing issue.

Ah - the III and the IV are effectively the same radio. The difference
is that the IV has a better mode switch and different case. Everything
else is the same. There are sensitivity issues, but many people wrote
that off to synthesizer noise. I've got a IV and it decodes below the
squelch level.

IV's are out, and now so are the V's. We use IV's, UHF tho, and havent
had a single complaint with them. They are available in a variety of
flavors, with/without stored voice, vibrate, 2 channels, etc.

I've only prepared specs for the Minitor V as in eight years all of
the others may end up working unpredictably after narrowbanding
(mandatory on VHF High band and UHF after Jan 1, 2013).

I was told today (radio shop) that many Minitor 11's are still
in service here in my county. They have a digital trunking
system, but also simulcast on VHF (fire) for the volunteers,
for paging.

(KM)

On Mon, 08 Aug 2005 23:42:00 -0400, wrote:

I'm thinking Ken was talking about some media work or photography, not
actual firefighting.

Yes - video.

We used to call that "stringing." Used to close down a couple of bars
with some stringers in NYC like 20 years ago. Did a lot of buffing and
found this weird culture of who can get the best shot going on during
"tour 1" (midnights).

Are you taking digital video? Once upon a time I was getting ready to
buy a Cannon L1A Hi-8. Didn't do it, though. Bought a Sharp consumer
grade Hi-8, but everything went digital shortly after. I tossed a
couple of U-Matic, 1/2" and 1" reel to reel machines a while ago.

I can't get people to sit through my home or vacation videos, anyway.
The camera's been packed away for years and we only take stills for
vacations and special events now.

I was told today (radio shop) that many Minitor 11's are still
in service here in my county.

There's nothing wrong with Minitor II pagers except that Motorola has
deliberately stopped making certain parts available and are calling it
"no longer supported." If you have one in good condition it'll work
fine.

They have a digital trunking
system, but also simulcast on VHF (fire) for the volunteers,
for paging.

Well, 2013 is a deadline for narrowbanding anything below 512 MHz.
EVERY VHF system which is currently not narrowband will have to be
modified. Many alerting systems will continue to work, but with
decreased range. Some alerting systems will not due to an extremely
wide range of tones in use within the system. The Minitor V has a
programmable ability to work in narrowband mode whereas the others do
not.

Steve

Steve & Susan wrote:

On Mon, 08 Aug 2005 23:42:00 -0400, wrote:

I'm thinking Ken was talking about some media work or photography, not
actual firefighting.

Yes - video.

We used to call that "stringing." Used to close down a couple of bars
with some stringers in NYC like 20 years ago. Did a lot of buffing and
found this weird culture of who can get the best shot going on during
"tour 1" (midnights).

Are you taking digital video? Once upon a time I was getting ready to
buy a Cannon L1A Hi-8. Didn't do it, though. Bought a Sharp consumer
grade Hi-8, but everything went digital shortly after. I tossed a
couple of U-Matic, 1/2" and 1" reel to reel machines a while ago.

Yes. I just bought the Sony camcorder one week ago!

http://www.updatexp.com/sony-dcr-vx2100.html

It works well and looks great on TV. I shot a video yesterday
of an SUV "trying" to drive into someone's apartment living
room in Gaithersburg, Md. This is a costly investment but
I wanted a 3-CCD chip camera so the colors would look good.
You can buy a Mini-DV, Digital 8 or DVD camcorder for $400 to
$800 that look just fine.

I can't get people to sit through my home or vacation videos, anyway.
The camera's been packed away for years and we only take stills for
vacations and special events now.

I was told today (radio shop) that many Minitor 11's are still
in service here in my county.

There's nothing wrong with Minitor II pagers except that Motorola has
deliberately stopped making certain parts available and are calling it
"no longer supported." If you have one in good condition it'll work
fine.

They have a digital trunking
system, but also simulcast on VHF (fire) for the volunteers,
for paging.

Well, 2013 is a deadline for narrowbanding anything below 512 MHz.
EVERY VHF system which is currently not narrowband will have to be
modified. Many alerting systems will continue to work, but with
decreased range. Some alerting systems will not due to an extremely
wide range of tones in use within the system. The Minitor V has a
programmable ability to work in narrowband mode whereas the others do
not.

I may very well end up with a Minitor V.

(KM)

wrote in :

I may very well end up with a Minitor V.

(KM)



I just ordered 3 V's, today. UHF. I'll let you know. I hear they're
slightly larger than the IV's, but that's due to a larger battery. Gone are
the AAA cells of the IV's.

john

That was one great advantage of the 3's and 4's, the ability to drop in a
AAA battery if needed.


"John P Vassel" wrote in message
. 97.142...
wrote in :

I may very well end up with a Minitor V.

(KM)



I just ordered 3 V's, today. UHF. I'll let you know. I hear they're
slightly larger than the IV's, but that's due to a larger battery. Gone
are
the AAA cells of the IV's.

john

John P Vassel wrote:

wrote in :

I may very well end up with a Minitor V.

(KM)



I just ordered 3 V's, today. UHF. I'll let you know. I hear they're
slightly larger than the IV's, but that's due to a larger battery. Gone are
the AAA cells of the IV's.

john

My problem may be solved by buying the new Uniden BCD396T
scanner that has digital trunking (what my county uses) as well as
two-tone decoding on VHF for the fire tones. It also uses AA
batteries. Sells for around $519 ...... (KM)

wrote in :

My problem may be solved by buying the new Uniden BCD396T
scanner that has digital trunking (what my county uses) as well as
two-tone decoding on VHF for the fire tones. It also uses AA
batteries. Sells for around $519 ...... (KM)


And, from what I understand, it will now decode more than one set of tones
on any given frequency too..I think it's a firmware upgrade after purchase
at this time.

john