# Are you issued a portable radio.



## fortsmithman (Mar 18, 2009)

I have always wondered about this after looking at threads in EMTLIFE.  Are you issued a ortable radio or do you have to buy your own.  Our service issues portable radios.


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## PapaBear434 (Mar 18, 2009)

We have a radio in the front, a radio in the back, and two portables assigned to each truck.  The crew members each get one.  You are free to get your own and have it programmed though.

In addition, the paid medics in our system DO get assigned their own personal radio.


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## JPINFV (Mar 18, 2009)

We currently use Nextels assigned to each unit that we take with us when we leave the unit unless we're at the base.


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## mycrofft (Mar 18, 2009)

*They issued us Nextels but not radios.*

My coworkers will not use them, too intimidating.
I am not kidding.


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## AJ Hidell (Mar 18, 2009)

mycrofft said:


> My coworkers will not use them, too intimidating.
> I am not kidding.


Do you mean that their appearance is too intimidating to patients, or that the technology is too intimidating to your co-workers?


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## mikie (Mar 18, 2009)

*Why buy?*

I wouldn't think one would have to buy their own radio.  Firstly, I'm sure they're expensive, secondly, they would need to match the Fq and may require (ie with tones) more 'parts' (i.e. crystals (i'm no radio expert)).  

If someone needs a a radio for their JOB, it should it issued.  What happens if you're on a call and you break your personal 500$ + radio?

I think this goes for more than just radios though...employers should provide employees with adequate equipment to get the job done, all else can be personal.


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## zacdav89 (Mar 19, 2009)

Mine is Issued , I know that a local search and rescue group is toying with the idea of making their members buy personal radios but that’s the only time I’ve ever heard of something like that


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## PapaBear434 (Mar 19, 2009)

AJ Hidell said:


> Do you mean that their appearance is too intimidating to patients, or that the technology is too intimidating to your co-workers?



And don't even get them started on the devil boxes that are cell phones.  Demons with blinking lights, I say!


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## Sapphyre (Mar 19, 2009)

We are issued, for the shift, two portables for dispatch, and 1 for fire.  All three have to be turned back in at end of shift, and all three pretty much SUCK.  A lot of us buy our own, just because we can combine them, and get better reception on our end and dispatch's as well.


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## BLSBoy (Mar 19, 2009)

Each Medic truck has 2 VHF portables, a VHF pager/portable, and an 800mhz portable. 
About 1/3 of us own our own, including myself.


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## boingo (Mar 19, 2009)

Everyone is issued their own radio, 2 batteries and a pager.


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## TransportJockey (Mar 19, 2009)

the service I used to work for had 1 med radio in the back, the main dispatch radio up front and issued two portables for the truck


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## medic417 (Mar 19, 2009)

They have my cell number if they need me.  No way I'm spending my money to buy a radio to do the job they want me to do, I don't know any one that whacker to spend that kind of coin.  At the stations we have base stations and in the ambulance we have a radio with duel heads for front and back.


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## MRE (Mar 19, 2009)

Fire based EMS here.  Firefighters are issued pagers, fire officers and EMTs are issued pagers and portable radios.  Rig has a dual head radio inside, and our rescue truck has a bank of 6 portable radios in it.

No cell phone service in town.


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## Epi-do (Mar 19, 2009)

I can't think of any reason at all that I would ever buy a radio.  As for being issued one, if you mean issued to me personally, then no.  The truck has a radio in boththe cab and the box.  There are also two portable radios with chargers in the cab of the truck, one for the driver to use and one for the tech.  The radios go with the truck, and aren't issued to a specific individual.


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## JonTullos (Mar 19, 2009)

The volly fire department I joined issues everyone at least a pager and a portable two way if there are enough.  At the moment there aren't enough so me and the other guys who have joined recently will just have pagers until they get more two ways.  When my dad was a FF he bought his own portable.  To this day I have no idea why.  I'm not sure about the EMS's around here.


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## micsaver (Mar 20, 2009)

Our company's communication is crap. Most of the time you can't hear the dispatcher on the mobile radio on the ambulance and we usually can't contact them via the mobile radio either, so each ambulance crew is issued the Nextels. It's taken a lot of getting use to. I worked as a Park Ranger for a while and had clear communication via portable radios with fellow Rangers and the City Police Department. To be working with a company that has such badly functioning equipment is counter productive and dangerous.


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## MassEMT (Mar 22, 2009)

Our Paramedic Units have 2 portables. 

EMT-B's dont have, are not issued, nor are we allowed to buy our own.


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## Shishkabob (Mar 22, 2009)

JPINFV said:


> We currently use Nextels assigned to each unit that we take with us when we leave the unit unless we're at the base.



Ditto

We get pagers and a nextel, plus the truck radio.


The local 911, MedStar, gets 1 portable for the truck, along with 2 radios inside.


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## JonTullos (Mar 22, 2009)

MassEMT said:


> Our Paramedic Units have 2 portables.
> 
> EMT-B's dont have, are not issued, nor are we allowed to buy our own.



Wow.  Just... wow.  Lord be with you if you ever run into trouble outside of your rig.


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## firecoins (Mar 22, 2009)

JonTullos said:


> Wow.  Just... wow.  Lord be with you if you ever run into trouble outside of your rig.



In the era of cell phones, I am not too worried about that.


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## trevor1189 (Mar 22, 2009)

question for those who bought or have their own portable. How do you identify yourself? Are you issued a radio identifer number or what? Around here the ambulances have portables on board and when in use they just identify themselves as the company unit (MICU #, Ambulance #, Engine #, etc.) they are responding on.


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## JonTullos (Mar 22, 2009)

firecoins said:


> In the era of cell phones, I am not too worried about that.



Let's say he/she runs into trouble and they have no cell signal.  Then what?


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## Sapphyre (Mar 22, 2009)

JonTullos said:


> Let's say he/she runs into trouble and they have no cell signal.  Then what?



Hey, Jon, the chances of me actually getting THROUGH to dispatch on the portable radios they give us, is pretty much slim to none.  The phone is what we use when we NEED to get through.


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## JonTullos (Mar 22, 2009)

Are we talking about a signal issue with the radio or are we talking about the dispatcher not acknowledging the call?  If it's the latter then the dispatch has some major problems and something needs to be done.  If it's a signal issue with the radio then I understand your point... but again what they don't even have a portable and no cell signal?  If I'm in the situation and I end up getting hurt because I can't call for help I'm going to be majorly upset.  To me having access to a portable is common sense and I'd really question an organization that outright won't allow me to have one, regardless of them issuing it or me buying one.  Seriously... does that make sense?  And yes I realize that I said that I only have a pager right now but the department I'm with plans to do something about the situation ASAP.  Unlike the other person's organization they're not telling me that I can't have one period.


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## Sapphyre (Mar 22, 2009)

JonTullos said:


> Are we talking about a signal issue with the radio or are we talking about the dispatcher not acknowledging the call?  If it's the latter then the dispatch has some major problems and something needs to be done.  If it's a signal issue with the radio then I understand your point... but again what they don't even have a portable and no cell signal?



It's a signal issue, dispatch has no way of knowing if we're calling from our portables or the truck mounted units.  And most of us have cell service in our area.  

Jon, one thing you need to remember, we're all in different areas, with different infrastructures in place, from different services.


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## JPINFV (Mar 22, 2009)

What if your radio doesn't have a strong enough signal to reach dispatch?


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## medic417 (Mar 22, 2009)

What if you are in my area and many calls take you to places that radios and cell phones don't work?  OH my, guess I'll just have to do for myself.  Geez people we have lived w/o all the high tech crap and some how we have survived.  Many of you you sound like you would die if you could not push a button and get someone to tell you what to do.


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## MassEMT (Mar 22, 2009)

JonTullos said:


> Wow.  Just... wow.  Lord be with you if you ever run into trouble outside of your rig.



Yea tell me about it


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## JonTullos (Mar 22, 2009)

Sapphyre said:


> Jon, one thing you need to remember, we're all in different areas, with different infrastructures in place, from different services.



You are correct.  The way I took your original comment was that with cells portables weren't needed.  I'm sorry that I misunderstood.


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## firecoins (Mar 22, 2009)

JonTullos said:


> Let's say he/she runs into trouble and they have no cell signal.  Then what?



what happens when you get garbled radio transmissions, your radio dies or you accidentally have it on the wrong channel.  Than what.


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## JonTullos (Mar 22, 2009)

firecoins said:


> what happens when you get garbled radio transmissions, your radio dies or you accidentally have it on the wrong channel.  Than what.



Generally (note that word) radios are more reliable than cell phones in certainly situations.  One job I had a few years ago proved that to me.  Often I'd find myself in an area with no cell phone coverage.  In our trucks we had radios and I could always get through to my store when I needed directions or something else.  Also, the opinion that cell phones work better than portables may be valid in cities and other areas with good cell phone coverage but what about the rural areas where cell phone coverage isn't very good (or doesn't exist)?  If you got into a vehicle with me I could take you to several areas around here that isn't touched by any cell phone carrier yet where radios seem to be able to get through to dispatch.


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## firecoins (Mar 22, 2009)

JonTullos said:


> Generally (note that word) radios are more reliable than cell phones in certainly situations.  One job I had a few years ago proved that to me.  Often I'd find myself in an area with no cell phone coverage.  In our trucks we had radios and I could always get through to my store when I needed directions or something else.  Also, the opinion that cell phones work better than portables may be valid in cities and other areas with good cell phone coverage but what about the rural areas where cell phone coverage isn't very good (or doesn't exist)?  If you got into a vehicle with me I could take you to several areas around here that isn't touched by any cell phone carrier yet where radios seem to be able to get through to dispatch.



cell phones are generally more reliable here.  Cell phone networks are much better than a few years ago.

So what happens when there are radio problems?  I guess you just screwed.


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