the 100% directionless thread

DesertMedic66 said:
I’m confused. If I remember correctly not to long ago you were saying that you have never ran “hot” with lights and sirens before and that you were also on a transfer only truck. On transfers only the amount of times you run hot is very very limited
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I never said I was running hot through a red.

I just accidentally ran a red regularly. Is that worse or better? I have done it exactly once in the ambulance.

At no point in any instance were any other vehicles present on the road nearby, within visual range. In the ambulance my partner was up front and we were not pt loaded.

I'm not happy I ran it. But it is what it is.

Edit: FWIW I clear all my intersections regardless of color.
 
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Another question. What's the difference of primaries and secondaries? I swear some of these trucks seem to have little to no difference.

Also emergency start, how does this work? What exactly is it? I've heard of you need to use it, you have to keep the switch on for the whole time you're running from that point. Basically to EOS cause we never turn of the truck.

One time the truck didn't start even with the emergency start (you had to hold this button down or it would slide to the off position) and luckily I had jumper cables with me in my POV at the outlying station.
 
Happy Fourth of July! Hope everyone has fun, stays safe and wakes up tomorrow with the same number of fingers as when they woke up today!
 
DragonClaw said:
Another question. What's the difference of primaries and secondaries? I swear some of these trucks seem to have little to no difference.

Also emergency start, how does this work? What exactly is it? I've heard of you need to use it, you have to keep the switch on for the whole time you're running from that point. Basically to EOS cause we never turn of the truck.

One time the truck didn't start even with the emergency start (you had to hold this button down or it would slide to the off position) and luckily I had jumper cables with me in my POV at the outlying station.
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Primaries and secondaries will vary depending on what brand of ambulance you have and also the year of it. In some there is no difference. In others it will activate everything but the lightbar and in others it will only activate the rear facing emergency lights.

Emergency start: your ambulance has 2 sets of batteries. One set is for the engine and the other set is for the modular unit (patient compartment). If the batteries for the engine are dead then you will flip the switch for the emergency start which will allow the batteries for the modular unit to power the starter. In some ambulances the only way to deactivate it is to turn the ambulance off. In others you can simply flip the switch down. And once again in others there is a small hole next to the switch where you can insert a paperclip or similar object and hit a reset button.
 
Today just won't be complete until I watch Mel Gibson tear into some redcoats with nothing more than a knife and a hatchet.
 
Gettysburg is my 4th of July movie.
 
DesertMedic66 said:
Primaries and secondaries will vary depending on what brand of ambulance you have and also the year of it. In some there is no difference. In others it will activate everything but the lightbar and in others it will only activate the rear facing emergency lights.

Emergency start: your ambulance has 2 sets of batteries. One set is for the engine and the other set is for the modular unit (patient compartment). If the batteries for the engine are dead then you will flip m switch for the emergency start which will allow the batteries for the modular unit to power the starter. In some ambulances the only way to deactivate it is to turn the ambulance off. In others you can simply flip the switch down. And once again in others there is a small hole next to the switch where you can insert a paperclip or similar object and hit a reset button.
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Okay. Thanks for the explanation. Quite informative.

Why does a module disconnect turn on power to the back? Are you disconnecting like what's stopping power flow?
 
DragonClaw said:
Okay. Thanks for the explanation. Quite informative.

Why does a module disconnect turn on power to the back? Are you disconnecting like what's stopping power flow?
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You are cutting off the batteries that power the module so there is no parasitic power draw.
 
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DragonClaw said:
There's a battery that just sucks power for no other reason than to stop power going to the back?
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No. The module disconnect switch cuts off all battery power from the batteries that are designated to go to the module. Ideally there would be no unintended power draw however there usually is. So it can leave you with dead batteries
 
Someone in an EVOC course claimed they might have a seizure from the primaries. They were apparently told emergency lights don't cause seizures because they don't flash fast enough.

I feel like the rate is sufficient to cause seizures in epileptic, but maybe it's not?

Shed some light on it?
 
DragonClaw said:
Someone in an EVOC course claimed they might have a seizure from the primaries. They were apparently told emergency lights don't cause seizures because they don't flash fast enough.

I feel like the rate is sufficient to cause seizures in epileptic, but maybe it's not?

Shed some light on it?
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That’s pretty lame.
 
DragonClaw said:
Someone in an EVOC course claimed they might have a seizure from the primaries. They were apparently told emergency lights don't cause seizures because they don't flash fast enough.

I feel like the rate is sufficient to cause seizures in epileptic, but maybe it's not?

Shed some light on it?
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A variety of stimulus can provoke seizures, it just depends on the patients seizure threshold. A higher amount of stimulation (for example a higher flash rate) may be more likely to precipitate a seizure, but that doesn’t mean a smaller stimulus will not provoke one.

Patients also can have a variety of epileptic centers that are triggered by different stimulus. What triggers one patient might be completely different than another.

Honestly a person with an uncontrolled seizure disorder should not be working in EMS.
 
Seizures can be stimulated by flashing lights but usually the flash rate has to be fairly high. That being said, someone with a relatively low threshold can be stimulated into seizing by the relatively slow flash rate of most emergency lights.

As to module / engine batteries, ambulances usually have two separate power systems. One set for the engine and running lighs (basically all the lights and electrical stuff in a typical car) and the "house" set of batteries for powering all the stuff in the module. These power systems are supposed to be separated except under two specific situations: when the motor is running and alternator power is available to charge the "house" batteries or when the "engine" batteries are dead or nearly so and you must connect the "house" batteries to the "crank" batteries to get the engine to start up. There are high current relays and diodes and such that make these things work. The takeaway of this is that normally you don't have to think about charging the "house" batteries as normal ops will keep them charged.

Unfortunately batteries do get old and they don't want to take a charge or you'll have something in the module that slowly drains power away or sometimes the module batteries just self-discharge if they're not charged often enough. Sometimes the relays and diodes fail and allow power from the module to also power the "truck" side of things and that can drain both crank and house batteries very dead quickly.

The "module" disconnect cuts power to the module by disconnecting the house batteries from powering anything. That basically isolates those batteries entirely but you also lose all the power in the module. That can stop any parasitic power drains from happening while the engine is off. Often thats the loud CLICK you hear when (or shortly after) you shut off the engine. It's also often a loud CLICK noise that happens when you turn the ignition "on" but before you have actually cranked the motor. Some ambulances automatically do this, others require that you manually turn the module "on."
 
Peak said:
A variety of stimulus can provoke seizures, it just depends on the patients seizure threshold. A higher amount of stimulation (for example a higher flash rate) may be more likely to precipitate a seizure, but that doesn’t mean a smaller stimulus will not provoke one.

Patients also can have a variety of epileptic centers that are triggered by different stimulus. What triggers one patient might be completely different than another.

Honestly a person with an uncontrolled seizure disorder should not be working in EMS.
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This is completely my line of thought.
 
Akulahawk said:
Seizures can be stimulated by flashing lights but usually the flash rate has to be fairly high. That being said, someone with a relatively low threshold can be stimulated into seizing by the relatively slow flash rate of most emergency lights.

As to module / engine batteries, ambulances usually have two separate power systems. One set for the engine and running lighs (basically all the lights and electrical stuff in a typical car) and the "house" set of batteries for powering all the stuff in the module. These power systems are supposed to be separated except under two specific situations: when the motor is running and alternator power is available to charge the "house" batteries or when the "engine" batteries are dead or nearly so and you must connect the "house" batteries to the "crank" batteries to get the engine to start up. There are high current relays and diodes and such that make these things work. The takeaway of this is that normally you don't have to think about charging the "house" batteries as normal ops will keep them charged.

Unfortunately batteries do get old and they don't want to take a charge or you'll have something in the module that slowly drains power away or sometimes the module batteries just self-discharge if they're not charged often enough. Sometimes the relays and diodes fail and allow power from the module to also power the "truck" side of things and that can drain both crank and house batteries very dead quickly.

The "module" disconnect cuts power to the module by disconnecting the house batteries from powering anything. That basically isolates those batteries entirely but you also lose all the power in the module. That can stop any parasitic power drains from happening while the engine is off. Often thats the loud CLICK you hear when (or shortly after) you shut off the engine. It's also often a loud CLICK noise that happens when you turn the ignition "on" but before you have actually cranked the motor. Some ambulances automatically do this, others require that you manually turn the module "on."
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Are there any documents cases of emergency lights causing seizures


Some ambulances have a big switch like under the driver's seat or on the side of the "console" and the ones with the lightbar/ siren control both. Why both?

And why don't some have both?

I haven't really noted enough information about which do this to know if a diesel vs gas, box vs van or what to know if that's related.

Is this big switch, often times metal, the one you mean that's not automatic?

I don't think I've noticed any audible click. I'll listen more closely. And I usually immediately turn the engine over after putting the key in anyway.
 
Most ambulances are wired by semi-skilled electricians with whatever is on hand or looks to be about normal for their brand.
 
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