Emergency Dispatch language.

[Remington788]

Yes, I use my BaoFeng as a scanner.
No I do not transmit. I have no license.

I scan through the Fire/EMS dispatches for several surrounding counties. While I suppose that most of the communications is probably done via digital channels using systems at frequencies well outside the UV5r's capability, they still make an announcement on old VHF channels.

Some of the stuff, I just don't understand and maybe someone here can help me.

1. Why do they talk so fast? Sometimes they talk faster than a TV announcer reading the fine print in a car ad. I find this in listening to Air Traffic Control also. Speech so fast it is sometimes unintelligible.

2. Box Numbers. Every fire and EMS call ends with a Box number, like "Fall victim, 123 Elm St. Sometown. Box 55E" What is the significance of the Box?

[pens87pgh]

The box number thing must be local to your area. I listen to ours quite often on my BaoFeng and never have heard that.

[Remington788]

I remember as a kid that the fire siren would blast, then a loud horn would set off two series of blasts. They were a code. 5-3 was one neighborhood intersection, 1-9 another, etc. It told the volunteer firemen where to go. This was before pagers.

[Mr_Gixxer]

Box is just an identifier used for mutual aid calls where they draw from certain groups of departments to respond depending on area and emergency.

[Manxdriver]

‘ Box number’ is a holdover from the days when there were actual call boxes on streets that you could pick up and call in!
Nozzle jockeys are weird people!

[Mr_Gixxer]

‘ Box number’ is a holdover from the days when there were actual call boxes on streets that you could pick up and call in!
Nozzle jockeys are weird people!

That's right, call box. I was mistaken. They told us this kind of stuff when we toured the Lycoming County Dispatch center years ago, I just forgot.

[Remington788]

I just can't figure out what the meaning is in a modern context.

[Mr_Gixxer]

Messages on dispatch are fast, if you have a good dispatcher that can do it fast and clearly, because you want to leave as much air available for more messages. There is such a thing as too fast though. Clinton County tried limiting dispatch tones and messages to a single transmission vs a double transmission to save air time but it only made it harder to understand what the call was. Usually when the tones drop you dont hear the message right away with your minitor until you can grab the volume knob, turn it up and hear the message after they drop the tones and repeat the message the second time. They have since switched back to repeating the tones and messages back to back.

Another thing you'll hear is 4 numbers, this is the time on a 24hr clock.

You could also look up 10 codes and Q codes.

[Remington788]

Messages on dispatch are fast, if you have a good dispatcher that can do it fast and clearly, because you want to leave as much air available for more messages. There is such a thing as too fast though. Clinton County tried limiting dispatch tones and messages to a single transmission vs a double transmission to save air time but it only made it harder to understand what the call was. Usually when the tones drop you dont hear the message right away with your minitor until you can grab the volume knob, turn it up and hear the message after they drop the tones and repeat the message the second time. They have since switched back to repeating the tones and messages back to back.

Another thing you'll hear is 4 numbers, this is the time on a 24hr clock.

You could also look up 10 codes and Q codes.

I can understand that if the airwaves are busy, like air traffic control at JFK. But Montgomery county county dispatch is not all that busy.
I guess you just get used to it if its your job to listen.

I never hear any 10 or Q codes used by dispatch. The calls are all just one way, outbound. Anything inbound must be on another unpublished frequency (or the digital bands).

[Mr_Gixxer]

I can understand that if the airwaves are busy, like air traffic control at JFK. But Montgomery county county dispatch is not all that busy.
I guess you just get used to it if its your job to listen.

I never hear any 10 or Q codes used by dispatch. The calls are all just one way, outbound. Anything inbound must be on another unpublished frequency (or the digital bands).

The airwaves are never busy, until they are. If there is a local disaster emergency you'll understand why they need to keep messages short and sweet.

10 codes are mostly used on PD channels, Q codes are used by other agencies like air and water and by HAMs.