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[STEMO]

Just watching police interceptors. Why haven't they got a radio in the car? Surely it would be much easier/safer than reaching for your shoulder all the time. 

[tunnie]

I've seen this too. Why not a button on the wheel to activate a mic? 

[Crazycarzowner]

They do, its either on the gear stick or on a stalk next to the steering wheel 

[tunnie]

They do, its either on the gear stick or on a stalk next to the steering wheel 

So how come many reach for the one mounted on their shoulder?

[STEMO]

They do, its either on the gear stick or on a stalk next to the steering wheel 

Right, that makes sense. So why are the drivers on telly now using the radio on the belt by their chest pocket?

[Crazycarzowner]

Depends on

1) If it actually works
2) If the car set has signal at the time 
3) What channel its tuned into, we can listen to several motorway channels, local, traffic, other forces.

Doing a traffic / Interceptor job you have to listen to all manners of channels & we've only got 2 radios

[STEMO]

Depends on

1) If it actually works
2) If the car set has signal at the time 
3) What channel its tuned into, we can listen to several motorway channels, local, traffic, other forces.

Doing a traffic / Interceptor job you have to listen to all manners of channels & we've only got 2 radios

I'm quite amazed at that with the amount of technology available nowadays.


So.....in the last week.....MID is shite and police radios are prehistoric. 

[Crazycarzowner]

They are actually quite good, most of the time, like I said its the amount of channels we have to listen to that's a pain!

[redelitev6]

Talking to one of the North Yorkshire lads about them , he was saying they were pretty hopeless in some remote parts of the county , very poor coverage and reliability 

[Crazycarzowner]

They're only as good as the mobile network they're on unfortunately 

[LC0112G]

Some military aircraft spotters have radios that can simultaneously listen to perhaps 100 frequencies at the same time.

Once got pulled by the Rozzers when driving through London. They asked what the radio aerial (a discone) on the roof was for. We told them, and they asked if we could receive Police frequencies. I said we probably could, and if they knew the frequency we'd give it a try. They declined and asked what we were listening to. They didn't believe our answer - It was a Saturday night and we were listening to ITV  - specificlally The Price is Right followed by Cannon and Ball. One "Rock-on-Tommy" later and we were on our way again.

Pre digital obviously, but police and mil-spec equipment isn't that sophisticated except at the real top end - Go Green :-)

[zirk]

The Police, along with NHS, Fire and other Government bodies use a Tetra (Airwave Network), its a built for purpose National Digital voice and data Network on the lower part of the UHF Spectrum.

The Personal Radios (lapel, broach type you see) are low power Tetra Handsets, the Mobiles are also Tetra Units designed for Mobile and Desk Top use. The selectable channels, aren't actual channels as such but are predefined Individual Identities or Group Memberships of users, in other words all Users are on the same Network but each radio unit is programmed for a predefined use on a who needs to listen, talk, use data etc basis. Each Units Identity and Electronic Serial Number is also linked and authorised to the Network every time its switched on, makes a call or moves into another Cell location. The digital Voice and Data traffic is also digitally encrypted so it can't be eavesdropped.

Tetra is late 90's technology, the UK was the first in the World to build and operate National Tetra Networks, Two Networks were allocated, one Open User Commercial (Dolphin Telecom) and the other a Closed User Government (BT Airwave). The Commercial one was built and owned by National Band 3, a successful UK wide National Trucked Radio Network, it was then bought by a Canadian Company who shut down the Trucked Radio, transferred the Customer Base to its new Tetra Network, wrongly tried to compete with the UK GSM Mobile Networks and basically messed it all up and it went bust, so the Commercial Dolphin Network was dismantled a couple of years after being built never to raise its head again.

The Government Airwave Network was built a few years after the Commercial one, originally by BT, then owned by a few others O2 etc, and now owned by a French Company. The Network is still in its original format, having been, expanded, tweaked and modified somewhat, current plans are and have been for some time to replace it with a more up to date, more spectrum efficient modern Digital Network, despite the fact it works and does was it says on the tin.

[Gaffers]

Are you still using Tetra?  If so, I was impressed with them (we use them for saefty networks on exercises especially when throwing 70T tanks around a big field in thick fog) as long as the area is well covered.  I can imagine that some areas of the UK wont have good coverage as the range of them was quite low.

I thought it had been superceeded?

[EMD]

I have one of those scanners and years ago that could detect police / air space / and all sorts of stuff  Last time i tried it didnt pick up anything , not even the road menders 
Interestingly you can now pick up live feed from all the areas of the usa police fire and ambulance online 

[Marks DTM Calib]

Are you still using Tetra?  If so, I was impressed with them (we use them for saefty networks on exercises especially when throwing 70T tanks around a big field in thick fog) as long as the area is well covered.  I can imagine that some areas of the UK wont have good coverage as the range of them was quite low.

I thought it had been superceeded?

They don't need brilliant coverage as its possible for the handsets to work as repeaters.......although the lack of bobbies on the beat these days probably does not help much