Radios

Question 1

What radios do we use,

and what do we use them for

Answer 1

• portable: operate at a lower power, away from vehicle

- mobile: higher power, more useful when working in remote areas or when you don’t have a good line of site

Question 2

How do you change channels,

How do you change zones

Answer 2

• toggle the unlock switch to B
• use the channel selector know on the top or use ht soft keypad
• To change zones hit the soft key on the left (zone) with one dot and use the navigation button to cycle then hit the home key

Question 3

How do you activate the emergency alert button

Answer 3

• To use the emergency button press and hold this button for 3 seconds. The radio will transmit the radio ID and then lock the mic open for 10 seconds on the selected channel. To turn off hold for another 3 seconds.

Question 4

When do you use repeat mode,

how is it selected

Answer 4

• repeat mode: change top knob to O position
• repeat mode is used with a repeater tower for long distances when there is poor line of site, not all channels are setup to repeat

Question 5

When to use talk around or direct mode,

how is it selected

Answer 5

• change top know to zero with line across it
• used with good line of site and in buildings
• used when you want to talk on a repeated channel and do not want far away resources hear.

Question 6

What is the VHF radio used for

Answer 6

• The VHF radio is used mainly for unit to unit communications on incidents, or day to day operations.
• Most channels on the VHF radio
  operate in direct mode.
• LG division uses Zone 11.
• LG division uses Tactical Channels:
  V-14D, V15-D, V-16 D
• The county wide tactical channel for incidents is:
  V-6D f
• Using this radio the Lifeguard can communicate with fire companies, helicopters, vessels and other
  agencies.

Question 7

What is the UHF radio used for

Answer 7

• The UHF radio is usually on an Administration Channel for communications with LA Command and Control
• The UHF radio channels operate on both repeated or direct modes.
• LG Division uses Zone 4
• Using this radio the Lifeguard can communicate
  with LA and other agencies.

Question 8

Describe what a zone is

Answer 8

• Each zone is a bank of channels or
  frequencies usually grouped together by
  their geography or function.

Question 9

When working with outside agencies in our operating area will they usually switch to our tactical frequency

Answer 9

• Yes

Question 10

How do you setup the radio to scan

Answer 10

- Using the soft keys select PROG (program) then
select SCAN.
- use right and left for zone
- use up and down for channel
- hit the select button again

Question 11

Outline the steps to running a call

Answer 11

- Size-up:
• Who you are contacting
• Who you are
• Where you are
• What you have 
• What you need 

- Provide follow up after on-scene for several minutes investigating and after 30 minutes with IC info:
• IC name and commander
• location, resources
• staging location
•  comms plan

• Provide status reports at least every 30 minutes with an updated situation and any resources needed

Question 12

How many days away from its charger does a radio lose its memory until fully charged

Answer 12

• 21 days

Question 13

When do we replace batteries

Answer 13

• When the fully charged indicator light only reads 65%