ESTA Console Radios

[Blake]

So, CFA RMR Dispatch;
I've noticed that even if a transmission is garbled, cutoff or whatever,
the operator can generally tell exactly what appliance if calling.
Now this is no mystery to me, I do a similar thing for my local brigades.
You just input the RiDs / UiDs into the group/system & and Alpha Tag for each,
and when that radio transmits, it displays your alpha tag to identify that radio.
Yeah, nothing new.

My questions is, using my scanner, I am limited to a maximum of 500 TGIDs or RiDs (it is practically less than 500, due to TGID's taking up some of this allocation) per system.
Now that means I can implement that tagging system for most local systems.
But still, there's 10s of thousands of CFA RiDs,
so, my question is;

What model/type of radios are the ESTA Dispatch Consoles using?
And how are they storing every RiD so that the operator can recognise every statewide appliance?


Hope i'm not asking for the impossible?
Cheers blokes.

[novaboy032]

I'd imagine it would be like an insane SDR or something? All run by computers... but that's just a guess

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[Phil]

ESTA will be using a computer system with software either designed by one of a few different companies

Zetron
Motorola Solutions
Tait
Omnitronics

seeming that ESTA has been previously known to use the Motorola Console i would safely assume that it still is, i could be wrong and i am happy to be. On a side note DSDPlus has no limitation of RID's being stored but does require a PC

a slightly old document but already points in the direction

"It also enables the deployment of secure IP dispatch consoles, improving the resilience of ESTA call taking and dispatching capabilities."

[Blake]

Phil my man, delivering the goods.
Cheers bloke.

Very helpful insight and reference towards program to help my needs.

10/10, would buy again.

[Spaghetti70]

Blake, I know you posted this some time ago but I'm late to the party...
Anyway, ESTA dont use "radios" at all. Each dispatch position is fitted out with a Motorola Vortex computer system which is the radio interface. The operators can choose which of the dispatch channels to operate on from here as well as receive duress alarms.

Every single CFA radio registered on the RMR will show up on the call log with its UID and alias. Even state spare appliances.
All this information is stored in a computer system rather than a radio which is why it is able to store and display ALL radio id's.

The reason an operator can tell who is calling through garbled transmissions is down to a couple of things....1 is having the ID's available but 2 and more importantly the good operators keep track of their units and know who is likely to be calling and for what reason.

Hope that helps.

[Blake]

Not late at all Spaghetti,

I'd pretty much gathered that it wouldn't be a 'traditional' radio, more of a console sort of thing, but I had no clue as to the name.
I'd pretty much gathered that they'd be using UiD/RiD tracking, as I do something very similar with my scanner.
Thanks for your time and input mate, very interesting.
See you around.

[lysp]

The reason an operator can tell who is calling through garbled transmissions is down to a couple of things....1 is having the ID's available but 2 and more importantly the good operators keep track of their units and know who is likely to be calling and for what reason.

Hope that helps.

I have no actual knowledge of this, so it's just an assumption.

But I believe, especially in country vic, that the console operator also gets the tower that picked up the transmission. Based on this they can make an assumption as to which unit is more likely the one that is calling.

You can often them hear them say something such as "two units at once...first unit.." and then follow up with "second unit - from sale?"

So guessing the console will show the tower that picked up each transmission even though they are repeated out of all.

[Blake]

Makes sense.
Cheers, and thanks for the input mate.

[Phil]

The reason an operator can tell who is calling through garbled transmissions is down to a couple of things....1 is having the ID's available but 2 and more importantly the good operators keep track of their units and know who is likely to be calling and for what reason.

Hope that helps.

I have no actual knowledge of this, so it's just an assumption.

But I believe, especially in country vic, that the console operator also gets the tower that picked up the transmission. Based on this they can make an assumption as to which unit is more likely the one that is calling.

You can often them hear them say something such as "two units at once...first unit.." and then follow up with "second unit - from sale?"

So guessing the console will show the tower that picked up each transmission even though they are repeated out of all.

This is true for Analogue Conventional but im not so sure about trunked anymore, i know that with the NSWGRN that is not the case and the Trunked System wont allow you to key up at the same time. same as Digital Conventional for that matter.

[Simon Snorkel]

It’s been a while since I’ve been into ESTA so happy to be corrected. The CAD has numerous feeds coming in ie. one for each talkgroup/ district. Having one operator for each and every talkgroup is not possible both financially and for rostering etc. So the feeds get patched together so the 22 feeds get split across 2 or 3 operator positions depending on time of day or year, quantity of calls etc. Therefore the operator will hear 2 at once, like Bairnsdale and Sale for example as one would be on D10 feed and the other D11. If they were both on the same talkgroup then generally the second call will be queued until a free voice slot is available on the network.

[Blake]

Very interesting. And yeah, I quite frequently run across the TG patches.
Really common when it's quiet (off-peak or night for instance) I find.
Thanks Simon.