Welcome to the Radio re-certification for 2026

Motivation

Our radios are our lifeline to the "outside" world while performing our duties.  Whether operating in an IDLH or in the back room of a residence at 0300hrs with your partner, your portable radio provides you access to additional resources and/or help should a situation become untenable or dangerous.  Knowledge of the features and capabilities of your portable radio is key to ensuring your safety.

The objective of this refresher training is to provide you with a review of key procedures, safety precautions and cleaning procedures that need to be considered when operating with the Motorola APX 8000 XE radios.   After a review of the material, personnel are expected to take and pass an exam to an accuracy of at least 80%.  Any information found herein is subject to testing on the exam.

Dealing with Difficulties

Site Trunking

The MCFRS 800 MHz radio system uses 22 tower sites that are all connected (networked) together, giving county-wide radio coverage to all users that are on the radio system. In the event these 22 sites become disconnected from ECC, the radio system will enter "Site Trunking” mode, which will appear on the display of the radio.  The impact of Site Trunking on field personnel is minimal to none, but personnel should be aware that there are impacts on ECC operations that may temporarily hamper their efficiency.

Failsoft

In the event, that there are major computer problems with the radio system, but the whole system doesn’t go down, it will go into "Failsoft" mode.  You’ll know we’re in Failsoft mode if you see the word Failsoft on the radio screen.  While in Failsoft mode, there are only a handful of channels, so people can easily "talk over" one another; unless one has something vitally important to say, they should keep quiet.  All calls are still dispatched on 7A2-DISP and operate on 7A1-OPS1, 7A4-INC10, etc.  In short, treat Failsoft like condition red.  Personnel may review a fleetmap showing Failsoft channels here.

If 800MHz Coverage is Completely Lost

In the event you are operating on 7A1-OPS or 7A2-DISP and your 800 MHz communications fail, you should switch to 7V1-VHF OPS R or 7V2-VHF DISP R and make that dispatcher aware you're operating on VHF.  Remember that 7 Oscar will still be working. With the addition of the 7M Zone using the MD State radio system and once ECC is given the direction to switch to the 7M back up zone, users will be notified to start using the 7M zone.  ECC will not be on radio consoles and will be using their MCD5000 desktop backup radios

Radio Relays (and Metro)

While great efforts have recently been made to boost radio coverage in the Metro system, there are still issues with adequate coverage in many areas.  Radio relays may help personnel bridge the gap when the conventional radio system comes up short.  Personnel should read FCGO 12-06 found here, along with the accompanying presentation, to refresh on building radio relays.

<NEW> Radio Emergency Button / Ruthless Preemption

Normal everyday operations – Emergency Pre‑emption

• When a radio is placed into EMERGENCY mode, it is granted ruthless pre‑emption over all other subscriber units.

• Each EMERGENCY transmission may last up to 60 seconds.

• During this time, any non‑emergency radio currently transmitting will be forcibly interrupted: the unit will emit a honk tone, terminate its transmission, and automatically switch to receive mode so the EMERGENCY audio can be heard.

Rare occasion - Caveats and Exceptions

• Legacy or unauthorized radios (e.g., from mutual aid partners using older radios/firmware) can revert the system to the previous EMERGENCY handling method of years past:

  • The first EMERGENCY transmission (up to 60 seconds) is ruthless and will knock another radio off the air.

  • Subsequent transmissions will no longer pre‑empt; instead, audio may mix with other active transmissions.

Note that an EMERGENCY radio cannot override a dispatcher’s transmission. However, the dispatcher will still receive the EMERGENCY audio.

<NEW> Proper cleaning of the Motorola APX Portable radio

Remember that you need to take care inspecting your radio and also ensuring it is clean after operating in environments with water and debris

• Dirty radios have degraded performance characteristics compared to a clean radio

  • Pay special attention to antenna connection area.  

• Check for damage at the beginning of your shift riding assignment 

<NEW>TSR's and some helpful tips

TSR Submission Quality Matters

A well-written Technical Service Request (TSR) significantly improves response efficiency. Vague entries—such as “something wrong”—are akin to dispatching a unit to an apartment building without specifying the nature of the emergency or apartment number. It creates unnecessary delays and confusion.

To ensure clarity and actionable follow-up, every TSR should include:

• Location of the device (station, apparatus, etc.)

• Specific issue observed

• Device identification (radio ID, serial number, etc.)

• Assignment details (unit, riding position, etc.)

• Context (when the issue occurred, any patterns, CAD Incident number, etc.)

Think of it as answering the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How—each detail helps target the problem and expedite resolution.

Radio Swap 

When a portable radio experiences issues—whether it's the radio itself, the Remote Speaker Microphone (RSM), channel knob, or other components—please swap the entire radio unit with the paired speaker microphone for a Battalion Chief (BC) loaner.  Also know that LFRD's that operate Volunteer Battalion Chief (ex- VBC701) command platforms also carry loaner radios.

Do not swap RSMs independently. The radio and its microphone should always be treated as a matched set. Separating them introduces diagnostic ambiguity and complicates troubleshooting efforts for TechOps. In-station component swaps often lead to misidentification of the root issue and delay proper resolution.

Sigtronic Apparatus Headsets

Are you experiencing the Sigtronic Headset system will not allow you to properly transmit on the radio?  This most often occurs when you swap into a reserve unit.

• Look for toggle that shows the Radio 1 and Radio 2.  Try switching this toggle to the other position and try testing your transmission again

• Also make sure the Squelch and Volume knobs on the Sigtronics box are turned the whole way up

Do you hear weird volume fluctuations or noises when hearing the headsets?

• This is most often caused bad one bad headset.  Try unplugging one headset at a time.  You can usually locate the bad headset.  Write a TSR for a headset replacement and mail the bad headset to TechOps.

MDC & EPCR

Where is my DCM number for the TSR?

Please use the FM#(MDC) or the EM#(EPCR) on the label located on the machine. PLEASE note what unit you are having the problem with.  Listing the unit number and the FM or EM number allows TechOps staff to more effectively process your TSR.