Tyco Electronics MM102014V1 5.17 EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

2. Enter the telephone number. (Ignore dashes/spaces, and precede the number with any required access

digits such as a 1 for long distance.)

3. Press the # key.

4. Wait a few seconds and then press and release the mic’s PTT button to initiate the call. An initial ring

tone plays indicating call initiation. Once the gateway picks up the call, the ring tone changes.

5. When the caller answers, press the PTT button when speaking and release it to listen to the caller.

6. To hang-up, press the Select button on the front panel.

5.17 EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

The M-803 and V-TAC mobile radios can transmit both emergency voice calls and emergency alerts over

the entire network. OpenSky handles emergency calls and alerts with the highest priority.

For critical voice communications, an emergency call can be raised on the default talk group or the

currently selected talk group by “declaring” an emergency on the talk group. The exact talk group is

determined by the currently active profile. After successfully declaring an emergency on a talk group, the

declaring radio’s microphone remains “hot” for a predetermined amount of time. In other words, the radio

transmits audio for a period of time even when the microphone’s PTT button is not pressed. An

emergency talk group is provided greater priority and infinite hang-time by the radio system’s

infrastructure. Hang-time is the maximum duration of quiet time between transmissions on the talk group

before the infrastructure assets are automatically taken away. Because an emergency call is handled on a

talk group, it is received by all radios and consoles monitoring the talk group.

An emergency alert is a data message sent by the radio to the MIS console (or any console capable of

receiving it). It identifies the radio declaring the emergency, and the radio’s location (if the radio is

equipped with a GPS receiver). Voice audio is not automatically transmitted during the emergency if the

administrator configures the radio for alert notification only.

To declare an emergency call or emergency alert, press and release the orange Emergency button. This

button is located just to the right of the 5-button Menu and Select keypad; see Figure 4-1 on page 16.

Note the following:

• The OpenSky network administrator determines if the Emergency button is used to declare an

emergency call or if it is used to declare an emergency alert. This is based upon the radio’s currently

active profile.

• The OpenSky network administrator also determines if the emergency is declared on the currently

selected talk group or a “default” emergency talk group. Again, this is based upon the radio’s

currently active profile. A talk group upon which an emergency is declared on is considered an

“emergency talk group.”

• Upon successful emergency declaration:

¾ An emergency tone will sound in the radio’s speaker/headset if the radio is not in stealth mode.

¾ At the declaring radio, the Emergency button flashes red if the radio is not in stealth mode. The

administrator can configure the radio to automatically transmit upon successful emergency

declaration, at which point the Select button will flash red. However, the Select button flashing

red is not a requirement for successful emergency declaration.