Motorola MINITOR pager

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The Motorola MINITOR is a portable, analog, one-way, voice only pager typically carried by fire, rescue, and EMS personnel (both volunteer and paid) to alert of emergencies. The MINITOR, slightly smaller than a pack of cigarettes, is carried on a person and usually left on a silent "standby" mode. When the unit is activated, an alarm tone goes off on the pager, followed by an announcement from a dispatcher alerting the user of a situation. After activation, the pager remains in an "open" position much like a scanner, and continuously broadcasts any audio transmissions on that channel until the unit is reset back into standby mode. No text or visual output (other than two diagnostic LEDs) is produced by the MINITOR.

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[edit] Purpose and History

In the times before modern radio communications, it was difficult for emergency services such as volunteer fire departments to alert their members to an emergency, since the members were not based at the station. The earliest methods of sounding an alarm would typically be by ringing a bell either at the fire station or the local church. As electricity became available, most fire departments used fire sirens or whistles to summon volunteers (some fire departments still use outdoor sirens, horns, and whistles along with pagers to alert volunteers). Other methods included specialized phones placed inside the volunteer firefighter's home or business or by base radios or scanners. Even on duty firefighters needed a compact radio to alert them during downtime such as eating at a restaurant or other daily duties. Obviously, the need arose for a portable radio small enough to be worn by a person and only activated when needed. Thus, Motorola answered this call in the 1970's and released the very first MINITOR pager.

There are 5 types of MINITOR pagers. The first was the original MINITOR, followed by the MINITOR II, MINITOR III, MINITOR IV, and by the MINITOR V released in late 2005 (Manufactured for Motorola by Unication). The MINITOR III, IV, and V used the same basic design, while the original MINITOR and MINITOR II use their own "squareish" proprietary case design. Similar voice pagers released by Motorola were the Keynote and Director pagers. They were essentially stripped down versions of the MINITOR and never gained widespread use, though the Keynotes were much more common in Europe.

Although the MINITOR is primarily used by fire, rescue, and EMS personnel, other agencies such as utilities, private contractors, and law enforcement also use the pager as a way of alerting. Unlike conventional text pagers and cell phones, MINITORS are operated off of a totally separate network and infrastructure. The MINITOR is by far the most common pager used by emergency services to alert personnel. However, digital 2-way pagers that can display alpha-numeric characters and overcome the limitations of voice only pagers, are now starting to replace the MINITOR series. It is not known if the new digital pagers will completely replace voice only pagers like the MINITOR, or fall out of favor with users, as they too have limitations.

[edit] Activation

MINITOR pagers can operate in the Low Band, VHF, and UHF frequencies (known also as channels). Most MINITOR pagers are activated by a two-tone sequential audio tone. In other words, the pager will activate when a particular series of audio tones are played on that frequency. For example, if a MINITOR is programmed on VHF frequency channel 155.925 MHz and its audio tones are 850 Hz & 1100 Hz, it will scan and ignore anything transmitted on that channel, even tones that are similar to its activation tones. Only when the 850 Hz & 1100 Hz activation tones are played (in that order, not vice-versa) will the pager activate. Another option allows the pager to activate when a prolonged single tone is played.

In other words, when the pager is in its "standby" mode, it ignores any voice or tonal transmissions. Only when the pager "hears" its activation tones will the unit activate. Older MINITOR pagers such as the MINITOR II have tone "reeds" that are physically placed inside the pager. The preprogrammed reeds act as gates and only allow the certain activation tone to pass through and activate the pager, while ignoring everything else. For two-tone sequential paging, there are two reeds, the first tone passes through the first reed, and the second tone passes through the second reed, thereby activating the pager. Newer units such as the MINITOR III and up, have all solid-state electronics and the activation can be programmed by computer software.

All MINITOR pagers can openly scan a channel by selecting that function via a rotary knob on the pager, thus acting like a scanner and the user may listen to that channel regardless if the unit was activated or not. If the activation tones are transmitted in this "open" position, the pager activates as normal. The pager may be reset back into its standby mode by pressing the reset button located on the rounded side of the pager. Some models, after a predetermined amount of time, will reset back into the standby mode automatically, a factory preset feature, to conserve battery power.

The range of the MINITOR's operating distance solely depends on the strength ("wattage") of the transmitting antenna and whether or not repeaters are used. Weather conditions, low battery, and even atmospheric conditions can adversely affect the MINITORS ability to receive transmissions. In fact, a remote transmitter hundreds, even thousands of miles away belonging to a separate agency, can activate a MINITOR (and also block it) unknowingly if the atmospheric conditions let the signal propagate that far. This is commonly known as radio skip.

The MINITOR can only receive transmissions. Like a scanner, it cannot transmit anything.

[edit] Features

Note - most all of the features below refer to the MINITOR pagers III and up, the original MINITOR and MINITOR II pagers may not have some of the listed features

  • Newer generation MINITOR pagers can simultaneously scan up to two channels and have multiple activation tones. This can be very helpful if a user belongs to several emergency services, or the emergency service has different alarms for different emergencies.
  • Alarm tones - The default, and most common alarm is the continuous beeping (sounds like "beep-beep-beep-beep...etc.)". Other alarms can include a steady high pitched tones, and the newest MINITOR V's can even have musical tones for general non-emergency announcements.
  • VIBRA-Page - For silent alarm activation, most MINITOR pagers can also vibrate without sounding an alarm tone. This is particularly useful in churches, schools, meetings, etc. where a loud noise would be disruptive. This feature is known as "VIBRA-Page". [1]
  • Voice Record - Many MINITOR pagers can also record (up to 8 minutes, depending on the model and options) of voice/transmission after the pager activates. [2]
  • Controls - Physical controls (specifically on the MINITOR III) include an "A,B,C,D" function knob, a power/volume knob, reset button, voice playback button, external speaker jack, and an amber and red LED. Depending on the model, the selection on the function knobs may do different things.
  • Control examples - For example, function A may be a normal standby mode, while function B may be for open scan. Function C may turn the vibrate function on similar to A and Function D may tune into a whole other channel. When the pager is turned on, eight short beeps are heard along with flashing of both LED's. Holding down the reset button in normal standby mode will open up the channel either sounding any transmission on that channel at that time or pure static as the squelch is bypassed.
  • Field Programmable - Some models have field programmable options such as Non- Priority Scan, Alert Duration, Priority Alert, On/Off Duty, Reset Options, and Push-To-Listen. Many MINITOR pagers can be hooked up to a computer with a special cable and options changed. [3]
  • Durability - Unlike older models, the newest MINITOR V is "rainproof" as it meets "Military Standard 810, Procedure 1 for driving rain". [4]
  • Belt Clip - A spring loaded clip is attached to the back of each MINITOR to allow the user to clip the pager onto a pocket or belt. Also, carrying cases and covers are also made to protect the pager.
  • Charging - MINITOR pagers come standard with a charging stand and two rechargeable batteries. [5]
  • Amplified base unit - An optional "Charger/Amplifier" base can be bought. Bigger than the standard charging stand, the "Charger/Amplifier" base not only charges the pager, but has an external antenna for increased reception, an amplified audio out jack to drive a stand-alone speaker, and some models even incorporate a relay to activate external devices along with the pager. Some uses for this relay include: Turning on lights in a building such as a fire station, activating an external audio/visual alarm, etc. The possibilities are endless.
  • Accessories - Official Motorola accessories for the MINITOR pagers include (including some listed above): Desktop Battery Charger, Desktop Battery Charger/Amplifier with Antenna and Relay, Vehicular Charger-Amp with Relay, Earpieces, Extra Loud Lapel Speaker, and Nylon Carrying Case. [6]

[edit] Disadvantages

The audible alarm on the MINITOR lasts only for the duration of the second activation tone. If there is bad reception, the pager may only sound a quick beep, and the user may not be alerted. Also, most models have the volume knob to control the sound output of the audible alarm as well. The user may have the volume turned down to an undetectable level either by accident or by carelessness, thus missing the page. A factory option, however, lets the alert tone override the volume and sound at maximum volume regardless of the volume knob's position.

MINITOR pagers run off of batteries which may die (a flashing red LED and audible alarm is used as a warning of low battery power). As the MINITOR is portable, its electronics aren't as robust as set top or base radios and are usually less prone to picking up weak signals. Also, as soon as the transmission cuts out on a MINITOR III for example (even for a split second after the pager's activation), the voice record function ceases and nothing is recorded.

Perhaps the most notable disadvantage is the unit can simply be "left behind". A user at home casually taking out the trash may miss an important emergency page.

It is important to remember that while MINITOR pagers are reliable electronic devices, they (along with their activation and dispatch infrastructure) do sometimes fail. All emergency departments should have a backup or auxiliary means of mass notification such as an outdoor warning siren to alert critical personnel.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links and references

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