ONE ON THE RADIOS IN MOVIES TOPIC AGAIN

[Brian2j101]

Well it doesnt really have to do with anything but you mentioned that they cover motorla label on the shows.. Well when I worked the olympics they had tons of mts2000's they used but all the motorola labels were peeled off 'cause they aren't official sponsors. Go figure... money talks ....

[R F Burns]

Re: flying fireballs

I was on a ride-along with a friend of mine when a 10-13, office in trouble (cop shot, actually -- turned out minor injury), came over division radio. He tossed the Fireball on the roof, jumped onto the West Side Highway, hit 90+ mph on the way up to Harlem and with my white-knuckles digging into the passenger seat flinched as I watched the whoopee-light sail past my window and become firmly attached with a loud "clonk" to the passenger door. still revolving it's little heart out.

-RFB

[Dale Earnhardt]

Speaking of stargate, you kind of wonder how they transmit through the base radio, when general hamion talk to them at base and they up there gate and they can talk to them, mannnnn!!!! some kind of FRS radios arent they???!!! LOL, just kidding

I have no idea what radio they use, it looks like a UHF radio with a stubby antenna

[Cell God]

I was watching some made for TV movie and in this all the law enforcement and fire was using Motorola talk abouts. The ones with the PTT on the front of the radio.

And it seems (not lately, but previous) they would use Ham radios like in Stargate they used icom Ham radios with the dual ant, and in Die Hard 2 they used a Kenwood older Ham HT. Also in Die Hard I wish there was an encryption device that you could change by just pushing the keypads to a new and different code.

And finally in Nash Bridges it was amazing that the SISU (aka San Fran Investigations unit) never had a chirp when they talked on Nextel, and even in there they said go to direct and it was nextel to Nextel cause they could not get dispatch on there Nextel's

-Cell God

[d119]

Speaking of the show COPS, I was watching it last night, and (they were showing the LAPD) and they had what looked like the old MX360 with MODAT, and thats about all I heard for the entire time, that annoying noise

Eather that was an older episiode, or they didnt make the Astro saber switch yet.

Just a comment

Actually, that's correct. The current ASTRO Sabers replaced the MX360's that LAPD was previously using. 48 Channel models with the A/B/C/D Zone switch. They also had MODAT boards installed. I think that the MX series, MT500, Syntor, and ASTRO series are the only ones that MODAT was ever incorporated into, and, I also believe that the reason MODAT is even available on the ASTRO series has something to do with LAPD.

Think about it. Who else have you ever seen use MODAT for so long? LAPD obviously required it, and they were one of the first major ASTRO customers, well, since it was written into the ASTRO firmware, it became available to everyone.

-119

[Jonathan KC8RYW]

Speaking of the show COPS, I was watching it last night, and (they were showing the LAPD) and they had what looked like the old MX360 with MODAT, and thats about all I heard for the entire time, that annoying noise

Eather that was an older episiode, or they didnt make the Astro saber switch yet.

Just a comment

Actually, that's correct. The current ASTRO Sabers replaced the MX360's that LAPD was previously using. 48 Channel models with the A/B/C/D Zone switch. They also had MODAT boards installed. I think that the MX series, MT500, Syntor, and ASTRO series are the only ones that MODAT was ever incorporated into, and, I also believe that the reason MODAT is even available on the ASTRO series has something to do with LAPD.

Think about it. Who else have you ever seen use MODAT for so long? LAPD obviously required it, and they were one of the first major ASTRO customers, well, since it was written into the ASTRO firmware, it became available to everyone.

-119

LOL.

MODAT is about as complex a signaling format as QCII.

Record a wave file in CoolEdit off of the scanner..and zoom in to see what you find. You will be on the floor laughing. It is just seven .04 second tones bunched together without gaps. It's not even data. Purely hysterical.

[RadioBama]

If I recall correctly, Kojack drove a mid 70's buick century 4 door car which at that time had no metal frame around the top of the window, it relied on the roof of the vehicle and pillars to hold the glass in place above the door as was the same with the chevy malibus and cadillacs of the same era. Technically, I guess he could open and close his door without ripping the light off.
My favorite will always be Dragnet from the late 1960's when Jack Webb picked up a light with a red lens and waved it back and forth in the windshield to create a "flash" while responding to a hot call....... .......remember their call....1K80?

[RidgeRunner]

It always bugged me how on the dukes of hazzard, that the CB's always sounded better than VHF or UHF FM no matter where they were, even if Rosco's car was under water he could still call Enos for help and the CB always worked...oh well

[MT2000 man]

I was watching a made for TV movie (Atomic Tornado) tonight, and they were using a portable repeater (from 2 what looked like GM300's) the cop carried the repeater from the station to the nuclear plant and they used it there in a little room, and later in the movie, sadly "got it" by the tornado :(

Another note: they used what looked like the new EX500's, and some visars.

Ok, so I was bored

[KD5NBU]

Anyone seen US Marshals? Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) and his bunch all use standard SP50s with stubby antennas. I like it how Newman can talk to everyone with his SP50 cliped to his belt and they can hear him just fine, i have tried that, it does not work that well

Also in The Negotiator, the Chicago PD all use Standard SP50s and they have black tape over the orange MON and OPT buttons on the front. I also like how the PDs radios have a combination of UHf and VHF antennas and yet they all manage to communicate with each other. When Danny Roman (Samuel L Jackson) goes to braodcast his speech, his SP50 has a nice custom added switch on the side so he can key it and lock it down set the radio on the desk and talk. When the reporters are listening to his broadcast, it shows them listening on a Handheld CB.

Just my thoughts

-Jon
KD5NBU

OWNER: JT1000, HT1250, HT1000(3)-UHF, VHF, 800MHz, MTX9000(2), P1225, GP350, GP300, SP50(2), Spirit M-Series(2), HT440. SM50(2)

[2wayfreq]

I notice that in the cop shows the same dispatch transmission clip is used in every single one. How about the actual dispatch traffic that is happening at the time?

[OX]

I'm just getting into Third Watch and am impressed that they actually use Sabers. I'm really amazed that the /\/\otorola isn't covered up at all and really is shown off quite a bit....must be some bucks there somewhere

[MT2000 man]

Reguarding the U.S. Marshalls movie post-

I'm amazed that they actually issued them the Sp50's, you'd think that they'd at lest have gp300's

The movie/producer/prop dep. people should do their homework more often

[Radio_Cowboy]

How about in Independance Day, When they are bangin out all that "morse" code? They ain't sendin Squat....just bangin on the key's.....



-RC-

[Tom in D.C.]

Has enyone besides me ever noticed how on John Bunnell's Wildest Police Videos show that the narrator of the helicopter chases is always the same guy/same voice all the time?

I (being a slow-witted person in things such as this) finally figured out that the commentary is dubbed later. Like, duh!

Tom, W2NJS
...in D.C.

[A10382]

More movie techno-goofs...

While in the car (A PONTIAC -- a PONTIAC in NYC !), Kojack -I'm really showing my age here -- was talking into a western-electric telephone headset wired to a Bearcat crystal controled scanner and the lights kept on rolling across while he was talking.. It was always "Central K"
---------
On an OT note.. I had a neighbor who was a sales exec for Timex. He had a cell-print of a ben-hur like epic that had the Roman soldier wearing a timex digital watch.. "Takes a likin' and keeps on a-tickin' - for 2000 years".

In the same ben-hur like flick, there were jet contrails clearly visible in the sky during the charriot runs across the battlefield.
--
I actually got to be a tech-advisor for the aviation portion of a movie quite a few years ago.. It was fun --- except when they don't take your advice...

[A10382]

There must be sound clip running around the studios...

In code, it bleeps out "CQ CQ de" - no call sign, but clearly CQ.

I've seen a few postings on SWL sites, where the folks noted it being in quite a few movies.

I've heard this same clip on a few TV shows lately.. even one where it was dubbed over the carrier air-boss's voice while he's talking down a crippled jet. It goes something like "Raider 201, Raider 201 (CQ CQ de) watch your lineup -- POWER POOOWERRR (CW CW de) -- lineup right (CQ CQ de)". Of course the talkdown really comes from the LSO on the deck - not the Boss in the tower. So much for 'technical excellence' from Hollywood.

You can't expect accuracy from folks who brought us the 'ALAR Scare' and PETA...

[Code3Response]

On COPS - dub in the " Control, I can handle the 211 with a delay - I have two calls pending" Lol. Listen for it sometime - you may hear it on next weeks ALL NEW EPISODES!

[Tom in D.C.]

FWIW, the NYPD dispatcher on any dispatch or command channel has always been known as "Central."

And NYPD is the only department I ever encountered which uses the "invitation to transmit" signal "K" in its everyday work.

Of course, to balance this seeming use of common sense the NYPD also, like many other departments, made up and uses its own unique 10 signals. Oh well, you can't have everything.

And while I'm on the subject, if you're ever in Montgomery County Maryland and want to report a traffic accident don't, whatever you do, use the phrase "10-50." In this county it means "assist the officer" and not a traffic accident. Of course, in the NYPD the assist call is a 10-13.

Question: Why can't they just stick with the standard 10 list?

Tom, W2NJS
...in D.C.

[nmfire10]

I always found it amusing that the big helicoper's microphone could pickup the sounds of the sirens and tires screeching. Gee, those helicopters must have that "Silent Running" think like Blue Thunder. I used to like watching those until (1) Realized they were all re-runs, and (2) there was so much fake and edited crap that sucked.

[hfitzgerald]

I found it humorus during Lethal Weapon 2 (during the opening dual pursuit) when the South African goons needed to cooridinate their evasive efforts, off all the possible frequencies to pick from, they picked the dispatcher's channel. Hmmm... good thinking!

Also, I thought Arnold Schwarzenegger got a lot of talk time out of his Motorola Expo in the movie True Lies. Even for the UHF model, the small battery packs don't last too long when you're talking on them a lot. (they're only 250 mAh)

[A10382]

Question: Why can't they just stick with the standard 10 list?
Tom, W2NJS
...in D.C.

I think it has something to do with:

NYPD not needing a "10-41" call (Sandstorm)
Tucson not needing KeyWest's "10-41" call (Shark siting)

and Dade country not needing any calls relating to frozen sleet on the road ( a "10-41" call here).

I agree.. there should really be a common set of the first 40 or 50 for everyone's use - after 50 your're on your own. We have local towns that now have one common freq that they all monitor - however, the "10-" calls very a lot.. makes for interesting responses when one supervisor breaks out the full-autos for the next town's 'cat-in-a-tree' call.

[A10382]

This is a great topic -- interesting AND entertaining. In would expect to see a lot more posts here.

However, me thinks this topic has gotten far afield from the General Discussion forum...

Maybe the moderator could move the topic & all the posts to the 'Bat Cave' forum ????

[A10382]

This is a great topic -- interesting AND entertaining. In would expect to see a lot more posts here.

However, me thinks this topic has gotten far afield from the General Discussion forum...

Maybe the moderator could move the topic & all the posts to the 'Bat Cave' forum ????

[Flametamer]

Question: Why can't they just stick with the standard 10 list?
Tom, W2NJS
...in D.C.

Good points about the 10 codes. There are several different 10 code sheets in use around here. It makes me understand why so some are switching to PLAIN ENGLISH when they can...


dt

[Tom in D.C.]

deleted

repeated what I had posted months ago. maybe they should put me in a home like Don Rickles said they'd do with Jimmy Stewart if he kept talking funny.

Tom in D.C.
W2NJS

[mark102]

Back a few (???) years ago, in the 70's, when I first started in the law business we had a "Special" Deputy, about 80 years old, who was the night security guard in the section of the county which had several businesses. He had an old Dodge and used a Fireball light on the roof. One night his light flew off and was dragging in the wind. He opened the door to reel it in and fell out of the car. While he was rolling down the highway, the car went about a 1/4 mile down the road and over a 30 foot embankment. He had road rash from head to toe, the car was pretty near totaled, but the Fireball light was OK. He "retired" shortly thereafter.

[sglass]

And while I'm on the subject, if you're ever in Montgomery County Maryland and want to report a traffic accident don't, whatever you do, use the phrase "10-50." In this county it means "assist the officer" and not a traffic accident. Of course, in the NYPD the assist call is a 10-13.

Question: Why can't they just stick with the standard 10 list?

Tom, W2NJS
...in D.C.

because we are special in Montgomery County

[fubb26]

if anyone really listens to the nypd, the only one who really use's the 10 is the dispatcher most calls are shortdened like 10-53 being a 53 w injury's 10-54 edp just plain 54 edp. and the "k" never hear it used on my division, usually by the old timers. as far as codes it does get a little crazy 93f, 93j1 or 93j2, 90f1,90f2 99t4,99t5. too many too remember sometimes, so glad i am not on patrol anymore.

[k4wtf]

how about:

<ul>
<li>The actor cannot interrupt someone else by keying up in the middle of receiving.</li>
</ul>

you may remember that sort of thing happening in Die Hard (sooo many radio related errors in that movie).

Heck, we've got to teach a good 30%+++ of people who work in public service that they can't talk at the same time as the dispatcher or another unit. I think they should all be given securenet radios with secure disabled and the PTT "beep"... That way, we could tell them "Until you hear the beep, we won't hear a peep!"

--
John

[70351]

Yeah, I always seem to hear the same "Police Traffic" sound effect on different movies. Such ignorance in the movie industry. I had a question though. What kind of radio does Col. Jack O'Niel have in the origional StarGate? Its the dual antenna VHF/UHF? radio.

The dual-antenna radio was an Icom IC-2SRA. One antenna served as the VHF TX/RX antenna, while the other served as a receive-only antenna for a built-in separate wideband receiver. It was also available in a UHF transceiver with the same "extra" wideband receiver and second antenna (IC-4SRA).


Randy

[ASTROMODAT]

In the movie "Frequency," the main character walks around his house talking into the Heath HF Ham transceiver full duplex---he never has to press the PTT button and he carries on a full duplex conversation as he wanders from room to room!

Larry

[PropellorHead]

Dale E,

I saw that episode. It was a really old one, COPS hasnt ran with LAPD since the show began. Apparently LAPD doesn't like cameras with them anymore, can't imagine why?!?!

Here's something interesting to also note about LAPD's radios. I don't know if this is a common thing or not, but it isn't that common out here in So Cal anyways but to aid in the programming of 10 thousand radios or so, they don't use any astro mobile's.

At the beginning of their shift, each officer recieves an HT, and they get an extra one to put in a SVA in their car. So when it comes to reprogramming or adjusting, no need to bring a laptop into a car, or try and disassemble a mobile unit, they just collect all the HT's.

Louie

[MT2000 man]

Do the LAPD still use the astro sabers, or are they all XTS's now ?
Will they eventually all be XTS's ??

[kf4sqb]

More movie radio screw-ups: in Lethal Weapon 4, "Riggs" breaks into "Leo's" vehicle and takes his "scanner". Later in the movie, you see "Murtaugh" talking to dispatch on it! And the one that always gets me: on a lot of movies, they use an amatuer HF rig to talk on what should be VHF or UHF freqs., and to talk to HTs! Good example: in Cliffhanger, they use a Yaesu FT101B (HF!) to talk to what look like VHF HTs!

[ASTROMODAT]

Yeah, I hate that OBVIOUSLY inaccurate Hollywood stuff. You know, like when they do something really stupid, like light-off a 250-C20B Rolls Royce copter turbine at 10%. EVERYONE knows that you light-off a 250-C20 at 18%. Heck, I've even seen movies where they entirely SKIP light-off during start-up! Can you even believe it?! It's so OBVIOUS to the audience, just like the radio inaccuracies pointed out here!

Larry

[k4wtf]

Yeah, I hate that OBVIOUSLY inaccurate Hollywood stuff. You know, like when they do something really stupid, like light-off a 250-C20B Rolls Royce copter turbine at 10%. EVERYONE knows that you light-off a 250-C20 at 18%. Heck, I've even seen movies where they entirely SKIP light-off during start-up! Can you even believe it?! It's so OBVIOUS to the audience, just like the radio inaccuracies pointed out here!

Larry

OK. Not being a roto pilot, but still being currious, please explain light-off. Is that the point at which you engage the collective to start putting torque to the rotor blades or the point at which you actually apply fuel and spark to combustion chamber in the turbine engines that have been spun up on battery? Perhaps both? Perhaps neither and I should stick to fixed-wing aircraft?

--
John

[ASTROMODAT]

It's the latter, and No, I won't hold it against you that you are a starched winger (so was I, before my Ft. Rucker days!).

[N3IVK]

Die Hard : They used Kenwood Th31BT's. They were BCD thumbwheeled controleld with a DTMF pad in the front. Apparently the batteries last FOREVER in them and as pointed earlier...can do encryption.

John Q : The security guard hands the dude his "walkie talkie", it's a P110. It then turns into a HT1000/MTSX magically

CHiPS 2000. John and the other cop dude are hostage on the bus, John "locks" the transmit button on the speaker mic. Uh huh....right. At least they were correct on the "extender" (PAC-RT) idea of locating them.

Dukes of Hazzard : Besides the underwater CB, the General Lee's 11 meter radio shack mag mount comes flying off many times as they go around corners fishtailing.

CHiPS (classic) : The Motorola name on the speaker during the opening credits is removed to say I think...."Motronics" ??

Twister : The only CB fiberglass antenna that can withstand driving through a house and survive. Also they have the only Dodge Ram in the world that had a self healing windshield. Wasnt that movie the longest running car commercial in the world ? No wait, that was the Bond movie live and let die with all the Chevy's.

Just about any movie with a car chase scene involving a taxi : The Taxi magically transforms from a Crown Vic to a Caprice several times during the movie and looses a hubcap on the turns.

Any cop show with the squad cars coming to a screeching hault : Didnt the Caprice after 91 have ABS ? And didnt Ford also have ABS in the 91 and up Crown Vic's ?

COPS : The Atlanta PD episode. They were going down I 85 fixing to pull someone over, the passenger side officer uses his public safety 800 MHZ speaker mic to call in the stop.....with a missing antenna (note he can hear himself on the mobile radio...breaking up)

Any cop movie in the big city : The cop is out and about with his portable radio, doing interviews, traffic stops, car chases...etc. Ever notice his radio is always dead quiet until he calls into dispatch ? Wouldn't the thing be busy most all the time ?

COPS : Ever notice the black tape on the light bars as John B is talking to keep the glare out of the camera ?

Cop shows : Sometimes they use the siren/PA mic to talk to the other units

James Bond : I think it was "the world is not enough", Bond is on his BMW driving with the remote in the parking garage, one shot shows the the dash and the guages....racing the engine all to heck and the Tach isn't moving nor the speedomoeter or the steering wheel !

Bond "To live and let die" Sheriff JW Pepper has the speed trap setup, car goes flying by and he gets on the RCA carphone mic and calls it in...he goes to start the car and holds the key in START while talking into mid air...while HOLDING THE KEY IN START. Wouldnt the starter be grinding the flywheel at this point ? Also, after the boat lands in the sheriffs car, the radio keeps working.

SPEED : The retired cop has all the bombs set up, is hiding out, hasnt been caught. Has remote cell phone activated bombs, wireless video....the whole works. How comes he doesnt have a scanner or LAPD radio going ? You'd figure if the guy was that smart, he'd have his astro saber going. oh well

FERRIS BUELLERS DAY OFF : Ferris has the brains to read the phone number on the 1A2 key system phone in the resturant. Not bad for a kid.


Enough for now
Matt

[Johnny Grep]

Hey, what radio model was Bond using in The World Is Not Enough? It's a small HT, maybe a Vertex? How about Ocean's Eleven?

[ASTROMODAT]

There is a book that is around 350 pages, with lots of photos, documenting all sorts of technical errors in movies and TV shows.

[MT2000 man]

I think Bond was using an HT1250 with the DTMF keypad in that movie.

[N3IVK]

Na, they had Ericsson portables, also running them in super movie full duplex. There is one shot where I think you can see the name on the radio. Ericsson also made the cellphone/remotecontrol/stun gun/can opener/nose picker.

[n9upc]

Oceans 11 used a telario setup which is nothing more than an in-house Nextel system produced by Motorola. Had to install one once and it was a huge pain in the a$$.

I think a great movie screw up is anytime that someone pushs the PTT and releases it and starts talking. Oh my mistake must be a vox start switch.

National Security: I love all the Saber like looking radios that have a bright deep orange color as well as the red trasnmit light is on ALL the time.

National Security: I also love how he is in the middle of LA and he can not get a cell signal.

Also in general please take time to remember any movie that uses an SP50 as a premiere radio for secret service or NSA, or federal marshalls, etc....

[Heterodyne]

Also in general please take time to remember any movie that uses an SP50 as a premiere radio for secret service or NSA, or federal marshalls, etc....

Hey, those SP50's they used in The Negotiator never looked better.... They actually aren't that bad looking of a radio.

(grin)

[kc7gr]

To continue the MacGuyver thread, or rather the movie radio thread, Anyone recall the Mac episode where he gets locked in a room with a DTMF keypad activated door?

He fills a few x-tal wine glasses with wine to various levels and then records them on a doctors tape recorder and then strips the headpones wiring and hooks each polarity to forceps and attaches them to the various circuits on the access panel on his side and was able to release the lock.

Talk about a "new" use for DTMF....

Talk about a blatant rip-off of a scene from the movie 'War Games' (Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman). I had to chuckle when I saw that, knowing what I do about access-control hardware (specifically, that I've never seen one that works on DTMF tones -- a serial data interface is much simpler, and far more secure).

I will say, though, that the later trick in the same movie of getting dial tone from an old three-slot coin phone without using a coin was right on the money (pardon the pun). Most of the old three-slotters were on ground-start lines, where you could draw dial tone simply by grounding one side of the line for a second or so.

73 de KC7GR

[kc7gr]

Speaking of stargate, you kind of wonder how they transmit through the base radio, when general hamion talk to them at base and they up there gate and they can talk to them, mannnnn!!!! some kind of FRS radios arent they???!!! LOL, just kidding

I have no idea what radio they use, it looks like a UHF radio with a stubby antenna

As a fan of 'Stargate,' I believe I can answer that one. The theory is that, since the gate can transmit energy just as well as people and objects, RF makes it through just as easily as matter does as long as there's an active wormhole.

Remember, they also (supposedly) have radio control over the MALPs and UAV's that they sometimes send through. Same idea.

The idea of traversable wormholes is not new. If you're curious, check these links.

http://www.aleph.se/Trans/Tech/Space-Ti ... holes.html

http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/ ... 3/tra.html

73 de KC7GR

[ASTROMODAT]

Yeah, and don't you just hate those obvious Hollywood screw-ups, like when they use DTMF signaling on interoffice trunks that are obviously set up for external CCIS#6 signaling?! Geeze, the public must absolutely HATE those obvious inaccuracies!! And, don't you just get frustrated when they have a Blue Box, and they use DTMF signaling instead of the obviously correct MF tones?! I mean, how can you use analog in-band DTMF signaling on an interoffice trunk?!

One would certainly think that the Capitalists that invest their money into these films would clearly want to spend hundereds of thousands of additional dollars to ensure that these OBVIUOUS screw-ups wouldn't occur! I mean, all they would have to do is to hire a bunch of additional experts in all areas (like telecommunications, RF communications, electrical engineering, aviation, military, PhDs in Economics, MDs, Green Berets, helicopter pilots, mechanical engineers, etc.) and for a few million more bucks, the Blue Box would be accurately portrayed with MF signaling. I'm sure the investors would earn back ALL of their additional costs to make these movies 100% perfectly accurate in ALL areas (which are fiction to start with!). Just think of how many people sit at home and don't go to the movies because they use a P50 as a Police radio!

This sort of stuff could be easily fixed for several hundreds of thousands of additional dollars (remembering that ALL Hollywood movies are always over budget) in hiring many more experts, and the investors would feel SOOOOOOOOOOO good about this incremental investment! Think of what this would do for ticket sales---they would SOAR!!

Larry

[W4KRR]

In the movie "Rollercoaster" the cop (George Segal) carries a GE hand held around the theme park to talk with the bad guy. Trouble is, there's no battery attached to it! Later, he finds out the bad guy had built a bomb inside the radio out of plastic explosives.

[70351]

Also in general please take time to remember any movie that uses an SP50 as a premiere radio for secret service or NSA, or federal marshalls, etc....

Hey, those SP50's they used in The Negotiator never looked better.... They actually aren't that bad looking of a radio.

(grin)

Yeah, but those SP50's don't have a high-tech mosquito repeller built in!