new pagers, what types are out there????

[postal79]

we currently have minitorIIsv's and are looking in to getting new pagers..chiefs are looking into minitorIII's what kind is everyone else using and does anyone know about this new company that spun off of motorola i heard there new pagers are excellent

[rsmith]

We currently use the Minitor II SV. they are working fine. If I buy new pagers they will be the Minitor III. They have the additional frequency along with the scan feature and have AAA batteries or the rechargable ones. I have researched other companies and I keep coming back to the Motorola products.

Thanks
Rick
Communications Officer

[d308]

We use Minitor II and III. We like the II alot better than the III. THe Minitor III does not pick up as well and it is prone to switching the function if the knobs are not protected. Also the minitor III does seem to be close to as tough as the II we have only had to have one in the shop and it was because it got drowned on a call.
Any way hope the info helps I can provide some more if needed on this subject.

[Fireman488]

Does anyone know if Motorola has any plans on improving the Minitor IIIs???

Our department's experience, like many departments, is that the Minitor II is far superior.

Thanks and stay safe,

Fireman488

[Eng522ine]

We have Minitor III's and pardon me but they SUCK!!! You either get one that doesn't activate to the tones at all... one that works when it want's to... or if you're REALLY lucky you might get one that actually works like it's susposed to. But then again it may stop working at any time for absolutely no reason. My department has 150 Minitor III's and I can't name 1 person that hasn't gone thru at LEAST 1 or 2 pagers or bases or both. My advice to you would be to stay as far away from the Minitor III's as you possibly can. The III's have some great functions but all the bells and whistles in the world won't help you if (or should I say WHEN) it doesn't go off. Good luck in your search.

[SmokeEater31]

We currently have three different types of pagers in service. Mintor I,II,III. I have had all three. Each one is an improvement on the previous.

When we recieved our new Minitor IIIs we had a problem with them not paging out. We were of course stomping mad. We sent them back to have them worked on, they sent them back to us, we had the SAME problem. We , by that time were frothing at the mouth and threating to throw them underneath the apparatus as we rolled on calls. Then, we found out that the problem was in the encoder at the Police Department (which dispatches us.) They did some "patch" work on them after the tower was blown to hell from a lightning strike. Then they miraculously all worked. They are totally replacing the encoder this month and we anticipate no problems. I personally LOVE the Minitor III. The record function on it is great, the much more compact size from the Minitor I is more convienent.

Anyway, that is what we have and will continue o go with until they improve on it again I believe.



------------------
Your Brother In The Service,
Rob Herpel
FF/EMT
Vice-Pres./Asst. EMS Coordinator
Fremont Rural Fire Department

[Brian Dunlap]

My Department Utilizes the Minitor II SV also...We just recentley Purchased and received 6 Minitor III Pagers -- They all seem to work just fine. We plan to phaze in 10 More this year and 10 the following year and so on until everybody has one. I herd the Minitor III's are kind of Crappy and they tend to break easier --- Also upon examination of one last week I see a Blue Sticker on the belt Clip that reads "Not Intrinsically Safe for Use in Hazzardous Conditions" Does ths mean it shouldn't still be attatched to your waist after you put your gear on and enter a burning building ? Will it Self Destruct or something ? I don't know about anyone else but I normally keep my pager on my belt even with my gear on --- Hardley ever does it end up clipped to my gear rack or left behind in the hall unless I already had taken it off for some reason --- I have also herd that the Belt Clips Break Easier and the Control Knobs are not as strong as the Minitor II and Minitor II SV's --- Has anyone else delt with this

[Fire Line]

We use Minitor ,I,II,III. I agree that the II is better than the III. The first six III's were in the shop over and over. The last six have worked fine from day one. We evaluated other pagers and decided to stay with Motorola.

[SFD-129-3]

As the communications guy in my dept, I think I can offer a qualified opinion of the MinIII: GARBAGE, JUNK, TRASH, FLOTSAM, NOT WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN CAMEL DUNG!
Is that descriptive enough? We have a mix of 25 minII's and 8 minIII's and by at least a 3:1 margin, the III's over the II's, are in the shop. It is always the same problem: THEY DON'T ALERT!!! I find motorola's explanation of low signal area a waste and an insult to the people who buy their product. The minII's worked all the time! We didn't move our entire town into a low signal area when we bought the MinIII's. I think they really dropped the ball on this one and now are trying to stick it in our back pockets.

[Engineman]

Everyone should check out the Nova by USA Alert. They are the company that designed the MinitorII for Motorola. Then Motorola bought the design from them. Well USA Alert went out and started their own line after Motorola came out with the JUNK minitorIII. We currently have 10 of them and have no problems. They have all the functions of the MinitorIII plus a digital display that records the date&time of your run.

[This message has been edited by Engineman (edited 04-09-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Engineman (edited 04-09-2001).]

[percell holland jr]

Where do you contact nova. Do they have a web site. We have 12 min III's that have all been sent back for the recall and some still do not tone out, do not record or have poor audio after tone out, mproblems very intermittent. Am not going to buy anymore min III just yet. I think the Min III is about as reliable as the old Shinwa which was not very good. If anyone has the opportunity to buy any old min II. I would advise you to do so. An old Min II is better than a new Min III.

[SmokeEater31]

Brian,

That was the FIRST thing I noticed too. It was good though because it made me more aware of not having our pagers on during a fuel spill or the like. Not that is is definitely going to blow the scene, but better sfe than sorry.

We have a standing order that we are not to wear our pagers on a call. The reason for that was too many pagers were being lost on scenes. It seems to work out fine.

Regarding the sturdiness of the pager. Mine unfortunately gets dropped at times, and I have never had a problem with the knobs yet (KNOCK ON WOOD) Also, the belt clip has given me no problems.

HOLY SMOKES. I am glad to know that we are not the ONLY ones that have had problems. BUT, like I said, once we had the new encoder in place we have not had a BIT of trouble with them. ????

------------------
Your Brother In The Service,
Rob Herpel
FF/EMT
Vice-Pres./Asst. EMS Coordinator
Fremont Rural Fire Department

[WVFD EMT]

We use Minitor II's and have had no problems with them, a coyple of our members use Minitor III's and have had several problems with them.

[Adler]

I have bought 8 Minitor III's in the past year, and we have not had any problems with them. We had one that a know did come off (mine after I got it caught on seat belt) but I took a little super glue and glued the post and haven't had any problems since. We have found them to be as good as the Minitor II's. I can't say they are better, because I can't really tell if they are. The III's just have a couple added features. The old III's when they first come out had problems because they weren't tested first, they were just released and sold. My I believe they have all of the bugs worked out on them now. Good Luck.

[RFD220]

Although I now carry a Motorola II (and a Visar) I did have a shinwa w/monitor and it NEVER had a problem or missed page. It was smaller than the minitor 2 and the batteries lasted longer and you could use regular batteries in a pinch. Just my two cents...