[K3PZN-List] Virginia State Police are dropping 10 codes in

[Neeriemer, Bill (NIH/NLM/LHC) [C]]

What agency is MPD?

I'm assuming that the expectation is that as new people come in, the
codes won't be taught, and will die a slow death.

The question is, since humans will always shorten communications, what
codes will replace the old ones.  Just look at the codes for text
messaging. :)

Using plain language is a good idea, but not necessarily doable.

73 Bill W3STG


-----Original Message-----
From: n3mcb at bellsouth.net [mailto:n3mcb at bellsouth.net] 
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2006 12:49 PM
To: Carroll County Amateur Radio Club
Subject: Re: [K3PZN-List] Virginia State Police are dropping 10 codes in


MPD went to "plain talk" about 9-10 months ago... We kept a few very
basic codes: 10-4, 10-24 (officer down/help), 10-15 (arrest), 29P
(wanted person), 10-94 (backup) officially but I've found that I often
revert to the codes/signals when I'm under stress and my mind is on the
threat not my radio. I know a lot of officers have found that its hard
sometimes to convey precisely what a given code has evolved to mean in a
conceice manner and it gets time consuming, under the old system I could
ask "27, 29, 28 FR457D" but now its "drivers license check, and a wanted
persons check for the registered owner of FR457D"  I probably do thatthe
old way at least 50% of the time. I have never asked for "emergency
radio traffic" I just call 10-33 (usualy yelling with the PTT down not
even in the direction of the mic). 

On the good side of this one of our old codes for a "open door" clashed
with another agency's code for "bomb threat" ... that was always
interesting to clear up. MPD used a different code for backup than the
rest of the entire county, we had a 10-80 and 10-81 that meant nothing
to anybody else, and we had a Signal-69 (call type) that made just about
everyone laugh when we explained what crime that was.

WO3L Andy