Pagers Become Lifeline For Deaf

Sabrina said:
The techology is awesome and very helpful for the Deaf people !! I could not live without my sidekick !!!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/21/tech/main584868.shtml
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Perfect! I will copy and print this out and give to my mom or sisters who are ALWAYS asking me why I have my pager glued to my palm or checking on it. They even ask me who is paging me and why I am getting paged. I tell them "Dont you get phone calls? and This is just the same as getting phone calls on a cell phone." But they still doesnt get it even though they re always yakking away on their cell phones.
 
The police department in Sacramento, Calif., may be showing the way. It started accepting "911" e-mails in February.

The service is intended for the city's deaf, but it clearly fills an unmet need. Deaf people from as far away as Los Angeles and Texas have sent in e-mails asking Sacramento police to relay emergency information to their local authorities, according to dispatcher Vera Hill.

"It's something that gives the deaf community a good feeling, being able to contact us at all times," she said.
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when i read that i NEVER knew it was in service out in Sacremento! i thought how GREAT this is and it seems to work well in Sacremento!

:thumb: WTG Sacramento PD!
 
oh yea i already told my mom last summer that i cant stand without sk pgr cuz of i already fell in love with this...
 
Fly Free said:
when i read that i NEVER knew it was in service out in Sacremento! i thought how GREAT this is and it seems to work well in Sacremento!

:thumb: WTG Sacramento PD!
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Ack!!! No NO no no no no!!!!

As COOL as this sounds, I believe it is a BAD idea. I don't think it's a "way to go, SacPD!" it's "I hope you don't get sued, SacPD!"

Email is not a reliable way to contact 9-1-1. Cell phones and regular land lines have the ability to dial 9-1-1 and relay locational information to the NEAREST 9-1-1 center right away.

When you dial 9-1-1 and become unable to communicate at any time during the call, they need to have the information to find out where you are. Emailing 9-1-1 and then passing out will mean you won't get the help you need if they don't have all the info.

Don't email 9-1-1 -- DIAL 9-1-1.



As to the main topic -- yes, pagers are great. I can't let go of mine. "Cell phones" are truly the best way to keep in touch with everyone!
 
wow, that is good they show it that what i am try to tell my family why i wants sidekick now i will e mail the website that u show me
 
Dennis said:
Ack!!! No NO no no no no!!!!

As COOL as this sounds, I believe it is a BAD idea. I don't think it's a "way to go, SacPD!" it's "I hope you don't get sued, SacPD!"

Email is not a reliable way to contact 9-1-1. Cell phones and regular land lines have the ability to dial 9-1-1 and relay locational information to the NEAREST 9-1-1 center right away.

When you dial 9-1-1 and become unable to communicate at any time during the call, they need to have the information to find out where you are. Emailing 9-1-1 and then passing out will mean you won't get the help you need if they don't have all the info.

Don't email 9-1-1 -- DIAL 9-1-1.



As to the main topic -- yes, pagers are great. I can't let go of mine. "Cell phones" are truly the best way to keep in touch with everyone!
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well Dennis -- then tell me HOW can a deaf person be calling via landline or cell fones if we cant hear them qq if we just email our hearie family members or friends, it takes more time for the emergency services to respond regardless if asking for police, fire dept or EMTs -- i think email system is a good start and i dont see why we cant give the system a try -- granted its still in its infancy in regards to the 911 system and email
 
Fly Free said:
well Dennis -- then tell me HOW can a deaf person be calling via landline or cell fones if we cant hear them qq if we just email our hearie family members or friends, it takes more time for the emergency services to respond regardless if asking for police, fire dept or EMTs -- i think email system is a good start and i dont see why we cant give the system a try -- granted its still in its infancy in regards to the 911 system and email
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Not often that email is answer right away, There's few options that you can download IP relay, or use IP Relay thru AIM, or Sprint relay on SK.. I don't know what kind of relay stuff they use on blackberry and others.. I think it is good idea to use relay to call for 911... I believe if you have contract with sprint relay it has triple A's and tty use.. but costy i think 10 a year im not sure I didn't sign up because I haven't see anybody talk about this one yet.. so not worth to sign up.. but the relay is pretty slow on sprint for me.. Im starting to get use to my kids voice and picking up people's voice now since my kids are back to school and it's good way for me practices on phone.. but for other deafie who doesn't have ci or doesn't use hearing aids should consider about using ip relay, sprint, etc etc thru sk1/sk2 if they want to do that way.. IMO I believe email is a not good idea to use for 911 :(

Oh and, If we email to families/friends to get service to us quicker.. maybe we may be hurting more or having heart attack. it's best if we use 911 ourself.. don't ya agree ?

Wendy
 
uhmm yea but with IP Relay regardless if its ATT, Sprint or whatever -- it would still be delayed cuz u gotta WAIT for an CA to come online then wait again for the call to get thru then yadda yadda

we COULD try calling 911 via SK1/SK2, blackberry, whatever wireless service -- u know on landline fones if a person called 911 and doesnt answer the fone at the time of dispatcher picking up the call saying "911 dispatch may i help u" something along that line -- if the victim is unable to respond to the dispatcher, the dispatch will send emergency services to ur address directly -- this wont work with SK1, SK2, blackberry and etc etc cuz theres not yet a standard GPS system in place for all wireless services cell or text pagers -- its slow going cuz of budget and shit like that plus its not compatiable with the 911 systems and many 911 systems nationwide are still in need of an upgrade and many districts cant afford it due to budget

theres a whole lotta things that needs to be done with upgrades and etc etc and that will take some time -- if SacPD is willing to take the RISK to give the system a try and i think thats commendable IMHO
 
Amen. I'm also working with my local 911 center to implement a similar project at this time.

-N
 
last summer, I had to call police with my sidekick which I nearly hit a parked car on 1 way street under a tree which I almost didnt noticed but goodness I was speeding and at very last minute I noticed the car and swearved and lost control which car came to a stop so I drove around and parked by this stupid car and knew I couldn't dial 911 on relay so I had to find a police station ph number which took me 5 to 10 minutes to find it through search engine then the police came by 20 min later and had the car ticketed, and towed, the owner of the car got pissed off at me, I shouted at the owner to look at the mark on the 1 way street which he was never suppose to park the car there... what a moron and experiences to call police...
 
FYI, I was told that sidekick 3 is on the way in the springtime. I would wait for my contractor end in June 05. I will switch to sidekick III.

See, we can't catch up our technology every six months in this country. Technology ALWAYS grow very fast !

Imagine, 20 years later, we may never use the phone/TTY with operator Relay Service. Everyone probably will have our pagers, cell phones, etc...

sidekick has the icon to contact the tow your car when you will be stuck in the highway or road. Call tow company. I never try this one with Spirit Relay Service on my pager.

My sons and I use alot of text messages with my pager. We feel better to know, where we are.

Blackberry does not have a provider website and AIM chat line. I like sidekick better. I would wait for next sidekick III.
 
Fly Free said:
well Dennis -- then tell me HOW can a deaf person be calling via landline or cell fones if we cant hear them qq if we just email our hearie family members or friends, it takes more time for the emergency services to respond regardless if asking for police, fire dept or EMTs -- i think email system is a good start and i dont see why we cant give the system a try -- granted its still in its infancy in regards to the 911 system and email
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1) Pick up any phone, whether it be a cell phone, land line, or wireless phone. DIAL 9-1-1. You don't need to talk. Emergency services WILL send someone to your location ASAP. They cannot assume that you're a prank caller or accidentally dialed 9-1-1. There have been situations where someone dials 9-1-1 while being robbed and the robber tries to pretend they accidentally dialed 9-1-1 and everything's okay and when the police get dispatched they catch them red-handed.

2) If you have a TTY, most, if not all, emergency centers are equipped with a TTY and receive training on how to communicate to TTY callers.

Email will not give the quickness of response needed for emergencies. You do not even know if your email went through until someone responds. How long do you wait until you know?

I'm not against new ideas for 9-1-1 to be more accessible -- I'm against people thinking this right now is the best way to go and bet their life on it. Contact your state representative and have THEM set up a system you can trust with your life.
 
Dennis said:
1) Pick up any phone, whether it be a cell phone, land line, or wireless phone. DIAL 9-1-1. You don't need to talk. Emergency services WILL send someone to your location ASAP. They cannot assume that you're a prank caller or accidentally dialed 9-1-1. There have been situations where someone dials 9-1-1 while being robbed and the robber tries to pretend they accidentally dialed 9-1-1 and everything's okay and when the police get dispatched they catch them red-handed.

2) If you have a TTY, most, if not all, emergency centers are equipped with a TTY and receive training on how to communicate to TTY callers.

Email will not give the quickness of response needed for emergencies. You do not even know if your email went through until someone responds. How long do you wait until you know?

I'm not against new ideas for 9-1-1 to be more accessible -- I'm against people thinking this right now is the best way to go and bet their life on it. Contact your state representative and have THEM set up a system you can trust with your life.
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#1 works from a landline and is my personal plan of attack if I ever need 911 in an emergency and have no tty. But as I'm sure your aware it doesn't work for cell phones (no location info like a landline) and until that is implemented fully, this only works for landline.
I remember an old Rescue 911 where a kidnapped woman called 911 from a cell phone and they had to resort to having each patrol car over a vast area turn on their siren momentarily until they could hear it on the cell phone. Was quite a lengthy process and not one I'd like to endure if I needed help right this instance.

#2. TTY service is part of the 911 PSAP (Public Service Answering Point) Spec, a lot of times it is built right into their computer. This is truly your best option, but again a lot of cell phones don't work well with TTYs, even in TTY compatible mode I've found.

I do agree email doesn't guarentee the message got through , someone read it or how quick it got through. At the minimum I hope a human replies.
Seems like Internet Relay, this system is also open to abuse :( Probably to the point where it is ignored.

My best solution right now, is know your 911 centers 7 digit phone number. So when you AIM (or use the client) from your cellphone to relay, you can give them that. As 911 (the number) is regionalized and if relay dials 911, they are likely to get a different center than the one that serves you. And having to relay your message from Center to Center adds big delays.
 
Fly Free said:
well Dennis -- then tell me HOW can a deaf person be calling via landline or cell fones if we cant hear them qq if we just email our hearie family members or friends, it takes more time for the emergency services to respond regardless if asking for police, fire dept or EMTs -- i think email system is a good start and i dont see why we cant give the system a try -- granted its still in its infancy in regards to the 911 system and email
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E-mail isn't reliable if you need fast emergency services. You need to diall 911 off of your TTY. TTY is the most reliable service we have. Other services are great, such as VRS, online relay, pagers, but the fastest and most accurate is the TTY.
 
Sabrina said:
FYI, I was told that sidekick 3 is on the way in the springtime. I would wait for my contractor end in June 05. I will switch to sidekick III.

See, we can't catch up our technology every six months in this country. Technology ALWAYS grow very fast !

Imagine, 20 years later, we may never use the phone/TTY with operator Relay Service. Everyone probably will have our pagers, cell phones, etc...

sidekick has the icon to contact the tow your car when you will be stuck in the highway or road. Call tow company. I never try this one with Spirit Relay Service on my pager.

My sons and I use alot of text messages with my pager. We feel better to know, where we are.

Blackberry does not have a provider website and AIM chat line. I like sidekick better. I would wait for next sidekick III.
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Where did that info come from ? I don't see them talking about sidekick III since sidekick II just came out last summer ??? it doesn't make sense they would do that so quick right after sk2 was released... it took a while before sk2 came out after sk1 was released... :confused:
 
Hearies Caught on the Fever

I just brought my mother a sidekick 2 because she wants one. It seems that it have spread to parents of deaf children.... I discussed this with friends and they have agreed because they "got my dad one too. He loves it"... It is great because now parents and deaf children don't have to resort to relay operators via cells when they can use AIM, text message or call eachother (some deafies can talk so)...! My mother wants a SK because of the keyboard so she can type me a message without using the cell phone's numbers to get a certain letters-- "take me too long" she says. Totally understandable. She is 58years old and already she is taking a giant leap with a SK2! Hope she wouldn't react to the pager like she reacted to the computer- "how did you do that... this.... those?!"
Even the interps got SK2...! While I am stuck in the time wrap with a SK1 ;-)
I hope the popularity of SK wouldn't pull the rug under TMOBILE's feet to deliver their promise of a fast and promptly connection with no lagging servers...
 
WERD I agree and i have had to use 911 systen when i had to call the cops on the reckless driver who almost nearly killed me, So result........ he got arrest and in mere matters of 10 mins flat, I used the IP relay and pulled over for this SO this would NOT happen to me anf my family..... MOm's learning how to text message me, Dad's gonna get his on next paycheck which is in 2 weeks and he wanted to pay his bills first even tho he has enuff he wants a phone with AIM features and all i said SK 2.. he said no too bulky for him i dont disagree with him he can't handle the big fingers on small qwerty SO thats fine, will get him the nokida newest one ... helps him big time :)
 
I must agree, it saved my life yesterday -- it wasn't a life and death issue, but I had gotten lost in downtown and had the SK1 with me...borrowed it from my mother for the time being until I get my own. I was trying to find my way to an office to apply for assistance...both my sister and a friend were trying to help me with directions and etc and then another friend showed up -- coming out from a bank, lol. Nice friend gave me a ride to the office and dropped me off at home. :P
 
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