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MRI-100™
Thunder Eagle® Multi/Trunked Radio Interface
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Extend Weather Eagle® Audio Over Your Trunked or Conventional Radio Network!
 
For School Buses, Public Service, Public Safety
Weather and emergency alerts are time-critical messages. A tornado alert may give ten minutes advance warning. It is critical to get alert messages out to the maximum number of people, using existing radio systems without disrupting normal communications.
At the request of our emergency management clients, we have developed an easy way to deliver NOAA weather radio audio throughout your existing conventional or trunked radio systems.
The MRI-100™ is a sophisticated, rack-mounted interface designed to make an easy connection of the WeatherEagle®110 radio/receivers to your two-way radio system. The audio comes from the Weather Eagle110 as filtered for event and location by the AlertEagle®120 decoder.
The system is a versatile, easy to use, logic-and-audio interface with three separately controlled audio/press connections to ‘press-to-talk’ (PTT) channels. The audio from the WE110 is distributed to each of the channels, using high impedance op amps. You can set the audio level on each channel separately in the MRI-100, choosing either ‘live’ weather audio or ‘beeps’ only. We provide test buttons to make set-up straight forward.
The user supplies the transceivers for use with the MRI-100. These may be any combination of digital and analog systems having a press-to-talk (PTT) function and a line-level audio input. Switches control each channel, the menu, reset and test modes.
You can upgrade the firmware in the MRI-100 in the field with our optional programmer. LEDs show the status of each logic input and output.
The MRI-100 Offers You Ease of Operation
1) The MRI-100 automatically places 'matched’ (event and location) alerts on your lower-priority channel or weather talk group.
2) The system keeps your high-priority dispatch/all-call channel clear with ‘beeps-only’ alerts.
3) Users on your lower priority channel can access 60 seconds of live weather by pressing their mike button for four seconds.
4) Your dispatch/console operators can fully control the WE110 remotely by Dual Tone Multi Frequency (radio or VOIP) and ASCII serial characters through the Internet. You can choose the following settings and functions: live, reset, play last alert, manual channel change and scan for strongest channel.
5) The MRI-100 splits the weather audio to three channels (high priority, low priority, console). The audio level on each channel is set by its own pot. Each channel has a double-pole, double-throw relay with one pole for audio and the other for press-to-talk (active high, active low, contact closure).
6) LEDs indicate all functions, including relay closures, DTMF-valid-tone decoded, COS inbound detected, and power.
How the MRI-100 Operates
The MRI-100 has three double-pole, double-throw relays. One pole of each relay (channel) is for the audio (or beeps) and the other pole is for press-to-talk (PTT). You can set the PTT to either +5 or ground for each channel, using a jumper setting in the MRI-100.
The MRI-100 will sense an active high +5 COS from a transceiver for channel 1 activation. If the COS is continuous for a time set in the MRI-100 menu (default 3 seconds, settable 1-99 seconds) the MRI-100 will key channel 1 for a period of time set in the menu for 1-240 seconds (default 60 seconds). This will give live audio to channel 1 for this time period. At the end of this time period, the MRI-100 will reset the WE110 and will unkey the transceiver.
On a weather alert ‘match’ (event and location), a relay will close in the Alert Eagle®120 (or the Weather Eagle®110) for a preset time. The MRI-100 will sense this relay contact closure and activate Channels 1, 2 and 3 until the earlier of either the relay on the WE110/ AE120 opening or the MRI-100 menu-settable timer timing out. At that time, the three channels will automatically reset. When a channel in the MRI-100 is set in ‘beep’ mode and the jumper is set for beeps, ten beeps will be issued on an alert to that channel and the channel will then reset and unkey the transmitter.
With the usual configuration, channel 1 is set up as a ‘weather talk group.’ This channel will activate on weather alerts and on activation by COS, DTMF or ASCII serial characters. Channel 2 is usually the ‘weather alert talk group.’ This channel will automatically activate only for weather alerts; it can be placed on emergency dispatch consoles and on widely monitored radio channels that do not want to be disturbed when other users bring up the weather manually on channel 1. Channel 3 is normally set with ‘beeps-only’ for interface with other alerting systems.
See the Instruction Manual in the Client Section of this web site for more detailed information.
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