With 2,000 pagers tested in 19 Districts, reported problems included;
- The need to scroll to the end of the message to stop it beeping
- Message capacity in individual folders can’t be changed by the user
- Confusing instructions and screen icons for personalising the pager
- The alert circuit message displays an uninformative incident number on the minimised folder screen
- Pagers are easy to dislodge from holster
- The time must be set manually
- Pagers arrived without feedback forms
CFA is also working on a means of naming/identifying individual pagers.
The Alpha Legend pager was selected by ESTA for its overall performance, including; sensitivity matching or better than the current model, programmable over the air, durability, multiple alerting mechanisms/tones, battery life, screen lighting/display and multiple message type folders.
VFBV is receiving strong feedback from members involved with the trial – some saying they will not accept the new pager, considering it a backward step.
VFBV informed CFA of this likely concern at the start of the trial some months ago and is still actively pursuing CFA for a solution.
