Flashback: Police radios retrospect

SEATTLE METROPOLITAN POLICE MUSEUM -- Communication is at the core of police work. Before radios existed it was tough to know when a fellow officer needed backup and even once police radios were invented it took a long time to be able to start talking. Seattle Police Ofc. Jim Ritter explains in ‘Flashback.’

"Today's police have modern radios that allow them to communicate with other officers in the field and police dispatchers with ease, but it hasn't always been that way. From the 1930's through the 1950's police radio technology consisted of large one-way or two-way tube powered radios that would often take 15-20 minutes to warm up before police could use them. These devices were often unreliable, permanently mounted in patrol cars and of no use to the officers once they left the vehicle.” "A great example of some early day radios were actually mounted in the patrol car, they're enormous and weigh a ton." "One radio from the 1940's and 1950's is the type that had the tube inside it. Once the officer turned on the radio this tube would have to warm up before the officer could even use it. This process would often take 20 to 30 minutes." “In the 1960's police radio technology improved and many different styles were developed over the years. A great example of that is a futuristic radio from the Washington State Patrol, in 1962 they installed these devices in their patrol cars allowing officers to have multiple frequencies to choose from” “A radio from the City of Bellevue was the first portable radio designed my Motorola, it was affectionately called 'The Lunchbox' based on its unique design where the battery was underneath the body of the portable. This weighs about 30 pounds, very cumbersome and not very effective. The antenna length was only so long and transmits for so far.” “In the 1970's they went to 'The Convertacom.' This where an officer could have a portable radio. When he got in his car he'd put the portable in its charger. The radio would charge throughout the shift and when the officer needed it, he'd pop it out and could carry it with him wherever he went." "As technology advanced these radios and portables became smaller and more reliable, doing away with the old tube system. It allowed police officers everywhere to be in constant communication with each other wherever they happen to be.” “A solid state radio can have a variety of buttons to address a number of frequencies and talk to officers throughout the region, some portable designs that were large in the early days got much smaller as time went on. Nowadays there's radios police use that are half this size." "Police communications is a critical part of law enforcement nationwide and has been for almost 80 years and allows officers everywhere to be in constant communication with each other wherever they happen to be. And that's the way it was. I'm Ofc. Jim Ritter and this is 'Flashback.'”