Biophone
- Thread starter Jim Staruk
- Start date
Wayne Krakowski
PCS Member
I am not sure but that looks like the type of unit Johnny and Roy used to call Rampart on the TV show Emergency,if so its age appropriate.need our pros to add their opinion,
James Fischer
PCS Member
Actually Johnny and Roy used a BioCom Biophone 3502 made by The BioCom Company.
This unit was the traditional orange color.....
A close second unit that was used was the APCOR made by Motorola,but it was not used in the show.
The first version looks very similar to the the Biophone 3502 and is also orange.
People use the term"Biophone" pretty loosely when describing most portable units of the 70's and 80's,although there is really only one real "Biophone"...
By the way the unit that was used on the tv series "Emergency" is now in the Smithsonian......:applause
James Fischer
PCS Member
Jim,
I believe this unit is "age correct" for your 75......and was used well into the mid 80's.....
This unit was made by Pioneer Medical and used a GE based internal radio....
others that were popular was the Biocom Biophone 3502 and the Motorola APCOR......
We were using the APCOR's(Advanced Portable Coronary Observation Radio) since they were considerbly lighter then the 3502's.......:thumbsup:
By the way there is a guy on E-Bay selling several of these...the last one went for $207.00 I believe.....
I have a Pioneer med radio just like that. It was one of the first Maryland State EMS radios used beginning in 1973 or '74. So yes, it's appropriate for a '75.
Indeed, I keep mine in my '70 Volunteer, which became the first (so I've been told) paramedic unit in Western Maryland in '74 and certainly had a Pioneer State radio in it.
I think APCORs were a little later, don't know when they came out. My ham radio friends tell me they are usable for ham purposes, which is why they command a higher price.
(By the way, I acquired my Pioneer med radio several years ago, and it proves it's nice to have friends in the right places who know your interest. A friend of mine was teaching at the county fire training center. They were cleaning out an old supply closet, and he saw this "old junk radio" ready to be thrown in the dumpster. He knew what it was, and grabbed it for me. And I've been eternally greatful. As far as anyone can tell, I have the only surviving Pioneer Maryland State EMS radio.)
Indeed, I keep mine in my '70 Volunteer, which became the first (so I've been told) paramedic unit in Western Maryland in '74 and certainly had a Pioneer State radio in it.
I think APCORs were a little later, don't know when they came out. My ham radio friends tell me they are usable for ham purposes, which is why they command a higher price.
(By the way, I acquired my Pioneer med radio several years ago, and it proves it's nice to have friends in the right places who know your interest. A friend of mine was teaching at the county fire training center. They were cleaning out an old supply closet, and he saw this "old junk radio" ready to be thrown in the dumpster. He knew what it was, and grabbed it for me. And I've been eternally greatful. As far as anyone can tell, I have the only surviving Pioneer Maryland State EMS radio.)
James Fischer
PCS Member
Steve,
It was summer of 1968,that Motorola Corp. introduced APCOR,the first radio that allowed a continuous EKG to be transmitted from the field.
From what I understand Motorola was making a similar unit for the US Army that was being used in Viet Nam.....
Impressed with the APCOR the medical community lobbied for non-physicians to administer more advanced care - drugs, IVs, defibrillation, intubation - in the field, and the first fire department paramedics went to work in Los Angeles County, California. (The 1970s TV show ``Emergency!" popularized the concept.)
California Governor Ronald Reagan signed the state's Wedworth Townsend Paramedic Act in July 1970. Reagan's motivation was personal. His father died of a heart attack because an ambulance refused to cross jurisdictional lines, Reagan was quoted as saying.....
Other states followed California and enacted similar legislation.......
And so as they say "the rest is history"........
It was summer of 1968,that Motorola Corp. introduced APCOR,the first radio that allowed a continuous EKG to be transmitted from the field.
From what I understand Motorola was making a similar unit for the US Army that was being used in Viet Nam.....
Impressed with the APCOR the medical community lobbied for non-physicians to administer more advanced care - drugs, IVs, defibrillation, intubation - in the field, and the first fire department paramedics went to work in Los Angeles County, California. (The 1970s TV show ``Emergency!" popularized the concept.)
California Governor Ronald Reagan signed the state's Wedworth Townsend Paramedic Act in July 1970. Reagan's motivation was personal. His father died of a heart attack because an ambulance refused to cross jurisdictional lines, Reagan was quoted as saying.....
Other states followed California and enacted similar legislation.......
And so as they say "the rest is history"........
Last edited:
Thanks for the history of the APCOR. So many of our EMS developments come from the military...
And I hadn't heard about the situation with Ronald Reagan's father. Maryland also had a governor who was helpful with EMS legislation because he was personally affected. Maryland is well-known as a pioneer in the use of civilian medical transport by helicopter for trauma patients. Dr. R Adams Cowley had been trying to convince his friend, Governor Marvin Mandel, to use the state police helicopters to transport trauma patients to Dr. Cowley's Centre for Study of Trauma (the precursor of the ShockTrauma center). One night, a friend of Gov. Mandel was injured in a car accident, and Gov. Mandel authorized the use of the state police helicopter to transport him.
And so as they say "the rest is history"........
(In typical Maryland fashion, you only get anything in this state if you are friends with the governor. Still true today.)
And I hadn't heard about the situation with Ronald Reagan's father. Maryland also had a governor who was helpful with EMS legislation because he was personally affected. Maryland is well-known as a pioneer in the use of civilian medical transport by helicopter for trauma patients. Dr. R Adams Cowley had been trying to convince his friend, Governor Marvin Mandel, to use the state police helicopters to transport trauma patients to Dr. Cowley's Centre for Study of Trauma (the precursor of the ShockTrauma center). One night, a friend of Gov. Mandel was injured in a car accident, and Gov. Mandel authorized the use of the state police helicopter to transport him.
And so as they say "the rest is history"........
(In typical Maryland fashion, you only get anything in this state if you are friends with the governor. Still true today.)
Denny Shira - Deceased - 1951 - 2020
June 5, 1951 - January 29, 2020
Pioneer Medical Systems
I still have a complete pioneer medical systems hospital base station that we used at professional ambulance in the 1970's.I just can't throw it away! It's a really neat piece of history.I wish there was some place that it could be displayed and appreciated.
Also have one of pioneer's mobile units from that era.
I still have a complete pioneer medical systems hospital base station that we used at professional ambulance in the 1970's.I just can't throw it away! It's a really neat piece of history.I wish there was some place that it could be displayed and appreciated.
Also have one of pioneer's mobile units from that era.