Name/Title
Sussex Police personal radio Pye "MASCOT" switching box c1975-1985Entry/Object ID
1109 .1Description
Green painted metal switching box, with single round amber light to from and three position toggle switch, the positions marked in "Dyno" type embossing tape, "Mascot Control, Intercom, Local Control".Use
To enable a police radio controller various access to local radio channelsContext
In the 1970s the electronics company Pye developed its "MASCOT" or " Multi Access Systems Control Terminal". These units allowed police radio controllers to access numerous personal radio channels, allow simultaneous transmissions over several different channels and to take over use of these channels, should there be issues at a more local level. At this time there were two different types of radio used within Sussex Police, one for vehicles controlled from Police HQ at Lewes and another for the personal radios carried by each officer. Personal radios were usually controlled from individual police stations, which at the time were located in all reasonably sized towns. Each station would have its own radio channel to transmit messages to its own officers.
These MASCOT units and variations of them would allow a HQ or divisonally/sub divisionally based radio operator to access different channels without having to move from their control station, and where necessary to transmit radio messages over several channels at once.
This particular unit is believed to have come from Battle Police station. It may have had one of two uses. It may have been used at Battle, as a means of accessing the whole sub divisional radio network, or used at the sub divisional HQ at Bexhill to do the same.