Managing Patches
Patches connect (bridge) audio between channels. When a transmission occurs on one channel in a patch, it is forwarded to all other channels in the patch. All channels in a patch must use the same Duplex setting and they cannot already be patched. ICE does not allow you to patch channels that already exist in another patch.
Important: Dynamic Talk Groups are not controlled from the Patches tab. Instructions for operating DTGs are provided in the ICE Desktop User Guide > Operation > Dynamic Talk Groups section. Patch Administrators can access the DTG controls in Settings > Dynamic Talk Groups. The remainder of this section covers Patching only. Note that any DTG channel participants actively patched during DTG activation will prevent the DTG from activating. To ensure the DTG activates, do not patch DTG participants.
Once configured, users with the Patch Administrator privilege can create and activate Patches using the Patch tab in ICE Desktop.
 | The Patch tab is visible to Patch Administrators on ICE Desktop. ICE Mobile does not include the Patch tab interface. |
 | Located in Settings > People > account name, this option provides admins and users with access to the Patch tab. |
Users with the Patch Administrator privilege may use the Patch tab to create new patches and edit existing patches.
Operating Instructions
Full instructions for the operation and management of patches is located in the ICE Desktop User Guide > Operation > Patching.
Translations Require a Patch
Patch Servers are required to host Translations. When hosting a Translation, the Patch Server sends audio to the linguistics provider for translation into the target language(s). The Translation Provider determines the target languages based on the channel's Spoken Language setting. Translated audio is returned to the Patch and sent for playback to all patched channels except the originator.
For instructions on creating and using Translations see Linguistics and Translation.