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Chicomm Blog

MOTOTRBO: Breaking Technological Barriers, Year after Year

Posted by Jill McNamara on Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Tom's Tech TalkTom's Tech Talk #16: What's New with MOTOTRBO

     I have to say, in my 32 years of being in radio, the MOTOTRBO product line is one of the best ideas I have seen come out from Motorola Solutions in a long time. Back in 2007 I remember seeing it for the first time. When I heard 2-for-1 channel usage, it immediately made me think of reducing our customers capital outlay for radio systems. In addition with many users still using Micor vintage equipment, the time was right for this product.

     MOTOTRBO’s ability to cross both the analog and digital platforms really gave the customer a choice. It allowed the end user to migrate from a legacy platform of equipment operating on analog to a digital platform that allowed 2 simultaneous voice conversations over one radio frequency. DOUBLE CAPACITY with one system!! Purchasing an upgraded infrastructure backbone can allow a customer to operate analog until the customer gets enough mobile and portable radios; and with a simple programming to digital, the customer effectively has two repeaters in one system.

     Motorola Solutions went one step further by allowing Application Developers to write software code to the radios to allow it to act as a modem or input/output device. By creating this digital platform, these binary ones and zeros carry more information than just voice.

For instance some of the developers are:

  •  Fleet Management – Allowing tracking and dispatching of your vehicles equipment with MOTOTRBO radios
  •  Dispatch Consoles – Allows multiple users in the office the ability to dispatch from their PC’s.
  •  Work Order Management – By having a display on your radio, you are allowed to fill in fields on a work order through the keypad on your device.
  •  System Management – By interfacing software to your larger radio systems, you can track radio usage, alarms from the radio infrastructure and notify selected personnel via their smartphones of outages.
  •  Alarm Management – Allows remote control of equipment. Pumps or Door Closures can be triggered or monitored based on this software design.
  •  Personnel Tracking – Not only outside, but inside your personnel can be tracked. Security monitoring allows the night guard to make his rounds and insure he makes it to the next post.
  •  Email Gateway – Send or receive emails to and from your two way radio
  •  Interoperability – Connect different devices such as telephones to your radio system.

      Overall these Application Developers have expanded a typical “push to talk” and “release to listen” radio system to become a more versatile tool allowing what once was one form of communications to a multiplatform device capable of delivering much more information through the radio frequency.

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Related articles on MOTOTRBO: Digital Radio Platform for Non Public Safety Users; Analog or Digital: Who's Side Are You On?; Another Reason Digital Mobile Radio Beats Analog

Tom TreichlerThis article was written by Tom Treichler, Director of Sales & Service at Chicago Communications. Tom has over 30 years of experience in the industry with a background in engineering, system integration, and wireless broadband. If you have any questions for Tom, or another representative at ChiComm, please contact us.