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Chicomm Blog

Tom's Tech Talk (#8): "Sync" Your two-way Radios & Accessories

     As most people believe that hooking up a radio is a couple of wires, consider this. Typical radio antenna connections are 50 ohms of impedance. Antenna cable comes in many varieties. For instance your Cable TV Cable is 75 ohms impedance. Twin lead for an outdoor antenna is 300 ohms. Standard 2 Way Radio cable is 50 ohms. In layman’s terms, ohms equates to the resistance of a part or device. When mixing different varieties of cables, you actually get a mismatch. This mismatch usually results in degraded performance or even failure.

    For two way radio, the typical impedance is 50 ohms. This means that the radio should match the antenna cable and the antenna cable should match the antenna. When done properly you obtain maximum transfer of power to the antenna. When done improperly the mismatch can actually cause reflected power back into the radio either shortening the life of the amplifier or causing degraded performance in the operation of the radio.

Tags: Two Way Radios, Tech Talk, Two Way Radio Accessories

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Tom's Tech Talk (#7): Ready for the Next Emergency?!

With the recent weather-related incidents happening around the US and the world for that matter, now is a good time to assess your backup plan for communications. When developing a backup communications plan, you have to consider what type of an emergency you are planning for. It's usually:

1) Your radio system is impaired and you need an alternate method of
communications.
2) You have to evacuate your facility leaving the equipment intact and
operational.
3) You have an incident which has completely taken out your building,
equipment or tower and you have to relocate.

Tags: Tech Talk, Back-Up Plan, Safety Solutions

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FAQs About Two Way Radios Part II

Posted by Jill McNamara on Friday, September 30, 2011
How long will a radio last during the day?

Battery capacity and the duty cycle of the radio will determine talk time. Typically a radio AT MINIMUM should last 8 hours. Over the years as batteries age, their ability to meet the customers requirements diminish and the batteries need charging during the shift or workday. New technology such as Motorola’s Impress battery systems enhances battery life as the charging systems are intelligent and adjust the charge rate for the type of use. Battery technology changes over the years have led to increased battery life as well.

What is digital?

Digital is a process to modulate the radio channel or frequency using data instead of traditional analog voice. By converting ones voice into a data stream and sending it over a radio channel we can improve the ability of the signal to be decoded and reproduce the audio at the other end to be heard. All cellular systems today use digital technology. Two way radios have both analog and digital. Digital affords some additional benefits such as a two for one channel usage. Thus one frequency or channel will allow you two simultaneous transmissions. This may allow for reduced costs in radio equipment.

Tags: Two Way Radios, FAQ

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FAQs About Two Way Radios

Posted by Jill McNamara on Thursday, September 22, 2011

FAQs

Q: What is the first thing that you should check when problems occur with your two-way radios?

A: The Battery. Repairs ( Labor )  is costly. Change a battery out with another radio to first check. If you just need a new battery then order one and ask if there are any specials.

Q. Retail stores claim that their radios can work 15+miles, is this true?

A. Yes and no. A radio can work for  15 miles if nothing is in the way of transmission. ( Mountain to Mountain ) There always seems to be obstructions such as buildings and never  a true line of site. These retail store radios are never recommended for business applications and are usually 1 watt of power. That is why there are Professional radios that give better range because their 4 & 5 watts of power. Other needs also come in to play such as a Repeater.

Tags: Two Way Radios, FAQ, Maintenance/Installation/Service

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Tom's Tech Talk (#4): Data Paths Are Re-shaping Connectivity


As we migrate to a more digital universe, as I’ve indicated in my previous Tech Talks, Radio is usually slower to follow. What should be recognized is preplanning for systems. Just as telephone systems are changing out from Analog to Digital, so are radios. With this migration, we see implementations from Villages and corporations to provide network connectivity between buildings or facilities, whether on a campus or miles apart, data paths are reshaping connectivity.

While we have always relied on the telephone company to provide our wide area connectivity, solutions like fiber and wireless links contain a larger up front cost, but a greater return on investment. With these paths we can achieve huge bandwidths that allow us to carry voice, data and video.

Tags: Two Way Radios, Tech Talk

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What to Know about Next Generation 911

Posted by Jill McNamara on Thursday, September 15, 2011
Technology continues to evolve and is more mobile now than ever. First cell phones, and now Voice Over IP (VoIP), text messaging, imagery and video have changed everything, from the way the public places 9-1-1 calls, to the manner in which emergency operations centers field and respond to those calls. The Nation's current 9-1-1 system is designed around telephone technology and cannot handle the text, data, images and video that are both increasingly common in personal communications and critical to future transportation safety and mobility advances. The NG9-1-1 initiative has established the foundation for public emergency communications services in a wireless mobile society (RITA).


What is NG 9-1-1?

Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) addresses the evolution of emergency call taking in a technology-saturated world centered on Internet Protocol (IP). IP will be the foundation of NG9-1-1 for years to come. However, we must not lose sight of the present and the fact that each call center has its own unique needs. After holding Lunch & Learns in partnership with Cassidian Communciations, here we share some important things to consider going forward that can allow you to plan ahead.

Tags: Chicago Communications, Interoperability, Safety Solutions

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Technological Advancements in Digital Radio

Posted by Jill McNamara on Friday, September 9, 2011

    Tom's Tech Talk (#3):
What does TEAM mean for your business?

     After returning from the IWCE tradeshow in Las Vegas (earlier this year), it appears that radio platforms are starting to have the ability to merge together. At a seminar held by Motorola, they presented the Motorola TEAM product. This product, although specific in application, allows for disparate systems to link together. The intent is to have one number, one voicemail. The concept links an IP based telephone system in your office with your handheld smartphone and your radio system all together.
    

Tags: Two Way Radios, Motorola Solutions, Tech Talk, Digital Two-Way Radios

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Telecommunications: A Look Back at 1983

Posted by Jill McNamara on Thursday, September 8, 2011

 A Slice Of ChiComm's History

We all know technology has come a long way in the past few years, especially with cell phones. Looking back nearly 30 years and you’re talking giant leaps for mankind right? Let’s take a look back at the year 1983. Do you remember what life was like? Cultural Highlights of the year include: the final episode of MASH airs, McDonald’s introduces the McNugget, President Ronald Reagan announces that the Global Positioning System (GPS) would be made available for civilian use, & in the Communications world, the first 1G network was launched in the USA by Chicago-based Ameritech,  using the Motorola DynaTAC mobile phone. The last bit was extremely influential to ChiComm as a service center for Motorola then and it made business boom, to say the least. ChiComm would get anywhere from 40 to 70 customer visits per day for mobile phone installs in cars. And that was before the mobile telephone service had even been officially launched. ChiComm had worked with Illinois Bell for the 2 years prior to the mobile phone launch with a trial system to test and run repairs in the Chicago area as well.

Tags: Chicago Communications, Wireless Communication, Cellular Technology

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 Tom's Tech Talk (#2): Analog vs. Digital with Motorola’s MOTOTRBO

With the current evolution of technology, two way radios have been slow to change. Motorola within the last several years has developed a radio platform that will not only allow for a migration path from analog to digital, but also allow for third party developers to create software products to enhance the functionality of the system.
     Analog radio allows a user to basically push to talk and release to listen. There are variations within this that can allow users to do GPS and status messaging. These required the use of the channel to send data across it when no voice communications were present. With Motorola’s MOTOTRBO digital platform, an existing analog user can buy the repeater and use it in analog. As the user budgets for new equipment, when complete, the entire system can be converted to digital.
     Why Digital? To start with, by using a repeater in the digital mode, Motorola allows for two completely simultaneous conversations over the same channel. With radio spectrum a commodity, this allows for minor modifications to the license which allows the TDMA protocol to handle two concurrent calls. In addition, having this digital capability allows a user to Privately Call another user so the typical Party line radio communication is not heard. In addition to features like private call you can do simple text messaging across
the system to communicate.
     To further enhance the system’s ability is the “Third Party Application Vendors”. Through licensing, Motorola has allowed for their system to be used as a backbone to allow for wireless applications such as GPS, Telephone, Email and Indoor location services by outside developers. In essence a system purchased that originally was used for push to talk and release to listen has now created tracking, monitoring, texting and telephone, all from a single radio channel.

Tags: Two Way Radios, Tech Talk, MOTOTRBO

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Troubleshooting Tips for Two Way Radios

Posted by Jill McNamara on Thursday, September 1, 2011

 Basic techniques to try BEFORE Calling for Service on your Two Way Radios:

Who would know better about common troubleshooting calls then ChiComm's own Service Shop Supervisor? Slim to no one! Over the years and hundreds of service calls received here at ChiComm, there has proven to be common consistencies in the type of calls and a few that stand out most frequently. Here are some common troubleshootings that may be the result of your problem. Check everything out on this list first, to save you from a service call later.

 Tips for Mobiles (Squad cars,etc): Ask Yourself these Q's

Tags: Two Way Radios, Chicago Communications, Maintenance/Installation/Service

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