Critical Communications Lessons Learned From NATO

 The recent events of the NATO summit in Chicago has a number of very important lessons that can be applied to our own communications plans for our businesses.

#1 - Effective communication requires immediate access in critical situations.  Messages cannot be delayed by network congestion or distances when situations are rapidly changing.

As protestors got more and more aggressive in demonstrating during the NATO summit, the Chicago Police relied on two-way radio communications to obtain orders directly from Police Supt. Garry McCarthy.  Despite the radio communications amongst officers, miscommunications did occur, and without direct access to clarify, a potentially dangerous situation did not escalate any further than absolutely necessary.  The Police maintained their professionalism, and the demonstration was allowed to resume in an appropriate manner.

     On behalf of the team at Chicago Communications, we'd like to introduce you to the FREQ (pronounced "Freek") Squad. They'll be popping in every now and then to to give you helpful hints and tell you about the latest happenings for all things 'freq-y & geeky'. They've all graduated from the FREQs Academy, each with their own specializations. They'll be sharing valuable information related to two-way communications equipment & accessories, important announcements about products, promotions, regulations and answers to frequently asked questions.  Now that you've heard about their antics, let's get to know each member a bit better. 

Why You Should Be Worried If You  Don't Get (Narrowband) Compliant by January 1, 2013

In case you haven’t already heard it several times, we must remind you:

“By January 1, 2013, all VHF/UHF Industrial/Business and Public Safety Radio Pool licensees must operate on 12.5 kHz or narrower channels.” (FCC Public Notice)

So what’s going to happen if you don’t obey the rules and you choose to ignore the FCC mandate? As you may have guessed, it’s not going to be good. But let’s look at some specific penalties that have been set in place and then figure out how you can avoid them.

Two-Way Teamwork with the City Of Berwyn

     Curtis Nekovar is the 9-1-1 System Administrator for the City of Berwyn, which means his responsibilities involve all of the equipment in the 9-1-1 center. He's been in the industry for almost 30 years and has worked at several agencies where Chicago Comm has been involved in one way or another. A couple years ago Berwyn completed a system upgrade project with Chicago Comm that remodeled the entire 9-1-1 center. The furniture was replaced, the radio system upgraded, the phones re-installed, and the dispatch center itself was relocated.  Most recently ChiComm assisted Curtis and the City of Berwyn in a "National Night Out" event that reminded us Public Safety Telecommunicators are a critical piece of the puzzle. The following is a letter he wrote to our maintenance director following that event's success.

Tom's Tech Talk #15: Proper Measures Save Money in Service Repairs

     Storm season: A radio shops favorite time of year. (Just Kidding!) Actually it has gotten progressively better. Years ago before Motorola’s Site Installation and Grounding Practices (R56 Standard), it was common place to have most of your yearly calls in the spring and summer due to storms. After countless builds using the R56 Grounding methods, we actually have minimized and eliminated costly repairs or insurance claims.

Employee Spotlight: Joe Sopron

Every office has at least one. They're a source of guidance—a relief to your frustration. Surely there's been more than one occasion you've been in dire need of this person. I'm of course referring to the IT person. At Chicago Comm that "guy" is Joe. Whether its building a computer from scratch, loading it with the necessary programs or recovering those lost files from a 'crash', Joe is the one we rely on. For all of us not quite so inclined to all the rapid changes in software or "how to fix that thing", Joe is our means of support. "When someone has a problem or can't do something, I help them figure it out." Sounds so simple, right? It surely seems to be for him. Regardless if it's yelling at the computer or the endless headaches we would get from trying to figure it out ourselves, we are thankful for the rescue. So it's fitting that when I asked Joe what he likes most about his job, he replied, "I get to do a lot of different things, but the biggest thing is I like helping people, both in my personal life and in my career."

Serve and Protect Your Police Force with In Car Digital Video Recording

First things first. For those non-believers and late-bloomers still thinking, “Why record video?” Think about disputes between offenders and officers…how do you determine what really happened? What about all those court dates for minor offenses that are keeping officers in court instead of out on patrol. Think about all the liability risks that come with civilians, old and young, using smartphones with cameras that can record YOU. These devices and applications tie to the lawsuits you may hear about in the news where offenders are giving officers a bad name. Are you keeping up with these concerns? How are you addressing them? While smartphones and instant communication may have started predominantly with the younger generation, it has prevailed across the board in all agencies and to people of all ages. Technology continues to evolve at such high speeds that you can no longer afford to refute the revolution. Besides, with the constant change of technology, digital video isn’t really a luxury anymore, it’s becoming a necessity.

Meet Our Techs: The Experience Behind ChiComm

Curt graduated high school in 1978, back when gas was $0.63 a gallon and “Grease” & “Saturday Night Fever” were most popular on the big screen. That same year, Illinois Bell Company introduced the first ever Cellular Mobile Phone System; something that Curt probably didn’t realize he’d be tied to in the future. So at this time, he stuck to his trade as a mechanic. Curt had been a mechanic since age 13 because his dad owned 5 gas stations and he was always exposed to the automotive field.

What we discovered at this year's Motorola Channel Partner Expo

It was a momentous year at the Motorola roadshow in Las Vegas. Our yearly trek to understand products, goals and networking with colleagues really put a vision in our minds. As a follow up to my notes on the Public Safety (Future of the DBlock) aspect of the Motorola Expo this year, we also looked into the future with Digital Mobile Radio (DMR); and for Motorola this means MOTOTRBO. A technology that lends itself to gain two voice paths for one channel, it effectively doubles the ability of a customer’s radio system for voice traffic. In addition with Application Developers who write software to these radio platforms, we had a chance to review the concepts and systems that allow unique platforms such as GPS, Texting, Personal Location systems and Interoperability to be displayed in one location.

Meet Our Techs: The Experience Behind ChiComm

It’s not often I sit down with a technician who’s been around long enough to experience significant political events, numerous civil rights movements, several wars, plus the development and infancy of several revolutionizing technologies. Realizing I have a small space here to summarize our discussion, I will do my best to highlight the most relevant of Bill’s path to ChiComm.