Chicomm Blog

Understandably, much of the focus on school safety involves what happens to students when they’re on campus, but what about school bus safety? Among the tools for keeping millions of students, coaches, teachers, and drivers safe on buses every day, two-way radios are at the top of the list.

For a variety of reasons, two-way radios are an ideal communications solution for school safety in general, and transportation in particular.

Let’s look at ways to enhance school bus safety with two-way radios.

Slow or spotty WiFi can affect your business’s operations, safety, and appeal. Dreaded “dead zones” of weakened connectivity or holes in your coverage area can make it difficult to communicate, get work done, and bring people together.

Fortunately, a WiFi extender or repeater can be easily installed to eliminate these dead zones and improve connectivity.

Communication equipment needs to assist us, not complicate our lives.

One of the worst situations to be in is to walk into a high-stakes situation only to learn that your radio isn’t getting a signal. 

We are entering a new era of unified communications, where systems like Motorola’s Safety Reimagined are able to facilitate communication — not just across devices but among different communications platforms.

We need to talk for a minute about batteries: Bad batteries, good batteries, and how to tell the difference.

Two-way radios are essential for reliable and seamless communication, but this equipment doesn’t work without a battery.

Today’s supply chain delays and global shortages are making high-quality batteries harder to find. 

In this day and age, concealed weapon detection is a key aspect of keeping people safe. 

Whether it’s schools, hospitals, manufacturing facilities, or events and concerts, we all agree on the need to stop dangerous weapons from entering these places and bad actors from committing heinous crimes.

As more districts are discovering every day, two-way radios in K-12 schools are the centerpiece of any effective safety plan.

Radios outpace cell phones in terms of reliability, durability, and functionality, and there are tailored radio solutions available regardless of the communications challenges schools and districts face.

This safety guide with case studies provides a comprehensive overview of two-way radios in K-12 schools and the options available for overcoming infrastructure, geographic and logistical issues.  

What good is intelligence if it isn’t able to be shared?

That is the principle underlying the idea of unified communication.

Whether it’s a public safety system, a commercial system, or a standalone system, intelligence gained through radios, cameras, and other automated systems needs to be easily shared across multiple devices. 

When looking into improving your in-building communication, you'll probably come across the terms: Signal Booster, BDA (bi-directional amplifier), or DAS (Distributed Antenna System). If you’re experiencing issues such as dead zones or spotty reception, you know how frustrating poor coverage can be, causing lost productivity and safety issues.  

A DAS is a network of antennas placed throughout a building used to boost wireless signals, typically in large buildings like campuses, hospitals, hotels, or manufacturing plants. 

A bi-directional amplifier is a device that locates a wireless signal, amplifies it, and then rebroadcasts it throughout your building. It also helps your two-way radios and smartphones avoid dropping calls or receiving spotty coverage. This blog provides more insight into how this actually happens, and the next steps to take if you think a BDA and DAS might solve your communications problems.

In my town of Cedar Lake, Indiana, we have a farmer’s market every Tuesday. 

They have an interesting history of how they came to inherit their communication system. When the town’s police and fire department upgraded their two-way radio system, they passed along their older system to the public works department that runs the farmer’s market.