We're Proud to Support the RMHC!

Recently I was lucky enough to receive a tour of the new Ronald McDonald House, now the world's largest, which opens officially on June 26 in downtown Chicago. The 14-story, 86-room facility at 211 E Grand includes “nurturing communal areas to provide a home away from home” for families of the patients seeking vital care at The Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago.

Tom'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 Those Seeking Clarification On the World-Wide Web of Wireless Broadband Confusion

     Broad-band is also a broad term. Typically used to identify large amounts of data transferred from one location to another, this can also be accomplished wired or wireless-ly. For most of us we know broadband in the form of the cable TV modem that comes to your home. The more bandwidth the faster your download and upload speeds for surfing the web. For business, it usually means a T1 or some other type of data circuit between two locations acting as a pipe to transfer information.

     Years past, a simple phone line was sufficient to provide a voice connection to talk with someone at another location. From the inception of the Internet, we have taken that simple analog voice line and attempted to cram 1000’s of squarewave bits through it. The problem lies in the configuration of the wave form. Back in the early internet days, slow speeds could be easily achieved as simple modems could send data at speeds of up to 56Kbps (kilobits per second). That 56Kbps line equated to 56,000 bits per second. Today we are sending 1,000,000,000 bits per second.

Meet Our Techs: The Experience Behind ChiComm

John Syron started working at Chicago Comm in March of 2011, so he may be considered a rookie around here. But he could certainly fool you into thinking he’s been doing tech work for much longer. If the Chicago Comm technician's were a baseball team, he’d probably get rookie of the year with his track record so far.

     John graduated high school in 2008, and immediately enrolled in DeVry’s networking and communication management program (going on to earn his bachelor’s in just 2 ½ years). His ambition and eagerness to get started in the industry led him to a career fair before concluding his time there. Ever heard the saying: Luck is when preparation meets opportunity? John's luck must have paid off at the fair because he received 4 job offers! Ultimately though, John chose Chicago Communications and the company was thrilled to bring him on board.

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."