Integrate Your Command

     NG911 is ushering in a new era of public safety dispatch capabilities and concepts.  It will require a whole new way to viewing current problems and a whole new suite of solutions.  These innovations will explode the amount of information at your fingertips for responding to a public safety incident.  Whether it is a large scale fire, a terrorist threat, or a downed power line, having a dispatch platform that can tie into all of the available information is necessary to resolve the problem quickly, effectively and as safely as possible.

     Information availability depends on your level of integration with the connected world and the world is connected with IP Technologies.  By putting as many of your current technologies onto an IP platform, you make your operations as flexible and as easily accessible as you need them to be.  IP is quickly becoming a universal language for information exchange and it is the driving force behind NG911.  Fortunately, P25 voice radio technology is already using IP standards and can integrate very easily with a NG911 platform.  CAD and Records management applications are also becoming more and more IP based for the flexibility and scalability that IP offers.

Jerry Beres

     Jerry is going on 28 years as a Chicago Communications technician. "Not many people can say they've worked for the same company 28 years, it just doesn't happen very often anymore,” he says. “I’m a loyal person and if you take care of me, I'll take care of you." According to Jerry, there have been enough challenges, variety and growth to keep things interesting and enjoyable all these years. Let’s take a closer look into those years to see if he’s right.

Pointers from the Principals: Why Invest In A Maintenance Contract?  

A high level of performance is still expected from these legacy communication systems because of the role it plays in how quickly an organization can respond to a given situation. Cutting corners in an attempt to cut cost and not recognizing the importance of regularly maintained equipment could lead to coverage, functionality or reliability issues that could have been prevented. Similar to a car, if properly installed and regularly maintained your system will perform reliably for years.

Josh Lary

Our management team often receives letters from customers with feedback about their experiences with ChiComm’s staff. Recently one was received regarding an experience with one of our technicians, Josh Lary:

"He really was thorough and honestly my impression was that this guy really cared. He was persistent and didn’t stop until he had exhausted all possible contributing aspects of our coverage issues over there. You and I have been dealing with people and different personalities for many years, but Josh really gave me the impression that he and I had a partnership with this radio problem (might sound a little strange, but I’m sure you’ve occasionally come across an individual who seems to “get it”) and at the end of the day when he left…the radio signal had been improved greatly."

 Tom's Tech Talk (#12): A Trend for Businesses in 2012

     Employers are realizing that the concept of purchasing cell phones for employees is quite an expensive option. Although it provides connectivity to employees over a wide geographic area, it also has lead to personal calls, texting and additional charges that have to be monitored continually. With potential legislation in congress to eliminate cell phone use in cars and especially commercial vehicles, you need options to communicate with your people in the field.

You’re Standing on the Tracks and the Digital Train is Coming Through...

     The digital train is rolling.  It is picking up speed and before long it will be virtually unstoppable in the world of two-way radio technology.  Some might even say that it is already unstoppable!

     Criminals today are getting more and more sophisticated and the tools to combat them need to keep pace.  Rioting mobs are using social media and smartphones to coordinate their activities, international drug cartels use encrypted digital radios to report the activities of Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Border Patrol Agents; even the “common” thief can get a smartphone app to monitor some police radio traffic, as evidence by this recent situation in San Diego.  The bottom line is that the enemy is striving to become more sophisticated than the law enforcement personnel trying to stop them.

ChiComm Employee Spotlight: Mary Smerz

     If our company was a family (which some already like to think of it as) then Mary would be the Mother of the office. When people need something they come to Mary for help and it's been that way for the majority of her 34 years with Chicago Communications. When she started at the Schiller park shop she was only hired to come in and help for a couple hours a day. But as time went on, Mary's role began to grow and she got involved in more parts of the business.

Tom's Tech Talk (#11): Antenna Systems

 I can’t tell you how many times we run across systems improperly designed based on their licensing requirements. Each FCC licensee is required to meet both height and power requirements for all of their fixed base station equipment that is indicated on their license.

      Many times people take the approach that to reach their people in the field they need to increase the gain of their antenna’s and the power on their base stations. What they don’t realize is that they may become an interferer with an adjacent co-channel user and  are therefore  subjected to a fine by the FCC for exceeding their licensed effective radiated power. We had one instance where the combined antenna gain and power from their equipment was enough to reach Madison Wisconsin from the Western Suburbs of Chicago.

      In schools, a strong communication system is vital to maintaining a safe environment. Whether reassuring seamless alarm alerts or connecting with the needs of students, instant communications are essential. The community in a school or university includes personnel - grounds and maintenance, administration, faculty and students. Here are some examples of situations where two way radios can come in more than handy.

Scenario #1:

Campus security at a University receives a call in the middle of the night that someone in a mask is lurking around one of the academic buildings. They send out a broadcast with their two way radios, and the nearest guard checks out the area.

Result: Because there's a quick response, the intruder is scared away before causing any damage.

Leon Tompkins

     Leon started for Chicago Communications in 1968--giving him a whopping 43 years of experience! Though his time here has been the majority of his career, if it weren't for a couple minor gigs, he may have never made it to ChiComm in the first place. So how is it that he did stumble upon the company? Let's start from the beginning.