It’s an inflatable tower!  Didn’t know there was such a thing?  Well, there is and it has some pretty interesting applications.  You can use it anywhere from golf outings or county fairs, to crime scenes or highway speed control or road blocks!  Anytime you have a temporary command post or mobile headquarters, these easy to move mobile towers can accommodate an antenna, repeater, camera, or even an access point for high speed data.  They are easy to transport, quickly deployed, affordable and customizable. They are portable enough to mount on any vehicle so you can enhance your two way radio or mobile phone range at any remote operation. They are inflatable towers made by Lighter than Air Projects in Cookeville, TN, and available locally through Chicago Communications!

    Have you ever thought about the antenna on the end of your radio or the ones on top of a tower or building? Probably not much. But there's a lot more to an antenna than what meets the eye. It’s not just a stick that gets installed there; it is actually a tuned circuit which becomes part of the radio (or the system) itself. This antenna circuit resonates on a specific frequency band. Antennas work to amplify coverage, making them a Very-Important-Part (VIP) of the radio system working well. And since I happen to be an expert in this area, I've put together a list of things to help you become an expert too. 

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.