Always busy at his work station, Dan Wolski has fixed radios, accessories, televisions, and security equipment for Chicago Communications since 1994.

Originally from the Chicago land area, Dan grew up interested in electronics and their functions after a friend introduced him to radios. He ultimately decided to make it his career. He attended a technical school in Indiana, in the vicinity of Valparaiso College.

Dan’s career in radios began in a small CB store his friend owned, located in Kankakee, IL. There, he would repair all sorts of radios, ranging from small hand held two way radios to entire radio systems installed in vehicles. He decided to then move back up to the Chicago area, where he landed a position within ChiComm.

Update: Learn about our activities for Customer Service Week 2017 here. 

This time of year we begin busily preparing for National Customer Service Week.  It is a week I look forward to every year as it provides a great reminder to all of us as to why Chicago Communications, LLC is in existence – to serve our customers in a way that sets us apart from the rest.  While this is easily said (or written), it is not easily done.  It involves many, many pieces that all must fit together to achieve a goal of this importance and magnitude.  Our products, our knowledge, our customer relationships, our supplier relationships, the technology we use to support the work we do, our ethics, and most of all our employees must all work together to ensure the best possible experiences for our customers.  While every day we work to ensure these pieces are working together to the level our customers expect, it is National Customer Service Week that provides a special focus and recognition to all who help make it happen.

The world of two-way radios is quite technical, so how do you uncover which one is right for you and your business? Most of us don’t have a background in the operations and features of these two-way radios, yet they are the vital solution to our communication needs. Between different brands, styles, sizes, frequencies, and capabilities, it could be an overwhelming process to dig through. This is why many schools opt for a cell phone option.

But if you choose a cell phone plan for your communication system, what are you REALLY missing out on?

If you’re in the education market, Chicago Communications suggests taking a peek into the Vertex Radios.  “What’s the need for special communications in schools?” you might ask. If your school has a lower enrollment, two-way radio communications can help keep track of when school busses arrive and depart, keeping school officials who may be outside the building connected to those who are inside, etc.  If your school has a higher enrollment, knowing where your staff is located at all times is critical to ensure school safety. The need for instant communication is necessary for any size of school to provide proper safety for school administrators and students.

Meet John Marquardt, a low key kind of guy with a big impact here at Chicago Communications. A man with many talents and very few words, John’s stomping ground is a work bench and toolbox at our Chicago Loop location. He is one of our valued technicians who has put in 29 years of hard work and dedication into fixing two way radios and other communication system accessories.

A Day in the life of a Police Officer

Day Shift 6am-6pm: “You just never know what to expect”

I had the privilege of riding first with Officer Higens. She's 1 of the 6 women working on the 113 member Bolingbrook PD. She works day shifts so her typical week is two 12 hour days  working from 6am-6pm, two days off. She’s the only female who works her shift besides her sergeant.

Once I pose with the police car for a couple pictures we’re off…around the corner to the back parking lot.  I didn’t join Ofc. Higens until 12:30 so she had already been on duty for 6 and half hours. At the beginning of the day shift, all officers report for role call at the station to go over which beat they’re covering for their shifts and anything pertinent that happened outside of their shifts or since they met last. After that officers are on their own to patrol their beats. By the way, the village is divided up into geographical areas called "beats" and each officer is accountable for that area during their shift. We’ll be covering Beat 5 today. 

Technical equipment isn't all boring!

Most people in the commercial world have little knowledge of the two way radio industry and how it works. I can relate to this because I used to be on the outside myself. Even just mentioning the word 'two way radio' to me, I would have probably said, "huh?" And there are days I still get asked what kind of company Chicago Communications is; I usually go for the same explanation when I answer. Two way radios are walkie-talkies, but not the ones little kids play with across their backyards or in the neighborhood woods. I'm talking about the professional kind that police officers use to communicate with each other while on duty, in their cars or in pursuit. But  it doesn't stop with police officers. There are many, many more uses for two way radios just like there are many more products and services available from ChiComm. Here are a mere 8 situations radios are used that reminded me just how "cool" it is to be a part of this industry. 

Holy Whac-a-Mole!

  Have you ever heard the saying, “The only constant in life is change”?  How true it is!  Kids grow-up (too fast by the way), technology changes (believe it or not there was no such thing as a laptop when I was in high school, and cell phones were not available to everyone), employees have unexpected emergencies that take them out of the office (for a while, or they move on to new jobs or retire) ... and somehow you have to learn how to not live in fear of change, but instead to anticipate it and keep it together through it all.  To say it’s a challenge is an understatement.  And it’s how you handle it that makes all the difference in the world.  You can panic and get frustrated or angry (which from experience, and trust me on this one, doesn’t make for a clear head for responding to the change) or you can take a deep breath and look at the change as an opportunity.

Wireless Local Area Networks, Explained

 Most of us probably have a wireless router in our house right now. 802.11a/b/g were the old standards, 802.11n is the current standard and 802.11ac is coming in the near future. You don’t know how it works, but you plugged in your wireless router when you picked it up from Best Buy (or your cable/internet provider), fumbled your way through it and low and behold-- you’re a wireless networking specialist! Congratulations. You’re not sure exactly what's happening on the back end, but your laptop at home works as well as your smartphone connecting to your WLAN to surf the web.

Great Event, Great Cause   

    For the past 4 years now we've had the pleasure of supplying two way radios to an organization we're very proud to support. That organization, Operation Support Our Troops (OSOT), was founded in 2003 by Deb Rickert of Illinois. I recently spoke with Deb and she explained to me how the organization got started.

    After the attacks of 9/11, Deb's oldest son went into the U.S. Military Academy at  Westpoint and afterwards joined the U.S. Army. Suddenly she found herself part of a military family, like many other families across the U.S. often do. The situation really opened her eyes to what military families go through, right away. She took note that there was always going to be a certain amount of politics and controversy surrounding the war but she wanted to make an honest effort to make sure those frustrations didn't get in the way of supporting those currently serving our country and those who have served already. She started by sending care packages overseas to troops that were deployed and in harm's way. The care packages were composed of a large variety of personal items, ranging from shampoo and soap to medical items and snacks--and can be different for each troop. Some units are in very remote areas where eating what they can on local economy isn’t much, and especially now with sequestration and cutbacks, they can’t get many of these things. The comfort/care package program took off quickly and became hugely successful in the years since then. 10 years later and the organization is approaching the 1.25 million pound mark of goods sent to troops serving! There are several other programs also run through OSOT that all focus on keeping the same message alive: not only do we still have troops that are serving overseas and across the world everyday but those that come home will also need our support more than ever. 

You are correct! You can buy two way radios off the web cheaper, but at what cost?

  To find out, let's compare buying off the web vs. buying from a radio shop, by walking through what typically happens in this situation. Let’s say there is a business—doesn’t matter what kind of business, it could be public safety, it could be manufacturing, and it could be education or hospitality. One of the employees at this business is designated to purchase some new two way radios to improve communication efforts. As with any good mandate, the employee starts to educate themselves on what a radio system is and what it can do for the company. This person becomes known as the official “expert” at the company. It may be the person already responsible for technology and technical aspects of the business or it may be a new role added to their job that's  very unfamiliar to that person. (Warning: Either way, by educating only one person, it leaves the company vulnerable if/when that person leaves!)