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!) 

Chicago Communications gets involved with Ronald McDonald House's: 'Meals From the Heart'     

Last June, I got the opportunity to tag along on an important visit to the Ronald McDonald House near Lurie Children’s Hospital in downtown Chicago. You see, the charity was nearing its Grand Opening (to become the world’s largest) and we were making a special delivery. Motorola Solutions was kindly donating some new two way radios (walkie-talkies) for the staff to use at the Ronald McDonald House and Chicago Communications had programmed them. The Motorola Digital SL7550 portable two-way radios they received were to become the key communication tool at the facility. Having instant communication assists the RMHC team within the house and also allows the hospital to communicate back and forth in times of need, when family members aren't able to be reached on their cell phones.

Spotlight on the Technicians: The Experience Behind ChiComm

Ernie’s career has taken him around the world a time or two before finally landing him at Chicago Communications. He may have only joined ChiComm's service team two and a half years ago, but combined with his other previous work, he has 30 years of expertise in the communications and technology field.

Ernie's training started when he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1983, right after he graduated from high school. Beyond several weeks of Basic Training, he also attended many different technical training programs in the military that were specific to his assignments (electronic development, air traffic controls, and ground launch cruise missiles are some examples of subjects he studied). Ernie's official role was as a ground radio maintenance technician in the Air Force and served in this position for 10 years. This is where most of his 'globetrotting' comes in. As part of different military assignments, he spent years living in foreign countries like Korea and Turkey, while spending other extended periods in Japan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Spain, England, and several states across the United States. Most of his work in the Air Force involved tactical mobile communications which translates to being “the radio guy” in simple terms--and that's how he was known to the others he served with. As a technician in ground radio maintenance, he worked on: satellite communications, LMR (two-way land mobile radio communications similar to the equipment used at ChiComm), long-range and high-frequency communications, and the encryption that makes all of those communications secure.

Coordination & Solid Communications are Crucial to Events Success

2013 marks the 26th year of the Little Angels Pledge Run, a fundraising event that has become the lifeline for the Little Angels Center for Exceptional Care. On May 19^th this year the Little Angels invite you to jump on your bike and roar through 80 miles of rolling countryside in Northern Illinois. And they don’t mean ride 80 miles on your typical mountain bike, they’re talking about gliding the course on a bike with a lot more power- a motorcycle.  You’d be joining between 1,500 and 2,000 other motorcycle riders that gather at the Woodstock Harley Davidson every year to support this great cause.      

Tom's Tech Talk #17: How to Troubleshoot Mobile Radios

WARNING: This article assumes you have an intermediate understanding of RF and two way radios.

Every so often you may experience a problem with your mobile radio, regardless of its manufacturer. I've heard one of our technicians once say “a radio is a radio; it transmits and it receives. I don’t care if it is Motorola, Johnson, Kenwood or Vertex.” It doesn't matter what type of radio you have because they all need the same basic components to work properly. Because of this, we can point out a few problems that typically occur among all mobile radios.

   In order to address a mobile radio problem you first need to know which part of the radio isn't working properly. Before we get to troubleshooting, let me define the pieces that make up a mobile two way radio:

Pointers from the Principals: Another new year...Another plan put in place.

     It’s hard to believe that another year has wrapped.  It’s true what they say, “The older you get the faster the years fly by.”  Just when you feel like you’ve successfully wrapped up a year, established plans, and begun gaining momentum in the plans that have been set for that year, the end of the year is upon you and the cycle starts all over again.  Where did the time go?

ChiComm Introduces Customer Care Expert, Millie Watt

    You may remember when we introduced ChiComm’s FREQ (pronounced "Freek") Squad. Their purpose is to give you helpful hints and tell you about the latest happenings for all things in wireless communications, from the latest model of a portable radio to assisting in customer care. Each FREQ Squad member has their own specialization, and so far we’ve heard from Barry Broadband about wireless broadband, Ann Tenna about in-building coverage and Tommy Two Way about digital radio. But possibly the most important part of all these topics is the service and care behind each of those topics. That’s where our new customer advocate, Mille Watt, comes in. Millie is full of bright ideas! She takes special care of customers, so count on her for generating intelligent guidance wherever protection and preventive maintenance topics are present. She’s your go-to expert for any concerns you may have related to warranty, contracts, and protection programs.

Lester started at ChiComm in October of 1983, and upon his retirement next week, he'll have put in just over 29 years here. He has primarily been a mobile installer for ChiComm but he’s done a little bit of everything throughout his years here (base installs, microphone repairs, squad builds, responding to service calls). When he started the cellular business was booming in full swing so he jumped into learning how to install mobile cellular units in cars. Besides the skills he learned from some electronic courses, he learned everything he knew on the job.   His job description includes: installing a wide range of equipment in vehicles and repairing equipment when necessary, whether in the shop or on location at a customer site. Most of the jobs he's worked on have been for government agencies, including dozens and dozens of squad cars and undercover vehicles. He has been working on vehicle solutions for as many years as he can remember.