What Local Municipalities Need to Know about LTE & P25

      In a discussion I was having with one of my co-workers, I was asked about P25 (public safety's latest standard), LTE (long term evolution) and what it means to local public safety radio users. It made me think about our current radio system configurations, the abilities they have now and what is needed to get them to a higher level. Current systems used by our local governments operate analog two way radios, in essence, I talk and you listen. Similar to cellular phones in 1983, when a call was placed it was on one specific frequency. Effective, yet in our world today with ever increasing demands on information, it lends itself to being archaic. In addition with the limited frequency resources from the FCC we find adding any type of capacity to these legacy systems in a similar analog fashion is restricted by co-channel users on that frequency. Thus we are educating users on digital and what it will do for them.

Two Way Radios Ensure Safety of SnoCross Racing Officials & Racers

Great Lakes Snocross (GLX) teaches the sport of SnoXracing in a safe and positive environment and is known as the “Southern most Snocross organization” in the country. GLX is a Not for Profit organization and one big extended family with everyone helping each other with parts, repairs, and support throughout the season.  Racing occurs pretty much every weekend from January to mid-March, with practices taking place a couple evenings during the week. Chicago Communications has been supplying the organization with rental radios and equipment for the past 5 years. The radios are used on the track by all of the crew members, who also use ear muff headsets to eliminate the noise of the snowmobiles during communications.  The track crew consists of workers at designated positions around the track who start the races, watch for accidents and flag riders by waving yellow flags to slow/avoid, watch for illegal moves made by riders which may cause him/her to be disqualified, and monitor the finish line.  The radios enable the workers to talk with each other before, during, and after races, as well as communicate with on-site emergency medical staff, and the race announcer and race director in the track tower.  Essentially, they make full communication possible throughout every race event.

Top 3 Trends of Radio in 2013

With 2013 finally upon us, it is time to move forward with regard to radio. Last year lead to one of the largest years radio dealers have seen in 20 years, mainly due to the Federal Communications Commission's mandate for Narrowbanding all radio channels below 512 MHz. Narrowbanding created scheduling conflicts and made things hectic for those involved, but overall, it allowed us to revisit with all of our customers. Some abided by the mandate, took the proper steps and have completed narrowbanding. Some have not.  In addition to that, changes occurred with the D Block legislation that left the 470 MHz users on a freeze and rumors of a private LTE network for public safety left many questions unanswered as well. Looking ahead though, the future of two way radio remains to look bright, and here are 3 trends you’re sure to see this year.

The Allerton Hotel has been around since 1924, boasting many impressive credentials including its classification as a historic landmark of Chicago and its unique Northern Italian Renaissance architecture. It has a rich history of being one of the city’s most exciting social hot spots, and was originally operated as a club hotel for men. The 26 story historic building consists of 12,000 square feet of meeting and event space in addition to its 443 guest rooms, all of which is made operational by the hotels' 225 employees.

    At any given time there’s about 40 employees using portable radios across the Engineering, Security, Housekeeping, Room Service and Banquet/Event departments. In the hospitality industry, meeting guest's expectations is crucial, so timing and coordination are essential to achieving rapid response times. Communicating instantly and efficiently amongst your staff is critical to providing excellent service and customer satisfaction. Whether it’s getting a guest extra towels to the room or responding to an electrical issue on the roof, the operator stationed at the base station relays the message and dispatches the respective department to respond right away. Two way radios expedite guests’ requests in a timely manner and keep the operations running smoothly on a day-to-day basis.

Thanksgiving has grown near once again and what better way to celebrate the holiday than joining friends and family to support a good cause, right?! For the past 28 years the Dan Gibbon's Turkey Trot has strived to do just that, donating all of its proceeds to benefit organizations operating in and feeding those, in DuPage County. Last year's race hosted more than 7,600 attendees at the event, putting the predicted expectancy for this year over 8,000 people! The event has seen enormous growth each year since the 74 runners that participated in the very first 5k race. 

 Digital Radio Will Make Your Job Easier, Trust Me!

     There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not looking for a communication puzzle to solve. I’ve got decades of technical expertise and I’ve got no problem telling you like it is. And for many, many years I would have told you to stick with analog radio, all the way. It’s always been the simple choice for reliable communication. But there’s a new technology in town, and it’s paving a path that’s here to stay.

     Whenever new products and technologies make an entrance in the market, I’m sure to do extensive investigating.  With technology moving as fast as it does these days, I’m not about to hop on a fad that’s about to be replaced next month. But the thing about digital radio is, that even though it seems like the smart phone equivalent of a radio (which it is) it’s got a reputation for solving communication problems that speaks for itself. Sure there are several new flashy  features, such as texting or it’s capablity to hold dozens of newly developed applications like both GPS tracking and work ticket entry/update, which is enough to grab my attention. But the important consensus I’ve come to with digital radio, is that it solves just about all the common issues you hear from radio users. 

Communication Equipment Keeps Production Team Running

     Our rental department has the pleasure of assisting customers from a wide variety of businesses and events.  On a daily basis our customers are on the go, in the field, on the auditorioum floor, moving across campus or throughout the city. Whether they're keeping a concert atmosphere secure or making sure attendees have a flawless special day, it's essential to keep everyone connected to their teams, everywhere they go. Chicago Communications has been renting two way radios and other communication equipment for many years, to events ranging from concerts to commencements, conventions and coroporate meetings to sporting events and competitions. Coming up this weekend ChiComm's rental representative will be renting portables to a video production team, Dobson Entertainment, in order for them to get exclusive coverage at the Tour of Elk Grove. 

     Dobson Entertainment, Inc. has been one of the Midwest's most established video production companies for over 23 years, providing services with state of the art equipment, breakthrough concepts, and a unique creative team. They work with private and public companies, in addition to working at sites both locally and internationally (the City of Chicago, Comcast Sports Net - NBC, and Yamaha Motor Corporation, are a couple examples of their diversified clientele). They can be hired to film and produce multi-camera coverage for events and promotional material, in addition to feeding live video over to multiple areas, jumbotrons and/or LCD TV screens while also being able to broadcast the signal remotely.

 The Experience Behind ChiComm

      I recently asked Rich what  he thought was ChiComm’s greatest strength. He answered, “It has to be the combination of younger and older generations benefiting from each other. A lot of the old guys have RF and component expertise while the new guys are experienced with networking and computers, so we all learn from each other. The younger guys come in very eager to learn from us and when the team gets to hear the old way of doing something vs. hearing a newer different perspective, everyone’s helping each other find the best solution.” Rich hits his 29 years of working with Chicago Comm this November. By this measure that qualifies him as one of the “older guys” around the shop. He started back when cellular had just launched commercially.

The Importance of Housekeeping and the Happy Radio

As brought up in one of our Tech Talks, preventative maintenance is crucial in keeping your two way radios optimized to their full potential.

• Most important is keeping the units clean and free of physical defects.

When I say clean I really mean CLEAN. A simple wipe down with a damp cloth over a portable can prevent dust and dirt from collecting inside internal microphones and speakers. Keeping these free of debris can ensure you won't have TX (transmit) or RX (receive) issues. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen a portable come in and the complaint was "POOR TRANSMIT AUDIO" and we've come to find out the microphone was compacted with dirt, grime or debris blocking it. The same goes for mobile radios. Internal speakers jammed with debris causing "POOR RECEIVE AUDIO."