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Emergency Communication Planning

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In emergency planning, communication is one of the key elements to make sure operations go over smoothly. Land mobile radios are essential for ground communications. Marine radios are useful for scanning regular and emergency channels, pairing with radars, and more. Even some amateur bands have dedicated emergency channels. However, due to the nature of these protocols, they cannot talk to each other on the same frequency due to FCC regulations.

VE-PG4

Managing and monitoring these protocols simultaneously can be troublesome, especially for emergency situations. Multiple devices may be in play relaying messages, instant response is crucial in dire situations. Icom has two solutions to fortify and enhance communications. The first one is Icom’s VE-PG4 gateway, it can interconnect these protocols to talk with each other. Read More...

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The Center Must Hold

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CMH_01_web

I sat and watched five tables of young radio enthusiasts compete to see who could build the tallest tower out of index cards. They’d been tasked with writing one thing common to every person at their table on each card. Blank cards didn’t count. No tape or paperclips. Who could reach the highest heights?

In the end it was our youngest cohort that took the prize. They understood that any tower can only be as strong as the base upon which it stands. They gave a lot of thought to their foundation, built it wide and strong, and all of their progress stemmed from that point. It worked and they won. Then, of course, they took great pleasure in knocking down what they had so carefully constructed; grinning madly the whole time. Read More...

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Cellphones vs Two Way Radios

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You’re planning an event, cutting costs in some avenues is fine. In some aspects, you get what you pay for and will readily bear the brunt of the product/service if it goes south. Your team of eight is spread throughout the venue. It’s 2021, everyone has smartphones, which you choose as your main communication line.

The dispenser ran out of lemonade. You text Terry who is working across the venue to bring some. No response. You call Terry, no response. Since the call was to Terry only, no one else could respond to the request. You didn’t have time to go through the text list, forcing you to go across the venue and grab the lemonade. Attendees are not satisfied. Read More...

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The Spilt Coffee – Retail Radio Solution

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People who have the weekday off work, a parent with a kid at school, yoga enthusiasts are getting new clothes and food, it’s the sweet hour before lunch time and the store is bustling. Retail stores are a part of these consumers’ weekly routine. Employees work effortlessly to provide the best shopping experience for customers. Two-way radios can play a huge factor on day to day operations for the store’s environment.

The radio on the employees’ belt is 10 years old and has spotty connection the further back they go towards the electronics section. The employee sees a fallen coffee and a pond of caramel all over the floor of the sports aisle with nobody in sight. The customer who spilt the drink is embarrassed and quickly left. Read More...

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Icom A25N Handheld Radio Review – From Cessna Flyer June 2021

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It is easy to take two-way VHF communication for granted until you don’t have it. Lucky for us, there are many handheld radios available for use as a backup way to stay in touch with ATC after a com failure, or to get in touch with help when you find yourself on the ground.

We used to call handhelds “bricks that talk” when I was in the airline world. If you were on the ramp and needed to summon maintenance people, the fastest way was to find a ground worker with a brick that talked.

I recently acquired an Icom A25N as my personal “brick,” and I love it. The unit has an easy-to-use keyboard and a huge screen that makes my aged eyes work a little less hard when I am trying to program and view the radio in the very common turbulence we General Aviation airplane drivers encounter on almost every flight. Read More...

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IP730D – You Got Chocolate in my Peanut Butter

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We got LTE in your LMR.  No, we got LMR in your LTE.  Whichever way you look at it, Icom’s IP730 series portable is a treat for radio users. Once again, Icom’s engineers looked at a problem and came up with an original solution.  From their experience with IP501 LTE and Land Mobile Radio IDAS radios emerged a new radio able to receive and transmit both LTE and LMR (remember, IDAS is an NXDN and analog LMR radio) simultaneously! A perfect pairing of technology for those hungry to resolve ‘what if’ situations. Read More...

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Rapid Charging Solutions

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Icom’s chargers come in all sorts of functionality, shapes, and sizes. A charged battery is crucial to maintaining essential communications. Lets explore the surprising differences between Icom’s most popular chargers and understanding battery health.

Since chargers aren’t a one-size-fits-all accessory, knowing the differences between them will allow you to better know what would fit your needs. Do you want to use a smart battery? What about charging more than one radio at a time? How about one that works with intrinsically safe batteries? Read More...

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MURS Professional License Free Two-Way Radio

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This week the crew will be 30 miles east of Seattle to repave and perform maintenance on the bridge over the Snoqualmie River.  The road will be closed and flaggers will need to talk regularly throughout the day for the duration of the project.  The following week they will be 50+ miles south at the base of Mount Rainier repaving the switch backs on Highway 410. So, it goes, week after week, the crew moves around the Puget Sound to finish one project after another. The crew needs to talk to each other at the site to get the jobs done efficiently and safely.  The conditions are tough and often times there is other radio traffic in the area.  The crew needs a professional quality radio that can keep up with the day in and day out operations, privacy codes, and in some cases, advanced features like man down or emergency call.  Those inexpensive bubble packed radios you find in retail stores aren’t made for this environment.  They are family camping trip radios. Read More...

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VE-PG4 Configurations Part 3: LTE Radios and Tracking Software

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With the VE-PG4 gateway, interoperate through IDAS™/analog, WLAN, and SIP devices. Each operation has advantages that are very well suited for many verticals such as public safety agencies, education, farming, and transportation. Part 3 of the VE-PG4 Configurations blog involves our LTE radios, satellite radios, and the Radio Discovery Tool, RDT.

The full-duplex LTE IP501H/M radios operate over a wide geographic range wherever cell phone towers reach. Full-duplex communications allow telephone-style conversations between radios. Easily interconnect these LTE radios with existing land mobile radios, IP radios, or even SIP phones with the VE-PG4 gateway’s built-in SIM card slot. Another benefit of the built-in LTE connection is the interconnectivity between the VE-PG4 without going through an IP network. Laying any firewall safety concerns to rest. Read More...

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VE-PG4 Configurations Part 2: Network and SIP Phones

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Part 2 of this series involves Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones and Network configuration. The VE-PG4 Gateway includes both a SIP server and a WLAN controller built in. These functions introduce another dimension to the VE-PG4 application functionality.

Land mobile radios use signals that can penetrate most areas. However, some structures such as reinforced concrete, glass or steel architecture make it hard for radios to connect with each other. The VE-PG4’s built-in WLAN controller is particularly useful in areas such as school campuses where there are plenty of stairwells or parking garages. We can extend signals for the IP100H and add WLAN coverage with access points, such as Icom’s AP95M, to eliminate dead zones and operate where regular land mobile radios have difficulty. If the school’s radio infrastructure relies on land mobile radios outside of campus such as transportation, the VE-PG4 Gateway can interconnect the IP and land mobile radios. The built-in IP1000C controller manages the audio levels to provide a clear sound with a high bitrate at a low network bandwidth consumption. Read More...