Radio Resource Inc. Blog

Government Grants for Education

Investment in technology throughout schools today is rapidly growing. Tablets, computers, projectors, and walkie talkies are all common pieces of technology seen in schools today. Two-way radios in particular are one piece of technology that helps keep schools safe around the United States and adds another security measure for schools. Funding is available to help outfit your school with the latest technologies and keep your school ahead of the curve with the latest communication technology.

There are government grants available for Education that can go towards investing in emergency communications equipment for staff and students. Two-way radios have proven to be an effective way to communicate from one to many. This form of reliable communication helps keep administration, teachers, and other staff on the same page. Motorola Solutions partners with GovGrantsHelp to provide schools with free grant research and application assistance.

Two sources that are available for information on grants for Education are educationgrantshelp.com and GovGrantsHelp.com. These websites can help schools see which grants are available and how to apply.

If you are looking for two-way radios for your school, feel free to reach out to us at https://www.radioresource.com/contact-us.htm

Motorola EVX and VX Series Radios

The EVX and VX Series recently joined Motorola in January of 2018 and have provided immense value to users in many different industries. The VX and EVX series are high powered, top notch radios at a cost-effective price. These radios require an FCC license, and with that you will have your own private frequencies to communicate on.

Are you looking for a radio that is small, easy to use, and water submersible? The EVX-S24 may be the perfect radio for you. It is lightweight and a favorite among users because it’s easy to use.

Another radio to look at is the EVX-261. This radio can be a great option for you if you are looking to make a shift from analog to digital. This cost effective and durable radio is a great option for numerous industries looking to upgrade their two-way radio fleet.

If you are looking for an intrinsically safe option, going with the VX-451 or VX-454 could be the best option for you. This radio comes in at an IP57 durability rating and is built for harsh environments.

Time and time again the EVX and VX series radios have proven their durability and reliability. This series of radios from Motorola boasts superb audio quality and user friendly features.

For more information on this series of radios, please visit:

https://www.radioresource.com/contact-us.htm

Tips for Deploying Two-way Radios Within an Operation

Two-way radios can be a great addition to many different types of businesses. From manufacturing warehouses to community centers, two-way radios can help increase productivity, safety, and efficiency. Walkie talkies have proven to be an effective one-to-one and one-to-many way form of communication. When implementing two-way radios into your business, there are a few important tips for businesses when first deploying two-way radios. 

Make sure everyone is properly trained

Before distributing radios to employees, it is important that employees know how to properly use their radio. Having a demo session before, or a quick meeting can allow for time for employees to ask questions and get comfortable with their new effective mode of communication. When working with Radio Resource, our representatives are more than happy to talk to employees and demonstrate proper radio etiquette. 

Knowing the different functions of the radio, like programmable buttons

Having a grip on radio functionality can allow employees to more effectively use their radios. If functions like an emergency all call or scan are programmed into the radio, it is important for employees to know so they can use these functions when needed.

Make sure employees know who is their go-to person for their radio issues

It is important that employees report any damaged or stolen equipment to the designated radio manager(s) within their operation. The sooner the problem is reported, the quicker it can be taken care of. Some radios are able to be remotely stunned, which means that it can be shut down and will be inoperable. This is effective for radios that have been lost, or possibly stolen from a former employee.

Overall, it's important that staff members of any operation are prepared when it comes to properly using their two-way radios. Having a deployment plan in place when implementing new radios into any operation help your team be more prepared for the day ahead!

Questions? Contact us at:  https://www.radioresource.com/contact-us.htm

SL Series Radios from Motorola Solutions-Where Function and Style Meet

Keeping your work team connected can be a challenge if there aren’t the proper communication systems in place. The MOTOTRBO SL Series radios allows users to stay more connected by utilizing different business applications. A main part of two-way radio is obviously push-to-talk communication, but the SL Series radios can do so much more.

The SL Series radios are exceptionally slim in size, making the radio easy to use and comfortable to carry. Embedded Bluetooth is also available for wireless audio and multiple earpiece and accessory options are available as well.

Utilizing the SL Series radio to its full capability allows you to see the power of team connection and makes your team more efficient. There are numerous business applications that can enhance many different parts of your operations and make your team more efficient.

Work order tickets allows you to have quicker customer response and allows you to take care of an issue going on within your operations. In hospitality work order tickets can be used to direct employees to complete tasks such as bringing more chairs to the pool area or taking care of a leak in a specific room. The ticket can be accepted and then marked complete all using the SL Series radio.

Manager’s and staff members are all able to connect to their email directly from their SL Series two-way radio. The ability to see important emails through the two-way radios gives staff members yet another tool to help them manage their day and take care of important emails that may arise as they go throughout their day. To go along with email, the SL Series radios can text to each other, letting users connect with ease. Users can utilize telephony as well, connecting radios and landlines to their mobile two-way radios.

Overall, the SL Series digital radios give your team a stylish look but most of all effective team communication. To find out more about the SL Series radios or data applications, please contact us at:

https://www.radioresource.com/contact-us.htm

UHF or VHF...What's the Difference?

So, what is the major difference between UHF and VHF two-way radios? Most VHF business radios operate within 136-174 MHz, and UHF business radios operate within the 450-512 MHz range. This being said, we can see that VHF operates on a narrower spectrum and consists of less channels than UHF.

UHF stands for Ultra High Frequency and UHF radios can more easily penetrate through steel and concrete structures. Today, UHF radios are far more popular than VHF radios when looking at what different businesses are using for their daily operations. Because these radios can penetrate steel and concrete, most businesses like manufacturing plants, retail stores, and schools choose to use UHF radios within their building. UHF two-way radios typically have shorter antennas compared to VHF radios. One good tip for expanding coverage with your two-way radios is to add a longer whip antenna to your radio. In doing this, you may be able to avoid needing a higher powered radio at your facility.

VHF stands for Very High Frequency and VHF radios sit on the lower end of the spectrum. Because of this, it has longer wavelength which allows the signal to travel further. VHF radios are most commonly used in outdoor areas and open field operations. Aviation, Marine, and farming environments have all seen the benefits of using VHF two-way radios. Typically, these radios are not ideal for use in places like cities with high-rise buildings or indoor use. Depending on the type of radio being used, it is more likely that VHF will be cheaper compared to UHF. 

If you are unsure of which radio would best fit your needs and operations, feel free to reach out to us at 303-987-1545, or visit:

https://www.radioresource.com/contact-us.htm

Spillman Ally: Capture, Analyze, and Act

Ally is a cloud-based platform that provides dispatch, incident and records management technology, as well as analytics and voice communication functionality. Industries such as Healthcare, Manufacturing, Hospitality, and many others have all seen Ally have a positive impact on their operations. Ally can easily integrate with your MOTOTRBO radios and infrastructure, making it a smooth transition and giving you more tools to effectively manage daily operations.

Ally allows any organization to search, store, retrieve, and report information that is relevant to safety of operations staff and visitors. Name, vehicle, and premise records can all be linked together. Security teams now have access to see relationships between records and are able to attach PDF’s, images, videos, and other information pertinent to their day-to-day operations. Tracking workplace incidents and giving security personnel an easy and efficient way to manage their operations makes for a more efficient and secure workplace. Security teams can tackle incidents quicker and can better manage immediate threats or incidents occurring on their premise.

For example, this picture shows how Ally can track incident trends on property. By having real time data displaying this information, you will be able to manage those trouble areas more efficiently or even add more security to those problem areas.

With its dispatch capability, users can manage the location of their personnel and see where they are on the property. If an incident occurs, the dispatcher will know who is closest to the incident and who can respond the soonest.

Ally has an easy to use interface and is accessible from any device that has internet connection. This software allows you to streamline the data process, keep your records organized, and enhance communication and safety within any organization.

For more information on Ally, contact: https://www.radioresource.com/contact-us.htm

Walkie Talkie Rentals and the Importance of Team Communication at Large and Small Events

 Walkie talkie rentals can be important for events to help coordinate team members and volunteers. Whether it is a small 5k or a large festival, team communication is an important aspect of running a successful event. Also, many others can benefit from renting radios as well. Sports tournaments can greatly benefit from using radios in coordinating multiple games going on in different locations, or reporting injuries and game scores from each field. Industries like construction, scaffolding, and many others may rent radios when working on a certain project for a set amount of time. If you already own a radio fleet, but perhaps need a few extra for an event or project, renting can be a good option for you.

Trying to rely on cell phones to help team members communicate in loud and busy areas is not ideal when instant and clear communication is needed. With two-way radios, quick push-to-talk allows team members can communicate in seconds. Not to mention, by having two-way radios at your events you will be able to manage emergencies, announcements, and event schedules with ease. Some radio rental users opt to use earpieces and headsets to allow them to be hands-free when communicating. There are many different options when it comes to renting radios and Radio Resource offers a wide variety of options for both radios and earpieces. We can help find a rental solution that works for you at a cost-effective price.

Radio Resource has one of the largest rental fleets in the United States, and has experience renting radios to many different special events, both big and small alike. When it comes to enhancing communication among team members, Radio Resource can help you. For 30 years we have served many events in Colorado and events nationwide.

If you are looking to rent radios for an event or have any questions, please visit:

 Features of Digital Radios Enhance Team Communication

With digital radios, a whole new set of features is available at your fingertips. Many people may have heard that “going digital” is not worth the time to retrain your staff on. The migration from analog to digital is quite simple and smooth process. Digital radios bring not only many advantages, but enhanced features. These features can help increase efficiency, improve crisis management, and give you a more personalized communication experience.

With digital, the ability to use text messaging with two-way radios is on the rise and many healthcare, hospitality, and warehouses are using this feature to effectively communicate. Orders can be filled, work tickets can be satisfied, and businesses can thrive through the use of text messaging on two-way radios.

Direct call is another popular feature of digital that allows teams to communicate more effectively. Instead of transmitting a message to your entire team over a channel, directly call a person on your work team without interrupting others from their task at hand. Along with individual call is group call, which allows a user to make a call to a set group within the entire group. And of course, all call is still available, where all users in the group are called.

Talking party identification is another great feature of digital because it allows you to see which user is transmitting over your channel. For ease of identification, these radio ID’s can be programmed to be certain names of staff members, or perhaps job titles.

Digital opens up a variety of options for its users and it offers a more quality experience for users. Today, there are many different radios available that are both digital and analog capable .

To see more benefits of digital and DMR, check out this whitepaper:

http://dmrassociation.org/downloads/documents/DMR-Association-White-Paper_Benefits-and-Features-of-DMR_160512.pdf