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February 01, 2022
One of the most persistent challenges of using two-way radios (walkie-talkies) is moving out of two-way radio range and cutting off your conversation. You can’t fight physics – under specific conditions, radio signals travel in highly specific ways. If you violate these principles, your conversation fades out or ends altogether. Depending on the kind of radio you’re using, your two way radio signal repeater network, the design of your antenna, obstacles, and terrain; a radio signal can travel anywhere from a few hundred feet to several miles. If your workers consistently get cut off because they’re getting too far away, you may be wondering "how can I boost my two way radio signal?" Well, you may benefit from extending the effective range of your radios. To make sure you invest in the right range-extending strategies, it is important to understand the fundamentals of how two-way radios
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January 26, 2022
Last of a three-part series. We all know they’re out there — people who can’t be bothered with getting their two-way radios (walkie-talkies) licensed by the FCC. Even though the product packaging states clearly and explicitly that FCC licenses are required for most two-way radios, people ignore the requirement. Perhaps, if you keep your head down and stay out of trouble, you may be able to use radios unlicensed for years. If your signals are not interfering with anyone else’s, there’s a chance the FCC will never find out. But those are big “ifs.” The truth is, going unlicensed is not worth the risk.
What Can Go Wrong if Your Radios are Unlicensed?
Let’s say you run a small construction firm in your town and you need a few mobile radios in your trucks and half-a-dozen portables for your work crews. If the FCC does not know you’re using these radios,
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August 30, 2020First of a three-part series. The toughest decisions about two-way radios (walkie-talkies) should be determining which models have the features you need. FCC licensing should be the easy part, and it can be — provided you leave licensing complexities to the professionals.
Radio Basics: Getting your Paperwork Together
What information does the FCC require? The agency needs to know your business name, address and federal tax ID, if you have one. It also needs to know how many radios you are buying (or using) and the latitude and longitude in which they will be operating. If you’re installing a large network, the FCC will need to know about your base stations, repeaters and tower heights. There are all -
March 17, 2020
If you use a two-way radio (walkie-talkie) on the job, you need to know what to do in an emergency. This is especially true if you’re far from a landline telephone and dialing 911 is out of the question. Public safety, police, firefighters, EMTs and emergency-response professionals know the essentials of two-way radio use because it’s so central to their work. Radio users in industries such as construction, hospitality, education, event planning, and other sectors deal with far fewer emergencies, so they need to set aside extra time to learn or refresh themselves on the right thing to do in a crisis.
Five Two-Way Radio Best Practices for Emergencies
A lot of things have to be done right when using two-way radios in an emergency. Some of these tips may seem like common sense, but common sense often flies out the window amid the stress, anxiety and chaos of a
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April 19, 2018Schools face more challenges than ever to protect students, staff, and assets. Frequently, they are asked to do this with fewer resources. Education communication solutions from BearCom can help enhance safety in schools and campuses. We can show you how to connect administrators, teachers, faculty, and other team members with two-way radios. Two-way radios, like the solid and sleek BC250D and the small, lightweight EVX-S24, improve operating efficiency and enhance campus security.
Improved Communication Means a Safer School Environment
School staff is often stretched across an entire campus. Besides working in the classroom, education professionals supervise bus transportation, cafeterias, recess, practice, extracurricular events, and special programs. For the highest efficiency, -
December 05, 2016
Digital Two-Way Radio! With Advanced Features, and Digital/Analog
December 5, 2016 Dallas, TX—BearCom, the nation’s largest provider of wireless two-way communications equipment and solutions, announced today the introduction of the new BC250D digital two-way portable radio. This unique radio is manufactured exclusively for BearCom by Vertex Standard. The BC250D allows a seamless migration from analog to digital because of a Mixed Mode scan feature that allows scanning between analog and digital channels. The unit features high quality audio, 16 UHF channels, compact design, durability, and ease-of-operation. “Two-way radio migration from analog to digital is essential to enhance communications performance," said BearCom’s Product & Purchasing Manager, Hugh Johnston. “Digital advantages include enhanced voice quality with greater coverage range, extended battery life and -
October 13, 2016October 11, 2016, Dallas, TX—BearCom, the nation’s largest provider of two-way radio wireless communications equipment and solutions, announced today the introduction of the new eVerge EVX-S24 Digital Portable Radio from Vertex Standard. The EVX-S24 is a smaller, lighter unit that’s sleek, compact, easy-to-use and easy-to-carry. It’sdesigned for education, hospitality, high-end retail, security, and more. With a high water submersion and dustproof rating of IP67, this radio is ideal for construction sites, golf courses, water parks, and resorts (near swimming pools).
Vertex Digital Portable Radio
“The EVX-S24 is an exciting new compact and lightweight radio,” said BearCom’s Product & Purchasing Manager, Hugh Johnston. “It is sure to be a popular choice among -
January 13, 2016There’s a two-way radio for just about every business or industry setting. For instance, the radios that firefighters carry into a burning building will be a lot different than the radios hostesses use to seat you at a restaurant. You need to match the two-way radio you buy to the environment it will be used in. Otherwise, you’ll either pay for stuff you don’t really need, or perhaps you’ll neglect features that can save lives or prevent a disaster. For starters, you want radios built for commercial, industrial or public service operations. Consumer-grade walkie-talkies are barely more than toys, with low power, limited frequencies, crowded channels and easily-breakable design. Dedicated professional radios are built to be used every day in rugged environments to suit the needs of specific sectors. They require FCC licenses, which means you’ll have frequencies dedicated to your business.
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December 17, 2015When you’re thinking about buying two-way radios (walkie-talkies) for your organization, it helps to understand how your competitors are already using radios. After all, people in a broad spectrum of industries have already decided that the push-to-talk advantages of two-way radios offer a better choice than cellphones, landlines, texting and email. The sectors below are some of the most likely to use two-way radios to streamline communications and make their operations more efficient: Two-Way Radios for Hospitality In hotels and resorts, housekeeping staff use radios to request maintenance help for problems such as large spills, damaged light fixtures, or other issues that require repairs or service. At the front desk, radios help confirm room availability and summon
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December 10, 2015Buying two-way radios (walkie-talkies) for your business is an important decision to add productivity, increase efficiency and enhance safety. To get the most out of your investment, you need to really weigh how your people communicate, and whether two-way radios will make them more efficient at their jobs. Most people at work communicate with landline phones, cellphones, emails and texting. These work fine in some circumstances, but fail miserably in others. Advantages Of Two-Way Radios Landline phones: These require a fixed location, which is perfect for people working desk jobs, but much less practical on a factory floor, construction site, school campus, or any other work site that requires workers to be mobile while talking to each other. Cellphones: Mobile phones and smartphones offer excellent mobile communication as long as their batteries are charged and they have adequate signal strength. However,