Communications Connection

6 Things About Digital Two-Way Radios Your Boss Wants To Know

Posted by Amy Cavaliere on Thu, Apr 16, 2015 @ 09:04 AM

You've done your research, you're convinced your company needs to upgrade to digital radios, now your obstacle is to convince your boss.  How do you explain to them the benefits of using digital radios.  Here are 6 things that they want to and need to know about converting to digital.

1- You do not have to convert all of your radios at once (but you can) - Many digital radio models also function in analog mode.  What this means is you can slowly replace radios as the need arises and have the radios programmed in analog mode.  Once all of your radios are purchased and you're ready to flip over to digital all it takes is reprogramming the radios.  If you want to purchase all of the radios at one time but financing is an issue, inquire about leasing options.

2- Long term costs will be reduced - Digital radios and analog radios use about the same amount of power in stand by mode however once you begin transmitting and receiving, digital radios are much more energy efficient.  On average their battery life is increased 40% over analog.  This leads to long term savings since you won't have to replace your batteries as often.

3- Better Voice Quality - When you transmit using an analog radio every sound, every background noise is transmitted.  When you transmit using a digital radio voice clarity is exceptional.  The noise suppression technology allows the transmittal to come through without the background interference.  Watch this quick demonstration to see (and hear) what I mean.

4- Better Coverage - Depending on your environment and your frequency band, your radios only cover so much area.  When you use an analog radio, the closer to the end of your coverage area you are, the weaker your quality is - think similiar to a cell phone in a poor signal area.  While your coverage area with a digital radio will be about the same as your analog, the sound quality will not.  The features of the digital software, the built-in error correction, will allow you to communicate clearly throughout your entire coverage area.

5- Better Capacity - Spectrum efficiency has been a hot button issue lately.  The FCC required commercial two-way radios to be narrowbanded which means operating on 12.5 kHz instead of the previous 25 kHz.  Digital repeaters allow for two talk paths - in essence two "channels" while only using one repeater with one channel.  This not only allows you to have more users but also less equipment and less licensing which decreases your costs.

6- You Can Connect Multiple Locations - In the past, in order for your multiple locations to be able to communicate with each other, you would have had to install a very complicated, very complex, and very expensive system.  Now you have the ability to link your locations using IP Site Connect.  What this means, simply put, you put a digital repeater at each location and then connect them over IP.  Think of the possibilities.  Your maintenance workers in your lower Manhattan  facility talking to the security officers in your Jersey City location.  Your boss will think you are brilliant!

Take these points to your boss.  Explain how you will increase quality while decreasing long-term spending. Digital Radios are the future, make sure your company is on board. Go ahead and take credit for figuring it all out - we won't tell.

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Topics: motorola, MotoTRBO, two way radio, digital radio, video

Introducing Motorola's Latest Addition - the NEW SL300 Two-Way Radio

Posted by Amy Cavaliere on Wed, Nov 12, 2014 @ 10:11 AM

Motorola SL300Motorola Solutions, Inc. has recently announced an addition to their ever growing MOTOTRBO portfolio, the new SL300 portable radio.

This innovative radio measures less than an inch thick and can easily be carried in a pocket or purse.  It's ergonomic design allows one-handed operation, similar to that of a cell phone.  It has a shatterproof Active View display that uses a matrix of LED lights behind the radio housing to communicate radio information and shuts off when not in use to conserve battery life.  It is both analog and digital capable which allows you to get all the benefits of digital, including better voice quality, better range and better battery life—but retain compatibility with your existing radio fleet. With analog and digital capability, you have the freedom to migrate to the latest technology at your own pace.  This is the perfect radio for retail, hospitality and education (just to name a few). 

Contact Us for more information or to see a live demo of this great new radio

Motorola SL300 Spec Sheet

Watch this video to learn more about the Motorola SL300 two way radio

Topics: motorola, MotoTRBO, SL series, two way radio, new product, 2 way radio, hospitality, digital radio

What is MotoTRBO?

Posted by Amy Cavaliere on Tue, Jul 26, 2011 @ 14:07 PM

You've heard me talking about digital two-way radios and MotoTRBO and you are probably wondering what exactly they are.  The MotoTRBO two-way radio is Motorola's digital platform radio.  I have touched on digital radios and the future of two-way radios in a previous post (read the blog here). 

Motorola has created a series of 16 videos about their MotoTRBO radios explaining what they are and how they can help different vertical markets/industries and, as I promised in my previous post about MotoTRBO reaching 1 million users  I will be posting them here over the next few weeks so stay tuned, there's more to come.

The first video by John Jaderholm of the Motorola Solutions Systems Team talks about "What is MotoTRBO?" So, without further ado, here we go.

Topics: motorola, MotoTRBO, 2 way radio, digital radio, video

Two-way Radio Repeaters: What are they?

Posted by Amy Cavaliere on Tue, Feb 15, 2011 @ 09:02 AM

motorola xpr8300 resized 600Coverage issues are not just limited to cell phones.  There are many reasons why some companies two-way radios will be able to talk a lot farther than the ones at your company.  To put it simply, they are most likely operating on a higher power.  "Well that's not fair" you are probably thinking.  What makes them so special that they can operate on a higher power.  Well you can too, that's where a repeater would come in.

Portable radios normally operate somewhere between .5 and 5 watts.  It's hard to say for sure what distance this would cover because of interference issues such as buildings, mountains, etc. but a rough estimate is for every watt of power you would get approximately one mile of coverage in a flat, open area.  What a radio repeater would do is take that weak or low signal and retransmit ("repeat") it at a higher level which would then enable the radio signal to cover a greater area.  The repeater would be installed in a location that would maximize its effectiveness.

There are many different types of repeaters available.  There are low level repeaters, high level repeaters, vehicle repeaters, cross band repeaters and one of the newer types which are digital repeaters.  Motorola MotoTRBO (XPR8300, XPR8400) repeaters supports two simultaneous voice or data paths when used in digital TDMA mode.  This provides for twice the calling capacity, as compared to analog radios, for the price of one license.  It also provides clearer communications, in digital mode, throughout the coverage area as compare to analog radios and it is 100% continuous duty.

Sometimes radio systems will require the use of a repeater to increases the range and capabilities of your portable or mobile radios.  If you think you may need to use a repeater with your system, contact your two-way radio professional for a consultation and system testing.

free consultation radio coverage cta

Do you have a repeater at your organization?  How has it increased your communications range?  Comment below, we would love to hear about it

Topics: two way radio, digital radio, repeater

Digital Two Way Radios: The Future of Professional Radios

Posted by Amy Cavaliere on Mon, Apr 19, 2010 @ 16:04 PM

Television turned digital, music turned digital and now two-way is going digital as well.  As a user of two way, you may ask yourself "why should I go digital? Why should I invest in the new technology when my analog radios are working just fine?"

Well, there are many features and advantages that digital radios can offer that your run of the mill analog ones can't.  Digital radios work with a greater spectrum efficiency which in turn allows for a higher calling capacity.  They provide enhanced signaling for user-friendly operation, they enable flexible privacy between individual users and groups, and they combine voice communication and wireless data applications in the same device. 

Digital radios can save you money.  Because of the technology used, there is a calling capacity double that of analog radios.  This creates two virtual channels while allowing a company to only pay the price of one "real" channel license.  It also elminates the need for an additional repeater or combiner system for the second call.  With digital radios battery life is also increased by approximately 40% leading to less costs incurred for replacing batteries.

With analog radios, signals are often distorted creating audible static.  Some digital systems have the ability to surpress background noise at the transmitter which are therefore not heard at the receiver.  They can also provide voice and privacy without requiring extra hardware or altering the quality of the transmission. Motorola has a great example of the sound quality difference between analog and digital radios. Click Motorola hear the difference to check it out.

Converting your radio fleet from analog to digital is simple and can be done over time.  There are devices that can offer both analog and digital modes in a single unit.  By choosing these units, companies can gradually convert to a digital system when the time is right for them.

Have you tried digital radios yet?  Leave a comment below to let us know what you think of them.

To find out more about the future of professional two-way radios, download this white paper "The Future of Professional Two-way Radio: Digital"

Topics: MotoTRBO, two way radios, two way radio, 2 way radio, digital radio