ACUI Open Forum

 View Only
  • 1.  Portable Radios

    Posted 09-23-2021 13:09
    Hi! 

    We are looking into getting portable radios for the different offices and our building managers in the Student Center and I was looking to see if anyone had any recommendations. We are just beginning our search so any feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

    Thanks!

    ------------------------------
    Ashlee Cook
    Youngstown State University
    Youngstown OH
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Portable Radios

    Posted 09-23-2021 14:29
    Hi!

    How many radios, how big is your space, is there alot of concrete, and whats your budget?

    James
     

    James Van Roekel; MA, MLS, ObSB
    Director of Student Affairs Technology
    Sam Houston State University



    ------------------------------
    James Van Roekel
    Director of Student Affairs Technology
    Sam Houston State University
    Huntsville TX
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Portable Radios

    Posted 09-28-2021 10:20
    We are looking at 10 radios to start. Our building is about 120,000 sq. ft. and does have a lot of concrete. I'd like to find some options in multiple price ranges.

    Thanks!

    ------------------------------
    Ashlee Cook
    Youngstown State University
    Youngstown OH
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Portable Radios

    Posted 09-28-2021 10:36
    William has a good suggestion--it would be great if they could audit your building to see where no signal spots may reside and a repeater required.  Too, check with your UPD, IT, Athletics etc to see what they use--there may be infrastructure that you can piggyback--esp for emergency situations.  Too, if the current campus solution is digital and have campus-wide licensing, some manufacturers have phone apps that connect to the radio infrastructure so that you can use your phones as radios.  In additional to Bearcom, check out motorola and some yaesu--any of these will have varying product lines and costs.  We have used motorola for years--robust, easy to update, etc.  Again, in facilities, especially with alot of concrete, I would receommend an audit for holes--don't want to find that in an emergency.

    ------------------------------
    James Van Roekel
    Director of Student Affairs Technology
    Sam Houston State University
    Huntsville TX
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Portable Radios

    Posted 09-24-2021 11:08

    Ashlee,

     

    Check to see if there is Bearcom dealer near you. They have a wide range of radio solutions and the customer service is always excellent. https://bearcom.com/

     

    We use the Bearcom BC130 for our events and they work great. Depending on the size of your building you may need a radio with a little better range.

     

    Bill Tourville

    Assistant Director, Campus Programs

    173 Centennial Union

    Mankato, MN 56001

    507-389-6076

    Zoom: https://minnstate.zoom.us/my/billtourville

    www.mnsu.edu/studenteventsteam

    STUDENT_EVENTS_TEAM_LOGO - Small

     






  • 6.  RE: Portable Radios

    Posted 09-29-2021 02:11
    We've used Motorola for years as well (I'm 99% sure they are the SL300 model but will confirm with you tomorrow), and we have a 283,000 sf building with a significant amount of concrete in it. Our iPhones don't work in the basement, but the radios do! They also work between buildings which are about 1/3 mile apart. Consider radios with multiple channels if you have different teams using the same ones (housekeeping team can use one channel, maintenance another, events/students a third, etc). We were using ear pieces to keep communication more private while out around the public, but we stopped that with the onset of COVID. Our AV team still uses the earpieces so they can communicate discretely while in an event with a client. Motorola also has a charger that can accommodate multiple radios, and I recommend the clips so employees can attach them to themselves (less likely to get lost).

    ------------------------------
    Allison Van Den Berg
    Operations Coordinator
    North Carolina State University
    Raleigh NC
    acvanden@ncsu.edu
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Portable Radios

    Posted 09-29-2021 09:48
    Hi Ashlee,

    We use Motorola radios at Kent State and they were purchased through B&C Communications in Akron. All of the radio tracking, programming, and maintenance is done through our campus Police Department as they manage radio communications across campus to make sure no one else is using the same frequencies as them. I would recommend coordinating with your campus PD, they have radios to communicate with each other, so you might be able to hop on to their service contract with whoever they purchase their radios from. If they have free channels on their repeaters, that's even better because you'll know for sure that you can communicate throughout your building, and you don't have to purchase a repeater as that can drive costs up quickly. Feel free to send me an email if you have any questions, especially once you purchase them and you start digging into the best practices for radio communication.

    ------------------------------
    Parry Lopez
    he/him/his
    plopez1@kent.edu
    Assistant Director, Kent Student Center
    Kent State University
    Kent OH
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Portable Radios

    Posted 09-30-2021 01:16
    Hi Ashlee,

    We here at UC Berkeley experienced issues with our Motorolla SL7580's because of the concrete structure. But if you do purchase a radio system, be sure to ask for a repeater because, without it, it can hinder the connection. We can use our walkies up to 10 blocks away. Another item to check on is if your team would like to incorporate earpieces. This is something we also just implemented to ensure privacy and safety amongst our team.

    ------------------------------
    Andy Hang
    Building Supervisor
    University of California Berkeley
    Berkeley CA
    ------------------------------