Despite the digital communications revolution, a significant number of LMR operators continue to specify modern analog radio networks to serve their communities. Many others are successfully operating legacy analog LMR systems that continue to be optimized and fully supported. Beyond their support role, some manufacturers are developing solutions that upgrade the performance of these analog networks, giving existing and new analog operators ongoing value for the life of the network investment. When considering radio network design, acquisition... Continue Reading
Glentel Inc. is one of Canada’s leading telecommunications companies and in 2013, celebrated its 50th year. Their success has not been without significant challenges.
Clients differ tremendously, as do their needs and the nature of their concerns. Glentel has overcome this challenge by developing and maintaining a great relationship with clients.
A successful partnership requires three key elements: comprehension, collaboration, and communication. These are not ground-breaking concepts. In fact, they are simple and applicable to any business. But it is how you... Continue Reading
Are you prepared for a major disaster? The first 72 hours are the most critical for emergency teams to respond to those in need and prevent further damage. Lives depend on it.
In the last decade, the world has experienced a spate of major disasters, from earthquakes in Chile, Haiti, New Zealand, Japan, Turkey, and Nepal to tsunamis in Indonesia, the Pacific and Japan, fires in Australia, floods in the Philippines, volcanoes in Iceland, droughts, hurricanes and tornados in the US. Hundreds of thousands continue to die or suffer. And increasing... Continue Reading
Successful system design is heavily dependent on the designer’s understanding of the channel and its properties. Tait Principal Engineer Ian Graham continues his radio theory series with examples of channel properties that are critical to overall RF system design.
In a radio system, there may be large distances (including hills, forests, buildings etc) between the transmit and the receive antennas. This is the channel, the medium over which we propagate the signal from the transmitter to the receiver. Here we look at nine key channel... Continue Reading
Vendors have been talking up OTAP for more than a decade.
They promised time and money savings, with less driving, less disruption, and more control over devices. OTAP would dramatically reduce the resource required to operate a network. Large radio fleets would be upgraded simply, quickly and seamlessly, without having to recall vehicles and users to base.
In this article, we discuss why this hasn’t always happened, and where OTAP development is currently.
What OTAP brings to Radio Fleet Management
Despite the market demand, the time taken... Continue Reading
The FCC has announced that narrowbanding 700 MHz networks by 2017 is no longer mandated. In this article, Tait Public Safety Solutions Manager Dr. Russell Watson looks at who will be affected, and what the implications are.
Towards the end of 2014, the FCC announced that the 2017 narrowbanding implementation deadline was no longer viable, or indeed necessary. This decision was preceded by FCC granting a number of waivers to entities who had argued variously that:
- they had no spectral congestion,
- the regulation artificially shortens the life of their existing... Continue Reading
This article, from Helmut Koch’s presentation at a Tait-sponsored partner seminar, looks at standards and why they are still not working the way they should, to serve the communications needs of public safety agencies.
The best thing about standards-based solutions is that standards create sustainable value for our customers who are operators of mission critical communications systems.
How much value we can create depends on our customers. If they are well educated, they will look critically at the radio system, 911 call-taking system, dispatch system, recording... Continue Reading
The greatest motivation for physiological monitoring technology is to prevent occupational loss of life. Tait has integrated physiological monitoring into our critical communications solutions, where firefighters and other workers in dangerous environments can be monitored.
But rather than talk about physiological monitoring as part of a critical communications solution, we have been taking it out into the field. Two of our in-field tests were firefighter stair climbs, simulating real life activity – well, minus the actual burning building!
Sky Tower Stair Challenge, Auckland, New... Continue Reading
Anthony Hoffman’s move to Antarctica was completely unplanned. One day he was Senior Hardware Design Engineer with Tait Communications’ custom integration team in Christchurch, the next he had signed up as Communications Engineer at New Zealand’s scientific research station in Antarctica.
He is currently working his third 13-month stint on the ice. In this article he shares the triumphs and challenges of managing multiple communications networks in one of the harshest environments on the planet.
My very-abrupt shift in career came about in... Continue Reading
