Arm Your Team With the Latest Communication Technology

If you work in construction, emergency services, for the government or any other organization that requires quick and precise communication, you will benefit from P25 digital radios. P25 represents the latest digital communication technology. While other forms of communication are heavily flawed in regard to transmission consistency, battery life and other features, P25 is reliable in every sense. This is the technology you need to keep you and your team safe regardless of environmental threats. It will also help maintain the safety of those who need assistance from law enforcement, emergency personnel and government workers.

Radios That Always Work

Take a moment to think about all of the problems with conventional radio communications. Most organizations have various radios and other communications devices that fail to function in unison. The failure to transmit messages in real-time without flaw is essential to your team’s ability to get their job done in the most effective manner possible. Anyone who works in emergency situations will testify that time is of the essence. Oftentimes, seconds make the difference between life and death for civilians as well as service providers. Arm your team with P25 radios and they will be able to communicate with one another in an immediate manner without any sort of interference or audio drop-outs.

P25 technology was created with the input of an array of groups including the Telecommunications Industry Association, the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International and the National Association of State Telecommunications Directors. As a result, P25 radios are compatible with every single emergency device and even some non-emergency communication devices. It doesn’t matter if your team is using a base station, a trunked line or direct radio communication, P25 technology will allow for crystal clear communication at all times.

The post The P25 Difference first appeared on BK Technologies.

The post The P25 Difference appeared first on BK Technologies.

Police officers need the latest technology to stay safe and be effective

From body armor to body cameras, technological developments have led to increased safety for police officers. From 2006 to 2013, police officer deaths in the United States decreased from 156 per year to 109 per year. Unfortunately, it seems as though that trend is beginning to reverse, with a little more than 120 police officers killed in the line of duty in both 2014 and 2015. Social and cultural trends have complicated this issue and created an increased amount of stress on the law enforcement population. In order to continue to do their duty, it is imperative that police officers are provided with the latest technologies relevant to their work. One area that has seen significant improvement recently is communications technology for law enforcement and emergency personnel. More specifically, the development of P25 Mobile Radios.

What is P25?

P25 is a digital radio communications standard that is increasingly used by public safety officials at every level of government through the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It addresses one of the biggest problems with radio communications that emergency personnel face — namely, the inability for various radios and communication devices to work together, particularly in time-sensitive situations. The P25 Mobile Radios standard has been developed with the hard work of several groups, including the National Association of State Telecommunications Directors, the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International, and the Telecommunications Industry Association.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of P25 technology is that is compatible with all emergency communications devices (as well as many non-emergency communication devices). This means that devices ranging from state-of-the-art digital radios to decades-old analog radios can all communicate with P25 Mobile Radios technology. By utilizing several proprietary technologies developed by the organizations mentioned above, P25 allows radio equipment to communicate regardless of whether the police officers are using direct radio communication, communication through a base station, or a trunked line.

Benefits of P25 Mobile Radios for police officers

While it would be great if law enforcement officers could get all of the latest technology as soon as it was developed, the reality is that budgets rarely allow for comprehensive revamps of an entire police department. P25 technology directly addresses this, thanks to the backward-compatibility it offers with older radio equipment. This means that a police department can roll out P25 Mobile Radios equipment over a period of one or more years, all while continuing to be compatible with existing equipment.

P25 also operates very similarly to existing radio technologies, which means that law enforcement officers will not need to spend much (if any) time learned the new technology standard. This means less time wasted on retraining and a decreased risk of user error during a life or death situation out in the field. In addition, P25 networks can be scaled to be as robust and as large as needed, even for the biggest metropolitan areas.

Making the switch to P25 Mobile Radios technology

There is no doubt that P25 Mobile Radios are the future for police officers and emergency personnel throughout the United States, and the technology is expected to save the lives of both law enforcement officers and civilians alike. RELM Wireless is committed to providing the cutting edge of radio technology to the nation’s brave police officers, and there is currently a robust and growing line of P25 Mobile Radios, base stations, and repeaters available through RELM. To learn more about this life-saving technology, please feel free to contact RELM wireless at CONTACT.

The post Why Police Officers Need P25 Radios first appeared on BK Technologies.

The post Why Police Officers Need P25 Radios appeared first on BK Technologies.

The main groups that depend on P25 radios are public safety personnel at the federal, state, and local levels. Firefighters, police officers, and EMS personnel highly depend on these radios that offer them the necessary interoperability to effectively do their jobs. Military personnel have also come to depend on these radios to ensure that they have the communication needed to perform their duties.

While the P25 standard was developed for public safety officials in North America, these radios are not limited to public safety or North America. In fact, the interoperability provided by P25 radios has led to organizations from around the world adopting these standards to ensure they are receiving the type of communication that they need out of their digital radios.

The standards set by P25 brought communication through radios to a new level. By using P25 radios, the days of communication lapses becoming a problem when two departments attempt to work together during an emergency situation are gone. Now, multiple departments can come together with no communication issues to ensure the safety of each member of their department and for the community that they are protecting. RELM Wireless is proud to provide P25 radios to federal, state, and local public safety personnel across the country.

The post Who Are P25 Radios For? first appeared on BK Technologies.

The post Who Are P25 Radios For? appeared first on BK Technologies.

Established in 1979, APCO-16 was a new standard dealing with the operation and functionality of trunked radio systems. While APCO-16 was a step in the right direction, it is analog and trunked only. APCO-16 elevated the standard of radios but it didn’t solve the problem of the lack of interoperability.

Ten years later, in 1989, APCO released a new set of standards, P25. These new standards dealt with digital technology and allowed for both conventional and trunked telephony. The most important aspect of these new standards was that it created the type of interoperability that was sorely missed by so many public safety officials.

In the past, when two public safety departments from two different areas came together, the communication was lacking which make their jobs much more difficult and put them in more danger during emergency situations. P25 has solved that problem so that public safety personnel can now better protect, not only themselves, but also their communities.

P25 has become the main standard of which all public safety departments should be following. While APCO-16 may be fine in many industries, interoperability is paramount in emergency situations which is why P25 is essential. RELM Wireless is proud to service emergency personnel from around the country with top-quality P25 radios to ensure that they are fully equipped to handle any situation that may come their way. It is this equipment that they depend on to keep themselves and their communities safe.

The post From APCO P16 to P25 first appeared on BK Technologies.

The post From APCO P16 to P25 appeared first on BK Technologies.

While it may seem obvious not to set off fireworks around wooded areas, some will undoubtedly do just that which carries the risk of starting a large, uncontrollable fire. When this situation occurs, local firefighters will be called into action to handle the blaze. It is their job to control the fire and keep it from threatening homes in the neighborhood.

But it is not just fireworks that pose a threat as the new year arrives. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day rank third and fourth behind Christmas Eve and Christmas Day when it comes to days in which the most fires caused by candles occur. This is largely due to people leaving flammable Christmas decorations, such as Christmas trees, up until after the new year comes.

When these unforeseen fires arise and start to spread, the firefighters battling these blazes need as much help as they can get. In these situations, communication is essential for the safety of the firefighters and of those they are protecting. P25 radios offer the necessary interoperability to ensure that, even if other departments join in the battle, all the firefighters will remain in constant contact. RELM Wireless is proud to serve these public servants by providing top-quality P25 radios to allow them to do their job to the best of their ability. It’s a partnership that will help everyone stay safe this New Year’s Eve.

The post P25 Radios Protect You on New Year’s Eve first appeared on BK Technologies.

The post P25 Radios Protect You on New Year’s Eve appeared first on BK Technologies.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), fire departments in the United States responded to an estimated average of 210 home fires per year that were caused by Christmas trees between 2010 and 2014. These fires resulted in $16.2 million of direct property damage. In a quarter of these fires, an open flame, such as a candle, was too close to the tree. While these fires are not as common as other sources of fire, they are more likely to cause fatalities.

Between 2009 and 2013, fire departments in the United States responded to an estimated average of 860 home fires per year that were caused by decorations excluding Christmas trees. These fires resulted in $13.4 million of direct property damage. One-fifth of these fires started in the kitchen and one out of six started in a living room, family room, or den.

Given the number of flammable items that are often used for decoration during Christmas time, these fires can quickly get out of hand. To ensure the safety of the emergency personnel and the residents of the home, firefighters must work quickly to get the blaze under control. This takes a tremendous amount of teamwork and communication. These departments depend on P25 radios provided by RELM Wireless to keep them safe during these harrowing events.

The post P25 Radios Key for Public Safety During Christmas Season first appeared on BK Technologies.

The post P25 Radios Key for Public Safety During Christmas Season appeared first on BK Technologies.

Some of the most common crimes during the holiday season include shoplifting, robbery, drunk driving, and home burglary. When these crimes occur, they often require the attention of multiple departments and agencies. Communication becomes key when it comes to involving more than one group to prevent and assist in any emergency situations. That is where P25 radio systems become a necessity in order to provide seamless communication so that all parties who need to be involved may do so to their best abilities.

Keeping communities and families safe during the holiday season is not an easy task, but it should not be made more difficult with flaws in communication. RELM Wireless is a leading manufacturer of the P25 radios that have been proven to be more effective when it comes to communicating between neighboring departments. This allows departments to act in a quicker and more effective manner, possibly preventing any disruptions.

P25 radios are trusted by everyone from the federal government and military down to local law enforcement throughout the year, and are relied on heavily beyond just the holiday season. They give departments the information they need to do the jobs that people are relying on them to do. When crime picks up this winter, let RELM wireless be there to provide the P25 radios needed to keep all communities as safe as possible.

The post Tis the Season to Use P25 Radios first appeared on BK Technologies.

The post Tis the Season to Use P25 Radios appeared first on BK Technologies.

With radio channels that are specifically selected by the user, conventional P25 radios offer instantaneous channel access. There is no switching needed for conventional P25 radios which are best suited for a smaller group of users.

Trunked P25 radios differ from conventional P25 radios in that the radio channels are assigned to the user automatically. Rather than instantaneous channel access, the channel access for trunked P25 radios depend greatly on the technology they utilize. Core switching is essential for the operation of these radios which are better used by large groups numbering around 300 or more.

While there are key differences between these two P25 radio systems, there are even more similarities. Some of the key similarities between these two systems include the fact that they both utilize native digital control signaling and that they have the ability to support analog and digital consoles. And like all P25 radios, they both have the main advantage of offering interoperability to users which is paramount for the public safety personnel that use these radios to communicate while protecting citizens.

After deciding whether or not to switch to P25 radios, the decision must be made about which system to use; conventional or trunked. Depending on the number of users that will be utilizing these tools and other factors, one of these systems will stand out as the one for you to use. RELM Wireless is a proud supplier of P25 radios that provide the interoperability needed allowing public safety personnel to protect their communities.

The post Comparing Conventional and Trunked P25 Radio Systems first appeared on BK Technologies.

The post Comparing Conventional and Trunked P25 Radio Systems appeared first on BK Technologies.

The P25 CAP came about from a partnership between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the U.S. Department of Commerce Public Safety Communications Research program. The purpose of this voluntary program is to give these users confidence that the devices they are using are actually P25 compatible. The program tests participating radios against P25 standards for performance, conformance, and interoperability to ensure that the radios are, in fact, P25 compatible. The results of the tests are then publicly published allowing the first responders who use the radios to see the results for themselves.

The impact that this program has is that it promotes the use of P25 radios by showing first responders which radios are P25 compatible and which are not. The more manufacturers feel pressured to switch to P25 radios, the more interoperability there will be for the public safety officials that rely on them. Inevitably, this makes these personnel and the public in general much safer.

P25 compliant radios are key for the safety of the public and those that protect them. But public safety officials want to be sure that the radios they use are P25 compliant. That is where the P25 Compliance Assessment Program comes in. By testing the products that claim to meet the P25 standards and publicly publishing the results, these safety officials that are charged with protecting the public will be able to see for certain that they are using the right product. RELM Wireless completed the assessment program in 2011 and continues to provide top-quality P25 equipment to public safety personnel around the country.

The post What is P25 CAP? first appeared on BK Technologies.

The post What is P25 CAP? appeared first on BK Technologies.

P25, the standards set for optimal interoperability in radio communication, has eight open interfaces; Common Air Interface (CAI), Subscriber Data Peripheral Interface, Fixed Station Interface, Console Subsystem Interface, Network Management, Data Network Interface, Telephone Interconnect Interface, and Inter RF Subsystem Interface. These eight interfaces allow for those using P25 radios to effectively communicate with others using P25 radios, even if they are using the radios of a separate manufacturer.

Of the eight interfaces of P25, none is more widely deployed than CAI. The importance of CAI is that it allows for two separate P25 radios to efficiently communicate or for a P25 radio to efficiently communicate with P25 infrastructure, regardless of the manufacturer. It’s the basis of what P25 is all about. Additionally, it allows for interoperability capabilities for both FDMA, the designation of multiple users to separate frequencies, and TDMA, the subdividing of a channel into time slots when the digital data is transmitted, channel access methods.

P25 is integral for many occupations, such as public safety officials, as it allows for interoperability among other P25 radios and infrastructure, regardless of the manufacturer that supplied it. Of the eight open interfaces of P25 radios, none is more widely deployed than CAI as it is the interface most responsible for interoperability. More and more users of radio communication are switching to P25 radios for the interoperability they desire and RELM Wireless is proud to be a leading supplier of these important communication products.

The post P25 Common Air Interface and It’s Effect on Communication first appeared on BK Technologies.

The post P25 Common Air Interface and It’s Effect on Communication appeared first on BK Technologies.