Sunday, June 20, 2010

A special message for golf course administrators

Happy golfers like to play on gorgeous fairways and greens. Keeping things green is mostly made possible by sprinkler systems controlled by golf course maintenance personnel using keypad equipped 2-way radios. Our topic today is how to keep these systems operating at optimum efficiency.

We've got the ideal radio for use with both Rain Bird and Toro radio controlled sprinkler systems. It's called a TC-780. Additional information is available by clicking here, but that's not our subject for today.

Golf courses serve the function of providing pleasure for players as well as a second, lesser known function. In many cases, golf courses serve as community lightning rods with high trees, open spaces, large metal pumps, and to top it all off, 2-way radio antennas. Suffice it to say that lightning damage to repeater stations used by maintenance and operations personnel are frequently damaged by lightning. More often than not, the lightning comes in through the AC outlet or even static electricity in the air - rarely through the antenna.

There are a variety of products available to either sense the presence of approaching lightning, and electrically disconnect sensitive equipment, or "electric umbrellas" that can trick lightning into ignoring the target. They are VERY expensive. Maintaining damaged equipment can be expensive as well.

A repeater station capable of handling both voice and data communications generally sell for three to four thousand dollars. A typical repair can easily be a thousand dollars or more and the time to restore service can be days, weeks, or even months! Now, there is a better way!

As part of our XChange program, we offer your choice of purchasing a backup repeater for UNDER $1,000 or 3 hour exchange and repair of a damaged repeater. Additional information is available by emailing GolfRadio@falcondirect.com or calling us at 205.854.2611.

Introducing the XChange Service Program!

One of our technicians was recently sharing with me how when he was employed by a competitor that he was required to produce eight billable jobs daily, charged to that companies customers at a minimum billable amount. His labor and parts charges were then sent to the service manager who often padded the bill to make sure than daily minimum billings were assured.

Strange as it may seem, this is normal for many service companies, not only those involved in communications but others as well. Critical equipment such as consoles, recorders, and repeaters are often double billed for prompt response or subject to annual contract service based on a percentage of the equipment cost with absolutely nothing to do with the actual service provided.

We are not in the service business. We are in business to take care of those we serve, promptly, and at reasonable cost. That means we don't do business like the other guys and that is why we think you may be interested in knowing more about one of our special programs known as XChange. Here’s how it works.......

The young lady above is standing next to a partial inventory of base/repeater stations, desk sets, duplexers, high power amplifiers, and power supplies that are available for direct exchange emergency service when a customer station fails. Although not shown in this photo, we also have voice logging recorders, office control stations, and base station antennas available for immediate exchange when required.

As an XChange customer, you pay a small initial fee which purchases an equity in our replacement equipment inventory that currently includes low power repeater stations by HYT and Ritron as well as high powered analog repeaters by ICOM, MotoTRBO repeaters by Motorola, NXDN repeaters by ICOM, and P25 repeaters by Midland. If you have a repeater station, we can generally respond within two hours within 150 miles of Birmingham and either repair or replace your defective station within 3 hours or less. Outside 150 miles, we can guarantee a replacement within 24 hours or less.

This isn’t something we just started doing. We’ve been doing it all along and we have testimonial letters from all over Alabama and as far away as New York state. If you would like to know more about the XChange program, send us an email to XChange@falcondirect.com or just give us a call at 205.854.2611. You’ll like the price. You’ll love the service!

Hytera Pricing Announcement

We are delighted to announce that UHF models of the Hytera mobiles, portables, and repeaters are now shipping. More information is available at www.info4u.us/DMR.pdf, but that is not the really big news. The REALLY BIG NEWS is that these radios are compatible with the popular MotoTRBO radios which are based on the DMR operating system. Until now, US users had only one choice. Now there is another choice, and it is a better choice and we GUARANTEE that it is a better choice.

Here's the deal! First, let's talk about features and performance beginning with How far will it talk? We GUARANTEE the new Hytera PD782 portable will talk farther than the MotoTRBO portable. You pick the time and place. You'll see. As to user functionality - just compare the FULL COLOR DISPLAY with MotoTRBO. You'll SEE the difference!

So what did we forget? Price maybe? Actually, true cost of ownership may be the more appropriate consideration. We'll answer the question by asking a question. Which is better? A two year warranty or a FIVE YEAR WARRANTY? If you answered a five year warranty, then your choice has to be the PD782 which would obviously have the lowest cost of ownership. Want to talk about service? We can do that! We've got the fastest, most efficient, least expensive service program available anywhere. We'll tell you about it when we bring our demos. And by the way, if you don't have some MotoTRBO radios available for comparison - don't worry about it. We'll bring them too!

Still got questions about the price? Think we may be evading the issue? Not really - we were just saving the best till last! Our price is 20% lower than your best price on a comparable MotoTRBO portable - THAT'S OUR PRICE!

Ready to put us to the test? Just email Hytera@falcondirect.com or give us a call at 205.854.2611. We'll be looking forward to hearing from you!

Backorder situation on Minitor V

As many Minitor V customers know, Minitor V pagers have not been shipping for over a month. The reason is an issue with the rechargeable battery that has resulted in a hold on product shipments. We have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that battery orders were cleared as of 6/17/2010. The bad news is that pager orders have NOT been cleared and the shipping hold on Minitor V remains.

If you have a pager order on hold and need immediate shipment, you may want to consider either one of two alternatives available at essentially the same cost. Additional information is available at www.info4u.us/NewPagers.pdf.

The next update for shipping status on Minitor V will be available on June 24, 2010 and each Monday thereafter. If you are experiencing delays on any Motorola accessories or products, feel free to call us for updated information at 205.854.2611.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Rural Community Grant Opportunity

Community Facility Grants Objectives:

Community Programs provides grants to assist in the development of essential community facilities in rural areas and towns of up to 20,000 in population. Grants are authorized on a graduated scale. Applicants located in small communities with low populations and low incomes will receive a higher percentage of grants. Additional information is available by clicking here.

It appears to us that this program offers an excellent opportunity for rural law enforcement agencies to apply for funding to purchase P25 interoperable communications equipment. For more information, contact the local USDA Rural Development office in your area. A listing is available by clicking here. If you need assistance in preparing your application for an interoperable communications system, please give us a call at 205.854.2611 or drop us an email to Help4U@falcondirect.com.

Friday, June 11, 2010

It's Grant Time Again!

The grant application period for the Alabama Wildland Fire Prevention Grant is now open (It closes on July 2, 2010). Additional information is available on the AAVFD web site by clicking here.

Several years ago, we developed the CAPS program that was designed specifically to address the requirements of this grant. The material has now been updated and is available for use by those who might wish to use this information to file for a grant. For more information, click here.

Monday, June 7, 2010

A word about service......

One of the requirements of a recent communications bid was for potential vendors to provide information on post sales services, presumably meaning a request for hourly rates, response time, contract options, etc. This is a legitimate request when you consider that the labor cost quoted by a major manufacturer on the New York State Communications Contract is $147 per hour! We'll tell you why we have the picture of Napoleon shortly....

The response to the aforementioned bid requirement by one of our competitors was to a prospective user in South Alabama. We thought it was worth sharing with you - Service ability: XX Wireless maintains service facilities around Alabama with affiliates in Tennessee (don't know why that would be important to a South Alabama user, but let us continue....). No one can provide service as XX Wireless can. (Wow! That sure leaves the rest of us out in the cold!) If you desire a resume, send us an email and a complete company resume can be sent.

Arrogance, coupled with lack of comprehension = loss of award. Oh, by the way - their terms were 20% with award, 70% on equipment delivery, and 10% if and when they ever got it installed. They are probably still wondering why the prospective customer did not see the value to their proposition!

We think what the prospective customer was really asking, was what's it going to cost me to keep me operational and what kind of downtime might I expect if I have a problem? For what it's worth, we DID answer the question and we were awarded the contract. If you have similar questions, give us a call at 205.854.2611. One thing is true - we cannot provide service as XX Wireless can, and we don't want to! Napoleon said it best.......

Never interfere with the enemy while he is in the process of destroying himself - Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821)