Walk into any governmental office, church, or school today and you will find virtually no system in place to provide some type of emergency calling capability.  That is an absolute tragedy since a low cost solution is readily available.  It's called the Personal Protection System (PPS) available exclusively from Falcon Direct.

The new PPS system was developed in response to a request by the Mayor of a large southern city who had a concern for his administrative personnel.  He knew that they come under attack from visitors who had access to his office with no security check.  In today's world, this is simply unacceptable.  

Want to know how to make church, government, or school offices safer?  Check out our new PPS system by going to www.info4u.us/PPS.pdf.  

Need to keep an eye on your vehicles?

Is there a benefit in knowing where your vehicles have been, how fast they were driven, where they stopped, and for how long?  Ask any fleet administrator that has ever had a vehicle involved in an accident, or a department executive trying to answer a claim of inappropriate behavior, or a police chief trying to answer a charge that their officers are not patrolling a business or residential area.

That is why so many municipalities are installing vehicle tracking devices in their vehicles.  The question is which system is best?  Which is most affordable?  If you would like the answer to these questions, we invite you to visit www.info4u.us/VehicleTracking.pdf. 

In particular, check out our new EZ-Trac system that not only tracks all vehicle activity, but can later be upgraded to include cameras and microphones for law enforcement use.  The price is UNDER $1,000!

We are delighted to announce the availability of TWO grant programs for fire departments. The first is the 2008 (yes, you read it right) Fire Prevention and Safety Grant (FP&S). Normally, this grant comes out in the fourth quarter.  This year, it missed 2008 completely and was announced on February 2, 2009 with a closing date of March 6, 2009. If you want to go for this one, you're going to have to hurry!

Details are available on the FEMA web site at www.firegrantsupport.com. We have a special package for rapid fire reporting in churches, schools, public buildings (including fire stations), and more that should qualify for funding.  If approved, this system could make your community safer for those you serve.  For additional information, just give us a call at 800.489.2611. Information on the Assistance to Firefighter grant program (AFG) is also available on this Blog site. These programs only come around once a year.  Don't miss your opportunity to do something great for your community and your department!

Ever seen one of these?

This is digital trunked radio as it looks to the rest of the world.  It's called TETRA, a system developed and sold worldwide by Motorola, except in the USA.  We won't comment on why it is not available in the USA except to say that it isn't.  However, that may be changing soon.  For additional information, click here.

There is a point to this comment.  The point being that Falcon Direct takes the time to keep up on the latest technology advances, regulatory changes, and news you need to know before considering an upgrade to digital communications.  If you are thinking about moving up to digital, give us a call at 800.489.2611.  No one does digital better than Falcon Direct.  Experience proves out claim!

Blogging for Newbie’s

Many people look at this blogging thing with all the varied options and conclude they simply don’t want to invest the time to learn what blogging is all about.  Can’t say we blame them, so we thought it may be time to help those who want to receive our blogs in a simple 10 step process.

First, let us explain that our Blog is a Business Blog with specific areas of interest.  The purpose of using a Blog instead of traditional email is that YOU are in total control of what you get and how you get it.  Let’s explain how that works by looking at our Blog page at http://falconinfo.blogspot.com. On the top right side of the page, you will see a listing of interest topics.  These are known as Labels.  This particular Blog is a General Interest Blog.

You can receive all of our Blogs, by email, as they are released or you may only want to receive General Interest Blogs or Public Safety Blogs, or Blogs just for Mayors.  Better yet, sign up to receive all our Blogs as much of the information is of interest to multiple groups.  Here’s how you sign up with Google, our preferred choice.

If you don’t have a Gmail address, go to www.google.com to set up a Gmail account.  If you already have a Gmail account, you can skip this step.  Save your new Gmail address.  You’ll be needing this later.  Now, let’s go back to the Google home page.  You will note that your new Gmail account name appears at the top right center of the Google home page. Click on Gmail left of top center of the page.

When your Gmail account opens, click on Settings (just to the right of your Email account name at the top of the page).  When Settings opens, you will see a gold task bar with a selection for Forwarding and POP/IMAP.  Click on this link.  The Forwarding box will open.  Normally, the Disable Forwarding selection will be checked.  If you want your Email Blog sent to another account (which is normal), click on the Forward a copy of incoming mail and insert your regular email address.  Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.  You are now ready to sign up to receive our Blogs.  The hard part is over!

Now, go to http://falconinfo.blogspot.com.  When the page opens, scroll down to the Subscribe To section in the right hand column. Now, click on the Posts selection.  When the Google page opens, click on the Add to Google Reader selection.  Enter your new Google account name and password.  Finish up by following the instructions on the screen. 

If you only want to receive Blogs from us in a single category, click on the desired category after opening our Blog page and THEN click on the Add to Google under the Posts icon. You will now receive our Blogs instantly as they are released.  You can add other Blogs of interest in the same manner. 

That wasn't so bad was it?

Motorola 2-way Radio Promotions

The Motorola special Buy Six and Get One Free radio program ends February 28th.  This is an exceptional offer for users of the BPR40, CM200/300, CP150/200, PM400, and PR400 series radios.  Additional information is available on our Motorola dealer store site at http://falcon.radio-dealers.com.

Effective February 2, 2009, MotoTRBO purchasers can earn a one hundred dollar trade in allowance for any old 2-way radio or PTT cellphone.  Public Safety users are entitled to special discounts on MotoTRBO radios at our dealer store site referenced above.  Details on home page. Also, don't forget our special offers on B-Stock MotoTRBO radios.  For more information, see  the Product Catalog section. B-Stock/Motorola at www.bestpriceradio.com.

2-way Radio Planning Guide

Many fire departments are receiving grant money for new communications systems.  That's good! What is not so good is that you must swim through a sea of misinformation to get the real facts and figures on the 2-way radios that are best for your individual needs, compliant with applicable grant conditions, FCC rules, and changing technical standards. Other public safety users face a similar dilemma.

A policeman friend recently commented that his job was primarily one of keeping people from hurting themselves or others and putting in jail those that don't. That is, without a doubt, the best explanation of law enforcement I've ever heard. What he was saying is the same thing that you may be thinking. My job is public safety. I don't have the time or desire to wade through all the misinformation in order to make a good decision - HELP ME!

So, we've done our best to do just that!  Check our www.info4u.us/FireRadios.pdf for more information.

MotoTRBO versus NXDN Comparisons

We have heard some pretty outrageous claims being made about the perceived advantages of MotoTRBO versus NXDN, not to mention the claims of those who wish to keep technology frozen in the analog mode.  For those who want to keep things analog, we can only say that we doubt they want to go back to analog Cellphones and very soon, the same will be said about analog TV, but that still leaves the discussion of whether MotoTRBO or NXDN is the better digital technology.

Technically, MotoTRBO uses TDMA technology whereas NXDN (ICOM, Kenwood, and Ritron radios) use FDMA technology.  For your reading enjoyment, we invite you to read a white paper prepared by ICOM.  We believe it is fair and balanced, to borrow a phrase from a major news network. Go to www.info4u.us/FDMA-TDMA-Comparisons.pdf for the full report.  If nothing else, we think you will find it to be very informative.

As a final comment, we should point out that there are multiple FCC emission designators for NXDN radios.  Elsewhere on our Blog we earlier published emission designators for ICOM 6.25 kHz radios (IDAS).  For the sake of clarity, we through it would be worthwhile to also provide the designators for both voice and data at both 12.5 and 6.25 kHz channel spacing as follows:

8K30F1E - 12.5 kHz single channel digital voice, 8K30F1D - 12.5 kHz single channel digital data, 8K30F1W - 12.5 kHz single channel digital voice and data - 4K00F1E - 6.25 kHz single channel digital voice - 4K00F1D - 6.25 kHz single channel digital data, 4K00F1W - 6.25 kHz single channel, digital voice and data,4K00F2D - 6.25 kHz single channel analog CW ID.  (Ref: Wikipedia.org).

Ritron Announces Clean Cab Railroad Radio

We are constantly suprised when reading the blogs about the resistance to switching from analog to digital.  What is more troubling are the comments which are most often based on emotions, here say, and disinformation. Case in point is the announcement by Ritron, an American manufacturer, who has developed an in-cab radio for railroad locomotive use.

Anyone who has been in the communications business for longer than a week knows that meeting AAR standards and performance testing is no easy feat.  Yet, instead of applauding an American manufacturer, the majority of commenter's reflect back to radios of 20 or 30 years ago and wishing for the good old days.  That's a shame!

We commend Ritron for stepping up to the plate with American management, American engineers, and American production workers in keeping the USA up to date in a rapidly changing world (which by the way is moving to digital for all the right reasons).  Good for you Ritron!  By the way, if you would like to see a copy of the Ritron announcement and some of the comments, please visit www.radioreference.com/forums/railroad-railfan-monitoring-forum/133108-new-clean-cab-radio-ritron.html. 

VisonPlus update

The program announced for municipal services in January has been updated and expanded.  This is a program especially for Mayors, first in Alabama, now available in Kentucky and Mississippi. After comment from several Mayors, we added a fourth element to our list of basic objectives for municipal government. Thanks to those of you who gave us an assist!

The program is now known as the Community Alliance Program.  We have developed a completely new web site to better explain this program and how it can benefit YOUR community.  You can check it out by going to www.communityalliance.info.  We think you'll like it!