22 Sep 2017

Remote alarms on radios boost safety and sales

Linking alarms to DMR radio networks can realise considerable benefits for end-users. The connection not only enhances the safety of personnel and protection of valuable assets, but it also enables the customer to get more value out of the radio system, as James Atkinson reports

Hooking up alarm systems that monitor machinery, buildings and other assets to DMR radio networks is hardly an unusual occurrence today, but it is not as common as it might be.

“A lot of customers are not aware that alarms and alerts can be connected up to DMR radios,” points out Ian Hussey, technical sales manager at 2CL Communications. He adds many customers are unaware of how much more they can get out of a radio beyond just push-to-talk voice applications. This can include a software add-on for alarm management, capable of delivering audio alerts, SMS and emails in response to an alarm being triggered.

“The sales forces with radio resellers need to make these capabilities known to customers,” he says. “It is easy to take a gateway to a customer’s site and demonstrate how to connect an alarm to a radio, but until someone does it they don’t realise what can be done. If you do, you could end up selling 10 handheld radios, a software suite and an alarm connection package.”