Trunked Radio? WHAT
in the world is trunked radio?
The term trunked radio refers to the way the radios work. The
term "trunk" is a telephone company term that simply means that when you
pick up a telephone handset to make a call, the equipment in the telephone
office picks the path or TRUNK to send your
call over. You don't pick the actual connection path. Trunked
radio works in just the same way since there are multiple repeaters, or
paths, at each tower and the radio equipment picks one for you. You
have to pick the tower to use, who you want to call and, how you want to
call them (by a telephone call or by radio), but the radio equipment picks
the actual path.
Privacy? What is private? What is
not?
All radio transmissions are subject to eavesdropping
by others with the right equipment. You may remember the news headlines
resulting from cell phone calls overheard by others. Trunked radio
transmissions are private in that they prevent others that share the towers
with you from listening to you. This also includes any of your own
radios that are not included in a particular intercom. Like a cell
phone, someone with the right equipment can scan and overhear your call.
If it is too sensitive for trunked radio, you shouldn't be using any radio/cell
phone device!
Why does my cell phone NOT work when a trunked
radio does?
First, a trunked radio is NOT a substitute for a cell phone.
We do not have service anywhere but where we have towers. There is
no roaming but you can use any of the towers in our system. But there
are many people that can benefit from a trunked radio because of where
we are, where they live and, what they do. A cell phone requires
a tower to be very near by for dependable operation, usually 5 - 8 miles.
Cell phones were designed for use in areas of high population density where
there is a need for lots of call capacity in a small area. Our part
of the world is NOT like that. We have very high mountains, very
deep valleys and small pockets of population. In much of our area,
the cost of building out a cell system that would provide 100% coverage
cannot be economically justified. Most trunked radios are vehicle
based (mounted in vehicles) while most cell phones are person based (you
take it with you). The power of a trunked radio is 20 to 75 times
that of a cell phone!! This power is required
to make radio communications really work in our part of the world.
Hey, is this a really hi-tech service?
Can I surf the Web?
Nope, no Web surfing allowed!!! And it not "hi-tech" either but
just a powerful implementation of good, basic, affordable technology that
makes communications between human beings better for YOU! Todays
cellular providers have to track your location in order to route your call
plus the government requires it. They are going to use this information
to send you targeted ads based on where you are or have been. We
don't and can't do that so, if you want to be totally hooked up and have
your movements around town logged into a database like you had a tracking
collar on, then you'll have to get someone else to do it. We are
"Leaders on the trailing edge of technology",
we don't do those things.
Can I put the trunked radio in my pocket?
These radio/telephones are intended to be operatied in vehicles. They
are not personal units to be worn on your person. One reason that
cell phones are so limited in the rural areas is that they have been shrunk
down from vehicle mounted units to ones that you can wear on your belt
around the city. The cities are where the most people are and that
is where cell phones are designed to really work. We can and do install
these in homes for base units, in tractors, tandum trucks, log loaders
and buses. These radios are used in the school buses in Russell county,
Tazewell county and Bland county.
What else can do with trunked radios?
Some of these radios have been re-designed to allow operation in remote
areas where there are no powerlines. In those places, they can run
off of solar cells, wind turbines or 12 volt batteries. They can
also be configured as for use with burgler alarms so that forced entry
can be reported and any activity listened to! At the same time you
will have a phone and a base radio when you are there.
Can I afford a radio system even for use at home?
We know you can! There are all kinds of ways to structure a system
for your situation. There is only ONE requirement; You need to call
us to explain YOUR needs! :@)