Radio Comms for a School

[bossman]

@Oaktech

 

Just out of asking which units does your school advocate?

 

BTW we don't run the licensed versions but as I have stated on here we haven't had any problems from interference or scanners trying to intercept or abuse our radio communications.

 

For the cost I think they are value for money much more than a cheap set of walkie talkies.

 

For what is communicated over them there is nothing which could be of any importance to someone scanning our frequencies! As I have said our staff use a strict protocol over the airways when using them.

[plexer]

Just because you buy radios that work on licensed frequencies doesn't stop them being overhead by other radios on the same frequencies or scanners.

 

With the basic licence you pay for you get an allocation of frequencies that you can use in your area.

 

The coding that can be transmitted over the top of the audio controls the radios you have but that is all for example we used Kenwood radios and you had a call list in them so when you selected an entry and "rang" that radio it would unmute itself so the user could hear the transmission, but if any other user keyed their transmit button at the same time it would un-mute their radio and they could hear the conversation.

 

Hardware scrambler boards are available for radios so you would need those to be secure.

 

This was all analogue stuff though and newer digital equipment may be more secure by it's very nature.

 

Ben

[Oaktech]

@Oaktech

 

Just out of asking which units does your school advocate?

 

BTW we don't run the licensed versions but as I have stated on here we haven't had any problems from interference or scanners trying to intercept or abuse our radio communications.

 

For the cost I think they are value for money much more than a cheap set of walkie talkies.

 

For what is communicated over them there is nothing which could be of any importance to someone scanning our frequencies! As I have said our staff use a strict protocol over the airways when using them.

 

We are only using standard radios, the Motorola 2 pack with base units chargers with a strict usage protocol.

 

All I'm saying is that what you are using may not be quite as secure as you think it is, and if it was actually sold to you as encrypted you might have been led up the garden path a bit!

[mavhc]

Child protection. Obviously.

 

Better ask them for more money to buy expensive radios then, which are also for child protection

[GTX]

Give MurphyComHire (Murphy Comhire Home - Murphy Comhire) a ring. Let them know Richard from NRC send you there way and they will be more then happy to help.

 

They hire and sales. These guys know their stuff. They do huge events.

 

Rick

[Callum]

We used to use proper Kenwood walkie talkies, but they were too expensive to keep buying and replacing, so now we use £10 Baofeng walkie talkies. They work fine for lunchtime duties and support staff communicating (e.g. reception asking for IT Support).

[matt40k]

We have a blanket 'no mobile phones in front of kids' policy. This comes from our LEA.

 

It may be about to change, but at the moment, those are the rules.

 

Seems very silly, i mean having a radio broadcasting across the room surely is more disruptive then a phone vibrating in your pocket, especially when phones are so cheap vs radios (and they generally get better reception

[matt40k]

We have a blanket 'no mobile phones in front of kids' policy. This comes from our LEA.

 

It may be about to change, but at the moment, those are the rules.

 

Seems very silly, i mean having a radio broadcasting across the room surely is more disruptive then a phone vibrating in your pocket, especially when phones are so cheap vs radios (and they generally get better reception

[Blue_Cookeh]

We literally did this about a month or two ago. We went down the licensed route so we have a frequency allocation and use Motorola digital radios on it.

 

If you shoot us a PM I can give you all the specifics when I'm in the office tomorrow, we've been very pleased with it all so far

 

We went with a few handhelds, a couple of desktop radios and have charging cradles dotted around the school. We have radios in every class room, a couple in the office and some for outside supervision.

 

The company we bought them from did all the software upgrades and programmed them all for call groups, one to ones, broadcasting from our head etc.

[JordanT91]

Seems very silly, i mean having a radio broadcasting across the room surely is more disruptive then a phone vibrating in your pocket, especially when phones are so cheap vs radios (and they generally get better reception

 

We have the same rule, though I think it's a self-imposed rule and not from the LEA. It's not really to do with disruption, more safeguarding. Something to do with an incident in Plymouth? Any contractors or other visitors coming on site must leave their phone in the car or hand it in at reception. If they need it for the purpose of their visit (to call their office or to access an app) they must be supervised by a member of staff. Officially staff must have their phone off or on silent and locked away in their classrooms or whatever.

[Oaktech]

We have the same rule, though I think it's a self-imposed rule and not from the LEA. It's not really to do with disruption, more safeguarding. Something to do with an incident in Plymouth? Any contractors or other visitors coming on site must leave their phone in the car or hand it in at reception. If they need it for the purpose of their visit (to call their office or to access an app) they must be supervised by a member of staff. Officially staff must have their phone off or on silent and locked away in their classrooms or whatever.

 

We're slightly less rigid: I'm allowed my phone out in my office, but it has to be away when I'm in a classroom or around the kids. Visitors are escorted at all times here anyway.