Why carry more than one handheld radio? - Use a Daniels Crossband Repeater.
Hartford’s Bradley International Airport is the second largest airport in New England, with 296 flights daily and 6.7 million customers a year. The Connecticut Department of Transportation owns the airport and has gained a reputation for efficient operation of the facility. However, the Radio Communications Department saw an opportunity for improvement.
The airport’s de-icing crew members were carrying not just one, but two handheld radios. Why? So they could talk to both Airport Operations on UHF and the pilots on VHF AM. Handheld radios don’t operate in both bands so they had to carry two. But there had to be a better way of doing things thought the Radio Department so they decided to do some research.
They came across an ad from Daniels Electronics talking about crossband radio repeaters which receive a radio signal on one band and then retransmit the signal on a different band. They realized if they installed a Daniels crossband repeater, de-icing crew members only needed to carry one UHF handheld, because if they could talk to the repeater they could talk to the pilots. This looked like the solution to the problem but first they wanted to clear things with the FCC.
After further consultation with the FCC, they learned that Daniels radios were approved for use in both UHF and VHF AM as well as crossbanding between the two bands. Therefore, they decided to purchase the equipment.
It was easy to install and is simple to maintain or upgrade due to the modular construction of the
radio. And though the repeater is at a remote location, in the summer months when it is not being used it is simple to turn on and off with a received DTMF tone sequence.
In the winter, just before a pilot is going to push back, the tower gives him the repeater frequency and CTCSS tone so he can talk through the repeater to the de-icing crew. Officials at the Connecticut Department of Transportation and Bradley International Airport are presently happy with the reliability and performance of the Daniels radio. And most importantly, the de-icing crew members now only carry one handheld.
For more information on how Daniels can meet your requirements for crossband repeaters contact the sales department at Daniels. sales@danelec.com.
