Happy New Year!
Marching toward tech upgrades
I wanted to send out a quick note to thank everyone for the support and friendship you’ve shown me over the last year. The New Year is certainly a time that we take a look back before marching forward. This is one of the few years where the memories are all positive (and that’s unusual for a pessimistic cynic like me). It truly is a joy to help so many people find products that make a difference in the jobs they do. Thank you for giving the manufacturers I represent a chance to assist you in your projects.
I was asked about a month ago what my word was for 2024. It took me a while to think about it, but I’ve settled on the word “forge.” The reason I chose it is because it has so many meanings. You can forge ahead, forge (create) new relationships, or forge a new project. It also means something special to me since my husband was a horseshoer and used a forge every day.
Thank you all for trusting me and allowing me to offer just a little help in your daily lives.
Top 5 Products
This is the first year that I’ve taken a careful look back at the previous year and I would like to share the top 5 products from my manufacturers from 2022.
Chairs. Concept Seating is outdoing themselves in the 24/7 chair industry and dispatchers are noticing. Their ergonomic design is what draws people in, and the 6-year warranty keeps them coming back. We love bringing their chairs to conferences because they are rarely empty. The most common thing I hear as dispatchers sit in our chairs? Ahhhh.
Service Monitors. Radio techs love Freedom service monitors. Every radio tech relies on reliable test equipment, and Freedom’s can now be purchased with an internal VNA. We will typically send a demo unit to radio techs so they can use them for a couple of weeks, and they rarely even ask how to navigate the user interface. They are extremely user friendly, can be upgraded as techs need more digital features, and have a kick-ass 5-year warranty that includes annual calibrations.
RF cable. Demand for Wireless Supply products is increasing and there is a good reason for that. The price very often beats other RF cable manufacturers, the quality is excellent, and as a bonus they have almost everything you need for DAS projects. Wireless Supply also listens to their customers and now has a BDA kit that can save hours of install time. Indoor public safety and cellular coverage just got easier.
Antenna/RF Filter products: Filtronic, Amphenol Procom, and Telewave.io all have different antenna and RF filter products that are well known in the industry. Radio techs have just plain learned to trust them. I have to also mention the related products from NexTek who continually step up their game in the lightning protection industry. Technicians who are upgrading or building a new comm site should definitely take a look at NexTek.
Dispatch remodel and dispatch efficiency products. These two dispatch products are often purchased as a package with excellent savings being the result. Winsted console furniture and KVM/display controls by RGB are getting a lot of buzz in the western part of the US. Both are relatively new to the public safety dispatch market but are well established in other industries. Winsted is not only competitively priced, but they are being awarded RFPs due to their ability to design what dispatchers are asking for. They listen when dispatchers speak, and it shows. RGB looks at a dispatcher’s job with all of public safety in mind. Not only do they offer KVMs that offer seamless mouse/keyboard control over an array of displays (no more multiple keyboards and mice), but they offer the ability to integrate what dispatchers see on their screens, into an EOC or Real Time Crime Center environment. Public safety just became a more efficient team with RGB’s help.
Until Next Time
Hunting season is winding down and the dogs have been working hard—in between a couple of porcupine encounters, of course. It’s always an adventure out in the field! Happy New Year everyone!
