Radiocoms launches new products to support frontline resilience

Radiocoms is launching three in-house designed products at The Emergency Tech Show this week: the Transportable Repeater Station (TRS), the Mobile Asset Position System (MAPS) and the Transportable Mobile Station (TMS). TRS, MAPS and TMS each work as standalone products, or together. Connecting with radio systems emergency services already have in place so they can add exactly the capability they need, without replacing their fleet.

We sat down with Simon Bingham, Radiocoms Fire and Rescue Services Account Manager, who has worked directly with UKFRS for over ten years, to find out why they have built this portfolio and what it changes on the fireground.

You’ve spent over a decade working with UK fire and rescue services. What led Radiocoms to take the step into designing and developing its own equipment?

Every product in this portfolio came out of conversations on the fireground, not a whiteboard. Fire and rescue services kept telling us the same thing: coverage, tracking and command all break down the moment you’re away from a fixed site, for example, a moorland fire, a tunnel or a high-rise building. We could have sourced something to solve one of these problems on its own. However, what we couldn’t get off the shelf were three products that would also work together as one connected system. Using our in-house team meant we could design the TRS, MAPS and TMS that way from the outset.

Let’s start with the TRS – What problem does it solve?

The TRS extends radio coverage into places a fixed network doesn’t reach. It runs independently of cellular mobile networks too, so coverage doesn’t depend on a phone signal being available. It’s self-contained within an IP67 rated case and battery powered, meaning it’s operational within minutes of arriving on site, and it works with both analogue and DMR radios fire crews already carry, so there’s no need to re-equip a fleet with new devices.

MAPS – What does that give an incident commander?

Incident commanders kept telling us the same thing: they could talk to every crew, but that didn’t tell them where each one actually was on a large or dispersed site. MAPS GPS tracks every radio user connected to the system, so a commander always knows exactly where every crew is operating, not just whether they can hear them. The system is not constrained by the number of users deployed and reporting into MAPS, update rates are configurable for distance & time (typically every 30 sec) and mapping can be downloaded for particular operations, negating the need for cellular coverage, with geofencing also available. That’s the accountability every incident commander needs to maintain.

TMS how is that different to the TRS and what gap were you trying to close with it?

TMS gives command its own fixed point in the field. Where TRS is about extending coverage across a wide or complex area, TMS is built specifically for the incident commander, a deployable base with the same reliability as a fixed radio installation, stood up wherever the incident is being run from. The TMS is available for both Airwave (TETRA) and Fireground (UHF DMR), so perfect if operating in areas of poor coverage or using DMO, when range is improved by the higher RF power of mobile units. When speed of setting up a communications link is critical, the TMS with its integral high-capacity battery pack, simply just needs to be switched on and you are ready to go.

How do the three work together in practice?

Picture a larger incident where all three are running: TRS extends signal to crews spread apart, MAPS shows the incident commander exactly where every one of those crews are, and TMS gives that commander a fixed point to run the response from. That’s when it becomes one connected picture.

TRS, MAPS and TMS are available to trial and order now. Simon and the team will be demonstrating all three on the Radiocoms stand A80 this week at the NEC Birmingham.