College campuses are known to be unpredictable. Instability leads to miscommunications and ultimately even more chaos. Two-way radios can help organize the chaos to increase safety. In 2021, over 31,000 crimes were reported on college campuses nationwide.
These crimes can range from small incidents like stealing golf carts to life-changing violent crimes. Although specific numbers from the 2023-2024 academic year are not available yet, it is no secret that crimes on college campuses have risen significantly in the last few years.
Therefore, college campus administrators need to make safety a priority. Two-way radios are a great resource to keep administrators, public safety, students, and staff connected on college campuses. Two-way radios are useful for instant and consistent connection for communication.
Accessories like batteries, speaker microphones, and headsets are great additions to the radios. These accessories can help users get the most out of two-way radios and reduce the risk of miscommunication.
With more connection and communication, there are higher rates of safety. Read this article to determine what accessories your campus needs to improve communication and safety for students and the whole community.
RADIOS
WHY RADIOS
Two-way radios are great communication technology for a variety of reasons. They are durable, cost-effective, easy to use, reliable, and enable long-distance communication without delay.
Two-way radios were designed originally for military applications making them very durable. Radios are often made to IP67 rating to make them dustproof, waterproof, shockproof, and more. This durability is great for college campus usage.
A wide range of ages work and live on college campuses. Technology changes rapidly and staying updated can be challenging and time-consuming for older generations. Two-way radios remain consistent in design and function.
Moreover, they are easy to learn to use with minimal buttons and basic operations. Therefore, they are a great communication resource that can be understood across generations.
Two-way radios are reliable because they stay connected in crowded and challenging environments. College campuses can quickly become overpopulated during big football games and family weekends.
The cell towers near campus will get over-capacitated from overwhelming cell phone usage. Once this happens, cell phones cannot send or receive messages or calls making them utterly useless. Two-way radios on the other hand can function through this disruption.
Another reason two-way radios are useful on college campuses is the instant receipt of distant communication. With UHF antennas, campus staff can communicate across entire campuses. The transmissions from UHF antennas can penetrate walls and hills ensuring that you will not miss communications.
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM RADIOS
Many people on college campuses can benefit from using two-way radios. The first group is all public safety officials—they will need equipment most closely related to that of police officers.
The next group that will benefit greatly is anyone working in residential life. Students who oversee their floor (Resident assistants) or building, should be given a two-way radio to use while on duty.
These students can use the radio to communicate their whereabouts to coworkers, ask for help when more hands are needed, and transmit emergencies to public safety radios. Resident assistants also require immediate connection as they are caring for fellow students.
Another group of people on college campuses who can benefit from using two-way radios is anyone in the administration and general staff. For instance, tour guides could benefit from radios to be able to tell the front office where they are in real-time.
ACCESSORIES
Batteries:
Batteries are the most important investment for two-way radios. These batteries are the first line of defense between connection and complete loss of communications. College campuses should invest in Lithium-Ion batteries for their radios because they are made to be durable and long-lasting.
Lithium-ion is known to have a longer work time (8-10) hours. Moreover, they can maintain that high quality of work time after a year or more of use. Traditional two-way radio batteries’ charge hold typically degrades within a year.
Conditioning chargers are a great investment for combating the deterioration of charge capacity. These chargers can also provide important information about the batteries like temperature (evaluates malfunction or fire risk), charge time, and battery age.
When purchasing new batteries, we also recommend securing desktop chargers. With these chargers, your radio users will have a place to turn in their radios at the end of the day and ensure they are fully charged for the next use.
Speaker Microphones:
This accessory is useful for public safety workers on college campuses. Speaker microphones allow for hands-free communication. Being able to transmit emergency communications without needing to hold your radio is an advantage for officers.
Speaker microphones also improve situational awareness because the officer can hear both what is around them and communications. Without situational awareness, officers are vulnerable to being overwhelmed.
Lastly, this accessory is the clearest listening option compared to the general two-way radio speaker. Two-way radio speakers often do not transmit clearly or loud enough. This increases the user’s risk of missing communications.
Headsets:
Headsets are a great option for colleges to add to their communication accessories. These headsets can be for hearing protection, communication, or both. For hearing protection, look for a high NRR or noise reduction rating. Headsets for hearing protection are great for facility workers doing campus yard work and using machinery.
Communications headsets are useful for several different professions on a college campus. Coaches can benefit from comms headsets with their radio. The headsets have a boom mic that can pick up and transmit discreet comms from the coach.
Additionally, the ear speakers ensure the coach can hear communications above the noise from the crowd and the game. Lastly, headsets are useful for athletic trainers on the side of the field. In an emergency, trainers will not have to worry about missing communications.
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College campuses need clear communication to function properly. With two-way radios and accessories like batteries, speaker microphones, and headsets, users can truly get the most out of their radio.
Supplying two-way radios to public safety officers, administrators, and resident assistants can decrease response time from police officers and firefighters during an emergency. Two-way radios and accessories will help keep college students safer and more organized.
We hope this article provides the tips and knowledge for equipping your college campus with the right critical communications equipment to keep campuses safe and healthy.
Citations and Links:
https://www.bestcolleges.com/research/campus-crime-statistics/
https://www.wvbandcoms.com/collections/single-station-charger
https://www.wvbandcoms.com/pages/two-way-radio-battery-conditioning-analyzers
https://www.wvbandcoms.com/pages/waveband-two-way-radio-headsets
https://www.wvbandcoms.com/pages/waveband-two-way-radio-speaker-microphones
