Replacement for iden

[birdieboy]

I am looking for ideas for replacing iden phones. Currently we have 5 Motorola i355 phones which 3 need phone service and the other two only use the two way radio feature. While we don't need nationwide service, range of about 5-10 miles around the building would be ideal. Nextel coverage is ok in the lower level of the building and we have tried the new verizon/sprint ptt but it is simply unusable since there is no cell service on our lower level.

Any and all ideas appreciated,

Thanks

Tom

 

[Sprinter06]

Just a bit of info to throw in. I used to use Nextel a few years back. I still use the old phones as 2-way radios without service. Some have a talk around feature if you aren't in range of a tower. Just pick you channel and private/open and youre done. A good way to recycle and reuse old equipment.

 

[birdieboy]

Just a bit of info to throw in. I used to use Nextel a few years back. I still use the old phones as 2-way radios without service. Some have a talk around feature if you aren't in range of a tower. Just pick you channel and private/open and youre done. A good way to recycle and reuse old equipment.

We initially thought of doing this, as the direct talk function on the phones has more than enough range for in building ops which is the minimum coverage area we need. The problem we faced was that two staff members need phone capability, I have been looking into the CLS1450 but not sure if its a product which will stand up to repeated use/abuse or if the phone feature will make it through the entire building. Our building is approximately 150ft x 300ft with four floors one being underground and is completely concrete.

 

[IAmSixNine]

The building your in, is this a permanent location you are always at? Or a location you sometimes perform jobs in?
If this is a permanent work building, what you could do is put in a BDA (Bi-Directional Amplifier) that is tuned to a carriers network. Sprint for example. THis will give you coverage in the lower parts where it didnt exist. Allowing all members to have communications.

NO matter what you do RF wont penetrate into a basement with out some help. So if you go with commercial 2-way radios, FRS, cellular, IDEN what ever, you need something to help get the signal to the basement.

 

[birdieboy]

The building your in, is this a permanent location you are always at? Or a location you sometimes perform jobs in?
If this is a permanent work building, what you could do is put in a BDA (Bi-Directional Amplifier) that is tuned to a carriers network. Sprint for example. THis will give you coverage in the lower parts where it didnt exist. Allowing all members to have communications.

NO matter what you do RF wont penetrate into a basement with out some help. So if you go with commercial 2-way radios, FRS, cellular, IDEN what ever, you need something to help get the signal to the basement.

We are always in the same building. We have had repeaters put in and they quickly become overwhelmed by the cell phones in the building. At any given time there are 500-600 cell phones in use in the building, heavy college student traffic.