One of the questions Discount Two-Way Radio’s team of technicians and service professionals receive on a regular basis is “what is the best way to program my two-way radio?” So, for this week’s Two-Way Radio Tip, we will review some strategies you can use when you program your two-way radios.

Two-way radios are a powerful tool for industries like construction, manufacturing, and education to name a few. Not only do two-way radios provide an easy, instantaneous and reliable communications for any medium-to-large business, they also don’t come with recurring charges, subscriptions or usage fees.

How Programming Creates More Efficient Communications

Unlike consumer grade radios that operate within a limited frequency range and within narrow parameters, commercial grade radios like RCA digital portable radios have much greater frequency ranges and are designed to be custom programmed in order to efficiently connect multiple people or groups within the same company or location by activating specific channels and frequencies.

The typical commercial grade radio has 2-16 channels that can be customized to communicate seamlessly to individuals or groups working in large facilities as K-12 campuses, commercial office buildings, and expansive construction sites. Within these channels are radio frequencies that are measured in megahertz (MHz). Depending on whether your radios are UHF or VHF, the frequencies will operate between 136 MHz and 512 MHz. Programming involves coordinating the frequencies and channels across multiple radios or even an entire fleet of radios for them all to be on the same frequency so that they will be able to communicate with each other.

Discount Two-Way Radio’s Free Personalized Programming Service

Discount Two-Way Radio technicians offer free custom programming assistance for any client who purchases a new set of RCA two-way radios. Even if they have existing radios from another dealer, our radio experts can make any entire fleet of two-way radios communicate with each other. Customers just send us one of their existing radios so that we can measure the exact frequencies and channels they use. Then we use frequency programming software to sync their new RCA radios to talk with their existing radios.

In addition, Discount Two-Way Radio takes great care in providing personalized concierge-like consultation to help clients determine the appropriate number of channels to program, and how to best use the channels.

How many channels should I get for my two-way radio?

Our service and sales teams always advise our clients to think ahead and anticipate how many people or groups of people will be communicating so that they can get the best performance out of their two-way radios within those parameters. For example, small businesses may only need one or two channels. However, large commercial operations might divide their employees into groups and assign a specific channel to specific groups. For instance, in a hotel, you might want to assign Channel 1 as an “all call” channel that reaches all groups. Then you could assign the kitchen staff to Channel 2 while the front desk and concierge team could be programmed to use channel 3 while the maintenance staff on channel 4.

Depending on the industry and organizational structure, we advise our clients on how best to program radios according to department, geographic area, type of work or anything that drives their business more efficiently. Our main objective is to create channels and frequencies that cut down on cross-chatter and create specific communications pathways that increase efficiency, safety, and results.

If you have a question about two-way radio programming, call one of our expert two-way radio specialists at 800-895-5122.