Radio Communications
Course Content
- Course Introduction
- Radio Communications
- Types of radio
- Using radios
- Features of a radio
- Right and wrong way to use a radio
- Radio protocols and sending a message
- Phonetic alphabet and numbers
- Prowords in radio communications
- Call signs
- Radio Checks
- Radio check example
- Losing communications
- Broadcasting and talk groups
- Workplace radios
- Radio Licences
- Dual Sim Radio
- Increasing battery life
- Carrying and transporting radios
- Basic considerations when using radios
- Transmitting Techniques
- Types of Radio
- Course Summary
Increasing battery life
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When you're using any type of radio, you need to make sure you get the max amount of battery. So the first thing you need to do is make sure it's fully charged. So try and get yourself into a routine where, when you finish using the radio, you straightaway put it on charge so it's all ready to use, so later, when you start a shift and you need to use the radio, you can just lift it up and it's fully charged. If you're using any charging in a vehicle; maybe while you're driving along or anything like that, you've gotta plug into it, then get into the habit of making sure that battery is always charged to give you a maximum amount of power on the battery itself. Other things you need to do to maintain the battery life are to keep the volume down if you don't need it up, because if you've got the volume up very loud, that's going to use more power. You can also, on most radios, turn off the display. Again, that's something else that could be using power. Unnecessary transmissions and talk, that can all increase the battery use. And with the battery itself, there's a few things that can cause problems. If you've not got a battery in the unit, get a spare one. Make sure you don't short out any of these terminals, because if you're just storing it in a kit bag and there's some metal there and you short out... Short across these, then that can cause problems with discharge in the battery and even damaging the battery.When you're charging the battery, always make sure you use the correct charger that's supplied for the particular radio you're using. Some of them are just a USB-C type charger, which is straightforward, because it's going to be the same power. However, you do need to be aware of any other fast chargers and make sure that they are the proper one for the unit, because you don't want something that charges too slow and you can't get it charging, or overcharges the battery, or doesn't cut off, so make sure you're using the correct chargers for the batteries themselves. And if you do need to store these batteries and take them around with you, then you can put it into a bag and then store that separately, so at least there's no chance of that ever getting short-circuited. Other issues can be when you put the battery on, you gotta make sure it's fully clicked in place. If there's a locking connection on them, you need to make sure that's secured. With these, they are quite hard to get the battery off. You need to literally pull this back, and it will expose the battery. Once you've exposed the battery, then you can also, from there, access the SIM card as well that's tucked into the back of them. Some of them have data cards as well, and you can put those in.So, if you're doing a check on it, just make sure the battery is fully in place. If you do have problems with the radio just cutting out for no reason or not starting, then it could well be that there's something wrong with the way the battery's housed in the unit itself. The final thing that can happen to these, if you keep dropping them... So if you drop your radio or drop the battery, sometimes, that can break an internal connection within the battery, or sometimes, it will cause it to short out, and then the battery could be useless, so avoid dropping them. If you have the radio, try and keep it in the case where possible, because that will protect... If you did need to... Even if you drop it, it would just keep that battery a little bit safer. If you're using these with external microphones, then... Or wiring them into car systems and things like that, then that can increase the battery life. But also, if you've got any external accessories, like a Bluetooth microphone that's separate to the radio, you have not only got to worry about how well-charged this is, but also make sure that the Bluetooth accessory you're using is fully charged as well.
When you're using any type of radio, you need to make sure you get the max amount of battery.
In this video you will learn how to increase the battery life and what actions to avoid to prevent problems with discharge in the battery and even damaging the battery such as dropping the battery.