Walkie talkies for schools

At the very start the Motorola EURO446 and Handipro were the market leaders. You could buy a robust, rugged radio that would allow full site communications and a whole 4 hours of battery life! This was groundbreaking at the time, giving schools a way of reaching key members of staff wherever they were on site.

 

The concept of radios in schools hasn't changed much, we still use them to make finding the correct person fast and cheap. I have personally found it really interesting over the years how schools have found new uses for radios. For example at the start of the Covid-19 first national lockdown one small primary school near us ask for a system of radios to use for the drop off and pick up of children at the start / end of school. This allowed them to reduce the amount of staff actually involved in the drop off / pick up process therefore reducing the risk of spreading the virus. This is just one example of how schools have actually shown some great initiative in implementing two-way radio equipment in to the day to day running of their school.

 

As the years progressed we have seen major improvements in two-way radios such as digital chip sets, DSP and lithium ion battery packs. All of which make for a much better user experience of the device. Competition between manufacturers has also increased as the demand for walkie talkies in schools has increased. This benefits schools looking for radios and prices are much lower due to this than in previous years when only one or two manufacturers were in the market.

 

In the last 5 years brand names have become less important in the education sector. We now all know that 95% of radio equipment on the market gets made from components manufactured on the one same street in Shenzhen. Again this has increased customer knowledge and awareness, and in turn driven prices down even more. So now if you look at the whole 'open market' when looking for radios for school you'll find devices that all look the same on paper but differ vastly in price.

 

So on to the next point, do we buy the cheapest, or the most expensive, if they all do the same? What you want to look at here are some of the finer details, mainly:

 

• Battery size & life

• Warranty period provided and what it covers

• Added 'extras' like Ofcom licence and training

 

Battery size and life are one of the most important things to look at when choosing a two-way radio system for school. You want it to last a minimum of one working day and ideally two. This is more than achievable with today's battery technology. Look for a product with a minimum 1500mAh li-ion battery pack (like the Pumaradio PR-350LF) and avoid any old battery technologies like Ni-Mh or Ni-Cd. Modern li-ion battery packs do not suffer from the old memory effects of days past.

 

Warranty is next up, what if something goes wrong, can you afford to be without a radio for up to 28 days whilst it gets repaired? This is something schools often don't consider when choosing a radio. Some manufacturers send the radios to other countries to get repaired. For instance Motorola sends faulty radios to Germany to be repaired and unless you pay a premium at the initial point of sale for extended or premium warranty this can take anything up to 28 days to turn around. Also postage is at your expense. Other manufacturers like Pumaradio include next day swap out warranties as standard. So if your radio fails, you call us, we take a few details, ship a replacement radio to you on a next day service and then arrange the collection of the broken unit once the replacement has been received. We think this is one of the best warranty services around and for schools is invaluable.

 

Added extras. If you've done your homework and are shopping around for the best deal on new radios or walkie talkies for your school you'll want to keep in mind things like earpieces and Ofcom licence fees. If you've decided to go for a licensed radio you'll need to pay the Ofcom licence fee (£75, which covers you for 5 years). Always ask if there is a deal to be done. For example Pumaradio have a deal running that if you're buying more than six radios for your school they will pay the first Ofcom licence fee (UK light business licence) worth £75! As a radio company we can also offer spare batteries and earpieces depending on the deal you require and the budget you have to work with. We are always willing to find a package that fits both your technical needs and sits within the budget you have allocated to spend.

 

We know not everyone likes to pick up the phone and have a 'salesy' type call. Thats why we've introduced the Talk to an expert button in the bottom right of the screen. Click this and you can have a live chat with one of our Education Radio experts on either the website or via whatsapp.