Why You Should Contact a Local Dealer for Your Two-Way Radio Needs
It’s quite easy nowadays to search for, and buy, almost any two-way radio product online (portables, mobiles, repeaters, duplexers). There are plenty of products to choose from and from many different manufactures: Hytera, Motorola, Icom, Kenwood, Harris, Vertex Standard, etc.
Prices will normally be cheaper compared to what a local two-way radio dealer will offer. This is due to the fact that those web companies usually don’t have to worry about the cost of visiting your job site when things go wrong since you are responsible for the product you purchase. Unless you are sure that what you are purchasing online will work, we recommend calling a few local two-way radio dealers and have them test your existing equipment and check for coverage.
You may find out that your two-way radios are fine, that they only need new batteries or new antennas. Or, you may find out that the type of equipment you are using is not the right match for you, maybe your radios are VHF not UHF. By meeting with a local sales rep, you may also find out that there is new technology that you were not aware of that can improve your communications at an affordable price. For example, if you are using analog two-way radios, now you can migrate all or part to digital depending on your budget. Digital two-way radios allow for both analog or digital communication.
Once you’ve decided what two-way radios will work best for you, you may be tempted to go online and purchase the equipment following the specs one of the dealers gave you. We’ve been in situations like this before, and it’s understandable as you’ll probably save some money. However, you are forgetting something that may become vital in the future or maybe not so distant future. The online company you are purchasing from may be located anywhere in the country. Will you be able to get your two-way radio system back to work right away in case of failure? Or will you have to wait to send your equipment to have it repaired? How long will it take to get it back? How are you going to keep your two-way radio communications working while the faulty equipment is out for repair? You may lose all those savings you make on the purchase, and even more, due to support requests and by not being able to seamless run your business two-way radio communication system.
What if the company selling online is overseas, will the equipment you purchase from them be designed for the USA and will it meet FCC requirements? Some two-way radio products are sold around the world under the same product name and number yet are designed with each destination country in mind. A local dealer won’t be able to help once warranty or repair issues arise. It will also be your responsibility if the FCC finds your two-way radio product is in violation of type acceptance or narrow banding mandates. You will have to pay the fine and suffer the confiscation of the illegal two-way radios you purchased.
Ready to establish a new business relationship? Metrotalk Inc is an authorized dealer of Hytera and Harris Corporation two-way radio products. We’re conveniently located in the Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland metro area. Contact us to discuss how we can help improve your organization’s two-way radio communications. If your location is outside our territory, just let us know what products are you interested in. We’ll pass your information to one of the Hytera or Harris dealers near you so they can assist you.