The environment in which you operate your radios in has a great deal to do with how much they cost you to use. For instance, if your environment is a steel mill, or a steel machining facility, you most likely have reoccurring service problems with your speakers or speaker microphones. This is due to the magnets in the speakers attracting particles of iron or steel and damaging the speaker cone. You can minimize this problem by taping a thin piece of fabric over the speaker grill. This will not affect the audio quality of the speaker, but will reduce the amount of steel particles that reach the speaker cone. Simply change the fabric when it gets dirty.

If you work in confined spaces, there is a greater risk of damage from accidental abuse. Protection can be increased by the use of a leather carrying case. This will absorb the bumps and scrapes the radio will be subjected to, and cut down on your repair costs.

What about environments that require ISO (Intrinsically Safe Operation) equipment, such as paints or solvents, coal or grain dust, or any potentially explosive environment? What is required to operate safely and legally? ISO rated radio and an ISO rated battery. You have probably noticed that ISO radios cost more, the same goes for ISO rated batteries. This is due to the rigorous specifications the equipment manufactures must adhere to. This equipment must be built to specifications that will keep it from emitting a spark, heating up, or electrical surge on power up. If they pass these tests they are issued a certificate of acceptance by one of the few companies that deal in this area of electrical certification, for a fee, a large fee, a reoccurring large fee. If you are used to looking for the green dot on a radio or battery as evidence of ISO certification, don’t. The green dot only means that the unit is different in some way than the normal unit. It might mean that the radio or battery is submersible, or it might only mean that a battery is non- incendiary. This does not mean that it will not cause an explosion. If you have a potentially explosive environment, get to know what class and group equipment will be safe at your facility. You can call or email your salesperson for this information and a chart documenting it.

If your radio users work in a high noise environment, there are a few choices you can make to improve their ability to here what is being broadcast. Some models are tuned to give more treble and less bass. This sound contour has been found to be more easily heard in high noise environments. The next thing to look at is volume potential. We know that sound is just a volume of vibrating air, so it follows that the larger the speaker cone, the lager volume of air is being effected, the more volume a speaker has. Also the number of watts of audio power also effects the volume and clarity.

There are units out there that have as low as ¼ watt, and some have ½ watt, some have a speaker diameter of 1 ¼" and some have 1 ¾". Some manufactures use 2 amps to drive the speaker and some use only 1. If you have a high noise environment you need to discuss these differences with your salesperson. Using a speaker mic or a headset, in a high noise environment is also definitely indicated.

1 Watt, 2 watt, 4 watt, or 5 watt, portable radios come in all these power levels. Which is right for you? The ability of a radio to successfully communicate is basically influenced by its power and antenna. If you are using radios for short distances, such as retail inventory, roofer to ground man, or a sporting event, you may find that the low power units fit your needs, otherwise maximum power is the only choice for you. Sure low power radios cost less, but when they don’t work in all the areas you need communications in, donating them to the Boy Scouts and buying the correct radios costs lots more.

Finally, antennas, if you are tempted to order the stubby antennas rather than the antennas that come with the radio, stop and ask yourself "why don’t stubby antennas standard equipment"? Because the radio manufactures want the radios to work as good as possible, and stubbys just don’t. They are satisfactory in some cases, but in all cases they are not as good as the original equipment for reception or transmission. You limit your equipment when you use them.