Motorola Two Way Radios
Renowned as one of the biggest global names in telecommunications technology, Motorola has been instrumental in giving two way radio a 21st century digital makeover, keeping it relevant to the needs of the modern business.
Powerful, feature rich and engineered to the highest precision standards, Motorola two way radios are characterised by innovation and excellence. Its DP4800e and DP4801e models rank amongst the very best premium enterprise handsets available on the market, packed with multiple wireless and telecoms system integrations, GPS location tracking, intelligent audio control, work ticket and safety monitoring plus much, much more.
Following the example of these flagship models, the entire Motorola DP range is built with the needs of industry in mind. Handsets are typically manufactured to conform to IP68 standards for water resistance and dust ingress, making them a robust and reliable choice for use in construction, agriculture, manufacturing and so on.
Safety features also rank high on the list of priorities, with functions such as one-touch Emergency Button, Man Down fall alerts and Lone Worker remote monitoring standard on most models. The entire DP range is also built around Motorola’s groundbreaking MOTOTRBO software platform.
Setting the bar for digital innovation in two way radio, MOTOTRBO technology allows for multiple two way radio networks to be integrated via IP and for thousands of users to operate on the same network thanks to advanced trunking protocols.
Beyond the DP range, Motorola is also notable for its innovations with two way radio design. The SL4000e takes the high end features of DP models and packs them into a sleek, portable handset that resembles a pre-smartphone mobile. Innovations like the CLK446 and CLP446 push the envelope even further, stripping back two way radio functionality to its core basics and offering it in a wearable format intended to maximise convenience and portability.
In addition to handsets, Motorola also manufactures an extensive range of vehicle radios, base stations, repeater units and antennas. And away from business two way radio solutions, it also offers affordable and license-free leisure walkie talkies, such as the stylish TALKABOUT range with its unique LED display.
Hytera Two Way Radios
The world’s second largest two way radio manufacturer, Hytera has built an outstanding reputation for quality and innovation across its entire range.
The Chinese firm specialises in feature-rich two way radio solutions for business and enterprise which combine reliability with advanced performance. The company is notable for developing its own Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) standard, a communications protocol which allows its handsets to seamlessly run voice, data and applications side by side.
One of the key features of DMR is that it is an open standard, meaning it allows Hytera two way radios to communicate freely with other makes and models. This also lends Hytera radios one of their main USPs, namely the ability to operate on digital and analogue networks simultaneously.
This has given Hytera two way radios, particularly in the business-focused PD range, a reputation for being ideal ‘migration’ models – that is, a good choice if you are looking to upgrade a legacy analogue fleet to digital. Because of the open operability with either mode, there is no need to complete the migration in one go. You can add Hytera handsets one at a time if you like, using digital mode when they communicate with one another, but analogue to talk to the rest of the fleet.
Hytera two way radios are designed for reliability and flexibility, making excellent ‘all-rounder’ options for deployment in a wide range of use cases. The PD600 and PD700 series both come in screenless, partial keypad and full keypad versions, providing options to mix and match features depending on the needs of different people with different roles in an organisation.
The company is also not averse to pushing the boundaries of two-way radio design, and is particularly notable for blurring the boundaries with mobile phones. The ultra-compact PD355 and PD365 handsets have the look and feel of pre-smartphone handsets, while the PDC760, a groundbreaking touchscreen handset, features a HD camera and a full CPU for running apps just like a smartphone.
Kenwood Two Way Radios
Here are two things that you may not know about Kenwood. One, the company which manufacturers two way radios and audio equipment is completely different to the UK-based operation which makes kitchen appliances. Two, despite its anglicised name, Kenwood is actually a Japanese company founded in the 1940s.
The Japanese Kenwood is famous for pioneering transistor amplifiers in the 1960s, an innovation which helped to kickstart the home audio mass market as transistor amps are cheaper and easier to produce than their valve cousins. This saw Kenwood move into the Hi-Fi market, but it had started out manufacturing radios – and, specifically, CB radio equipment for amateur wireless communications enthusiasts.
That heritage continues to this day as Kenwood remains one of the world’s leading two way radio companies. Kenwood manufactures analogue and digital handsets for the leisure and business markets, drawing on its decades of expertise in radio technology to create characteristically reliable, durable two way models.
Not surprising for a company that specialises in amplification and speaker equipment for home and car audio systems, Kenwood two way radios benefit from exceptional audio quality. The company’s flagship digital range, Nexedge, includes its own patented Active Noise Reduction (ANR) technology, which works to eliminate interference from digital audio signals. This means Nexedge radios are an ideal choice for use in industry when high levels of background noise from machinery and vehicles is an issue.
As well as ANR, Nexedge models also feature Bluetooth and GPS for location tracking and wireless digital data connections, AES and DES encryption to ensure communications are kept secure, and a range of safety protocols such as Emergency Button and Man Down motion detection. Nexedge handsets are available in screenless, part keypad and full keypad screened models.
Kenwood continues to produce high quality analogue two way radios to complement its Nexedge digital range. Its TK2000 and TK3000 models offer affordable, lightweight solutions for general business use that tick the right boxes for audio quality and reliability. The PKT-23, meanwhile, is a highly innovative, ultra compact license-free model which combines a stripped-back design with useful functions like VOX voice activation, meaning calls can be made without touching the handset.
Vertex Two Way Radios
Now owned by Motorola, Vertex Standard is a long-standing two way radio brand founded in Japan in 1956. Over the decades, Vertex has built a reputation for manufacturing compact, high quality two way radios built to exacting engineering standards that stand up to heavy use in tough environments.
Going forward, the surviving portion of the Vertex Standard product portfolio will carry the Motorola brand, while the rest of the models will be discontinued. However, many Vertex handsets still remain available for sale or for rental through specialist two way radio suppliers, and continue to offer an excellent value-for-money option for a wide range of business and industrial uses.
Amongst the Vertex models which will survive under the Motorola brand is the EVX-S24, an ultra-compact dual mode analogue and digital model. Fitting comfortably in the palm of your hand and weighing just 215g, the EVX-S24 is a perfect portable model for workers who spend long hours on their feet in mobile, fast-paced environments.
Its simple three-line screen interface and minimal controls make the EVX-S24 easy to operate on the go, while an IP67 rating for water and dust ingress mean there are no problems using it outdoors in all weathers and in dusty works environments. It boasts outstanding audio quality thanks to digital enhancement and noise cancellation technology, making it a great choice in noisy environments, from music festivals to construction sites.
Another Vertex model Motorola is keeping going is the VX-261, a traditional non-display analogue two way radio capable of operating on both UHF and VHF frequencies. It includes an Emergency Mode, which when activated will override all traffic on the network to ensure essential calls get through, and supports a range of audio encryption protocols, meaning it can communicate with many different analogue radios from other manufacturers. It also comes with voice activation or VOX mode, which allows calls to be made without having to press a button – perfect when you have your hands full.
Icom Two Way Radios
From a country renowned for its precision engineering and prestige electronics industry, Japan’s Icom specialises in premium quality professional two way radios trusted by business and industry the world over.
The company can trace its history back more than 50 years, when its founders set up business building transmitters and other radio equipment by hand. Having progressed from supplying a niche for amateur / ‘ham’ radio fans to manufacturing long-distance aviation and marine radio equipment, Icom eventually started producing commercial two way radio handsets, which has been the core of its business ever since.
Icom two way radios are renowned for being robustly constructed, meticulously engineered and packed full of features, creating handsets that are perfect for use in virtually any industrial environment.
Tough and built according to exacting standards for things like water resistance and dust ingress, Icom is frequently a two way radio brand of choice for companies in sectors such as construction, mining, process and plant engineering and marine logistics where environmental conditions take their toll on equipment.
Icom produces a wide range of models at different price points with features and functions suited to numerous different use cases. The IC-F1000 and IC-F2000 analogue series, for example, offer products ranging from basic non-display handsets with 16 channels to full keypad versions featuring an LCD screen, 128 channels, multiple signalling encryption to prevent interference and Man Down motion alerts. All benefit from a lightweight yet durable construction and 36mm speakers for high quality audio clarity.
Icom’s IDAS digital two way radio range similarly includes non-display, screen with half keypad and screen with full keypad versions that offer the same combination of lightweight portability and outstanding durability. All benefit from power efficient slimline batteries, noise cancelling and an in-built smart equaliser for optimum audio clarity, plus Bluetooth and USB ports for data connections. The higher end models feature up to 1024 channels.
Vitai Two Way Radios
Founded in China in 2001, Vitai Electronics is a relative newcomer to the two way radio market. But in less than two decades, the brand has established a global reputation for excellence in the field of analogue and digital mobile radio (DMR), manufacturing both two way handsets and vehicle mounted radios.
Vitai two way radios are notable for being both robust and easy to use. They are ideal for deployment in light industrial and security settings as they are both small in size and light in weight, providing the perfect balance of convenience and reliability.
One of Vitai’s most popular models is the VT8800, one of the smallest licensed two way radios available on the market. Weighing in at just 190g, this versatile, highly portable analogue handset is ideal for use in retail, warehousing, education, hospitality and more. It comes with 16 available channels and a maximum of 8 hours battery life. It also benefits from VOX voice activation mode so it can be used even when you have no hands free, and includes a power save option and low battery warning.
Vitai’s DMR range features dual analogue/digital operation, which means they are ideal ‘migration’ two way radios for gradually adding digital handsets to an existing analogue fleet. They also benefit from extra safety features such as Lone Worker monitoring, a timer system which requires colleagues operating in hazardous areas to check back in with the network at set times.
The DMR range includes non-display and colour LCD display, full keypad handsets. The latter models, the VDG-385 and VDG-585, are high-end digital two way radios offering 1000 channels, text messaging and private/group calling modes – ideal for efficient communications in very large teams. They also benefit from being compatible with Motorola’s MOTOTRBO software solutions, which allow for things like digital trunking to further increase capacity and multi-site network linking.