When the novel coronavirus started wreaking havoc across the globe, the Facilities Management Department at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine contacted Discount Two-Way Radio to help get the university’s two-way radio communications systems in top notch condition in anticipation of the impending pandemic.

“The Director of Facilities for Johns Hopkins School of Medicine selected Discount Two-Way Radio to repair their radios after a highly selective vendor process,” said Ben Burns, Discount Two-Way Radio CEO and Founder. “We pride ourselves on providing customer’s the fastest repair turn-around time in the industry, but we set a new record after getting the school’s radios back to them in three days,” said Burns.

Keeping Johns Hopkins Running Smoothly

The School of Medicine’s Facilities Management Department is responsible for ensuring the all of the school and medical equipment are safe and are able to support the institution’s mission of providing the best in patient care, education and research in the world. Specifically, the School of Medicine’s Facilities Department operates and maintains the campuses facilities and medical equipment, including everything relating to building and ground operations, electrical services, power plant, and business services. With a campus that covers 140 acres, the most efficient and reliable way to communicate is with two-way radio technology.

“Radios are an important tool for our maintenance department. We rely on them to communicate with our other maintenance team members. I’ve got 38 crew members that are responsible for the entire School of Medicine’s facility which includes 23 separate buildings. Unfortunately, my guys ride the radios pretty hard and put them away wet, but guys did a good job for us,” said Steve Jacobs, Assistant Director of Facilities.

Discount Two-Way Radio CEO Ben Burns explained that truly professional Facilities Managers know that using cell phones is just a ticket to disaster, especially when you’re talking about a critically important facility like Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

"They oversee literally every piece of moving equipment on that campus, and if they need something, especially during these days, they need it right away. Cell phones can’t compete with two-way radios from many perspectives including reach, reliability, functionality, durability, and price,” said Ben Burns, CEO and Founder of Discount Two-Way Radio.

Free Shipping and Expedited Repair Service

According to Burns, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine took advantage of Discount Two-Way Radio’s free shipping policy for all repairs. They shipped them out and they landed in the company’s state-of-the-art repair facility where factory trained technicians used the latest technology to repair the fleet of radios.

“When a customer sends in their radios for repair, first we double check the radios to make sure everything is working correctly. We attach the batteries, inspect the antennas, and run expert diagnostics to determine exactly what’s is wrong with the radios,” said Burns.

After running a complete diagnostic analysis on the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine radios, Discount Two-Way Radio discovered several issues that needed to be repaired.

“Two of the radios were fine, but the others needed some help, including internal components, broken track pads, broken speakers, and broken channel knobs. But we successfully repaired the radios and got them back to school in tip-top condition within just three days. They were ecstatic at how quickly we responded and were very impressed at the caliber of our repair work,” explained Burns.

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM DISCOUNT TWO-WAY RADIO

Discount Two-Way Radio is praying for the health and safety of all of our more than 65,000 customers. Because our customers work in industries like ...

• Health Care
• Emergency Services
• Food Distribution
• Agriculture
• Energy
• Transportation
• Logistics

... to name just a few, we know these folks are some of the hardest working Americans anywhere on the continent.

On March 4 California Governor, Gavin Newsom issued an executive order “safer-at-home” which forced many businesses like indoor malls, shopping centers, and non-essential retail businesses to close. However, many of our customers are considered “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers” and need to continue to do their job in order to help protect communities and ensure continuity of functions critical to public health and safety and well as economic and national security.

Many of these industries rely on Discount Two-Way Radio for their communications equipment and our services. Discount Two-Way Radio helps these essential industries fulfill critical jobs more safely and more efficiently. Because of this, we are also deemed essential by virtue, and will continue to provide two-way radio equipment throughout these unprecedented times. We will be here for our customers. Our operations are normal, and we will be here for you when you need us.

Obviously, we understand that this COVID-19 situation is fluid with each day bringing new information. However, we have also put into place all CDC recommended practices to protect our workers and those we encounter.

Thank you for your continued support.

Ben Burns, CEO and Founder

Anyone working in the construction, education, warehousing, logistics, or janitorial industries should know how to keep their two-way radios sanitized, especially during the COVID-19 era. After all, while we are inundated by reminders of social distancing, hand washing, liberal use of hand sanitizers and disinfecting wipes and other good hygiene habits one of the most important items that many hard working Americans should be aware of is how to clean and sanitize professional grade two-way radios. According to recent report from the Journal of Hospital Infection, coronavirus bacteria and other germs can live on surfaces like glass, metal or plastic for anywhere from two hours to nine days,

Discount Two-Way Radio understands our customer’s concerns and have put together some very simple but highly effective sanitizing do’s and don’ts for cleaning your two-way radios.

The DO’s for Sanitizing Two-Way Radios

• Make sure the radio is turned off and unplug any accessory or attachments.
• Remove any protective cover or holster protecting the exterior screen or casing.
• Mix approximately one tablespoon of mild dishwashing soap together with about one gallon of warm water to achieve a .5 percent solution.
• Apply the soapy mixture with a stiff but nonmetallic brush, making sure to dislodge any grime or dirt that may have become caked on the radio’s housing.
• Clean antennas and screens by dipping a soft, microfiber cloth into the solution until the material is damp but not wet.
• Two-way radio keypads are usually the worst because this is where all the germs and gunk accumulate! You can also use a damp microfiber terry cloth to wipe away the dust and dirt, and then dry it with canned air, and make sure you do not allow any moisture to become entrapped in connectors, speaker crevice’s, and controls.
• If your radio has an IP rating of 67 or greater, you can rinse your radio by holding it under a faucet.
• If your radio does not have an IP rating of 67 or greater, you can use a soft, lint free cloth to dry the radio.
• For additional sanitation protection, you can use a product like Clorox wipes or over-the-counter rubbing alcohol with no more than (0 percent isopropyl alcohol. Pour the alcohol directly onto a rag first and wipe the radio down with the rag and let the radio air dry.
• If there is a risk that the radio and attached accessories were exposed to pathogens or carcinogens, several cleaners have proven to be very effective in neutralizing these threats on two-way radios. For maximum effect, make sure the radio first receives a detailed cleaning as described above. Then for pathogen decontamination ( as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites) apply Zep DZ-7 which is a virucide that kills a broad spectrum of bacteria. For carcinogen decontamination (like metal oxide dust, lead, mercury, cadmium, zinc, chromium, arsenic, silver, selenium, cobalt, and other toxic metals, wipe down the radio with either Hygenall FieldWipes or Enspire Fire Wipes per the manufacturer’s instructions.

Ultraviolet Rays Clean as Well

Believe it or not, another strategy to disinfect your two-way radio with almost no effort is to use ultraviolet light cleansers. Called Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation, treatment is an established and effective way to disinfect two-way radios as well according to the United States National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health.

The DON’TS of Sanitizing Two-Way Radios

• Don’t use alcohol to clean your radio’s screen. Use instead use a very soft, damp cloth.
• Don’t submerge the radio in the detergent solution.
• Don’t attach a dirty cover or holster to a sanitized radio. Take the time to clean your cover and holster with the same sanitizing techniques outlined above as well.
• Don’t let any water or moisture into charging area, speakers, controls, programming buttons, or accessory jack.

• Industry: Construction
• Customer: Great Lakes Construction Company
• Products: RDR2500 Portable Radios
• Problem: The company was using one channel for the entire company, making the radio communication crowded and unproductive. Also, they were using an expensive repeater system that they were told they needed to make their radios work
• Solution: We advised them to get rid of the poorly designed repeater system and provide each job its own fleet of two-way radios. This limited the radio traffic to only communications that relate to that specific job.Overview:

Boating can be a great way to relax, however without proper equipment like professional quality two-way radios specifically designed for marine use, a simple boating trip can turn into a stressful and potentially dangerous experience.

MarineMax needed to find two-way radio equipment that could withstand the harsh saltwater environment. Not only did they find a reliable radio for their operation, but a service department at Discount Two-Way Radio that could bring their damaged radios back to life.

Industry: Marine Offshore Supply and Support

Customer: Harvey Gulf International Marine, LLC

Products: RDR4300 Intrinsically Safe Two-Way Radios

Problem: When a new Purchasing Agent was assigned the task of finding Intrinsically Safe two-way radios, he contacted Discount Two-Way Radio.

Solution: We advised Harvey Gulf to explore the RDR4300 series of IS radios. We even sent them several to sample before they purchased. The company was amazed at how good the radios worked, how inexpensive they were compared to Motorola, and what great service they received from Discount Two-Way Radio.

At Discount Two-Way Radio our expertise goes far beyond simple hand held radios. If your business has other communications needs, we have robust and complete system solutions for you.

Industry: Warehouse, Shipping and Logistics

Customer: Hobby Lobby Distribution Center

Products: RDR2500 Two-Way Radio Series

Problem: Hobby Lobby needed to replace their expensive and underperforming Motorola radios.

Solution: Hobby Lobby was spending three times more money for their two-way radios than they needed to. We advised them to try the much more affordable RDR2500 two-way radios, and our fast repair turnaround time and complete service department.

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