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Communication in any situation

Global Communications (an Elvey Group company and part of the Hudaco Group of companies), is once again leading the way with the introduction of a five-year warranty on specified Kenwood two-way radios.

Global Communications is an integrated solutions and telecommunications company specialising in the design, integration and installation of communication systems and networks, with particular emphasis on supplying a broad spectrum of telecommunications equipment for wireless and military applications.

Kenwood is represented in more than 40 African countries through dealers, integrators and distributors and is the African leader in the supply of Kenwood Land Mobile Radio (LMR) equipment, together with other telecommunications equipment.

“The Kenwood brand is characterised by its durability, ruggedness and longevity, all factors that provide us with the confidence to offer this precedent-setting five-year warranty. As part of the development process, Kenwood radios have to prove they can survive the most gruelling conditions. They are dropped, soaked, splashed and subjected to extreme temperatures. Also, the buttons are operated tens of thousands of times to ensure they can withstand heavy use over a period of several years,” says Sean Mervitz, executive manager at Global Communications.

Mervitz says that there are four pillars that underpin the reliability and robustness of these particular Kenwood radio models based on the MIL-STD and IP environmental standards:

• Exposure to extreme temperatures.

• Dust and water resistance.

• Mean time between failure (MTBF).

• Push-to-Talk (PTT) activations.

Built to extreme standards

The US Defence Standards (MIL-STD) evolved from the need to ensure proper performance, maintainability and reparability (ease of MRO), and logistical usefulness of military equipment. This high level of operability and ruggedness has been extrapolated to other market sectors and represents the gold standard in equipment quality. The Kenwood radios in this range conform to MIL-STD 810 C/D/E/F and G specifications.

The radios in the selected range are also IP54/55/67 and 68 rated. Kenwood radio equipment with this specific rating is 100% protected against solid objects like dust and sand, and it has been tested to work for up to 2 hours while submerged in water to up to 1 metre. “The radios are able to withstand the harsh environmental conditions we face in Africa, being completely impervious to dust and resistant to water under the specified conditions,” says Mervitz.

When the heat is on

The Kenwood radios have been subjected to arduous temperature conditions and have been proven to successfully and reliably operate at temperatures as low as -30°C and up to temperatures as high as a sweltering +60°C.

“This makes the Kenwood radios ideal for the huge variables in temperature that we experience in Africa. Lesotho tops the charts as the coldest country in Africa, with the mercury plummeting to -20°C, while the hottest temperatures vary between 31°C and 40°C in various places within the SADC region, and up to +50°C in Algeria at the northernmost part of Africa,” says Mervitz.

Continuous operation over time

Mean time between failure (MTBF) is a crucial maintenance metric to measure performance, safety, and equipment design. Kenwood radios exhibit a very admirable MTBF of up to 40 000 hours, making them suitable for operation in remote areas where access to maintenance may be limited.

“Similarly, the physical operation of the radio, in mechanical terms, is also dependent on the reliability of the Push-to-Talk (PTT) buttons. Repeated testing of the Kenwood radio buttons indicate a PTT reliability of 100 000 activations. This allows these Kenwood radios to be deployed to areas where radio communication is ongoing and regular, without concerns over push-button failure,” says Mervitz.

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