LTE Manages Large Event

Large Event

October 2018, Icom America deployed forty-five (45) IP501H LTE radios at the Garden State Combined Driving Event (GS CDE) at the Horse Park of New Jersey in Jackson, New Jersey. This was a United States Equestrian Federation National Championship event for several preliminary categories.

“These compact, form-factor-friendly radios [IP501H] were the easiest and clearest radios aaccbI have ever used. I wish that every driving event used radios that were this clear.” – Richard Nicoll, Course Designer

Historically, GS CDE relied on an Icom’s IDASTM solution. They used F4161D and F2000D radios, and four FR6000 repeaters in a single-site trunking configuration. The equipment involved a sophisticated transmit- combiner, a receive-multi-coupler, and two fiberglass UHF antennas. This setup usually took two men and consumed three to five hours, quite an investment–both in time and in equipment.

“Excellent clarity, easy to use, and not bulky like other handheld radios. I would have no hesitation recommending their use.” – Wendy Wares, Event Secretary

The IP501H was easy to set up for this type of event. All that is required is a pre-event coverage test, pre-event discussion for channel assignment and ID tags, and then simply distribute radios to users. It is a miracle for those who come from the three-day set up world. One member of the show committee told Icom that the radios were “simply awesome, and they want to use them at every event they work in the future!”

Deployment

When padded Pelican boxes arrived, they were opened and the radios were plugged in. Using pre-identified and fully customizable channel designators and unit identifiers, the radios were labeled according to the assigned user and could be distributed accurately with little confusion. After three days of being used and shared across the event, chargers were simply disconnected and the devices returned to the foam-padded boxes.

Benefits of All Call

The IP501H has an “ALL CALL” feature that allows for a few pre-assigned users to make
radio traffic calls across all assigned channels. This was useful in various ways:

  • Emergency traffic could be announced to everyone working the event with one swift and efficient announcement.
  • At the end of each day’s event activities, we could announce to all users that they were expected to return all equipment to a designated collection point.
  • The official “Event Time” could be shared with the staff periodically to stay on schedule.

“The communications program was flawless. The radio quality was outstanding. It made the event run much smoother.” – Janine Howley, Hospitality Coordinator

Case study supplied by Icom America, Inc.: www.icomamerica.com

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