An assessment report on portable radio repeaters PDF used in areas with degraded radio coverage (e.g., indoor, subterranean and rural environments) has been published by the National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL), a federal laboratory within the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate.
The assessment is based on a set of evaluation criteria across 5 areas:
- Capability.
- Usability.
- Deployability.
- Maintainability.
- Affordability.
The assessment included eight emergency responder evaluators configuring each repeater, hand carrying it to an activity site at the assessment venue, activating the repeater and then communicating with each other on push-to-talk radios while adjusting parameters on the repeater. Evaluators also participated in a simulated urban search-and-rescue exercise.
This assessment was developed under NUSTL’s System Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER) program, in conjunction with the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Read more at U.S. Fire Administration
