IWCE: M/A-COM announces new P25 radio
LAS VEGAS–Wireless vendor M/A-COM today introduced the P5400, a P25 radio that is among the smallest in the industry for a public-safety-grade LMR device, said Greg Farmer, M/A-COM product manager.
“It continues to have Class A RF performance to be pretty durable and easy to use, but the biggest change is that it’s smaller and lighter than our other P25 radios,” Farmer said.
Indeed, the functional characteristics of the P5400—performance, versatility and battery life—are virtually identical to M/A-COM’s P7100 radio, Farmer said. However, with improvements in component technology, the P5400 is 5.33 inches tall and weighs 13.2 ounces with a battery, while the P7100 is 6.25 inches tall and weighs 21.8 ounces—a smaller form factor that can be beneficial to public-safety users.
“Every bit of weight they save improves their ability to carry out their primary mission, which is not to carry a radio but to do other things,” he said. “And the smaller size just makes it more convenient.”
Scheduled to be shipped this summer, the P5400 is being displayed at IWCE in the M/A-COM booth, #12001.
Separately, M/A-COM today also announced its new Security Update Management Service (SUMS) to provide periodic software update to its VIDA system components when security threats arise.
“We are continually monitoring [product vulnerability alerts] from multiple sources, including government, vendor, independent and open-source databases,” Tom Kegley, M/A-COM’s technical support services manager, said in a prepared statement. “Once the information is received, we can evaluate each alert for its effect on individual radio communications system components. By deploying SUMS, security updates are regularly provided to resolve vulnerabilities that are affecting the use of mission critical communications systems.”
