Codan announces lightweight transportable repeater

NEW ORLEANS—Codan Radio Communications this week launched a lightweight transportable repeater that is designed to be deployed quickly. Weighing 28 pounds, the Vizor Interop was announced at the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) conference.

On its own, the repeater’s power could possibly last about two days, but with solar panels added, the repeater could be deployed permanently, said Pete Lunness, training and technical sales team leader for Codan, during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications.

“When it comes to a transportable, one of things that you’re going to have to get it to do is draw very, very small amounts of current, which means you don’t need a big, huge, heavy battery to run it,” Lunness said.

“Because it’s actually less radio equipment than (a larger repeater), it draws less current. So, in reality, you could set this up and run it indefinitely with the proper solar panels.”

Vizor Interop comes with an optional solar add-on, which can include one or two 60-watt, foldable panels.

The solution is geared toward disasters and emergencies, as well as tactical situations in which users are working within a small radio coverage area or in temporary command centers, where permanent infrastructure isn’t needed.

Setup should take about 10 minutes, with most of that time likely spent on the antenna, Lunness said.

Vizor Interop also provides P25 digital encryption and is pre-programmed with mutual-aid frequencies, allowing interopability for first responders in the coverage area.

“Codan recognized a need for our first responders to be able to communicate immediately and that there currently wasn’t a product that enabled this,” Ben Pearce, Codan’s regional sales director for North America, said in a statement.

“Utilizing the mutual-aid frequencies designated by the FCC and APCO International, we designed a product that required no further configuration by first responders other than attaching an antenna and powering on.”