Testing mobile coverage before a call-out

The best way to get comfortable with any new communications tool is to try it on the ground you actually work on. This guide shows search and rescue teams how to do that with RevoNet.

Try it on your usual ground

A quick test in the car park tells you very little. Take your team out on the routes and areas you search most, and use RevoNet the way you would on a call-out. It is the quickest way to see how it fits.

What to try

• Walk or drive your usual routes with a few volunteers, each on their own phone.
• Speak on the group from different places, and see who can hear whom.
• Watch the map as people move, and see how the positions update.
• Try the busiest and quietest parts of your area, and different times of day.

Reading the map

Each volunteer's marker shows where they were last seen. If a marker has not moved in a while, it is a good prompt to give that person a call and check in.

Keeping your existing radios

Many teams keep their current radios for some parts of their ground and use RevoNet for the rest. It is completely up to you, and you can change the mix as you learn what works best.

Make it part of training

Build a short RevoNet exercise into your regular training nights. Volunteers who have used the button and the map in practice are far more comfortable using them on a real call-out.

Security teams can test in just the same way. Our buyer's guide to security radios explains how coverage differs between licence-free, licensed and push-to-talk radios. See also how RevoNet coverage works, and how RevoSIM provides managed multi-network connectivity.

Common questions

Do we need any special equipment to test? No. Volunteers use the phones they already carry.

How often should we practise? Regularly, and whenever your operating area changes, so everyone stays confident.

What does a marker that has not moved mean? It means that person's position has not updated recently, so it is worth a call to check in.