Many businesses and residences want some sort of two-way radio functionality, but they don’t want to get an FCC license to have it.  A MURS radio is the solution. The Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS) is a private, two-way, short-distance voice or data communications service for personal or business activities of the general public.

The FCC defines short distance this way: “The usual range of communications between MURS devices is less than a few miles; connecting the unit to an external antenna can extend the range to ten miles or more.”  The range you actually achieve could be far less depending on your surroundings and height of receiving and transmitting antennas.

A detailed report on MURS is available by clicking here: MURS Radio

On a golf course property the restaurant and bar at the club house are usually significant sources of revenue. The more golfers can be moved through, the more money can be made. One way to do that is to install an intercom system on the 9th hole that communicates back to the kitchen or bar. When golfers reach the 9th hole they simply press the button to speak with someone who can take their order.  When they get to the clubhouse, their order is waiting for them

The problem with this solution has been the huge expense and mess created by trenching to run the wire. Also, the length of the wire needed is often prohibitive since most intercom systems have a maximum wire length of around 1500 feet.

The most attractive solution is to install a wireless callbox.  A wireless callbox is essentially a two-way radio in a vandal and weather resistant housing. It can communicate with multiple base station intercoms or handheld two way radios back in the kitchen, bar, or wherever you have personnel who can take orders. One of the additional benefits of wireless is that order takers can be completely mobile so they don’t have to be tied to one location.

This system also encourages players to move faster through the final 9 holes since they know they have food waiting for them. That enables you to make more revenue from green fees as well. Also since many golfers are higher income earners who consider their time to be extremely valuable, providing faster service to them means they are more likely to take advantage of this new time-saving service.

"Everything works PERFECTLY!!!!" Chuck Harvey, Facilities Manager, Tamarack Country Club. Greenwich, CT

To increase revenue even more, you could add callboxes in different locations around the course to take drink orders that you then deliver to the golfers during play.  You could set callboxes on different channels so you know which one is calling in. Each channel represents a different location on the course. Since you want the golfers to keep moving, you ask them the shirt colors of everyone in their party so you can track them down, and you also tell them watch for the drink cart so they can flag it down.

Another advantage of the system is that it is capable of receiving NOAA weather alerts so you’ll automatically know when severe weather is approaching.  Since these callboxes are part of a complete long-range communication system, you could also use your handheld radio or base station intercoms to broadcast emergency messages to a Wireless PA system so you can warn golfers to take cover. You can use these callboxes for other emergency use as well.  Placing them in strategic locations around the course as a defibrillator deployment system could save someone’s life.

The callbox can be fully solar powered so there is no need for trenching at all and a solution can be installed in a few hours. The range on these callboxes is up to a mile or even more with the use of an external antenna.

This golf course 9th-hole order system is available at www.IntercomsOnline.com

The Iowa State Gun Shoot is a gun skeet shooting organization in Iowa that has a state shooting competition twice per year. They had an old wired PA system that needed replacement, but they didn’t want to install a new wired system. The chose to go wireless instead.

They have 37 shooting stations lined up over a distance of 1000 yards and they needed a way to transmit messages so all stations could hear them. They found that one Wireless PA system installed every one hundred yards was sufficient enough to broadcast their messages over traffic and wind noise. Each wireless receiver has two horn speakers on it that are pointing in opposite directions.

This solution uses the long-distance, license-free MURS frequencies so no license was required. They use a wireless base station intercom to make the announcements.

Here is the solution that worked for them: License-free Wireless PA System

Wireless Call Box

When a tall building is being built, a construction elevator intercom system is often needed so workers on individual floors can call the car operator to request a ride on the construction elevator. The environment these intercoms have to operate in is often harsh and power is not always available. A wired intercom system is usually not an option due to the complexities of running the cable. So the desire is for a wireless system, but with all the concrete and steel in the building, not just any wireless system will work.

A wireless call box is the device that our clients implement for construction elevators. The call box can communicate with other call boxes,  base station intercoms, or hand-held two way radios. These callboxes are placed on the individual floors and usually the lift operator has either a base station wireless intercom or a handheld radio depending on whether AC power is available in the car. Alternatively, another callbox can be used in the elevator, but it will need to be AC powered since it must remain on all the time so the floors can contact the lift operator. The callboxes on the floors can be battery powered since they can turn off after each use.

Base Station Wireless Intercom

These callboxes are built for outdoor use so they are tough enough to survive in a construction environment. They are available in both UHF or VHF frequencies so they can be used with existing business band radios. The VHF model also has five unlicensed frequencies named MURS, which is short for Multi-Use Radio System. MURS does not require an FCC license to operate.

There are also heavy duty wireless base station and hand-held devices that are available in both UHF, VHF, and MURS. All these devices are available at www.Interco

msOnline.com.

Google recently announced a future platform called Android@Home that will enable you to interact with practically any electronic device you own using the Google search engine. Soon you will be able to control devices like home media equipment, dishwashers, cars, and lights using the new platform.

While some of these types of devices are available using proprietary technology, the main obstacle of connecting devices from multiple manufacturers has been finding a single, open standard to control everything. With a standard platform that obstacle is removed.

When the platform is released and devices are created, you will likely be able to integrate devices like the MURS Alert Base Kit Intercom to your other devices so it can turn on lights or notify you remotely on any alarm activity through long-range wireless devices. The MURS Alert motion detector sends a signal to an internal intercom, which activates a relay attached to an Android@Home device.

Wireless Call Box

At IntercomsOnline.com we quite frequently get requests from marinas who want to add an intercom system to their boat docks where the boats pull up to gas pumps for fueling.  Of course a wired intercom is usually out of the question due to the complexities of running the wire to the dock, and given the harsh environment, the wires can go bad quickly. This is why we propose a weatherproof wireless call box intercom.

A wireless call box can transmit and receive voice communication over long distances. Range is usually measured in miles, not feet so distance is seldom a limitation.  You can place a fixed base station intercom in the store, or you can have someone carrying a mobile two-way radio, or both, so someone is always available to take calls from the boat dock.

When a boater pulls up to the dock, they press the button on the callbox and they can talk to you and you to them. The instructions are printed right on the callbox so the boater knows what to do. These wireless callboxes are available in non-licensed frequencies so an FCC license is not required to operate them.

A boat dock gas pump intercom system will ensure your customers don’t have to wait around for someone to show up to help them pump gas.

Wireless Call Box

If you have a house on a lake with a boat dock, then you know there are times when communication is needed between people on the boat dock and people in the house.  Installing an outdoor wireless intercom system solves this problem. The first factor to consider when choosing the right wireless intercom for you is the distance between the house and the dock. If it’s only a few hundred feet, the   UWS WireFree 900MHz Outdoor Wireless Intercom may be all you need. These intercoms have a range of up to 1000 feet and provide simple voice communication. They are not commercial duty so for the longest life it would be best to shelter the outdoor intercom if you can.

If you need a longer range intercom and one that is more durable, then the MURS Basic Commercial Callbox with one of the MURS handheld or base station intercoms can be used. The range with these devices is measured in miles and not feet so you can even use them to communicate with people in a boat, out on the lake.  So not only can they be used to talk to someone in the house, but someone out on a boat. The MURS Basic Commercial Callbox is also built to withstand more severe weather conditions.

A boat dock intercom system lets you stop yelling from the house or using up minutes on your cell phone plan, but still have instant communication without dialing a phone.

If you own a campground, you know you can’t always be at the office to greet arriving guests. You may not have the staff needed to handle everything that needs to be done so you find yourself handling tasks all over the campground while your guests are waiting for someone to check them in.

Wireless Call Box

The solution to this problem is to have a way for visitors to press a button to contact you no matter where you are on the property. There are a couple of ways to do this. If you have good cell phone coverage over your property and a phone line in your office, then you could install a Door Intercom Controller with Call Forwarding that that enables your guests to press a button on a door intercom, and it dials your cell phone. You could even press a button on your cell phone to unlock the office door to let them in.

If you don’t have good cell phone coverage and are willing to carry a two-way radio, guests can push a button on a wireless call box like the MURS Basic Commercial Callbox which will send a call tone after which you can hear them talk. You can respond back to them to let them know you are on your way. If you need to unlock the office or gate so they can get in, then the MURS Callbox XT Outdoor Intercom with Gate Relay would enable you to do that when used with the right radio. These devices can work at distances of up to a mile or more using external antennas mounted up higher.

With either of these two devices, your campground guest intercom system will provide excellent customer service to your guests.

Wireless Emergency Call Box

Parking lots are money makers to be sure, but it is imperative to provide good customer service to keep people coming back, which increases your profits from parking revenue.  One way to provide better customer service in lots where an attendant may be available within a mile or two, is to provide a method of communication the customer can use if he or she is having trouble.

Installing wireless call boxes in areas where customers may need assistance enables them to call a parking attendant when they need help. If they are having trouble with a pay station

or automatic parking attendant, having a call box next to the station ensures that they can reach someone if it isn’t working properly.

You could also use these callboxes to provide emergency services to your customers in the event they can’t start their car or there is someone suspicious lurking around the parking lot.

By providing extra services to your parking lot customers through a parking lot intercom system, you’ll ensure that they come back to your parking lot. That leads to increased parking lot revenue!

These wireless callboxesare available at www.IntercomsOnline.com.

It used to be that to install an intercom system you had to run wires and all stations were mounted on the wall. These days intercom radios enable you to put stations anywhere you want without having to run wires. The best part of that is that you can be mobile and still take intercom calls.

You can get hand-held two-way radios that communicate with table-top base station intercoms at ranges of several miles under ideal conditions. Intercom radios that use the MURS frequencies do not require an FCC license yet they communicate over long distances. You can even get outdoor wireless radio call boxes and wireless public address units that can communicate with your radio intercom system.

There are two major formats for most intercom radio systems.  They are Ultra High Frequency (UHF) radio and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio. Neither frequency band is inherently better than the other.  They each have their pluses and minuses. Both formats are effective ways to communicate with another person so deciding on the right radio for you depends on your application. The unlicensed MURS frequencies are in the VHF band. See this article for more info: 2-Way Radio Range

Intercom radio systems can be found at www.IntercomsOnline.com