TACTICAL RF

Online or on site training available for these ETA courses
CET-A associate certified electronics technician
GCT-1 general communications tech level 1
GCT-2 general communications tech level 2
Online training is $700 per student which includes the ETA cert fee.
Onsite is $895 per student with a 3-4 student minimum depending on location.

On site training for
RFIM RF interference hunting and mitigation

LAS line and antenna sweeping - this class has hands on testing

SERVICES

RFI location and mitigation

Antenna and coax return loss and distance to fault testing

Repeater and paging transmitter / terminal installation

Special events radio system planning, design and installation

Technical training

Technical document editing

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Check out my videos on RF geek stuff and basic operations for public safety users

Got an idea for video? Send us your thoughts

PROJECTS

Designed and installed repeater systems used by

• ESPN for the X Games and Espys

• NBA for the All Star game and Finals

• Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400

• The Oscars

RFI hunting and mitigation for Verizon
Video surveillance systems using microwave backhaul
Public safely signal strength surveys and system optimization

Updated paging systems at 11 VA hospitals in the upper midwest

ABOUT US

Tactical RF is the new name for the 2 way radio division of Thompson Communications.

Jay Thompson, vice president of Tactical RF, got his start in electronics at the age of 5 when his parents let him change channels and adjust the rabbit ears on their black and white TV.

Jay started his 2 way radio career in 1983 working as an installer, moving up to field service. In 1985 he joined ComTrack, a radio dealer that sold and serviced radio systems to Indy 500, IMSA and Trans Am racing teams. The next year he moved to Racing Radios to start their Indycar program.
He invented the first fuel telemetry system used in the series for Patrick racing after their driver ran the car out of fuel while leading the Pocono 500.

Jay then co-founded Paging USA, a state wide paging operator in based in Speedway Indiana. He went on to work in remote TV production with ABC and ESPN, winning an Emmy for his work in the Summer X Games.

Jay started an IT consulting business and worked with home builders, law and medical offices. He also co-founded Netsurf USA, a leading WISP in southern Indiana.

Jay serves as a communications unit leader for a Disaster Assistance Medical Team under DHS and HHS and has served on a number of hurricane deployments from Long Island to Guam.

Jay was honored to receive the Electronic Technicians Association's Technician of the Year award for 2016.

Resume

FAQs and answers

Q - Can I use family radio service radios for my business?
A - Yes, see the FCC's answer.

Be aware many radios have FRS and GMRS frequencies. GMRS is general mobile radio service and requires a license. Using GMRS channels without a license can lead to a fine.

Q - Someone is on my channel, how do I get them off?
A - Chances are you don't have your own channel, almost all frequencies in the business band are shared.
FCC rules require licensees to cooperate to resolve co-channel user interference issues.
See 47 CFR 90.173 (a) and (b)

The two rules below are the most common violations we see in these situations.

1 - Users are required to monitor the channel before transmitting to ensure you are not interfering with another user. See 47 CFR 90.403 (e)

This is typically done by pressing the monitor button or looking for a flashing light indicating there is channel activity other than your own.

2 - Business users are required to give their FCC call sign every 15 minutes during continuous use or at the end of a call for occasional use. FRS users do not have licenses.
See 47 CFR 90.425 (a)

You can look up call signs here.

Q - Can I just change channels?
A- If you are licensed you can. Transmitting without a license or on an expired license can lead
to a notice of violation and fine.

Q - My Motorola CLS1410 has 56 channels, can I use anyone of those?
A - As long as your have a license for that frequency. FCC rules state "no person shall program into a transmitter frequencies for which the licensee using the transmitter is not authorized." - see 90.427(b). We have asked the FCC for a ruling on the legality of using this radio unless you have a license for each frequency in the radio. None of the users we have come across have licenses other than the 4 that are accessible in normal operating mode, some don't appear to have any license.

The user's manual shows how to select any one of the 56 frequencies.
This page has examples of FCC rule violations and fines

FCC violations

Using GMRS frequencies - these are not for business use.

This company asked for fixed stations but was given a license for mobile only. Despite the fact the error was by the licensing vendor the licensee was fined $12,000 for the rules violations.

Another case of assuming 'someone else has the license'. In this case it cost Walmart $5,000.

This company goofed up programming a radio and caused interference to a public safety agency. The FCC didn't fine the company in this case.