Important message regarding Radio Communications

To Club Captains, Lifesaving, Chief Instructors, Radio Officers, Club Administration Officers as listed in Surfguard;

This season has seen SLSSA transition to a digital network for our radio communications. As with any change as significant as this, we have seen some teething problems. SLSSA and the SurfCom team are continuing to work together, along with our vendor, to ensure that we get the best network possible.

• The “heartbeat” of the network has been adjusted to 1 minute. This will significantly reduce the amount of time radios will spend waiting for network acknowledgements, mitigating busy or off air events.
• We continue to work towards installing the full repeater into O’Sullivans Beach boat ramp which will greatly improve the radio coverage in that area. Unfortunately, we have been delayed on delivering on this to its full capacity by means outside of our control.
• There are further plans in place to improve coverage to those clubs that are currently experiencing outages.

We do acknowledge that some of the issues with the radio use comes down to the operator and how they use the radio. Correct use of the radio will vastly improve the communication system.

With this in mind, attached is the SLSSA Radio Network Information Sheet providing some basic information on how to use the SLSSA digital radios.

Included in the Radio Information Sheet are two links to training videos that detail best practice for radio use. They are as follows;

1.1 Radio Operating Techniques | Best Practice for Radio Users | Tait Radio Academy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib6Aw-Jh-Wc

2.1 How to use Radio your Microphone | Best Practice for Radio Users | Tait Radio Academy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_Pu0bPM1Is

Please ensure that this information, both the fact sheet and links to the videos, is circulated to ALL patrolling members. Distribute accordingly as appropriate to your club i.e. in your patrol rooms, radio rooms or by internal means.

If you have any queries or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact the Lifesaving Department.