SINCE 1964. Making Good ~ Great
We can trace our direct two way radio communications ancestry back to Plymouth Telecom Services (PTS) which was established in 1964 by Mr David Rawlings. PTS became part of Tacticom in 2000. Tacticom Radio Systems was instrumental in co-developing and bringing to the UK market the Rexon RL328, Rexon UK was a joint project between Tacticom and Rexontec of Taiwan. That was back in 2004 and the RL328 was a superb hand portable radio and one of the the first hand portable radios to challenge the big four or five manufacturers at that time.
Since 1999 and long before anyone else actually independently tested two way radios themself, normally relying on the manufacturers stated specifications, Tacticom was throwing radios of cliffs, running over them with 4X4 trucks, or attaching them to the outside of rucksacks whilst walking in the Scottish mountains for days and nights on end! Tacticom has conducted these tests on a regular basis and we keep adding to the range and depth of the tests we conduct to the point where manufacturers now come to us for product testing!
We tested (and still do) all the known makes and models of two way radio and by consistent testing over proven known ground (our proving grounds) find or have found their highest or most durable "drop off point" this is the point where they FAIL! We then dismiss all the the models of all the better known brands that cannot continue to work up to the various known high "drop off points" and we have shelves and boxes full of these failed radio models.
Likewise we then compare all other emerging two way radio brands with these known high "drop off points" (where radios fail or stop working) and ONLY those emerging brands that have a two way radio model which can pass these tests is further considered for sale by Tacticom.
We test hand portable radios in unique ways, methods which involve (sur) real world testing to an extreme level which quickly uncovers hidden weaknesses in all areas of the radios design, construction and operation, weaknesses that MIL Spec 810 G simply does not uncover! We offer advice and solutions to these weaknesses and some manufacturers adopt these solutions - OTHERS DO NOT AND MANY OF THE SO CALLED RE-BADGED HANDSETS CURRENTLY ON SALE HAVE BEEN TESTED BY TACTICOM AND THEY HAVE FAILED OUR TESTS.
A quick reality check on the efficacy of any unknown or re-branded two way radio being sold by any other dealer in the UK (or Europe) is to see if that dealer/seller still relies on selling any of the big five or six manufacturers handsets, these are Motorola, HYTERA, Kenwood, Icom, Entel & Tait! Chances are if they do? They do not have a great two way radio product of their own. For if you have a great hand portable radio as we do, that has been tested and developed as described, then you don't need to sell or promote any other make or model of DMR radio hand portable!
Since the launch of Rexon UK in 2004 we have trialed and tested dozens and dozens of makes and hundreds of models of PMR & DMR hand portable radios and around 95% of hand held PMR/DMR radios tested fail our tests for one reason or another. Surprisingly other companies often adopt these failed radios and are happy to retail them, WE DO NOT!
"We lead where others follow" is more than just words in this context.
TESTING TO DESTRUCTION AND BACK
The radio on the left was a well known Chinese make and model, sold for many years in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. The aerial socket broke and the channel selector bent after just 4 drops and stopped working after 12 drops in our hands at our proving ground. Yet the South Korean model to the right took 104 drops to stop working. Both cost about the same, but one was clearly superior to the other yet only Tacticom uncovered this information and promoted the Korean radio.
We test radios in the harshest of environments with a part randomised process (but within known areas of operation) which more closely emulates extreme usage. We drop them hundreds of times, over heat them, freeze them (for days), leave them out in the rain (for weeks), we even have various extreme distance drop tests as well as a extreme height drop test (see the GRIZZLY video). All testing is carried out at our proving grounds and is repeatable, every radio gets tested the same way - only 5% pass the tests!
At Tacticom we enjoy the outdoor life and we take our preferred radios with us at all times. The picture below is a mountain on the Ilse of Harris, the tunnels on the left & centre of the picture are 200 plus feet and give drops of between 8 and 20 feet onto multiple granite ledges/outcrops, the oldest hardest granite in the country. We climb to the top and throw the hand portable two way radios off, we watch them (sometimes cringing) merrily bouncing down a 200+ foot tunnel with multiple granite ledges until it stops! This makes up part of our extreme tests.
Finally and possibly of more importance, after we have tested a hand portable radio to destruction we then set about putting it back together, repairing it and servicing it, if we can't then we don't adopt it for sale.
SERVICE, REPAIR & MORE
We only sell hand portable radios which have passed our RUK Extreme tests. We have a full range of PMR & DMR hand portables ranging from IP54 to IP67+ and our own Mobile/Desk top DMR radio and DMR talk through repeater.
No one tests two way radio as we do.
Finally every radio we test to destruction we repair therefor we have a complete and profound knowledge of exactly how to repair and service every radio we sell.
We've been servicing two way radios for almost 60 years and we can repair and service every make and model of radio on the market. We might not sell them if they have not passed our tests but we can repair them.
PAST MASTER RADIOS
Tacticom Have worked with two way radio manufacturers from Taiwan, China and South Korea.
We know that making a good two way radio great is not easy, it takes hundreds of hours of testing, improving and retesting then improving again, then the same process is repeated again and again and again and again to get it right.
By the end of all this testing and improving we often know the radio better than the original manufacturer.
However even the best hand portable radios fall out of production or are replaced, please click on the link below for more information on radios that are no longer in production.