Sector
Two-way radios for construction sites
Phones are not much use on a building site. The signal goes in the basement and behind the steel, nobody takes a call in a crane cab, and when something goes wrong you need to tell everyone at once. A radio fleet gives every supervisor, banksman, plant operator and gate a direct line to each other with one button.
For construction we normally supply the Hytera HP605 or the Motorola R7. Both are submersible and drop-rated, loud enough to hear next to plant, and can be set up with man-down and lone-worker alarms for people working in voids or at height. Supervisors usually take a display model so they can see who is calling and send messages. On tall or spread-out sites a repeater on the crane or the site office roof covers every floor.
Most sites hire for the length of the project on a monthly rate that drops as the hire goes on. Contractors with regular work tend to move to a lease so the radios and support become a fixed monthly cost.
Typical accessories
- Hard-hat headsets
- Heavy-duty speaker mics
- Chest harnesses
- 6-way chargers for the welfare cabin
What matters in construction
The problems radios solve here, and how we set them up.
No signal below ground
Licensed UHF radios work where mobiles do not. A repeater with a leaky feeder reaches basements, tunnels and plant rooms.
Lone workers
Man-down sends an alarm with the radio's ID if the user stops moving. The lone-worker timer prompts a check-in and alarms if nobody responds.
Noise
Noise cancelling on the HP605 and R7 cuts breakers and generators out of the call. Heavy-duty headsets clip onto hard hats.
Mud, rain and drops
IP68 and a 2 m drop rating. If a radio does break, we swap it next day.
Recommended radios
What we send to construction customers
Licensed digital DMR
Hytera HP605
Hytera's rugged mid-range radio. IP68, 2 m drop, 20 to 30-hour battery.
- UHF 400–470 MHz (VHF 136–174 MHz available)
- 1024 channels, 64 zones
- 4 W / 1 W UHF (5 W / 1 W VHF)
Licensed digital DMR
Motorola MOTOTRBO R7
Motorola's current flagship. The loudest radio in its class, with or without a keypad.
- UHF 400–527 MHz (VHF 136–174 MHz available)
- 64 (NKP) / 1000 (FKP)
- 4 W / 1 W UHF (5 W / 1 W VHF)
Licensed digital DMR
Fellwave FW-600
Our display radio. Dual band, colour screen, full keypad, for the people running the job.
- VHF 136–174 MHz and UHF 400–480 MHz in one radio
- 3,000 channels, 10,000 talkgroups, 120,000 contacts
- Up to 5 W
Repeaters
Motorola SLR 1000
A weatherproof 10 W repeater that mounts on a pole, a wall or a mast.
- 1–10 W UHF
- 100%
- 64
Construction: common questions
Can radios cover a 20-storey building?
Yes, with a repeater mounted high on the structure. Handheld to handheld across many floors is unreliable, but through a repeater every floor hears every call.
Do you supply radios for the whole project?
Yes. Project-length hire is the most common arrangement on sites. The monthly rate reduces after three months and again after twelve, and we add or remove radios as the workforce changes.
Can the site office have a base station?
Yes. A mobile radio with a desk microphone and power supply sits in the site office and talks to every handheld on site.
Who holds the licence?
For hire, we do. For a lease or purchase we apply for the contractor's own licence. A repeater needs a site-specific Ofcom licence and we handle that application too.
Radio hire near you
Enquire
Tell us about your construction job. We'll spec and quote it today.
How many radios, the dates, where you are and what the job is. That is enough for us to put a kit list together.
- Email[email protected]
- Monday to Friday, 08:00–18:00. Out-of-hours support for live events by arrangement.
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