Transceiver chosen for major government order

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA) of Western Australia has chosen the Vertex Standard VX829 handheld transceiver as its front-line radio for the WAERN (Western Australia Emergency Radio Network) Project.

Over 1800 fully submersible, intrinsically safe VX829s in a mixture of VHF and UHF models will be supplied over the initial three-year contract, with options to extend it a further two years.

The radios will be used in rugged and extreme conditions by a variety of emergency services including the State Emergency Service, Volunteer Marine Rescue services, Bush Fire Brigades and the Department of Environment and Conservation.

Capable of being programmed with up to 512 channels and fitted with an extra heavy-duty 3000 mHa Li-Ion intrinsically safe battery providing extended talk time, the transceiver is also fully submersible, tested to IP57 conditions of 1 m under water for 30 minutes.