Repeaters can be used to extend the range of a radio signal and are
particularly useful if a mountain between campus buildings would block
line-of-sight communication. It can be useful to have a repeater and an antenna
on top of one of the campus buildings in any case, for additional range,
with at least the primary hailing channel using the repeater. This configuration
usually requires that someone with a ham radio license set up and operate
the equipment. Check your local laws.
Some cellphone companies offer push-to-talk features on cellphones so
that phones work more like walk-talkies. This option will work wherever
the telephones operate. The provider should be able to provide maps of the
coverage areas. The company should supply all SAs with a cellphone with
this service. This has the advantage that the SAs have to carry only the phone,
not a phone and radio. This can be a quick and convenient way to get a new
group established with radios but may not be feasible if it requires everyone
to change to the same cellphone provider.
If radios won’t work or work badly in your data center because of radio
frequency (RF) shielding, put an internal phone extension with a long cord at
the end of every row, as shown in Figure 6.14. That way, SAs in the data center
can still communicate with other SAs while working in the data center. At
worst, they can go outside the data center, contact someone on the radio, and
arrange to talk to that person on a specific telephone inside the data center
Setting up a conference call bridge for everyone to dial in to can have
the benefits of radio communication with the benefit that people can dial in
globally to participate. Having a permanent bridge number assigned to the
group makes it easier to memorize and can save critical minutes when needed
for emergencies.