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The Challenge
Communication is critical to maintaining the highest operational standards on any luxury yacht. From coordinating day-to-day tasks and guest services to maintaining strict safety and emergency response protocols, keeping crew in touch everywhere on board is key to running a tight ship. For that, you need a reliable and resilient onboard radio system.
From our previous work with Rory, we knew some of the pain points he’d experienced with comms systems in the past – dead spots where radios lose signal completely, poor range hampering tender operations, equipment that doesn’t stand up to the rigours of life at sea.
Running a yacht also throws up different needs that require different solutions – for example, the fact that it’s preferable for crew members to use discreet earpieces when working closely with guests over having radios on loudspeaker. Or SOLAS regulations requiring all boats to carry intrinsically safe ATEX radios as part of firefighting protocols.
On top of that, Rory needed reliability from the very start – both in terms of the radio equipment supplied, and in meeting tight deadlines. As Chief Officer, it was his responsibility to get the M/Y Rose ready for launch by the agreed date, and he would be accountable for any delay caused by faulty equipment or the boat not meeting regulations. Needing a trusted supplier he could count on to get the equipment delivered on time to Italy, in perfect working order, and provide the technical assistance he needed to set it up – he turned to us.
Our solution
At MTECH Brentwood, we know that the secret to getting a comms solution right first time is understanding exactly what the customer needs. So we spent time speaking at length with Rory about the M/Y Rose, its dimensions and design, what he needed radios for, and what his operational goals were.
Based on that information, we supplied a package totalling 15 Motorola portable UHF two-way radios, plus one Motorola UHF fixed radio. This included:
- 8x Motorola R5 NKP (no keypad) and 5x Motorola R5 LKP (limited keypad) handsets, a high-quality all-purpose digital two-way radio model supplied for general crew use.
- 2x Motorola DP4401U EX ATEX handsets for fire safety.
- 1x Motorola DM4400e fixed radio with an enhanced 25w power output for long-distance communication at sea. This was supplied with a dedicated power supply unit and short antenna.
- 5x two-wire earpieces for the R5 handsets for crew to use during guest service.
- 13x Capacity Plus licence keys, supplied so the Rose could add repeater units and a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) at a later date. This option to upgrade ensures the Rose’s comms system is fully scalable and adaptable to future demands.
