We’ve been casting about for two-way radio vendors – and sophisticated advice. And found, for our purposes, an amazing oufit in FastRadios.com – based in Naples, Florida – but they sell at very competitive prices and on very competitive terms (extended warranties, for instance, on batteries as well as radios). After a long conversation with Manzie Lawfer (purportedly their sales manager, but it seems that his function is more about finding configuration solutions). Lawfer was able to propose simple, elegant and inexpensive solutions to certain problems we’ve been having in designing a model comms system for community-based disaster response organizations. Being a natural-born cynic, and having spent most of my career cross-examining and interviewing all manner of fabricators and prevaricators – and being concerned about budget – I dropped several opportunities for him to propose more expensive solutions. Straight arrows, it seems, these guys. Look for several posts about solutions they’ve devised for clients – including using existing UPS systems in power failures and solar power in emergencies to keep comms up. Readers may want to start with their “Little Green Radio Book” (free).