How can I get the most out of my radio?

“A clean radio is a happy radio”

While I know with certain industries this is near impossible during normal operation hours, but cleaning once a day, once a week, even once a month can make a huge difference in getting a longer life out of your radio. Tools for the job; rag, toothbrush, magnet, tissue.

I would start with the toothbrush getting into the speaker vents and all the nitty gritty spots near the volume knobs and channels knobs. Follow up with rag to wipe any excess dirt.

The magnet is for specific industries that deal with metal. Metal filings can get into the speaker and quickly affect and even break the speaker if not cleaned regularly, I use a magnet in conjunction with a tissue or towel wrapped around the magnet and to run it across the speaker vent and you should see tiny filing pickup on the tissue.

Unlimited POWER!!!

Well not quite, it is recommended to replace your battery every 18 months. If you’re using your radio in mission critical industries or work long shifts. After 12 months your radio will lose capacity. So instead of having 100% charge it may only have 80% charge which means it might not make it til the end of your shift.

Accessory ImPORTance

If you use your radio without an accessory, like an earpiece or remote speaker microphone I strongly suggest to place the dust cover that should come with the radio on.
If your radio has holes, a single drop of water gets in there it can break the radio and stop it working.

If your radio has pins and corrosion/water damage occurs it can stop accessories from working and make programming your radio difficult and sometimes a repair is required.

Accidents happen

A lot of radio users put their radio through hell, your radio isn’t Bruce Willis eventually, your radio will break. Hopefully due to old age. If it breaks inside the warranty period I always recommend to contact your radio dealer/manufacturer to see if it’s covered by warranty. If you need to source a replacement have a look on the market and see what technology has come out since.

I once had a radio that was dated 09/00 engraved on the front 22 years is a extremely long life for a portable radio, let’s just say that one didn’t get repaired. Some radios are only designed for camping and light use, if you work in a commercial industry than make sure you’re choosing a radio to fit your industry.