RACOM Corporation provides sales and installation of all types of emergency vehicle equipment in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota. Along with install/sales services, RACOM also owns and operates one of the largest privately owned radio systems with public safety customers in the world:
The RACOM Network started in 1994 with the Polk County Sheriff's Office as its first customer. At that time, the network boasted a single tower site on top of the Principal Building at 801 Grand Avenue in downtown Des Moines. Then, the concept of having a private company owning and operating a network for the exclusive use of public safety/service agencies was novel and unproven.
Since then, the network has grown to more than 100 tower sites that provide coverage to parts of seven Midwestern states (including more than 93-percent mobile coverage in Iowa). Today, the network serves nearly 300 municipal, county, state and federal public safety and public service agencies and organizations across the upper Midwest. Those 300 agencies have coverage from one end of the network to the other end and seamless interoperability with each other. The RACOM Network is the largest advanced trunking radio network in Iowa, and the public-private partnership business model it pioneered has been copied by several organizations (including Harris and Motorola) across the United States.
RACOM Services
Choosing your communication’s partner is as much about the relationship and the support services as it is about the products themselves. Let us know how you’d like some help.
Analysis and Recommendations
Maybe your system is old, subject to new regulations, or even new but not meeting all your needs. Before you make any new investments, it’s beneficial to bring in some expertise to help you identify where you are and your options for the future. This service is available from RACOM as part of a new solution we provide or as an independent/stand-alone service.
Design and Installation
A new system can only ever work as well as it was designed and installed. Ask about our performance guarantees.
FCC Licensing
Working within the FCC requirements is essential, but the process can be trying. It helps to turn to a trusted partner who’s been down that road before. We have an FCC regulatory specialist that does this everyday and has helped hundreds of agencies obtain or modify FCC licenses. We can help you too.
Grant Funding Assistance
Many local government agencies aren’t prepared to competitively compete for grants when they become available. Application windows have shrunk to as short as 30 days. We stay abreast of these grants before the application window opens, and we can help you have your project ready and defined when it does. It’s the only way to be prepared.
Inventory and Planning
It’s routine for organizations to do inventory of what they sell, but rarely do we see agencies keeping record of what they own. A thorough inventory is a first step in any upgrade, and it can be followed by a process to help you manage assets moving forward.
Leasing
The budget cycle doesn’t always coincide with the technical need. Lease options are available to help you address your operational and financial objectives.
Maintenance
A good preventative maintenance program helps prevent failures in the first place. But when communications are interrupted, you need it fixed immediately. Our support line is staffed 24x7, so you’ll never get sent to a third-party answering service or to voicemail. Local technicians will be on-site within 2 hours for emergencies.
Narrowbanding
It is a federal mandate that your VHF and UHF systems must be narrowbanded by January 1, 2013. Agencies not in compliance should expect to lose their licenses or pay hefty fines. If you haven’t started your inventory, license modifications, analysis and planning, we urge you to do so. The process takes months and there’s a long line of organizations all trying to do the same. If you’d like some help, please call to get on the schedule.
Online Training
On-going training is vital to successful communications, but it’s often the first thing to get cut from a busy schedule. On-line training at your own pace is a great alternative to spending days away from the office. It’s available for refresher courses as well as for new employees.
Project Management
Project Management sounds like a vague term to some, so we should make it a little clearer. Let’s just say that it’s probably the reason behind one implementation being a complete disaster and another running smooth as silk. Large and complex projects require strong leadership and it’s been a key element of our success. Make sure your project stays on-time, on-budget and on-goal.
Propagation Studies
There’s nothing more important than the coverage of your communication system, and a propagation study is a key element in your planning. Some software tools do a great job of predicting coverage, but only if you provide accurate inputs. We’ve done thousands of propagation studies for our own networks and customer networks and use them as the basis for coverage guarantees.
Public/Private Partnership
Public/private partnerships are a means to implement advanced technology quicker and more cost-effectively. The model for public safety communication systems was born in the early 1990’s between RACOM and Polk County, IA, and has since spread to hundreds of agencies on the RACOM Network.
Vehicle Installs
The after-market technology that gets installed in your vehicle may very well cost as much as the vehicle itself. Not only can we install it all for you, we guarantee our work for the life of your vehicle. Full-squad police installs, fire trucks, pubic-works vehicles and more.
RACOM Manufacturers:
American Science and Engineering, Inc.
Avtec
Axell Wireless
Axis Communications
Carson Sirens
Clinton Security
Code 3
CalAmp / Data Radio
David Clark
EFJohnson
Evans Consoles
Eventide
Exacom
Exalt
Getac
Harris
Hytera
Intrado
Kenwood
Otto
PRO Applications
Pyramid
Raytheon / JPS
Redline
SoundOff Signal
Spectracom
Swissphone
Tait
US Digital Designs
US Fleet Tracking
Wahltek
Watson Furniture
Whelen
Wright Line (Eaton)
Zetron
Firecom
IOWA
Marshalltown
201 West State Street
Marshalltown, Iowa 50158-0574
641-752-5820
800-722-6643
Coralville/Iowa City
2000 James Street
Suite 117B
Coralville, Iowa 52241
319-339-4414
Davenport
5000 Tremont Ave.,STE 203
Davenport, Iowa 52807
800-974-4029
Decorah
520 Montgomery Street
Decorah, Iowa 52101-2704
563-382-9582
Des Moines
6864 N.E. 14 th Street
Ankeny, Iowa 50021
515-289-2400
Dubuque
3190 Cedar Cross Court
Dubuque, Iowa 52003
563-583-2245
Pella
2458 Highway 163 East
Pella, Iowa 50219
641-628-1724
800-974-4018
Walnut
500 Highland
Walnut, IA 51577
800-722-6643
Waterloo
271 Vinton Street
Waterloo, Iowa 50703
319-233-7747
Hiawatha
1331 Stamy Rd
Hiawatha, IA 52233
(319) 393-1475
ILLINOIS
Moline
1515 – 46 th Avenue
Moline, IL 61265
309-797-7709
800-974-4029
MINNESOTA
Worthington
1521 Oxford Street
Worthington, MN 56187
507-376-4250
The RACOM Network started in 1994 with the Polk County Sheriff's Office as its first customer. At that time, the network boasted a single tower site on top of the Principal Building at 801 Grand Avenue in downtown Des Moines. Then, the concept of having a private company owning and operating a network for the exclusive use of public safety/service agencies was novel and unproven.
Since then, the network has grown to more than 100 tower sites that provide coverage to parts of seven Midwestern states (including more than 93-percent mobile coverage in Iowa). Today, the network serves nearly 300 municipal, county, state and federal public safety and public service agencies and organizations across the upper Midwest. Those 300 agencies have coverage from one end of the network to the other end and seamless interoperability with each other. The RACOM Network is the largest advanced trunking radio network in Iowa, and the public-private partnership business model it pioneered has been copied by several organizations (including Harris and Motorola) across the United States.
RACOM Services
Choosing your communication’s partner is as much about the relationship and the support services as it is about the products themselves. Let us know how you’d like some help.
Analysis and Recommendations
Maybe your system is old, subject to new regulations, or even new but not meeting all your needs. Before you make any new investments, it’s beneficial to bring in some expertise to help you identify where you are and your options for the future. This service is available from RACOM as part of a new solution we provide or as an independent/stand-alone service.
Design and Installation
A new system can only ever work as well as it was designed and installed. Ask about our performance guarantees.
FCC Licensing
Working within the FCC requirements is essential, but the process can be trying. It helps to turn to a trusted partner who’s been down that road before. We have an FCC regulatory specialist that does this everyday and has helped hundreds of agencies obtain or modify FCC licenses. We can help you too.
Grant Funding Assistance
Many local government agencies aren’t prepared to competitively compete for grants when they become available. Application windows have shrunk to as short as 30 days. We stay abreast of these grants before the application window opens, and we can help you have your project ready and defined when it does. It’s the only way to be prepared.
Inventory and Planning
It’s routine for organizations to do inventory of what they sell, but rarely do we see agencies keeping record of what they own. A thorough inventory is a first step in any upgrade, and it can be followed by a process to help you manage assets moving forward.
Leasing
The budget cycle doesn’t always coincide with the technical need. Lease options are available to help you address your operational and financial objectives.
Maintenance
A good preventative maintenance program helps prevent failures in the first place. But when communications are interrupted, you need it fixed immediately. Our support line is staffed 24x7, so you’ll never get sent to a third-party answering service or to voicemail. Local technicians will be on-site within 2 hours for emergencies.
Narrowbanding
It is a federal mandate that your VHF and UHF systems must be narrowbanded by January 1, 2013. Agencies not in compliance should expect to lose their licenses or pay hefty fines. If you haven’t started your inventory, license modifications, analysis and planning, we urge you to do so. The process takes months and there’s a long line of organizations all trying to do the same. If you’d like some help, please call to get on the schedule.
Online Training
On-going training is vital to successful communications, but it’s often the first thing to get cut from a busy schedule. On-line training at your own pace is a great alternative to spending days away from the office. It’s available for refresher courses as well as for new employees.
Project Management
Project Management sounds like a vague term to some, so we should make it a little clearer. Let’s just say that it’s probably the reason behind one implementation being a complete disaster and another running smooth as silk. Large and complex projects require strong leadership and it’s been a key element of our success. Make sure your project stays on-time, on-budget and on-goal.
Propagation Studies
There’s nothing more important than the coverage of your communication system, and a propagation study is a key element in your planning. Some software tools do a great job of predicting coverage, but only if you provide accurate inputs. We’ve done thousands of propagation studies for our own networks and customer networks and use them as the basis for coverage guarantees.
Public/Private Partnership
Public/private partnerships are a means to implement advanced technology quicker and more cost-effectively. The model for public safety communication systems was born in the early 1990’s between RACOM and Polk County, IA, and has since spread to hundreds of agencies on the RACOM Network.
Vehicle Installs
The after-market technology that gets installed in your vehicle may very well cost as much as the vehicle itself. Not only can we install it all for you, we guarantee our work for the life of your vehicle. Full-squad police installs, fire trucks, pubic-works vehicles and more.
RACOM Manufacturers:
American Science and Engineering, Inc.
Avtec
Axell Wireless
Axis Communications
Carson Sirens
Clinton Security
Code 3
CalAmp / Data Radio
David Clark
EFJohnson
Evans Consoles
Eventide
Exacom
Exalt
Getac
Harris
Hytera
Intrado
Kenwood
Otto
PRO Applications
Pyramid
Raytheon / JPS
Redline
SoundOff Signal
Spectracom
Swissphone
Tait
US Digital Designs
US Fleet Tracking
Wahltek
Watson Furniture
Whelen
Wright Line (Eaton)
Zetron
Firecom
IOWA
Marshalltown
201 West State Street
Marshalltown, Iowa 50158-0574
641-752-5820
800-722-6643
Coralville/Iowa City
2000 James Street
Suite 117B
Coralville, Iowa 52241
319-339-4414
Davenport
5000 Tremont Ave.,STE 203
Davenport, Iowa 52807
800-974-4029
Decorah
520 Montgomery Street
Decorah, Iowa 52101-2704
563-382-9582
Des Moines
6864 N.E. 14 th Street
Ankeny, Iowa 50021
515-289-2400
Dubuque
3190 Cedar Cross Court
Dubuque, Iowa 52003
563-583-2245
Pella
2458 Highway 163 East
Pella, Iowa 50219
641-628-1724
800-974-4018
Walnut
500 Highland
Walnut, IA 51577
800-722-6643
Waterloo
271 Vinton Street
Waterloo, Iowa 50703
319-233-7747
Hiawatha
1331 Stamy Rd
Hiawatha, IA 52233
(319) 393-1475
ILLINOIS
Moline
1515 – 46 th Avenue
Moline, IL 61265
309-797-7709
800-974-4029
MINNESOTA
Worthington
1521 Oxford Street
Worthington, MN 56187
507-376-4250
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