RECOMMENDED CLEANING AND DISINFECTING GUIDELINES FOR OUR RADIOS

Motorola Solutions Technical Notification (MTN)
 
TITLE: Recommended general Motorola Solutions radio, body-worn camera and accessory cleaning and disinfecting guidelines in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
 
TECHNOLOGY: Motorola Solutions Radio, Body-Worn Camera and Accessory
 
SUMMARY:
In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Motorola Solutions is providing recommended cleaning and disinfecting guidelines for our radios, body-worn cameras and accessories based on our current and best understanding of radio hygiene. Per global health authorities, removing germs, dirt and impurities from surfaces lowers the risk of spreading infection. Using chemical disinfectants may kill germs that remain on surfaces after cleaning, which further lowers the risk of spreading infection.

Information from the WHO website: Getting your workplace ready for COVID-19
Information from the US CDC website: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
 
General Cleaning:

• Apply 0.5% detergent-water solution with a cloth, then use a stiff, non-metallic, short-bristled brush to work all loose dirt away from the device. Use a soft, absorbent, lintless cloth or tissue to remove the solution and dry the device.

• Make sure that no solution remains entrapped near any connectors, cracks or crevices.

Disinfecting:

• Devices may be disinfected by wiping them down with over-the-counter isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) with at least 70% alcohol concentration.

• When cleaning with isopropyl alcohol, the alcohol should never be applied directly to the device. It should be applied to a cloth, which is then used to wipe down the device.

• The effects of certain chemicals and their vapors can have detrimental effects on plastics and the metal platings.

Do not use bleach, solvents or cleaning sprays to cleanse or disinfect your device.
 
IMPORTANT:
Motorola Solutions, Inc. is unable to, and did not, determine whether any particular cleaning product is effective in removing specific foreign substances (including viruses) from the device, nor whether any disinfectant will remove all germs or viruses. However, the above cleaners, disinfectants and processes have been approved for use by Motorola Solutions, Inc. related to their less degrading effect on the physical device. Please consult the chemical manufacturers’ documentation for specifics on cleaning product efficacy with regards to foreign substances (such as viruses).
 
For assistance with this bulletin please contact your MSI Technical Support Center:
In NALA https://www.motorolasolutions.com/en_us/support.html
In EMEA https://www.motorolasolutions.com/en_xu/support.html
In Asia http://www.motorolasolutions.com/en_xp/support.html

For a downloadable version of this document, click here.

It’s never too late to upgrade! Next exam - March 7

TaosARC will be hosting our next exam on March 7 from 10:00-12:00 at the Taos County EOC. We hope many future hams will come and wish them good luck!

The Latest Story from ARRL:

George “Buck” Miner, K6RFE, of Sun City, Arizona, has been an active ham since earning his first license in 1956, upgrading to a General-class license 10 months later. It wasn’t until January 26, however, that he upgraded to Amateur Extra — at the age of 94.

Miner began losing his sight at a young age and became totally blind when he was 27. That never slowed him down, however. Over the intervening years, he repaired TVs and sold, repaired, and installed two-way radios. He even managed a 200-acre ranch on the northern California coast, where he fished and dived for abalone.

Miner was a local celebrity, too, producing and hosting a live radio show in Eureka, California — “Chuck Star and his Rambling Guitar” — on which he told stories, sang, and played guitar. To survive living alone, he learned to cook for himself and has produced several “Buck’s Miracle Kitchen” YouTube videos that humorously demonstrate how he cooks without sight.

Miner has written several books, including an autobiography, My Darkness under the Sun. He’s also composed hundreds of songs, including “CQ Boogie,” and he continues to play his guitar and sing for fun and profit. — Thanks to Bob Ringwald, K6YBV

ARRL Commemorates 98th Anniversary of Transatlantic Contact

December 11 marks the 98th anniversary of the success of ARRL’s Transatlantic Tests in 1921, organized to see if low-power amateur radio stations could be heard across the Atlantic using shortwave frequencies (i.e., above 200 meters). On that day, a message transmitted by a group of Radio Club of America members at 1BCG in Greenwich, Connecticut, was copied by Paul Godley, 2ZE, in Scotland.

While the first two-way contact would not take place until 1923, the 1921 transatlantic success marked the beginning of what would become routine communication between US radio amateurs and those in other parts of the world — literally the birth of DX.

To commemorate this amateur radio milestone, Maxim Memorial Station W1AW will be on the air through the day on December 11 with volunteer operators. The goal is to encourage contacts between radio amateurs in the US and Europe while showcasing the significance of the transmissions that pioneered global communication and laid the groundwork for technology widely used today. The event will run from 1300 until 0000 UTC. Some details are still being worked out, but operation will focus on 40 and 20 meters (SSB).