Grenada Police Force, Grenada

When Hurricane Ivan brought 220kmh winds to the island in September 2004, two-thirds of Grenada residents were left homeless. Police mobile communication was urgently required to coordinate emergency relief and enforce a dusk-to-dawn curfew to prevent looting.

Virtually all power lines were down and all communication links destroyed. Mobile & Marine (M&M) Systems, the Tait dealer in neighboring Barbados, was called on to provide temporary Police communications.

Placing the portable repeater on a high site proved effective in quickly establishing communications following the emergency.

The portable repeater operated on its built-in battery for more than 24 hours until a generator was found. Until power was restored the portable radio chargers were connected to 12V car batteries salvaged from vehicles destroyed by the hurricane.

"The Tait base station is light, robust and water resistant, and the internal batteries make it a self-contained unit. The Tait terminals also stood up well to use in a very demanding environment, and the power save function in the Tait portables maximized shift life for the batteries."