Performance-Related Exclusives

Support
ISS supports every system it offers for the life of the product and still provides no-cost support for products installed in the 1980s, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

Stability
In today's world, stability is important. Information Station Specialists has been under the same ownership, company name and management throughout its history and has been at the same contact address and telephone number continuously for more than 20 years.

Made in the USA
ISS is the only US-owned company offering Information Radio Stations, related products and services. ISS products are made exclusively with domestically produced subcomponents made by US suppliers.

Experience
ISS personnel average more than 14 years of experience per person in the provision of Information Radio Systems.

Speed
ISS is fast. After 9/11, one city near New York licensed, purchased and installed a complete Emergency Advisory Radio System from ISS in fewer than 15 days. ISS can provide licensing and equipment for emergencies within hours.

Universal
ISS systems and components are not proprietary but instead are based on conventional, open-market designs, wiring and mounting. This makes future upgrades and service simple.

Specialization
ISS tailors products to many applications, providing both licensed and unlicensed (low power), fixed and portable Information Radio Stations for public safety, parks/recreation, transportation, visitor information, health services, industry and the military. Offerings include not only radio but also signs to announce it.

Temporary Solutions
ISS provides an exclusive rental service – Radio Express – for fairs, festivals, sporting events and conventions to broadcast parking, direction and event schedules.

True Turnkey
ISS provides a true "turnkey" solution. Installation quotes, unless otherwise noted, are priced with all hardware (including support poles) and services (including installation of electrical and telephone services).

See the story of ISS' founding: "20+Years of Service Have Implications for Today."

Flexible Antenna Installation
ISS licensed radio systems provide a complete, inexpensive and flexible antenna system. ISS offers several antenna/groundplane styles, which do not require 100-foot-radius grounding wires or ground rods that emit chemicals into the soil. This allows simple, safe antenna installation yards adjacent to buildings and at locations where no buildings are available.

Advanced Transmitters
ISS' 10-watt transmitter is unique. It is the only transmitter of its kind that features synthesized operation, so changes in frequency don't require surgery

Advanced Audio
ISS' most popular radio systems include the NX8R Digital Message Player, which is the apex of quality, flexibility and capacity. The NX8R allows for complete program control, affording the operator local or remote operation, 1,000 messages, high quality recording, external feed integration, automatic station identification and many more features -- all supported by nonvolatile memory.

Emergency Management Orientation
When used for emergency management applications, ISS products shine. Only ISS' ALERT AM and RoadRunnR emergency advisory radio systems offer a NOAA "all-hazard" alert receivers that react to all Emergency Alert System (EAS) codes and can be programmed to target alerts for up to 5 counties, automatically interrupting broadcasts with critical localized information for listeners. The receiver is the only one on the market that may be field programmed to be updated with the latest EAS codes and new protocols. Additionally, these products come stocked with prerecorded messages, tailored to local emergency management.

Unique Fixed and Portable Signs and Flash Controllers
ISS offers affordable signage products to help announce your radio signal to motorists, featuring exclusive embedded LEDs to grab attention, when situations are urgent. 

Creativity in Portability
ISS created the first portable advisory radio system for Caltrans back in the 1980s, and portable systems are our claim to fame today. We offer custom portable systems for utility trailers and vans as well as for mobile command centers.

More Product-Related Exclusives

• ALERT AM Emergency Advisory Radio System.
• RadioSTAT Portable Advisory Radio Station.
• RoadRunnR Portable Advisory Radio System.
• ITS6000 Highway Advisory Radio Systems.
• Information Stations.

• FCC licensing.
• FCC field studies.
• Frequency searches.
• Installation.
• Operation instructions.
• Parts & repairs.
• Planning assistance.
• Professional message recording.
• Site visits via our network of representatives.
• System integration and customization.

• Airports, e.g., Detroit Metro, Hartsfield Atlanta.
• Central Intelligence Agency
• Community Emergency Operations Centers across the US (see List)
• Crazy Horse Mountain Carving
• Department of Homeland Security Border Crossings, e.g., Mexico, Canada
• Departments of Transportation, e.g., Caltrans, Washington State
• Major golf tournaments
• Kennedy Space Center
• Lake Ponchartrain Causeway, New Orleans
• Los Alamos County & Lab, New Mexico
• Mackinac Bridge
• Miami Fire/Rescue Department
• National Parks (see a partial list)
• Tennessee Valley Authority - Land Between the Lakes
• Universities, e.g., Texas Tech, SUNY Buffalo, U of MD, UCLA
• US Military Bases, e.g., Fort Bragg, Fort Lewis, Coast Guard Stations

How some view ISS:

• Cudo 1 - Wildland Residents Association.
• Cudo 2 - National Park Service.
• Cudo 3 - Antelope Valley, California.
• Cudo 4 - State University of New York at Buffalo.
• Cudo 5 - West Point, Utah.
• Cudo 6 - Utah Department of Transportation.
• Cudo 7 - Texas Tech.

1986 
First portable HAR (a truck-mounted Highway Advisory Radio station for Caltrans).

1989 
First pre-assembled antenna groundplane/mat (PowerPlane, US Patent 5,495.261). 

1990
First digital message player for TIS that allowed hundreds of messages to be assembled into playlists with inclusion of live sources (AP55).

1991 
First TIS on in-band AM frequencies – 690 kHz AM for Herbert Hoover National Historic Site (National Park Installations).

1993 
First universally portable TIS.

1995 
First GPS Frequency-Stabilized HAR (3 stations for the City of Naperville, Illinois).

1996 
New TravelTalk-style TIS radio programming format.

1997 
Computer control of a network of TIS stations linked by telephone lines, including solar powered/wireless flashing advisory signs (ITS6000 HAR System).

Also, 24-hour hotline to serve customers via phone for the life of the product, 24/7.

1999 
First full-service AM advisory radio systems website and newsletter (theRADIOsource.com's "The Source.").

Also, the first TIS transmitter with synthesized frequency operation (TR6000).

And, the first fixed TIS station specifically for use by Emergency Management, which included automatic warning siren interfacing, automation National Weather Service preemption on detection of NOAA SAME codes for a specific hazard and geographic area, large battery backup and multi-station GPS-based operation (ALERT AM).

2000
First trailer-mounted, portable TIS station specifically for use by Emergency Management, which included automatic warning siren interfacing, automatic National Weather Service preemption on detection of NOAA SAME codes for specific hazard and geographic area, large battery backup, wireless operation by solar power (RoadRunnR).

2002 
First large real-time, multi-station grouping of GPS Frequency-Stabilized TIS (for Dow Chemical of Freeport, Texas)

2003 
First solar/wireless-controlled flashing beacon sign system for surface streets to alert motorists to TIS signals in emergencies (Flashing ALERT Signs).

Also, first TIS antenna system that eliminated the need for groundplanes and ground rods for antenna grounding (Vertical Profile Antenna System).

2004
First TIS station that uses MP3 files as a basis for audio programming (the Information Station MP3 Edition).

2006
First linking of audio to multiple TIS stations by wireless means (Wireless Audio System).

Also, the first system that allowed IP-based control of a TIS system on a network (Signalcast^IP).

2007
An exclusive radio station rental service for fairs, festivals, sporting events and conventions to broadcast parking, directions and event schedules (Radio Express).

Provision of TIS stations with professional messages already "in the box" on start-up (Professional Recording Services).

First digital message player for TISs that allowed 3 live sources, prioritized operation and 2-way radio redundant control in the event phone lines go down during emergencies (NX8R).

2008
First suitcase-style portable TIS stations specifically for emergency use (RadioSTAT).

Also, the first national association of TIS operations (AAIRO).

2009
First TIS station on 1710 kHz AM (Hudson County, New Jersey).