Having presented its one millionth handset to Q-Tel in May at TWC, Sepura has much to shout about and its continuing faith in the TETRA brand was further borne out by the launch of its STP9000 series of hand-portable radios. The company says that it has ‘fused’ the attributes of its flagship forerunner, the STP8000 series, with a new generation of highly innovative features in the STP9000 series, all of which sport a large colour screen and full key pad together with GPS. The STP9000 offers innovative hardware design, which blocks out background noise and uses enhanced audio equalisation technology to improve the full-duplex audio experience.

The STP9100 is designed for users who require many of the key advantages of the STP9000, but typically need to perform only a limited range of tasks using their radio. The STP9200 shares most of the core benefits of the STP9000, including the IP67 rating, but is targeted at users who are seeking an entry-level model.

With its IP67 rating, the series can withstand submersion in up to 1m of water for up to 30 minutes and can also keep out fine dust particles making it suited to users in the mining or fire and rescue sectors. Innovative connector protector technology provides protection against the effects of salt water and salt fog exposure – a key advantage for a number of users, such as coastguards and marine patrol units.

To ensure ease of use and taking into account the results of a worldwide survey, an enhanced and intuitive user interface has been created offering three presentation styles to the user: Card mode is 100 per cent compatible with Sepura’s existing user interface, enabling existing Sepura users to be immediately comfortable with the STP9000 series. Grid and list modes will appear familiar to users who are used to the user interfaces on smartphones or other GSM devices. In both cases, organisations will minimise training costs for existing staff and new recruits.

Many radio users wear heavy gloves, for operational, health and safety or climate reasons. Following detailed user feedback, Sepura has added ‘haptic’ technology to the STP9000 series, producing a physical movement of the radio, felt through the hand, which confirms to gloved users that the key press has been successful. A new ‘wake on alarm’ feature enables users to switch a radio on and make an emergency call simply by pressing the emergency button. To minimise capex when considering these new handsets, all accessories for the Sepura STP8000 series of hand-portables are compatible with STP9000 series radios.

The company also recently added the STP8X intrinsically safe handset to its portfolio, which, as an IP67 rated device, is said by the company to be the first submersible intrinsically safe TETRA terminal. It supports the company’s ‘man-down’ application, which can detect when a user has become immobile through injury or other circumstance sending an alert to colleagues.