60 seconds with Airsys' Tom Grady

Tom Grady, technical manager at Airsys, talks to Land Mobile about his life-long interest in radio communications

How do you spend your time at work?

Providing second- and third-line support answering the more advanced programming issues. Additionally I support our sales team in project proposals for our dealers, from inception to delivery. Often I’m called upon to carry out technical training to upskill dealers’ engineers.

What do you think has been your most unforgettable project so far?

I was involved in engineering the MPT1327 radio system during the construction phase of the Olympic Park site running up to the London Games in 2012.

What has been the most unusual thing that you have seen while working in the radio sector?

I had great fun working on the recording of Robot Wars Series 3 in 1999. It was my job to resolve all the technical RF faults with robot remote control systems before watching them get smashed to smithereens!

How has your role changed since you started working within the radio industry?

The huge transition from the analogue radio world to digital. Rarely do I take the lid off kit nowadays.

What advice would you give to a young radio engineer who is starting their first job?

Most radio-related issues are solved with good RF engineering practices – taking shortcuts on the basis of cost or effort rarely pays off in the long run, so aspire to do it right first time, then every time.

What do you do to relax?

I spend far too much free time playing with computers and radios. Radio has been a passion for me as long as I can remember, although enjoying a pint of real ale with good friends still has the edge.

As Tom’s lifelong radio interest developed early on, he sought to gain work experience in the PMR industry, each position being a step up on his career path. Tom spent a couple of years with the BBC and then at Heathrow airport, before joining Airsys four years ago.