TalkBeam for Search & rescue
TalkBeam is a push-to-talk walkie-talkie app that SAR teams use alongside their radios for callouts, coordinating responding members, staging, logistics and training, with a live member map and a searchable log, wherever there’s cellular or Wi-Fi coverage.
Please note: TalkBeam complements, and doesn’t replace, mission-critical LMR/P25 radio. It needs cellular data or Wi-Fi, which is often missing in the backcountry, so keep radios for field operations.
CH 01The problem
Radios handle the field. The callout, the drive in and the logistics usually run on a mess of texts and phone calls.
Who’s responding, from where, and with what gear?
With TalkBeam
An all-call reaches every member, members reply on the channel, and the map shows responding members who share their location.
Command, staging and logistics need to talk without tying up field channels.
With TalkBeam
Channels for staging and logistics, and direct talk for one-to-one assignments.
Members answering while driving to the trailhead shouldn’t be texting.
With TalkBeam
TalkBeam works through CarPlay and headsets, with the phone locked.
Training exercises and team business shouldn’t run on your field radios.
With TalkBeam
Separate channels for training and team business.
Reconstructing the callout timeline takes hours.
With TalkBeam
Every transmission becomes searchable text. Enterprise adds retention and CSV export.
Storms and heat affect staging and the teams heading out.
With TalkBeam
Automated broadcasts read weather warnings near your staging area aloud.
CH 02A day on TalkBeam
A volunteer SAR team uses TalkBeam for its callout and staging. Field teams carry the county’s radios; TalkBeam is used where there’s signal.
After the mission, the team lead exports the callout and staging log for the after-action review.
Illustrative scenario. People, places and times are made up; the features are real.
Callout: overdue hiker, Ridge Trail trailhead. Staging at the ranger station. Reply if you can respond.
Kayla responding, 40 minutes out, bringing the litter.
Omar responding, 25 minutes out.
Staging is set up at the ranger station. Check in with me when you arrive.
Omar, you’re leading Team 2. Radios and maps are at the truck.
Teams 1 and 2 are in the field. Field traffic is on county channel 3.
CH 03What you get
Everything a two-way radio does, on the phone, headset or vehicle your people already have, plus the things a radio never could.
Supervisors cut through the chatter mid-sentence, or reach every channel at once with one hold.
See everyone who’s sharing their location on one map, and who’s talking right now.
A channel per crew, site, shift or job, and the people who need each one. Supervisors can sit on all of them.
Private one-to-one talk for the conversation that shouldn’t go to the whole channel, still kept in company transcripts.
Talk through AirPods, a Bluetooth or wired headset, Ray-Ban or Oakley Meta glasses, Apple Watch, CarPlay or the phone itself.
Every transmission becomes text with a time and a name, so anyone can scroll back or search what was said.
Choose how long transcripts are kept, and export them as CSV for QA, incident reviews or claims.
Severe weather warnings, thunderstorms, earthquakes, air quality and extreme heat near your sites or crews, read aloud on your channels automatically.
Features marked Enterprise are part of the Enterprise plan. TalkBeam isn’t an emergency service and doesn’t contact 911.
CH 04Plans
Both start with a 14-day free trial for up to 50 people. No credit card.
Recommended
$8per person / month
or $6 billed yearly · 5–50 people
Most volunteer teams start on Teams: callout and staging channels for 5 to 50 members, all-call, the member map, direct talk, SOS and transcripts.
$15per person / month
billed yearly · 25+ people · $13 from 100 · custom from 500
For county-wide and larger teams of 25 or more: retention and exports for after-action reviews, single sign-on, automated weather broadcasts for the command post and an audit log.
Weighing it against your radios? Compare three years of costs, or read the 30-day radio replacement playbook.
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CH 05See it in action
In our 2½-minute demo, a fictional ambulance company dispatches with an all-call, reroutes a crew over private direct talk, hears a flood warning read aloud in every unit and reviews it all in the transcripts. Every feature in it is real.
Or try the demo company yourself. In the TalkBeam app, open Me → Company and enter this code:
HCEMS247
TalkBeam for iPhone is in early access. Get early access.
CH 06FAQ
No. TalkBeam needs cellular data or Wi-Fi, which is often missing in the backcountry. Keep your radios for field operations, and use TalkBeam for callouts, staging, logistics and training where there’s signal.
Callouts and responses, the drive in, staging and logistics, team business and training, and a searchable record for after-action reviews.
No. When a phone has no cellular data or Wi-Fi, TalkBeam can’t send or receive until it reconnects.
Members reply on the callout channel, and the map shows members who are sharing their location on it.
No. SOS alerts the channels you choose with the member’s location.
Teams is $8 per person per month, or $6 billed yearly, for 5 to 50 members, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card.
Try TalkBeam free for 14 days with up to 50 people. No credit card, and no radios to buy.