Questor brings squad car radio service to private sector clients

By Joe Winter

Questor Radio, which started by doing equipment changeovers for police vehicles, is diversifying to provide two-way radio service for private sector customers, says owner Mike Bahneman.

Questor Radio was started in 1981 by Steve Bahneman, Mike's brother. The company began by changing over flashing lights, sirens and radios from old police cars into new ones. Diversifing the customer base has brought 175 active customers and counting.

The government work Questor started with found Bahneman equipping municipal and parks department vehicles - and even a car for the director of the Federal Witness Protection Program.

The consumer customers added recently, and given a greater range of radio connection, include trucking companies and heating and air conditioning contractors.

Questor's newest endeavor uses repeater systems placed on a tower that do "trunking" and act as a relay system or booster, Bahneman said. The company sells two-way radios and puts them in contact with repeaters attached to the tower - located up the hill from the bridge over the St. Croix River in Houlton - to provide air time. Questor contracts with the owner of the tower, Levake Tower Co.

A standard range would be 10 miles or less, but Questor can allow a coverage radius of 30 miles - from the Knapp hill to Minneapolis, from St. Croix Falls to Prescott.

Questor provides private sector consumers with Kenwood Communications radios that are just like those police use. "It's like a high tech CB," Bahneman said.

"People were calling the shop and asking for this," he said. "We filled a need that we saw out there."

Bahneman's involvement with Questor has moved through several phases. "This was a hobby that became a part-time job - then became a full-time job," Bahneman said. His father, Chet Bahneman, was a local patrol sergeant who did his department's changeovers. Son Mike, at 12 years old, began helping, and by 1984 had progressed to ownership of Questor Radio.

In the late 1980s, Bahneman studied at Northwestern Electronics Institute in Columbia Heights, Minn., and gained a degree in radio communication. He moved the firm's business emphasis toward two-way radios and their sales and service.

The business created by more customers prompted Bahneman to quit his other job and do this full-time.

Questor has two other employees. Darren Karnes is a salesperson and Pat Bahneman, Mike's sister-in-law, the bookkeeper. Both Mike Bahneman and Karnes also work part-time for Somerset Police Department.