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Two Way Radios

Two Way Radio complete reviews, information and buying guide for professional two way radios and personal walkie talkie radios. Find the best prices and spec for your two way radio needs and you may find a professional two way radio for the same cost of a personal recreational two way radio. Once you own a two way radio you never have to be worried about monthly costs - because there are none! Two Way Radios are great for business, personal and recreational use. Read on to learn all about two way radio.

What is the difference between a UHF and a VHF two way radio?

Selecting what band you want your radio to operate on is one of the most important communications decisions you will have to make. All bands/frequencies have their advantages and disadvantages. In a metropolitan area, or in a building, a higher frequency in the UHF or 900 MHz band may be a good choice. In a rural area with fewer buildings, VHF is probably a better choice to fulfill your communications needs.

What is the difference between a stubby and long antenna?

The selection of an antenna is highly dependant on the desired coverage, distance from a repeater (if any), and how and where the radio will be held or carried. First, it's important to understand that most handheld antennas are 1/4 wave, meaning the length of the antenna itself (before being shortened by coiling or winding in plastic or rubber) is 1/4 the length of the radio wave of that frequency. As you go up in frequency, the length of the wave, or wavelength becomes shorter. This means that a UHF antenna is shorter than a VHF, and an 800 MHz antenna is even shorter yet. The higher your antenna is the better it will perform, so even though the wire in a stubby VHF antenna may be the same length as the wire in the regular VHF antenna, the stubby will not perform quite as well. Generally, if you need extended range, you want to stay away from stubby antennas, but if you need to be able to wear the radio on your belt all the time without it becoming obtrusive, a stubby antenna may be the way to go.

How long do two way radio batteries last?

The amount of energy a radio is using is the current. A battery is typically rated by how much current can be drawn over a specific amount of time. The more current a radio is pulling, the more energy is drained from the battery. A radio uses very little power while turned on doing nothing, but when receiving, more power is used, and a substantial amount of power is used to transmit. For example, if a radio that pulls 50 mah was tuned to a local weather information loop, and was always receiving, and the radio had a 1000 mah battery you can figure out approximately how long the battery would last. One thousand (1000) mah (milliamp hours) divided by 50 mah, is 20, or 20 hours of operation. Again, your radio uses more power transmitting than receiving, so the more you transmit the shorter your battery will last, and the less you transmit and receive the longer your battery will last. ... for more info on two way radio batteries see Two Way Radio Battery

Two Way Radio Frequency Band Characteristics

The frequency band characteristics most important to radio communications include:

Propagation, Noise Interference and Range

Propagation

The atmosphere that surrounds the earth acts to attenuate and refract radio signals just as it does light. Just how much it is affected depends on the frequency. As a general rule, the lower the frequency, the less the attenuation, or loss of signal.

Lower frequency radio waves travel better through fog or dust than higher frequency waves. Low frequency AM broadcast radio signals will travel far beyond the horizon and can be reflected back to earth for reception at great distances.

Higher frequency television or FM commercial broadcast stations are absorbed by the earth's atmosphere and are therefore limited to line of sight transmission.

Below 300 KiloHertz, the characteristics are just the opposite. Here, radio waves follow the curvature of the earth for great distances. This type of propagation is called a ground wave. Radio communications over distances up to several thousand miles are possible by making use of low frequency ground waves.

Above 300 KHz to about 30 MHz, the ionosphere will sometimes reflect and/or refract the radio signals. when returned to earth, they are received hundreds or even thousands of miles away. This is called skip and these radio signals are called sky waves.

The frequencies from 30 MHz to about 900 MHtz are the most suitable for two-way radio transmission. Generally, this range of radio frequencies is characterized by line-of-sight propagation.

 

Two Way Radio Talk

Accelerated Life Test a Motorola proprietary developmental process of rigorous laboratory testing that simulates years of field use. Built-in Noise Reduction Microphone reduces background noise to allow clear, understandable transmissions in heavy noise environments. Call Alert lets a caller "page" you via your radio. Channel Scan lets you monitor specific operating channels. Priority Scan allows you to choose one channel to be monitored with more frequency than the others. Operator Selectable Scan lets you program the channels in the scan list to be monitored and select a priority channel. Scan Nuisance Delete allows you to temporarily delete a non­priority channel from the scan list. Talkgroup Scan lets you monitor any combination of trunked systems, subfleets, or conventional channels in the same scan list. Dual Mode Capability provides the flexibility of trunked and conventional repeater operation from one radio. Private Conversation allows communication exclusively between the initiating radio or control station and the radio called. Privacy Plus Trunking provides fast, automatic and democratic communications access not provided by conventional radio systems. Radio-to-Radio Cloning allows you to duplicate one radio's operating parameters into another like radio of the same sub­band using a simple cloning cable. Internal Voice Operated Transmission (VOX) lets you activate radio by voice alone, for hands free operation. Multiple­Coded Squelch Capability­ Private­Line (PL) or Digital Private­Line (DPL) lets you receive only the calls intended for you, and place calls to only those that accept the designated code. Push-to-Talk Interface allows a dispatcher to identify transmitting radios and monitor airtime usage. Quik­Call II Signaling provides an efficient way for dispatcher to initiate a page to an individual or group. Field Programmable using the Radio Service Software, changes can be made to the radio frequencies or other individual characteristics. Talkaround lets you bypass a repeater and talk directly to another unit. Telephone Interconnect gives you the capability to initiate and/or receive telephone calls using your radio. Time­out Timer limits the amount of time a user can continuously transmit on a channel. Voice Selective Call Signaling provides an efficient way to initiate a voice page message to an individual or group. Emergency Alarm used by radio operators to inform dispatch personnel of critical or life threatening situations through a data transmission. Programmable Channel Spacing  (Wide Band Frequency Separation) gives you more versatility of channel spacing.