Sunday, September 26, 2010

Two Way Radios: Can They Travel That Far?

By Joe Kidson

One might probably ask himself if what the exact range of these two way radios is. He might also want to know the varying benefits one can get from these communication gadgets. No matter what are the questions being asked, it is very important for every prospective buyers to know the different aspects that affect the performance of these radios: transmit power, antenna efficiency, user height above ground, and the surrounding terrain.

All of the above-mentioned factors greatly affect the ability of two way radios. In this article, we are going to discuss the simplex and portable 2-way radio systems. This is in comparison with the use of these radios in an area that is flat and is free from any obstruction.

There is a good general guide that one needs to follow especially when installing a hand portable radio. For example, you want to install a radio on a flat and obstruction-free area and you want to have a one mile range for your radio, you need to have 1 Watt to get that preferred range. If you want to add another Watt, your radio range will increase by 1/3, thus 2 Watts yield 1.3 miles, etc.

The example that has been discussed above, the link between transmit power and the radio range is quite relative. To make the picture clearer, when you need to have your radio reach a wider range, it is important to understand that you also have to increase the transmit power of your radio. This is observed in the United Kingdom wherein portable two way radios are limited to 5 Watts.

Even there is a restriction in UK when it comes to the use of radios, radios that are installed in mobile cars perform better as they are limited to have a 25-Watt transmit power. Thus, users are ensured to reach as far as 3 to 4 miles. This is the simplex system wherein one person can talk directly from one mobile radio to another.

So, how will you be able to increase your range? As mentioned above a large increase in the height of the antenna is all you need though this means huge cost implications. This means you need to increase the transmit power of your two way radios. - 40732

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment