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Two-way radio
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A two-way radio is a radio that can both transmit and receive (a transceiver), unlike a broadcast receiver which only receives content.
Two-way radios are available in mobile, stationary base and hand-held portable configurations. Hand-held radios are often called walkie-talkies or handie-talkies. A push-to-talk or Press To Transmit button is often present to activate the transmitter.
A mobile phone or cellular telephone is an example of a two-way radio that both transmits and receives at the same time (or full-duplex).
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Encyclopedia
A two-way radio is a radio that can both transmit and receive (a transceiver), unlike a broadcast receiver which only receives content.
Two-way radios are available in mobile, stationary base and hand-held portable configurations. Hand-held radios are often called walkie-talkies or handie-talkies. A push-to-talk or Press To Transmit button is often present to activate the transmitter.
A mobile phone or cellular telephone is an example of a two-way radio that both transmits and receives at the same time (or full-duplex). It uses two different radio frequencies to carry the two directions of the conversation simultaneously.
History
Installation of receivers and transmitters at the same fixed location allowed exchange of messages wirelessly. As early as 1907, two-way telegraphy traffic across the Atlantic Ocean was commercially available. By 1912 commercial and military ships carried both transmitters and receivers, allowing two-way communication in close to real-time with a ship that was out of sight of land.
The first truly mobile two-way radio was developed in Australia in 1923 by Senior Constable Frederick William Downie of the Victorian Police. The Victoria Police were the first in the world to use wireless communication in cars, putting an end to the inefficient status reports via public telephone boxes which had been used until that time. The first sets took up the entire back seat of the Lancia patrol cars.
As radio equipment became more powerful, compact, and easier to use, smaller vehicles had two-way radio communication equipment installed. Installation of radio equipment in aircraft allowed scouts to report back observations in real-time, not requiring the pilot to drop messages to troops on the ground below or to land and make a personal report.
In 1933, the Bayonne, New Jersey police department successfully operated a two-way system between a central fixed station and radio transceivers installed in police cars; this allowed rapidly directing police response in emergencies. During World War II hand-held radio transceivers were extensively used by air and ground troops.
Early two-way schemes allowed only one station to transmit at a time while others listened, since all signals were on the same radio frequency - this was called "simplex" mode. Code and voice operations required a simple communication protocol to allow all stations to cooperate in using the single radio channel, so that one station's transmissions were not obscured by another's. By using receivers and transmitters tuned to different frequencies, and solving the problems introduced by operation of a transmitter immediately next to a transmitter, simultaneous transmission and reception was possible at each end of a radio link, in so-called "full duplex" mode.
Early two-way schemes required training operators to learn and use Morse code; in ship-board installations the radio operating officer typically had no other duties than handling radio messages. When voice transmission became possible, dedicated operators were no longer required and two-way use became more common. Today's two-way mobile radio equipment is nearly as simple to use as a household telephone, from the point of view of operating personnel, thereby making two-way communications a useful tool in a wide range of personal, commercial and military roles.
Types
There is an array of two-way radio technologies, systems, and types. There are families of radio types and each family has differing sub-groups and specific radio models. Some of these types are listed below.
Conventional versus trunked
Conventional
Conventional radios operate on fixed RF channels. In the case of radios with multiple channels, they operate on one channel at a time. The proper channel is selected by a user. The user operates a channel selector or buttons on the radio control panel to pick the channel.
In multi-channel systems, channels are used for separate purposes. A channel may be reserved for a specific function or for a geographic area. In a functional channel system, one channel may allow City of Springfield road repair crews to talk to the City of Springfield's road maintenance office. A second channel may allow road repair crews to communicate with state highway department crews. In a geographic system, a taxi company may use one channel to communicate in the Boston, Massachusetts area and a second channel when taxis are in Providence, Rhode Island. In marine radio operations, one channel is used as an emergency and calling channel, so that stations may make contact then move to a separate working channel for continued communication.
Motorola uses the term mode to refer to channels on some conventional two-way radio models. In this use, a mode consists of a radio frequency channel and all channel-dependent options such as selective calling.
Scanning in conventional radios
Some conventional radios scan more than one channel. That is, the receiver searches more than one channel for a valid transmission. A valid transmission may be a radio channel with any signal or a combination of a radio channel with a specific CTCSS (or Selective calling) code.
There are a wide variety of scan configurations which vary from one system to another. Some radios have scan features that receive the primary selected channel at full volume and other channels in a scan list at reduced volume. This helps the user distinguish between the primary channel and others without looking at the radio control panel. An overview:
- A scanning feature can be defined and preset: when in scanning mode, a predetermined set of channels is scanned. Channels are not changeable by the radio user.
- Some radios allow an option for user-selected scan: this allows either lockout of pre-selected channels or adding channels to a scan list by the operator. The radio may revert to a default scan list each time it is powered off or may permanently store the most recent changes.
In professional radios, scan features are programmable and have many options. Scan features can affect system latency. If the radio has a twenty channel scan list and some channels have CTCSS, it can take several seconds to search the entire list. The radio must stop on each channel with a signal and check for a valid CTCSS before resuming scanning. This can cause missed messages.
For this reason, scan features are either not used or scan lists are intentionally kept short in emergency applications. Part of APCO Project 16 set standards for channel access times and delays caused by system overhead. Scan features can further increase these delays. One study said delays of longer than 0.4 seconds (400 milliseconds) in emergency services are not recommended. No delay from user push-to-talk until the user's voice is heard in your radio's speaker is an unattainable ideal.
Talk-back on scan
Some conventional radios use, or have an option for, a talk-back-on-scan function. If the user transmits when the radio is in a scan mode, it may transmit on the last channel received instead of the selected channel. This may allow users of multi-channel radios to reply to the last message without looking at the radio to see which channel it was on. Without this feature, the user would have to use the channel selector to switch to the channel where the last message occurred. (This option can cause confusion and users must be trained to understand this feature.)
This is an incomplete list of some conventional radio types:
Trunked
In a trunked radio system, the system logic automatically picks the physical radio frequency channel. There is a protocol that defines a relationship between the radios and the radio backbone which supports them. The protocol allows channel assignments to happen automatically.
Digital trunked systems may carry simultaneous conversations on one physical channel. In the case of a digital trunked radio system, the system also manages time slots on a single physical channel. The function of carrying simultaneous conversations over a single channel is called multiplexing.
Instead of channels, radios are related by groups which may be called, groups, talk groups, or divided into a hierarchy such as fleet and subfleet, or agency-fleet-subfleet. These can be thought of as virtual channels which appear and disappear as conversations occur.
Systems make arrangements for handshaking and connections between radios by one of these two methods:
- A computer assigns channels over a dedicated control channel. The control channel sends a continual data stream. All radios in the system monitor the data stream until commanded by the computer to join a conversation on an assigned channel.
- Electronics embedded in each radio communicate using a protocol of tones or data in order to establish a conversation, (scan-based).
If all physical channels are busy, some systems include a protocol to queue or stack pending requests until a channel becomes available.
Some trunked radios scan more than one talk group or agency-fleet-subfleet.
Visual clues a radio may be trunked include the 1) lack of a squelch knob or adjustment, 2) no monitor button or switch, and 3) a chirp (made infamous by Nextel) showing the channel is available and ready at the moment the push-to-talk is pressed.
This is an incomplete list of some trunked radio types:
Simplex versus duplex channels
Simplex
Simplex channel systems use a single channel for transmit and receive. This is typical of aircraft VHF AM and marine radios. Simplex systems are often legacy systems that have existed for years or decades. The architecture allows old radios to work with new ones in a single network. In the case of all ships worldwide or all aircraft worldwide, the large number of radios installed, (the installed base,) can take decades to upgrade. Simplex systems often use open architectures that allow any radio meeting basic standards to be compatible with the entire system.
- Advantage: as the simplest system configuration, there is reliability from the fact that only two radios are needed to establish communication between them.
- Disadvantages: The simplex configuration offers communication over the shortest range or distance because mobile units must be in effecitve range of each other. The available channel bandwidth limits the number of simultaneous conversations, since "dead" air time cannot be easily used for additional communication.
Duplex
Duplex channel systems transmit and receive on different discrete channels. This defines systems where equipment cannot communicate without some infrastructure such as a repeater, base station or Talk-Through Base. Most common in the US is a repeater configuration where a base station is configured to re-transmit the audio received from mobile units. This makes the mobiles, or hand-helds, able to communicate amongst one another anywhere within reception range of the base station or repeater. Typically the base or repeater station has a high antenna, which allows greater range, compared with a ground vehicle or hand-held transceiver.
Duplex systems can be divided into two types. The term half-duplex refers to systems where use of a push-to-talk switch is required to communicate. Full duplex refers to systems like mobile telephones with a capability to simultaneously receive and transmit.
- Advantage: duplex channels usually allow repeater operation which extends range (in most cases due to increased transmit power and improved aerial location / height) - especially where hand-held radios are in use.
- Disadvantage: If a radio cannot reach the repeater, it cannot communicate.
Hybrid simplex/duplex
Some systems use a mix of the two where radios use duplex as a default but can communicate simplex on the base station channel if out-of-range. In the US, the capability to talk simplex on a duplex channel with a repeater is sometimes called talk-around, direct, or car-to-car.
Push-to-talk
In one Motorola system, a Special Products microphone was created with a rocker-style push-to-talk button. The microphone looked like a normal mobile microphone except that the button rocked either up or down instead of pressing in. Rocking the switch in one direction transmitted duplex on a repeater; the other transmitted simplex on car-to-car.
In two-way radios with headsets, a push-to-talk button may be included on a cord or wireless electronics box clipped to the user's clothing. In an ambulance or aircraft, a button may be present where the corded headset plugs in to the radio wiring. Dispatch consoles often have a hand-operated push-to-talk buttons along with a foot switch or pedal. If the dispatcher's hands are on a computer keyboard, the user can step on the foot pedal to transmit. Some systems have muting so the dispatcher can be on a telephone call and the caller cannot hear what is said over the radio. Their headset microphone will mute if they transmit. This relieves the dispatcher of explaining every radio message to a caller.
In some circumstances, voice-operated transmit (VOX) is used in place of a push-to-talk button. Possible uses are handicapped users who cannot push a button, Amateur radio operators, firefighters, crane operators, or others performing critical tasks where hands must be free but communication is still necessary.
Analog versus digital
One example of analog radios are AM aircraft radios used to communicate with control towers and air traffic controllers. Another is a Family Radio Service walkie talkie. Equipment is less complex than digital.
- Advantage: In high-quality equipment, better ability to communicate in cases where a received signal is weak or noisy.
- Disadvantage: Only one conversation at a time can occur on each channel.
Examples of digital communication are APCO Project 25, a standard for digital public safety radios, and Nextel's iDEN.
- Advantage: More simultaneous talking paths are possible and information such as unit ID, status buttons, or text messages can be embedded into a single digital radio channel.
- Disadvantage: Radios must be designed to the same, compatible standard, radios can become obsolete quickly, cost more to purchase, and are more complicated.
Data over two-way radio
In some cases, two-way radio is used to communicate analog or digital data. Systems can be simplex or duplex and may employ selective calling features such as CTCSS. In full-duplex systems, data can be sent real-time between two points. In simplex or half-duplex, data can be sent with a time lag between many points.
After market GPS tracking and mobile messaging devices can be interfaced with popular two-way radio models providing a range of features.
Analog
Analog systems may communicate a single condition, such as water level in a livestock tank. A transmitter at the tank site continually sends a signal with a constant tone. The tone would change in pitch to indicate the tank's water level. A meter at the remote end would vary, corresponding to the pitch, to indicate the amount of water present in the livestock tank. Similar methods can be used to telemeter any analog condition. This type of radio system serves a purpose equivalent to a four-to-twenty milliampere loop. In the US, mid-band 72-76 MHz or UHF 450-470 MHz interstitial channels are often used for these systems. Some systems multiplex telemetry of several analog conditions by limiting each to a separate range of tone pitches, for example.
Digital
Digital systems may communicate text from computer-aided dispatch (CAD). For example, a display in a tow truck may give a textual location for a call and any related details. The tow truck driver may press an acknowledge button, sending data in the opposite direction and flagging the call as received by the driver. They can be used for analog telemetry systems, such as livestock tank levels, as described above. Analog conditions are translated into data words. Some systems send radio paging messages which can either 1) beep a paging receiver, 2) send a numeric message, or 3) send a text message.
Digital systems typically use data rates in the 1,200-19,200 kilobit-per-second rates and may employ modulation schemes such as frequency shift keying, audio frequency shift keying, or quadrature phase shift keying to encode characters. Modern equipment have the same capabilities to carry data as are found in Internet Protocol. Working within the system's protocol constraints, virtually anything can be sent or received.
Engineered versus not engineered
Engineered systems are designed to perform close to a specification or standard. They are designed as systems with all equipment matched to perform together. For example, a modern, local government two-way radio system in the US may be designed to provide 95% area coverage in an urban area. System designers use radio frequency models, terrain models, and signal propagation modeling software in an attempt to accurately estimate where radios will work within a defined geographic area. The models help designers choose equipment, equipment locations, antennas, and estimate how well signals will penetrate buildings. These models will be backed-up by drive testing and actual field signal level measurements. Designers adjust antenna patterns, add or move equipment sites, and design antenna networks in a way that will accomplish the intended level of performance.
Some systems are not engineered. Legacy systems are existing systems which were never designed to meet a system performance objective. They may have started with a base station and a group of mobile radios. Over a period of years, they have equipment added on in a building block style. Legacy systems may perform adequately even though they were not professionally designed as a coherent system. A user may purchase and locate a base station with an expectation that similar systems used in the past worked acceptably. A City Road Department may have a system that works acceptably, so the Parks Department may build a new similar system and find it equally usable. General Mobile Radio Service systems are not usually engineered.
Options, duty cycle, and configuration
1940s tube-type land mobile two way radios often had one channel and were carrier squelch. Because radios were costly and there were fewer radio users, it might be the case that no one else nearby used the same channel. A transmit and receive crystal had to be ordered for the desired channel frequency, then the radio had to be tuned or aligned to work on the channel. 12-volt mobile, tube-type radios drew several amperes on standby and tens-of-amperes on transmit. Equipment worked ideally when new. The performance of vacuum tubes gradually degraded over time. US regulations required an indicator lamp showing the transmitter had power applied and was ready to transmit and a second indicator, (usually red,) that showed the transmitter was on. In radios with options, wire jumpers and discrete components were used to select options. To change a setting, the technician soldered an option jumper wire then made any corresponding adjustments.
The trend is toward increasing complexity. Modern radios can have capacities over 100 channels and are synthesized: the internal electronics in modern radios operate over a range of frequencies with no tuning adjustments. High-end models may have several hundred optional settings and require a computer and software to configure. Sometimes, controls on the radio are referred to as programmable. By changing configuration settings, a system designer could choose to set up a button on the radio's control panel to either:
- turn scan on or off,
- alert another mobile radio, (selective calling),
- turn on an outside speaker, or
- select repeater locations.
Microprocessor-based radios can draw less than 0.2 amperes on standby and up to tens-of-amperes on high-powered, 100 watt transmitters.
Base stations, repeaters, and high-quality mobile radios often have specifications that include a duty cycle. A repeater should always be continuous duty. This means the radio is designed to transmit in a continuous broadcast without transmitter overheating and failure. Mobile radios used in emergency equipment are rated for continuous duty use. This is necessary because any one of an entire fleet of ambulances, for example, could be pressed into service as command post at a major incident.
Time delay is always associated with radio systems, but it is apparent in spacecraft communications. For Apollo program and Space Shuttle, Quindar tones were applied for operator assistance.
Life of equipment
Though the general life term for the two way radio is 5 to 7 years & 1 to 2 years for its accessories but still the usage, atmosphere & environment plays a major role to decide its life term. There are so many speculations on the life term of two way radios & their accessories i.e batteries, chargers, head set etc.
In government systems, equipment may be replaced based on budgeting rather than any plan or expected service life. Funding in government agencies may be cyclical or sporadic. Managers may replace computing systems, vehicles, or budget computer and vehicle support costs while ignoring two-way radio equipment. Equipment may remain in use even though maintenance costs are unreasonable when viewed from an efficiency standpoint.
Different system elements will have differing service lifetimes. These may be affected by who uses the equipment. An individual contacted at one county government agency claimed equipment used by 24-hour services wears out much faster than equipment used by those who work in positions staffed eight hours a day.
One document says "seven years" is beyond the expected lifetime of walkie-talkies in police service. Batteries are cited as needing replacement more often. Twelve-year-old dispatch consoles mentioned in the same document were identified as usable. These were compared to problematic 21-year-old consoles used elsewhere in the same system.
Another source says system backbone equipment like consoles and base stations are expected to have a fifteen year life. Mobile radios are expected to last ten years. Walkie talkies typically last eight. In a State of California document, the Department of General Services reports expected service life for a communications console used in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is 10 years.
Two-way radio frequencies
Two-way radios can operate on many different frequencies, and these frequencies are assigned differently in different countries. Typically channelized operations are used, so that operators need not tune equipment to a particular frequency but instead can use one or more pre-seleted frequencies, easily chosen by a pushbutton or other means. For example, in the United States, there is a block of 22 channels (pre-selected radio frequencies) assigned, collectively, to the General Mobile Radio Service and Family Radio Service.
In an analog, conventional system, (the simplest type of system,) a frequency or channel serves as a physical medium or link carrying communicated information. The performance of a radio system is partly dependent on the characteristics of frequency band used. The selection of a frequency for a two-way radio system is affected, in part, by:
- government licensing and regulations.
- local congestion or availability of frequencies.
- terrain, since radio signals travel differently in forests and urban viewsheds.
- the presence of noise, interference, or intermodulation.
- sky wave interference below 50-60 MHz and troposhperic bending at VHF.
- in the US, some frequencies require approval of a frequency coordination committee.
A channel number is just a shorthand notation for a frequency. It is, for instance, easier to remember "Channel 1" than to remember "26.965 MHz" (CB Channel 1) or "462.5625 MHz" (FRS/GMRS channel 1), or "156.05 MHz" (Marine channel 1). It is necessary to identify which radio service is under discussion when specifying a frequency by its channel number. Organizations, such as electric power utilities or police departments, may have several assigned frequencies in use with arbitrarily assigned channel numbers. For example, one police department's "Channel 1" might be known to another department as "Channel 3" or may not even be available. Public service agencies have an interest in maintaining some common frequencies for inter-area coordination in emergencies.
Each country allocates radio frequencies to different two-way services, in accordance with international agreements. In the United States some examples of two-way services are: Citizen's Band, FRS, GMRS, MURS, and BRS.
Amateur radio operators nearly always use frequencies rather than channel numbers, since there is no regulatory or operating requirement for fixed channels in this context. Even amateur radio equipment will have "memory" features to allow rapidly setting the transmitter and receiver to favorite frequencies.
UHF versus VHF
There are two major formats for two-way radios. They are Ultra High Frequency (UHF) radio and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio. Neither frequency band is inherently better than the other. Both formats are effective ways to communicate with another person so the right radio depends on the application.
The wavelength of a UHF and VHF signal plays a big role in which radio technology to use. UHF has a shorter wavelength which makes it easier for the signal to find its way through rugged terrain or the inside of a building. The longer wavelength of VHF means it can transmit further under ideal conditions. For most applications, lower radio frequencies are better for longer range. A broadcasting TV station illustrates this. A typical VHF station operates at about 100,000 watts and has a coverage radius range of about 60 miles. A UHF station with a 60-mile coverage radius requires transmitting at 3,000,000 watts.
If an application requires working mostly outdoors, a VHF radio is probably the best choice, especially if a base station radio indoors is used and an external antenna is added. The higher the antenna is placed, the further the radio can transmit and receive. One exception to using a VHF radio outdoors is if it is used it in a heavily wooded or rugged area. Under these conditions a UHF radio may be able to transmit better though the terrain (unless the VHF antenna is raised above the terrain).
If the radios are used mainly inside buildings, then UHF is likely the best solution since its shorter wavelength travels through the building better. There are also repeaters that can be installed that relay a UHF signal to increase the communication distance.
There are more available channels with UHF so in more populated areas UHF may be less likely to have interference from other systems. Since the range of UHF is also not as far as VHF under most conditions, there is less chance of distant radios interfering with the signal.
All UHF two-way radios require an FCC license. Most VHF frequencies except for MURS also require a license.
See also
Astro (Motorola)
GE Marc V
Project 25
Quik Call I
Specialized Mobile Radio
Digital Mobile Radio
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