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When two way radios first gained popularity, which really was not too many years ago, they were regarded as the absolute latest and greatest in terms of personal communication. However, when these effective communication devices first hit the market, they tended to be expensive and not efficient regarding portability. For many people, fishermen and hunters for example, they were the perfect means of communication with one another. Unfortunately for the development of the 2 way radio, cell phone development more readily caught the attention of consumers.

In recent years, however, two way radios appear to be making a strong comeback, dominating many markets again as their benefits and features are rediscovered and their technologies are greatly improved. Read on to learn more.

Today's Two Way Radios

Today's two way radio products are similar in size to a compact cell phone which is a great improvement over the original radios, which were closer to the size of an entire carton of cigarettes, with antenna that spanned as much as three feet. These new radios are packed to the brim with features for convenience, and come in sets of two, four or even more for pennies on the dollar compared to what they once went for. These 2 way radio products are excellent for a myriad of different purposes and applications, as they can be used to cater both to short range communication of two miles or less, and long range communication over two or more miles.

These two way radios are proving to be an excellent alternative to cell phones for many people, including families, friends and even some businesses and state or Government agencies. They are much cheaper than most cell phones are, and because no membership or contract is required, using them is absolutely free. These radios are especially popular among families who want to communicate within the home, or while out in public, and agencies where members need to stay in touch at all times.

Two-way radio

From Wikipedia, the free 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. [1]

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.[2] 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.


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