How Do Walkie Talkies Work?

You have no idea what you’ve missed out on if you’ve never used a walkie-talkie to communicate! Walkie-talkies were the most effective means to communicate over short to medium ranges before cellphones became widespread in the 1980s and 1990s. They’re still frequently used by the military, police officers, and event organizers.

So what exactly are those, and how do the walkie-talkies function? Let’s have a look at it more closely!

What are Walkie Talkies?

Walkie-talkies are small, portable radios that communicate wirelessly over a shared, fixed frequency band. A receiver/transmitter and antenna (for receiving and sending radio waves), a dual-use loudspeaker that can double as a microphone when you talk into it, and a “push-to-talk” button are all included in each battery-powered machine (PTT).

The loudspeaker/microphone functions similarly to an intercom. Because a microphone and a speaker have roughly the same components (a magnet, a wire coil, and a plastic or paper cone to grab or transmit sounds), you may use the same device to do both duties by reversing the current in the transmission line into which it’s attached. Separate loudspeakers and microphones are included in more advanced walkie-talkies.

Components of a Standard Two-way Walkie-talkie

• Antenna: This device receives and transmits radio waves.
• LCD display: Displays channel number, battery life, and other information.
• Monitor: The walkie-talkie is switched to monitoring mode, allowing it to be a listening device like a baby monitor.
• Buttons for menu selection (usually in plus/minus symbols).
• Menu button: This button is used to change functionality and settings. It can be used as a keypad lock to prevent inadvertent changes to the channel or other settings while the radio is in your pocket.
• Loudspeaker.
• The PTT (push-to-talk) button.
• Volume control and on/off switch
• When channels are busy, an LED indicator light illuminates.
• Microphone: Standard two-way walkie-talkies, unlike several others, features a separate microphone and loudspeaker.
• Send a call tone: This rings other devices on the channel you want to chat with by sending a tone signal.

Learn: Walkie Talkie Frequencies: Know in Details

How does Walkie Talkie Work?

A group of people using walkie-talkies must tune in to the same channel or frequency band to communicate with one another. Their radios are all “receiving,” which means their loudspeaker/microphone units act as loudspeakers and hissing with static, similar to a regular radio that isn’t tuned into any specific channel.

When someone wishes to chat to someone else, they use their handset’s push-to-talk button. As their speakers switch to a microphone, their radio goes silent.

As people speak, the words are transformed into radio waves and broadcast on a pre-determined channel (usually 462–467 MHz inside the U.s, called the FRS (Family Radio Service), and 446 MHz in Europe). Since radio waves exist in the electromagnetic spectrum and move at the speed of light (300,000 km/s or 186,000 miles/s), they are instantly picked up by other handsets.

The radio waves are transformed into fluctuating electric currents, which are then used by the loudspeakers to replicate the speaker’s sound. When the talker is done, they say “over” (which means “my turn is up”) and press the push-to-talk button.

The radio has now reverted to listening mode, allowing someone else to speak.

A walkie-talkie is a two-way radio that can both talk and listen, unlike a regular radio, which can only take up broadcast music or voices from radio stations (send and receive). The biggest disadvantage is that both things use the same frequency channel. Thus only one person may chat at a time.

When communication equipment operates in this manner, they are referred to as half-duplex (a single channel permits communication in just one direction at a time), as opposed to full-duplex (which allows communication in both directions simultaneously).

Learn More: CTCSS vs DCS: Know about Technologies Behind Walkie Talkie

The Benefits and Drawbacks of Walkie-talkies

Advantages of a Walkie Talkie

Walkie-talkies are durable, easy to use, and basic (with few parts and features), making them ideal for outdoor use and for children (or for the children needing to stay in contact with their parents on vacation, for example). They’re especially useful in areas where mobile coverage is spotty or non-existent (for example, in emergencies or disasters).

They’re also a lot of fun for the youngsters to imitate the “over and out” and “copy.” They’re particularly useful in instances where a large number of people must listen while just one person must speak at the same time (for example, when delivering directions to camp employees).

They’re lightweight (usually 100–200g or 3.5–7 oz), have a good range (generally 5–10 square kilometers or 2–4 square miles), and have a long battery life (about 20 hours using 3–4 Alkaline or rechargeable batteries). As walkie-talkies typically have numerous channels (FRS can use up to 22), you can quickly switch to a different frequency if other walkie-talkies are in the area. Some walkie-talkies can be used as intercoms for baby monitors as well.

Disadvantages of a Walkie Talkie

Since most low-cost walkie-talkies are analog, they’re susceptible to interference and easy to listen in on. The expensive digital versions can bypass interference, but eavesdropping can be overcome only with encrypted military-grade walkie-talkies.  Walkie-talkies aren’t built for long-distance communication. For that, you’ll need a cellphone or a CB radio.

Since FRS frequencies are shared with GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service), a more organized radio service goes two ways, using higher-powered transmitters, so interference from other people’s transmissions is possible.

Radios in the Real World

With the concerns of wattage and frequencies, it’s natural to be curious about the range of walkie-talkies in the actual world.

Higher-grade devices have enough power to provide several kilometers of coverage in ideal conditions. However, like with many product specs, manufacturers frequently overestimate the range of their products, stating that they can communicate over a distance of more than 20 miles (32 kilometers).

Besides, the walkie-talkie working range will typically drop fast in places with buildings, hills, trees, or any other type of barrier. Even high-quality radios can have a range of only a few hundred feet in busy locations.

There’s still the question of having a true walkie-talkie conversation within another handset’s range.  Each walkie-talkie operator must understand the regulations because they can only speak one at a time. Saying “over” means that you’ve finished speaking and are waiting for a response.

Alternatively, saying “over and out,” tells listeners that you’ve finished your transmission and the conversation is finished. These so-called voice processes are required to prevent persons from speaking together during transmissions.

Some of this acrobatic language is becoming obsolete as walkie-talkie functions improve. When you remove the PTT button, some radios emit a beep tone and play an automatic tone when you would say “over” otherwise. For radio newbies, radio terminology can seem a weird language. What’s stranger still? A stranger’s voice on your phone.

If you and another person come within range and your devices are tuned to the same channel, you may be able to hear what he or she is saying, and vice versa. To avoid this, your group might choose a different channel or invest in walkie-talkies with Digital Coded Squelch (DCS) or CTCSS encoding.

This encoding and encryption are not the same; only military-grade radios have this capability. Instead, encoding can be thought of as a form of filtering. T

he loudspeaker on your radio will only turn on if it receives a signal from another radio that uses a specified tone combination to preface its message. Your group’s radios must all be utilizing the same privacy code to communicate with one another.

Conclusion

Walkie-talkie talks are far from safe, even with privacy protocols in place. Consider these transmissions to be open-access phone calls. Sending odd rants or personal information over the radio frequency violates fundamental radio etiquette and may attract unwelcome attention from irritated listeners.