FAQ

What is a two way radio?

A basic two way radio is comprised of a receiver to pick up signals and a transmitter to send signals. Most radios are much more sophisticated than this though.

How does it work?

Radio systems can be composed of portable or handheld style radios, mobile or truck mounted radios, and or a base station located at your office/home.

Will it save me money?

Two way radios will save any company money, especially if you are using cellular phones as your present form of communications. While the initial costs are higher than cellular or ESMR systems, the payback is realized in the lower flat-rate airtime commonly found in wide area two way radio systems. Two way radios can eliminate wasted employee time and fuel/vehicle expenses. They can increase employees' billable hours and raise revenues.

What kind of range can I expect?

Systems can range from in-building coverage only to wide area coverage trunking systems capable of reaching multiple states. While direct unit to unit range is dependent on local topography, portable units can expect 1-2 mile direct range, and mobiles can expect 10-25 miles direct. The addition of a base station will enable increased mobile/portable range to the base station depending on location and antenna height.

Why do some companies advertise 5-10 mile range on their portables?

While it is possible to obtain this range with some types of portables such as Low-Band radios, radio waves work within line of sight, and are easily bent/attenuated by hills/buildings and other obstructions. Generally portables will only give these falsely advertised claims when they are out in the open, such as in a field, or hill to hill, where obstructions are minimized. Many dealers/manufacturers will state these claims to make you think they have a better product than someone else, when in fact they don't!

Do I need a base for wide area coverage?

No, you do not need to have a base station for the most range on a trunked repeater type of system, you can have just portables/mobiles or a mixture. A base station can be added at any time to a system.

What is a repeater?

Repeaters are automatic relay stations positioned at high hills/mountains/buildings. They pick up the weaker signals from portables and mobiles and re-transmit them at a higher transmitter power simultaneously for better communications range.

Why do I need a base station if portables are cheaper?

While portables are generally less expensive than a base station, in most cases they do not fit the application properly. Portable radios operate from batteries, and also are lower power then a mobile or base. Experience dictates that your battery will die half-way through the day, or an important piece of information will not be passed because you walked into a "dead area". In a wide area coverage type system, portables are meant to supplement the operation of mobile units, not replace them.

Can I use a mobile in more than one vehicle?

Yes, with the addition of a "slide bracket" onto the radio, and a vehicle bracket in each vehicle, you can move the radio anytime into other vehicles. For some businesses, this can eliminate purchasing additional units.

Do I have to share a channel with another company?

While some direct type systems operate on shared type channels, the programming of a "private line" into the radios eliminates hearing other users on these type channels. You still share the channels, but the Private Line eliminates hearing the other users.   Repeaterized/trunked type systems eliminate this all-together, and you have a completely "private" channel.