WI-FI radio technology and walkie talkies

Walkie talkies were developed in 1937 and became popular in the Second World War, serving as an important mode of communication in the war field. The very first devices were heavy, back mounted and had a very low connectivity range. Over time, handie talkies were modified to be commercially used and have come a long way in terms of features, physical built and usage.

These devices are hand held transceivers that help communicate over radio channels. The basic structure consists of an antenna, a microphone, a speaker, battery, the push-to-talk button and few internal circuits. The transmitter antenna converts the voice signal into a radio signal by superimposing them into a carrier wave. This is then sent across specific radio frequency bandwidth and the receiver receives it. The receiver antenna now decodes the voice signal and this is heard through the speaker.

Connectivity of walkie talkies

The main disadvantage of a walkie talkie was its connectivity range. Unlike a mobile phone, one cannot talk to a person at the other end of the world as easily and as clearly as talking to someone next door. All handie talkies offer limited connectivity range and this depends on its power. Barriers between the transmitter and receiver like trees, buildings, walls etc. can further reduce the connectivity range. The below table talks about the approximate range VS distance covered for walkie talkie devices.

Power

Distance covered

0.5 Watt

~ 200-300 meter

2 Watt

~2-3 Kilometer

4.0 Watt

~ 3-4 Kilometer

7.0 Watt

~7-8 Kilometer

While most brands promise connectivity ranges of even 20 Km, users have to realize that this number was calculated with the transmitter and receiver placed in line of sight with no interferences in between.

WIFI Radio technology

WIFI is a local area wireless network (WLAN) has taken over the world by storm. As the name suggests, it connects electronic devices for data transfer or connects to the internet using radio waves. A lot of devices like the computer, mobile phones, Digital cameras, audio systems and in our case, handie talkies can connect through the WIFI to the internet. This largely up-scales the connectivity range of walkie talkies and they can effectively connect to receivers even at different cities.

A WIFI access point or a hotspot is a region where several devices can connect to the internet via the same WLAN. This hotspot can cover about 20 ft indoors, because of the disturbances like walls and building furniture and even more distance outdoor. Though we know that radio waves have a limited reaching capacity, using multiple overlapping access points, they can cover up to several kilometers.

Imagine a large industry with several walkie talkies in constant use. A hot spot can be created and the employees can connect and communicate to each other over the WIFI network. This improves the signal quality and breaks the concept of cracked signals as distance increases.

Iconet, India’s oldest radio communication company adds another feather in its bonnet with the success of TalkPro-a one if its kind walkie-talkie developed in 2010.