How do walkie-talkies work?
A walkie-talkie or two-way radio is a battery-powered transceiver (meaning it can transmit and receive radio signals). Walkie-talkies receive radio waves through an antenna and can also transmit signals back (on the same frequency) through the same device.
A two-way radio essentially converts the incoming signal to sound and the outgoing sound to signal.
The antenna of a walkie-talkie houses several groups of electrons. These electrons respond to specific preset channels (different groups respond to different channels). When the radio waves are intercepted by the walkie-talkie’s antenna, the electrons translate those radio waves into electrical impulses, which are then passed through the device and to a small processor, housed inside the radio itself.
The processor, in turn, converts the pulses into a signal, which is then played by the speakers. This is no different from the hearing process carried out by the human ear. The speakers vibrate in the same pattern as when the signal sender spoke into their own device, replicating exactly what was transmitted from their end.
For an outgoing signal, the vibrations that make up a human voice shake a small membrane inside the microphone. The two-way radio’s processor then converts those vibrations into an electrical impulse. The pulse is pushed outward toward the antenna, where it is transmitted on the desired audio channel. From there, the process proceeds in reverse order. It is, however, the same process each time.
Interestingly, mobile phone technology is basically the same as two-way radio/walkie-talkie technology. The main difference, however, is that while two-way radios only have a half-duplex channel (meaning only one signal can be sent or received at any given time), mobile phones are full-duplex, meaning they they can send and receive two signals. received simultaneously.
Another important difference is that mobile phones rely on nearby cell towers for a signal, while walkie-talkies use a point-to-point system, communicating between individual phones and also devices called “repeaters,” which increase the overall intensity. of the signal by blocking out specific channels.
Of course, because there is only one channel on a walkie-talkie, only one person can talk at any given time, whereas mobile phones can transmit conversations that are identical to two people face-to-face.
The success of walkie-talkies probably lies in their innate simplicity. The process by which a transceiver works is as neat and tidy as one could wish.