How far can walkie talkies communicate – Info Post

Walkie talkies radio are a very good tool for communication especially if you’re a few meters or a few kilometers from whom you want to communicate with, We’ve all had those walkie talkie moments when the waterfall noise interrupts us and we’d  have to keep repeating ourselves because the other party cannot not hear us well. Well the farther the two walkie talkies get apart the more it loses signal just like how when wed kick the ball, as it rolls, it goes slowly and slowly until it stops, that’s physics at play and that’s also how radio signals work.

So how far can walkie talkies communicate?

There are several factors that needs to be considered inorder for us to determine the distances that it can go between two walkie talkie devices .Below are some factors which I have put together

Power output

Different devices have different power output, toy walkie talkies will have low power output thus shortening the distance that it can go. Different devices come in different wattages ranging from 1.5 watts to 5 watts, commercial radios have a potential of producing up to 20,000watts. So if you’re trying to look for a walkie talkie that can be used for long distance, do consider buying one with bigger wattage. Also do note that its running on batteries and so the more watts it consumes the faster it’ll drain the battery

Environment

The environment will be a critical factor in determining the range of walkie talkie operation, for a clear line of sight, your walkie talkie device can go farther than if you were to use it in an urban area with a lot of buildings or trees.

Frequency

There are two types of frequencies that wireless devices use, VHF and UHF, VHF which stands for Very High Frequency and UHF which is the short form of Ultra High Frequency, so whats the difference between the two? UHF has short wavelengths so it uses low frequency while VHF uses long wavelengths. Which one better than the two? UHF (walkie talkies in this case) performs better than the VHF type when used in a crowded place or places with lots of trees and building since it has shorter waves, it can penetrate obstacles much better than VHF, but VHF has longer wavelength and so it can travel farther than UHF. So when choosing between the two, consider the place where you would be using your walkie talkie device as signal type it uses can dramatically affect how your device performs.

Antenna Length

As we all know , the length of the antenna also plays a huge role in the walkie talkie range. Just like when we want a good reception of our television, we use a tall antenna likewise for radio devices, the more taller the antenna the farther the distance the signals can travel and also it will be unobstructed by obstacles

Do you want your walkie talkie to have more range?

If you want more range , you can install a repeater for your radio device, what is a repeater?A repeater is a device that can take your radio signals amplify it and throw it to the receiving device, since when using a walkie talkie the greater the distances it travels, the signals will weaken, the repeater amplifies the weak signals back into its original form when it was broadcasted and throws it receiving device, so your distance can double.

These are some rough estimation on how far your walkie talkie will perform;