Since walkie talkie ranges are limited, we have to find a way to increase its range so that we can get maximum distance between two users.
Most walkie talkies on the market don’t even reach the advertised range. Eg. 36 miles, they rarely go 36 miles apart, it’s just gimmick marketing of products.
So how do we increase the range?
The best way is to alter the components that are inside, maybe add a little resistors and capacitors, but it’s illegal.
The FCC doesn’t allow users to modify the components of a walkie talkie that could get you into trouble as it could potentially be interfering with other devices.
So the best legal ways to do it are as follows
Add more power to the devices
Most walkie talkies have adjustable power settings that you could use to get maximum range.
But be careful as some power settings will require that you have a license, I will cover this in an article on its own.
The theory to this is that, power converts to energy and the more the energy used, the better.
Imagine tying a string to a ball and then swinging it, the faster you swing it, the farther it will fly when you let go.
Walkie talkies work the same way, the more energy you add to the device the farther it will transmit.
Use it an area with less obstruction.
Radio signals bounce off of objects that comes in its way which weakens the transmission resulting in it dying off before even reaching its destination.
The more the obstructions between the two devices, the shorter the range.
So, consider using it somewhere, where there are less obstructions or in clear line of sight.
Moist/humid weather increases range.
During times of humidity or moistness, you radios will perform really well. Just like how sound waves travel farther in water because of the water molecules conducting it.
Try hitting a rock with another rock, the sound from the impact can be heard from far away.
Similarly, humidity and moist can conduct radio signals very well.
Use a repeater.
This option cannot be used for all devices, if possible, this will be an expensive option.
The use of repeaters is what we recommend, a repeater is a device that takes the walkie talkie transmission signal, strengthens it and then retransmits it.
So if the current range of two walkie talkies is two hundred metres, with the use of a repeater it can double it, making it four hundred meters.
A repeater can be purchased for a several hundreds of dollars but it will be a worthy investment for commercial use.