A Brief Introduction To The Walkie Talkie

A walkie talkie, more technically called a hand-held transceiver, is a hand-held, wireless, two-ways radio transceiver. It was first developed during the Second World War. It was used for military communication by U.S. Army Air Corp and Navy. It was used extensively by military personnel to communicate between them. The Walkie Talkie is widely used today for various communication applications including telephony, security, weather and communication. The name walkie talkie came from the German term “walkie” meaning walk and “talkie” meaning talk.

The most obvious use of the walkie talkie is for communication. It can be used in mobile devices such as walking sticks, smart phones, pagers, laptop computers, notebook computers and other similar hand held devices that can receive and send information. In fact, these types of radio communication devices are considered the foundation of the two way radio as they are composed of a transmitter and receiver along with antenna that allows radio waves to be transmitted and received. The transmission and reception of radio waves are done via waves or radio frequencies.

This portable device has enabled people to communicate even in places where cell phones are unavailable or weak. They are ideal for rescue operations and construction work where two-way radios are of utmost importance. Basically, a walkie talkie is hands free mobile transceiver that enables one to speak to another person by using only one’s hands. A single unit or transmitter transmits and receives radio waves. There are various types of walkie talkie such as walkie talkies with voice and data channels, dedicated transceivers that allows one to send and receive data, cellular phones and walkie talkies with no external power supply.

These radios allow one to send or receive radio waves either in the far field or within a close proximity of the transmitter. They are mostly available in two frequency bands i.e. Low frequency (LF) and High frequency (HF).

Walkie talkie technology has made a significant contribution in the field of mobile communication and is used in a variety of applications ranging from military and law enforcement to emergency and health services. Walkie talkies can be used in two modes, one with a voice mode and another without a voice, called a no-message or voice-only mode. In addition to its low-cost and fast transfer, it is also popular for being simple to use, clear and strong, with ample data bandwidth.

The walkie talkie can be categorized into three main groups viz., General usage, Household, and Police use. General usage walkie-talkies are normally for general purpose like telephones or general communications. Household use units are generally utilized for personal/home use such as connecting a personal computer to the World Wide Web, monitoring household pets and kids, or connecting a TV to a receiver. Police use walkie-talkies for surveillance, locating people or catching criminals. Most portable units have a range of several hundred feet.