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A two way radio employs various technologies to send and receive data. These technologies have been se developed that they make the use of this type of a radio very easy. Also with every technology, different types of features are incorporated within the radio so that it meets the needs of the customers.
The first two way radios employed a conventional technology in which operated on fixed channels. The use of conventional technology allows the use of only a single channel at a time even if the radio can operate on multiple channels. When radios are made using this technology, they are provided a scan feature so that the user can scan for and find the particular channel that one wants to listen to or use for the transmission of data. The provision of this feature prevents the user from using the channel selector that takes a lot of time to locate a particular channel.
Another technology used for two way radios is the trunked technology. In this technology, the radio picks up a frequency by itself. In this type of technology, the radio channels work according to a protocol to ensure that the assignment of channels takes place automatically. In this type of a radio system, a control channel is used by the protocol so as to control the allocation of frequencies to the radio.
Simplex technology is yet another technology that is used for two way radios. In this a single channel is used by the radios to send and receive data. Radios with this technology are the most common ones used for the purpose of communication. These types of radios are the most reliable ones for short distance transmission of data. The duplex technology when used for two way radios makes available two different channels, one for sending data and the other for receiving data. The use of two separate channels ensures that the data or signals do not interfere with each other. The duplex technology can be used in two ways in a two way radio. The first is the half duplex technology in which a radio can either send or receive signals at any given time. The second one is the full duplex technology in which the radios can send and receive signals simultaneously. This technology results in faster transmission of data.
Push to talk technology has also been used in these types of radios recently. In these radios, a button has to be pushed to start the transmission of data. These are popularly used in different types of vehicles.
Analog and digital technologies can also be used for these radios. When the analog technology is used, these radios transfer analog signals that have varying frequencies. When the digital technology is used for these radios, they transmit and receive digital data which has only two forms, namely on and off. This means that the frequency of digital signals is fixed. The 2 way radios that transmit analog signals are more popular because most communication takes place in the analog format. However, there is much more clarity in the transmission when the digital technology is used.
Rob Burdett is from UK Radio Communications Ltd, the UK’s Leading Provider of Two Way Radios for Schools, Pubs, Shopping Centres, Retailers and Businesses of all types.