• Two Way Radios Hq
• The Basics of Motorola Walkie Talkies
• Kenwood Two Way Radios: The FreeTalk Line
• 2 Way Helmet Radios for Sports
• Professional Walkie Talkie use Protocol
• Understanding and Using Walkie Talkies
• How to Make a Successful Two Way Radio Purchase
• AudioVox Walkie Talkies: 2 Mile Radios
• Two Way Radios: Finding the Right Replacement Antenna
• Lightweight Headsets For Two Way Radios
• Long Range 2 Way Radios Family
• Midland 2 Way Radios: GMRS Radios for Consumer Use
• Practical Uses of Two Way Radios
• Motorola Two Way Radios: The TalkAbout Series
• Midland Two Way Radios: GMRS Radios for Consumer Use

Understanding and Using Walkie Talkies

Walkie talkies, in general terms, are radios that transmit and receive (also called 2-way radios and transceivers). Using this broad definition cell phones would also be considered walkie talkies but, of course, they are not because there is one major difference between the operation of a cell phone (or a land-based phone system) and a walkie talkie arrangement. In common, everyday terms, walkie talkies are portable radios that communicate with each other on the same frequency but, unlike cell phones, communication can not take place between two radios simultaneously. In a walkie talkie arrangement, the user of each radio takes turns talking (transmitting) and listening (receiving); in technical terms this is called half-duplex operation.

A walkie talkie network, no matter how many or how few radios it has in use, needs guidelines to enable efficient operation, this is generally referred to as radio protocol. Every user on the network needs to be aware of and use this protocol. Radio protocol will differ slightly from network to network (company to company) but a general set of rules will include the following:

* Keep your transmissions short and to the point. If you have a long message to transmit, break it up into short messages and verify that the receiving party 'copies' (understands) the message.

* Speak very clearly and speak in a normal tone of voice with your mouth two or three inches away from your radio's microphone.

* Use the standard terminology practiced by the other users on the network.

* Never use obscenities -- the radio network uses the public airwaves, airwaves that are controlled by the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) policies; the FCC forbids obscenity and may, at any time, be monitoring your conversation.

* When operating the radio, hold down the push-to-talk button for one second before beginning to speak. On some radios you will hear a "beep" after you push and hold the push-to-talk button that indicates that it is time to talk.

Fairly standard calling conventions for walkie talkies are:
* When initiating a transmission say: "(Your station number) to (the station number of the radio you are calling)" OR "(the station number of the radio you are calling) this is (your station number)."
* To acknowledge a call say: "This is (Your station number), Go ahead."
* To end your transmission say : "over."
* To terminate a call say: "clear," "out" or "10-4."