Two way radios have long been the mainstay of dedicated wireless communication systems in both businesses and emergency services. With the emergence of digital two way radios, the overall utility of these devices has been boosted significantly. Many existing features of traditional analogue radio system has been improved upon while a number of new features have also been integrated. Let us look at some of the key advantages offered by digital 2 way radios.
- Improved voice quality: The voice quality offered by the new digital radios has been improved significantly. This is because unlike analogue systems which encode voice to radio waves, the digital devices transmit binary code which is not susceptible to RF interference and noise.
- Improved communication security: Being a binary coded transmission, the digital two way radios do not need to rely on traditional scrambling hardware. Instead they use software based encryption like 256 bit AES encryption which is extremely difficult to crack and snoop upon.
- Improved feature set: These new digital devices rely on a technology called Software Defined Radio (SDR). Usage of SDR means that multiple systems and features can be easily deployed on same radio hardware. Many companies offer advanced features as post deployment software purchase as well, which lowers the entry cost of these devices.
- Integration with cell phone networks for long range communication: Very long range communication has always been a challenge with the traditional 2 way radio systems. The emergence of digital systems means that these radios can now integrate with the cell phone networks for nation wide communication capability without having to deploy repeaters. Besides, these cell phone networks have very high availability and reliability so communication can be done even in emergencies.
- Integration with GPS systems: One of the big advantages of digital systems for two way radios is that they now have integrated GPS modules. These machines can now be easily tracked as long as they are turned on. Being tied to GPS also means that device theft risk and device loss risk has also been reduced by a considerable margin.
- Improved battery and device life: Being digital means that the new 2 way radios are much more durable in overall terms of device and battery life. The components being solid state and being manufactured by new and advanced manufacturing technologies makes it much easier and effective to use. Similarly, the battery life of digital devices is much longer because digital systems do not consume as much battery as traditional analogue systems.
- Improved archival systems: Traditional analogue based communication systems were a pain in terms of communication archival. The users required significant audio tape infrastructure for keeping communication records. Prior to digital, anywhere between 20 to 24 audio tapes were needed to archive just one day of communication. With the emergence of digital systems, the story has changed completely. Even a single CD can easily store a one to two days of communication recordings. Not only do these archives cost much less and take less space, they are also much longer lasting.
- Lightweight and more durable devices: Before the modern digital communication systems emerged, the two way radios were very bulky. Some long range radios were so bulky that they had to be carried in automobiles. Many even used WW2 technologies which required to be carried in back packs. They were very sensitive to noise and interference as well. With digital devices, most systems come with software defined radio which means that more and more functionality can be crammed in smaller and smaller devices making more room for stronger and IP rated device bodies.
All in all, the emergence of digital two way radios has completely changed the functionality and usage of radio wave based walkie talkies.
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