1/16/2017 2WayRadioRange:HowFarCanTwoWayRadiosCommunicate?

2WayRadioRange:HowFarCanTwoWayRadiosCommunicate?
Oneofthemostcommonquestionspeopleaskwhentheyareinthemarketforatwowayradioor
wirelessintercomishowfardotheycommunicate?Unfortunatelyaskingthisquestionisalongthe
linesofasking,"Howfarisup?".Therearelotsofvariablesinvolvedandnoeasy,definitiveanswer.A
brieflessononradiosignaltransmissionisrequiredtounderstandthewholerangeissue.
IfyouareoldenoughtorememberwhenAMradiowaspopularyoumayrememberlisteningtoradio
stationsthatwerehundredsofmilesaway.Forfrequencieslikethesebelow2Megahertz(MHz),these
signalsfollowtheEarth'scurvaturebecausetheyarereflectedofftheatmosphere.SoAMradio
signalsinlownoiseenvironmentscanbereceivedbyradiosthatarewaybelowthehorizonhundreds
ofmilesaway.
Thetwowayradiosand
intercomsavailableforyouto
purchaseusuallyfallinthe
frequencyrangeof150MHzto
900MHz.UnliketheAMradio
waves,radiowavesinthese
frequenciestravelinstraight
linesandasageneralrule
cannottraveloverthehorizon
orbehindsolidobstacles.
Butasinallgeneralrules,thereareexceptionstotherules.Eventhoughthesefrequenciestravelvia
"lineofsight"paths,radiosignalscantravelthroughmanynonmetallicobjectsandbepickedup
throughwallsorotherobstructions.Eventhoughwecan'tseebetweenantennasofatransmitterand
receiver,thisisstillconsideredlineofsighttotheradios.Also,radiowavescanbereflected,or
bounceoffsurfacessothestraightlinebetweenradios,maynotalwaysbesostraight.
Knowingthatourradiowavestravelinstraightlines,thentofigureouttheirmaximumrangefora
twowayradiowehavetofactorinthecurvatureoftheEarth.WhenyoustandonEarthandpressthe
talkbuttononyourradio,theradiowavesaregoingstraightandtheywilleventuallyjustgostraight
offintospaceoncetheypassthehorizon.Sothedistanceofthehorizonistechnicallythemaximum
communicationrangeforatwowayradio.Butyouhavetofactorinantennaheightaswell.
Tofindthelineofsitedistancetothehorizonforagivenantennaheightwecanusethisformula:
horizoninkilometers=3.569timesthesquarerootoftheantennaheightinmeters.Figure1
illustratesthisformula.
Soiftheantennaheightofa
radioisat6feet,or1.82880
meterstall,thehorizonis
4.83kilometers,or2.99
milesaway,whichisPointB
intheillustration.Ofcourse
thiscalculationassumesthe
receivingantennaislayingdirectlyonthegroundsoraisingtheheightofitwouldextendlineofsite.
PointCintheillustrationshowsanotherradiowiththeantennaat6footsotheoreticallyyoushould
beabletocommunicatealmost6miles.Sorealistically,fortwopeoplecarryingahandheldtwoway
radio,themaximumcommunicationdistanceonflatgroundwithnoobstructionsisaround4to6
miles.
Soyoumaybewonderingwhyyouseeradiosthathaverangeclaimsof25milesorhigher.
Technicallytheycouldcommunicatethatfar.PointDonFigure1showsatowersittingontopofa
mountain.Ifyouarestandingontopofthistower,nowyourantennaheightovercomesawholelotof
theEarth'scurvatureandyoucancommunicatemuchfurther.
Thereareotherfactorsthataffecttherangeofatwowayradiotoosuchasweather,exactfrequency
used,andobstructions.Theradio'spoweroutputhasafactortoo.

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TwoWayRadioPower
Anotherimportantfactorinthedistanceatwowayradiowillcommunicateisitspoweroutput.This
poweroutputismeasuredinwatts.You'velikelyheardanFMradiostationsaytheyarebroadcasting
at50,000or100,000watts.Well,ahandheldbusinesstypetwowayradiousuallybroadcastsat15
watts.Avehiclemobileradiomaybroadcastanywherefrom5to100watts.Themorewattsaradio
has,thefartheritcantransmit.
Whyisthis?Whenwatermovesthroughapipeitlosespressurealongtheway.Whenelectricityflows
alongawireitlosescurrent.Whenanobjectisrolling,itwilleventuallystoprollingduetofriction.
Radiowavesoperatebythesamelawsofphysicsaseverythingelsesotherewillbesignallossalong
theway.Butifyouapplymorewaterpressure,moreelectricalcurrent,orgettherollingobject
movingfaster,you'llgetmoredistanceoutofallofthem.Thesameistrueforaradiosignal.
Increasingthepowerinwattsatthesourcehelpsovercomeany"resistance"alongtheway.
Keepinmindthatforbatterypoweredhandheldradiosmorewattsisnotalwaysagoodthing.The
higherthewattage,thequickeryourbatteriesrundown.

RadioFrequencies
Onemorefactorindetermininghowfaratwowayradiowillcommunicateisthefrequencyitusesand
theenvironmentthatfrequencyisusedin.
Therearetwomajorformatsformosttwowayradios.TheyareUltraHighFrequency(UHF)radioand
VeryHighFrequency(VHF)radio.Neitherfrequencybandisinherentlybetterthantheother.They
eachhavetheirplusesandminuses.Bothformatsareeffectivewaystocommunicatewithanother
personsodecidingontherightradioforyoudependsonyourapplication.
Twowayradioscommunicatewitheachotherthroughuseofradiowaves.Radiowaveshavedifferent
frequencies,andbytuningaradioreceivertoaspecificfrequencyyoucanpickupaspecificsignal.
Radiowavesaretransmittedasaseriesofcycles,oneaftertheother.YouwillalwaysseetheHz
abbreviationusedtoindicatethefrequencyofaradio.Hertzisequaltoonecyclepersecond.
Radiowavesaremeasuredby
kilohertz(kHz),whichis
equalto1000cyclesper
second,ormegahertz(MHz),
whichisequalto1,000,000
cyclespersecondor1000
kHz.Therelationship
betweentheseunitsislike
this:1,000,000Hertz=1000
kilohertz=1megahertz.
Youmayalsoheartheterm
"wavelength"whenyouhear
aboutradiowaves.Thisterm
isfromtheearlydaysofradio
whenfrequencieswere
measuredintermsofthe
distancebetweenthepeaks
oftwoconsecutivecyclesofa
radiowaveinsteadofthenumberofcyclespersecond.Lowerfrequenciesproducealonger
wavelength(thewidthofeachcyclegetsbiggeronlowerfrequencies).
Whatissignificantaboutwavelengthfortwowayradiosisthatitaffectstransmissionrangeunder
certainconditions.Alongerwavelength,whichcorrespondstoalowerfrequency,asageneralrulelets
aradiosignaltravelagreaterdistance.
Lowerfrequenciesorlongerwavelengthsalsohavegreaterpenetratingpower.That'soneofthe
reasonstheyareusedforcommunicatingwithsubmarines.VLF(VeryLowFrequency)radiowaves

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(330kHz)areusedtopenetrateseawatertoadepthofapproximately20meters.Soasubmarineat
shallowdepthcanusethesefrequencies.
SofromwhatyoureadaboveyoumaythinkVHFisalwaysthebetterchoiceforatwowayradiono
matterwhereyouareusingitsinceithasalowerfrequencythanUHFandthesignalcantravela
greaterdistance.That'snotnecessarilytrue.EventhoughVHFhasbetterpenetratingcapabilitiesand
cantravelfarther,thatdoesn'tnecessarilymakeitthebetterchoiceforuseinbuildings.Remember
theconversationaboutwavelengthabove?Wavelengthhasabigimpactontransmissiondistance.
Toexplainthislet'sassumewearecommunicatingfromonesideofametalcommercialbuildingto
theother.Inbetweenthesetwopointsisametalwallwithathreefootdoorway.Metalisanenemyto
radiowavesandtheytypicallydon'tpassthroughit.
Forourexamplelet'sassume
thattheUHFwavelengththe
radiousesisaboutafootand
ahalfwideandasimilarVHF
radioisaroundfivefeetwide.
Theseareintheballparkof
theirnormalwavelengths.
WhentheUHFradio
transmitsitssignalthefoot
andahalfwidewavewillpass
throughthedoorsincethe
dooriswiderthanthewavelength.TheVHFsignalwillbetotallyreflectedsinceitiswiderthanthe
openingtothedoor.
Yourmicrowaveovenprovidesanexampleofthis.Theglassfrontdoorhasametalmeshwithvery
smallholes.Microwavesbeinganextremelyhighfrequencyhavewavelengthsthatareonlyseveral
incheslong.Themeshkeepsthemicrowavestrappedintheovenbutitallowsyoutoseeinside
becauselightwaveshaveamicroscopicwavelength.
Justimaginewalkingthroughthebuildingcarryingafivefootwidepole.Youwillencounterthesame
challengesaVHFsignalencounters.Nowimaginewalkingthroughthebuildingwithapolethat'sonly
afootandahalfwidelikeaUHFwave.Therearelotsfewerdoorwaysyoucouldn'tgetthrough.
Theonecaveatisthatwirelesssignalswillpenetratethroughdrywall,masonry,humanbodies,
furniture,wallpaneling,andothersolidobjects.Alltheseobjectswillreducethesignalstrength
though.Themoredensetheobject,themoreitreducesthesignal.VHFwillpenetratetheseobstacles
betterthanUHF,butthatdoesn'tnecessarilymeanthatVHFisbetterforindoorapplicationsaswe
continuetodiscussthereasonswhyintheUHFsectionbelow.
Inourexampleaboveweassumedyouhadametalwallwithanopening.Ifyoureversethisandyou
haveathreefootmetalobjectinfrontofthetransmittingradio,thenVHFwouldwin.Sincethe
objectisthreefootwideitwilltotallyblocktheUHFsignalwhereastheVHFsignalwillgetaroundit.
LowerfrequenciessuchasVHFdiffractaroundlargesmoothobstaclesmoreeasily,andtheyalso
travelmoreeasilythroughbrickandstone.
Formostapplications,lowerradiofrequenciesarebetterforlongerrange.AbroadcastingTVstation
illustratesthis.AtypicalVHFstationoperatesatabout100,000wattsandhasacoverageradius
rangeofabout60miles.AUHFstationwitha60milecoverageradiusrequirestransmittingat
3,000,000watts.

Sothereisnoclearchoiceforwhichisbetter,VHForUHF.Thereisalotof"blackmagic"toradio
technologysoit'snotalwayseasytotellwhichwillworkbetterforyourapplication.Tohelpyou
decideonthebesttechnologyforyou,moredetailabouteachoneisincludedbelow.

UHFRadio
TheUHFradiobandforcommercialradiosisbetween400to512MHz.Untilrecently,itwasn'twidely
used.Now,theUHFradiofrequencyisusedfortwowayradios,GPS,Bluetooth,cordlessphones,and

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WiFi.
TherearemoreavailablechannelswithUHFsoinmorepopulatedareasUHFmaybelesslikelyto
haveinterferencefromothersystems.TherangeofUHFisalsonotasfarasVHFundermost
conditions,butthisreducedrangemaybeapositiveinsomecases.SinceUHFhaslowerrange,there
islesschanceofdistantradiosinterferingwithyoursignal.
WhileVHFmaybebetteratpenetratingphysicalbarrierslikewallsthatdoesn'tmeanitwillgiveyou
greatercoverageinabuilding.TheshorterwavelengthofUHFmeansthatitcanfinditswaythrough
morespacesinyourbuildingaswediscussedabove.Inthewalkingaroundwithapoleexamplewe
gaveyou,theUHFsignalhasfewerobstaclesthattotallyblockit.
Tohighlightthedifferencesinindoorrange,belowisanexcerptfromabrochureofaleadingtwoway
radiomakeronthepredictedrangeofoneoftheirlinesofhandheldVHFandUHFtwowayradios:
"Coverageestimates:Atfullpower,lineofsight,noobstructionstherangeisapproximately
4+miles.IndoorcoverageatVHFisapproximately270,000sqftand300,000sqftatUHF.
Expectabout20floorsverticalcoverageatVHFandupto30floorsatUHF.Note:Rangeand
coverageareestimatesandarenotguaranteed."
ThegreaterwavelengthofVHFmakesitmoredifficultforittobounceitswaythroughwalls,
buildingsandruggedlandscape.ThereforerangewillbereducedforVHFradiosinthese
environments.Thatmaynotnecessarilybeaproblemiftherangeneededisonlyafewhundredfeet.
YoucanalsoaddanexternalantennatoanindoorVHFbasestationthatwillreduceoreliminatesome
oftheproblemsencountered.
OneofthedownsidestoUHFisthattheFCCrequiresyoutogetalicensetooperateinthese
frequencies,althoughmanyfrequenciesintheVHFbusinessbandalsorequirealicensetoo.Ifyou
choosearadiointheVHFMURSfrequenciesyoucanoperateitwithoutalicense(discussedbelow).
OneotheradvantageoftheshortwavelengththatisproducedbythehigherUHFfrequencyisthat
theantennaontheradiocanbeshorterthananequivalentVHFradio.Thatcanmakeitmore
convenienttocarryaroundasaportableradio,althoughmostmanufacturersfindawaytomakethe
antennasshorterontheirVHFportableradios.

VHFRadio
FMradio,twowayradios,andtelevisionbroadcastsoperateusingVHF.TheVHFradioband
specificallyforcommercialradiosisbetween130174MHz.
BothUHFandVHFradiosarepronetolineofsightfactors,butVHFalittlemoreso.Thewavesmake
itthroughtreesandruggedlandscapes,butnotalwaysaswellasUHFfrequenciesdo.However,ifa
VHFwaveandaUHFwaveweretransmittedoveranareawithoutbarriers,theVHFwavewouldtravel
almosttwiceasfar.ThismakesVHFeasiertobroadcastoveralongrange.
Ifyouareworkingmostlyoutdoors,aVHFradioisprobablythebestchoice,especiallyifyouareusing
abasestationradioindoorsandyouaddtheexternalantenna.Thehigheryoucanplacetheantenna,
thefurtheryoucantransmitandreceive.OneexceptiontousingaVHFradiooutdoorsisifyouare
usingitinaheavilywoodedarea.UndertheseconditionsaUHFradiomaybeabletotransmitbetter
thoughthetrees.
VHFradiosalsohaveasmallernumberofavailablefrequencies.Interferencewithotherradioscould
bemorelikelytobeaproblem.However,theFCCrecentlymadethislessofaproblemwhenthey
openedupatwowayradiospectrumcalledtheMURSservice.MURSstandsforMultiUseRadio
Service.ThisserviceisforuseintheUnitedStatesandsomecountriesthatfollowFCCregulations.It
isalowpower,shortrangeserviceintheVHF150MHzradiospectrum.Thereare5channelsinthe
MURSfrequencieswith38privacycodesundereachonethatenableyoutoonlypickupconversations
fromradiostransmittingyourcode.TheFCCdoesnotrequireusersofproductsforMURStobe
licensed.
WithMURSyoucanaddalargerorexternalantennatoimproverange.Ifyouwanttoputanantenna
ontopofyourbuildingoratower,youcandoitwithMURS.Someantennamanufacturersclaiman
externalantennacanincreasetheeffectiveradiatedpowerofatransmitterbyafactorof4.These

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MURSintercomscantransmituptoseveralmiles,andperhapsmorewithanexternalantenna
dependingontheterrainandheightofanantenna(canbeupto60feetabovetheground).
OnebenefitofVHFwirelessradiosisthatbatterylifeisalmostalwaysbetterthanforsimilarUHF
units.Forhandheldradiosthisisaplus.
Insummary,ifyouareplanningonusingyourtwowayradiosmainlyinsidebuildings,thenUHFis
likelythebestsolutionforyou,butitinlotsofapplicationsVHFcouldstillworkfinesinceitdoesn't
havetotransmitfar.Ifyouaremainlyusingyourtwowayradiosforcommunicationoutside,then
VHFwouldbeagoodchoice,unlesstheareayouarecoveringisheavilywoodedortherearelotsof
buildingsinthewayoftheradiosignal.
Eitherradiotechnologycanworkforyouifyoudon'treallyhavealongrangetocover.Therearealso
repeatersyoucaninstallthatrelayaUHFsignal,butthisisusuallyverycomplextodo.Youmaybe
abletofindarepeaterserviceinyourcitythatwilldothisforyouforamonthlyfee.Formost
applicationsarepeaterisnotnecessaryandVHForUHFradiosbythemselveswilldothetrick.
AbouttheAuthor:
DavidOnslowismarketingandtechnologydirectoratwww.IntercomsOnline.com.Theyselltwoway
radios,wirelessintercoms,andothercommunicationsdevices.
Author:DavidOnslow

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