Whether for personal or professional usage, the use of two-way radios (or walkie talkies) has become commonplace. We might believe that such a product is only used by kids during play sessions with friends. Or, we might believe that they are only used by security guards and the like. However, the reality is that walkie talkies are used all the time by people who want to help get things done right and who wish to maintain a clear and sound communication channel that should not be intercepted by others.
It’s not hard to see why many people today might use walkie talkies, but there are some drawbacks to their usage as well. In this article, we’ll try and break down what we believe are the key issues that come up when you are using a walkie talkie set today.
While they do have many positive uses, you have to ask yourself if the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to whatever issue you might be dealing with today. So, what matters when it comes to choosing walkie talkies?
What would be the pros and cons of using walkie talkies?
The advantages of walkie talkies
Here are some of the postive aspects of walkie talkies:
- Easy to access
The first and most positive benefit of using walkie talkies is that they can be easily purchased in the bulk that you need. Buying up the number of walkie talkies that you need for any given job is easier and more affordable than fitting everyone with smartphones or workplace phones that they can use.
This allows for you to make sure that you can get the volume of assistance that you need for each staff member.
- Affordability
Speaking of the cost, you should look to walkie talkies as an affordable means of in-work communication. This is often going to be a good way for you to minimize the cost of running your business and getting your staff to work as intended.
Affordability is a big part of any investment that we make today, but it should be a massive part of your decision-making when it comes to running your business long-term.
- Bespoke to your purpose
Another good advantage of walkie talkies is that they can be made entirely specific to the project you are operating on. Whether you are involved in security, hospitality, construction, medical care, or sports, you can find some kind of use for walkie talkies.
They tend to give you the versatility that you need when moving forward. By easily adjusting the needs of each walkie talkie to suit each member, simplicity of obtained.
- Clear communication
It is also easy to set up most radio systems to have a clear line of priority over who can be heard and when. This means that as the boss of the project you could always have precedence to be heard over everyone else.
If you find that your place of work needs a bit more discipline and control, then having someone with access via clear and strong communication is going to be a big part of making sure that things get done.
- Avoid communication drop-offs
When relying on mobile signals, you can often find that someone moves into a part of the building or the area that simply cannot be picked up by the signal. However, the best walkie talkies are ones that can be easily picked up from afar – even when there are obstacles in the way that might minimize or hamper the quality of the sound being heard at all times.
That’s why you should always factor walkie talkies as a good way to communicate as a team when you might otherwise have struggled.
The disadvantages of walkie talkies
Let’s explore some of the negative aspects of walkie talkies:
- Limits to distance
However, while you might find it easier to communicate as a team over obstacles, the distance is nowhere near as good as mobile connectivity. A mobile device would offer a much better level of consistency when having to retain long distance communications.
While the range and the distance picked up by many walkie talkies is impressive, it cannot come close to what a phone could offer you. Larger, flat projects often benefit from phones over walkie talkies.
- Interference and annoyance
Another irritant to think about is the chance for interruption and interference. This can often have some pretty significant issues for you to deal with, meaning that you tend to have a lot of problems when it comes to making sure that nothing else can come onto the system and interrupt the quality of the sound that is being produced.
Base station antennas can only be directed towards the area where a signal is needed, so it is much easier for interference to become an issue. If interference in the area is common, it could minimise quality of communication.
- Limited exclusivity
For many walkie talkie programs, you might find that working in largely populated areas can lead to a loss of privacy and exclusivity. You might find yourself sharing your radio line and your communications with people you would rather could not hear what is being said.
Keep that in mind because this can make it hard for you to get a clear and safe line of communication. If you think you might be discussing sensitive or commercially vital details, then you will want to find another source of doing so – or a guarantee of line privacy.
- Security issues
And lastly, handheld radios always have the risk of someone listening in who shouldn’t be. Given the outward nature of communications, sensitive or serious information could be shared with an audience that is not supposed to hear what is being said.
When dealing with sensitive details, you always want to make sure that information sharing is kept to an absolute minimum. That can be tough to do, though, when using walkie-talkies. Instead, you might wish to share the most serious of information on a more secure channel.
As you can see, then, using two way radios has its pros and cons. What do you think would be best suited for you?
Hopefully the above has given you some insights into the pros and cons of walkie talkies. Let us know if you have some any additional insights or if you would like to expand on any of the points below in the comments section.
