Digital two-way radios are now more accessible than ever due to the introduction of affordable digital two-way radio models into the Australia marketplace, including the Wireless Pacific GTD and Kenwood NX-340 models, putting all the benefits of digital technology within reach of most businesses, where in the past digital technology was usually only affordable to government agencies. So what are the differences between analogue vs digital two-way radio technology, and what are the main advantages and benefits of making the switch to digital? 

Better Coverage:

The coverage with digital radios is perceived to be better than analogue radios by approximately 20%. The reasons for this are as an analogue radio signal weakens, the receiver of the analogue broadcast will hear a lot of white noise, "hiss" "crackle" and "pop", until eventually the radio signal drops out of range completely. However, before the analogue broadcast drops out of range completely, the last 20% of the range is very hard to understand what the radio user was saying due to the level of white noise accompanying the analogue conversation. With digital, you do not experience such a perceptible shift in the audio quality, and no noise is interlaced with the conversation as the radio signal weakens, therefore, you get a useable 20% of extra perceptible coverage. This concept is explained in the graph below: 

Digital Radios Offer Optional Encrypted Communication:

Unlike analogue radios, digital radios communicate via exchanging data with each other. This data can be optionally encrypted via a 40-bit or 256-bit AES encryption key module, that can be installed in the radio. 

In order for a 3rd party to listen to a digital radio broadcast that was encrypted, they would have to be able to record and crack the encryption of the data sent between the radios. To crack this encryption, this could only be achieved by a law enforcement authority with the technological means to do so, and could not be achieved in real-time. By installing an encryption key / module on your digital radio system, your communication cannot be listened to, nor interfered with, by 3rd parties.

Analogue radio transmissions can be easily tuned into and listened to with an inexpensive radio scanner. Therefore, some analogue radio manufacturers offer a "voice inversion scrambler" function to "scramble" the analogue voice communication. However, do not be misled by the term "scrambled", these voice inversion scramblers are easily interpreted as they merely make the voice sound muffled, similar to someone covering their mouth with their hand whilst talking, which can be easily understood. In summary: Analogue radio voice inversion scramblers do not offer the user privacy and are, if anything, simply a marketing gimmick. Therefore, if you require genuine privacy for your communication, you must use a digital system with an encryption key / module installed.

For users requiring commercial-grade 40-bit digital encryption, consider the Wireless Pacific GTD or Kenwood NX-340 radio system. For users requiring government-grade 256-bit AES digitally encryption, choose the Motorola DP3441. 

GPS & User ID Information:

Do you need your GPS coordinates broadcasted whilst you communicate with your radio system? Perhaps you operate over a large mining project or department of defence exercise? With digital two-way radios with this feature built in, now you can broadcast your GPS coordinates when you talk. Better yet, the receiver can see on the radio's LCD screen who has made the broadcast. So if someone calls for "help" on the radio, you can know exactly who it is, and where they are located. See the Icom IC-F4263D for further details of such a feature. 


"Disadvantages" of digital two-way radios:

Digital two-way radio systems send data and the digital protocol in which it does so, is not universal between the various digital two-way radio manufacturers out there. Therefore, once you invest into a particular manufacturer's brand of digital radio system, it's difficult to add radios to the system in the future, that are not produced by the same manufacturer. However, each protocol has its added technological advantage, and therefore if the correct purchase decision is made from the start, then this is not a huge drawcard for most businesses, unless there is a specific need for 3rd parties to get connected to the organisation's digital radio system in the future. 

The second potential "disadvantage" of digital two-way radio, is you are required by law to use your own licenced channel. You cannot use a digital radio on a public CB channel. Given that one of the key benefits of digital two-way radio is that you avoid experiencing interference, this legal requirement could be interpreted as an advantage, rather than a disadvantage, despite the additional small cost outlay to obtain a licenced channel.

Summary:

In summary, digital two-way radio is the future of radio technology and on balance, we highly recommend using a digital two-way radio system, over an analogue radio system, for business communication purposes.

To help you make the right purchase of your two-way radio communication asset, two-way radio manufacturers have adopted the internationally recognised 

We have broken down the IP rating system in the into the following table:

Most commercial and government grade two-way radios will be rated at a minimum of IP54, it means that the radio is provided with both (Dust: 5) "Limited protection against dust ingress (no harmful deposits) and (Water: 4) "Protected against water sprayed from any direction. Limited Ingress permitted". In essence, we would describe an IP54 rated radio as both rain and dustproof. IP54, has been the standard of ingress protection on radios used by both police and fire-fighters in Australia for the last 30 years and radios rated to a minimum of this level of IP54 protection, will suit most businesses, operating in any weather environment perfectly fine.

For those working around swimming pools, where there is a real and ongoing risk to the radio being submerged in water for up to 30 minutes, we would recommend considering an IP67 rated radio such as the Icom IC-41Pro, or the Vertex Standard VX-456 at a minimum. We would also recommend an IP67 rated radio for extremely dusty environments, such a gold miners, or woodchip mills. 

Whilst using a two-way radio on the job, the last thing you want to worry about is whether your communication link to your team, and your safety, is going to stand up to the environmental conditions your team are operating in. If you need any further recommendations on the right radio solution for your work application please contact us for an obligation free quotation.

Like the AM or FM radio in your car or home stereo, your business two-way radio can receive and broadcast on either UHF or VHF frequencies. 

What are the performance differences between UHF and VHF?

UHF radio broadcasts, like FM radio broadcasts, give better building penetration performance, due to UHF's shorter wavelength compared with VHF. Therefore, UHF is the most common frequency band that metropolitan business radios will use. UHF includes both public (CB Channels) and private business frequencies available for your radio to broadcast on.
 
VHF like AM radio, gives better radio coverage over long distances due to VHF's longer wave length compared with UHF. However, VHF radio has weaker building penetration strength compared with UHF. Therefore, VHF is most commonly used by farms, rural mining projects or users who are prepared to sacrifice in-building coverage, for better outdoor coverage over longer distances. VHF has no public frequencies available, therefore, VHF radios can only broadcast on private or licenced frequencies.

"I've heard that a CB radio is a UHF radio".

CB Radios, or Citizen Band Radios, refer to the radio's ability to broadcast and receive transmissions on the Public, Citizen Band Channels (80 CB Channels) in the UHF spectrum. When you buy a "CB radio" or "CB Walkie Talkie" at your consumer electronics store such as Dick Smith, JB Hi-Fi etc., you are buying a radio that can communicate on the 80 CB channels ONLY. These walkie talkie devices offer no private / licenced channel capabilities. They are in effect toy radios, or personal use radios, to be used on the occasional camping trip or purchased in order to talk to truck drivers on the road, but consumer CB radios are not business communication devices.

Radio Warehouse DO NOT recommend that you purchase a CB radio if wanting to use the radio for business use UNLESS the radio has the joint ability for us to program our Onsite 16™ Team Channels or a Private Licence Channel onto the device. 

The hybrid "prosumer" radios that offer both consumer 80 CB channel access and private commercial channel programming abilities, include (in no order of preference) the Icom IC-41W, Kenwood TK-3310 or Vertex Standard VX-456. These radios are built to a far higher commercial and government specification than the toy CB radios you will find purchase elsewhere... the bubble packs, the "2 for $99" specials etc. 

If you need any further independent advice, please feel free to contact our solutions team. They earn no commission and will give you advice that's right for your business. Unlike other many other online stores out there, Radio Warehouse are fully authorised dealers of every solution we sell.

The IC-M25EURO has however gained some additional improvements on the IC-M23 such as, coming equipped with USB charge functionality allowing the user to charge their IC-M25EURO on the go; a significantly louder audio speaker now rated at 550mW (vs 200mW on the IC-M23) providing louder and clearer audio quality; and finally the inclusion of an audio accessory port, allowing the user to connect a remote speaker microphone to the IC-M25EURO for more hands free operation. 

The IC-M25EURO is now available to purchase at Radio Warehouse.