7 Common Misunderstandings in Two Way Radio World

Last modified By Dom on
on May 11th, 2020
Motorola DP1400 Digital

Myth 1: Two-way radios are expensive

Fact: The cost of the digital Two Way Radio equipment might differ according to the user’s needs. However, the initiate cost is a one-off payment. There are no extra running costs or charges as compared to mobile/phone system.  Therefore, in the long run, two-way radios are actually a cheaper option.

We have few customers who were using two-way radios and moved to different, ‘modern’, communication systems, however after some time they came back to using two-way radios as they realised there are no hidden or additional costs and systems are much more reliable.

Myth 2: Ofcom license is hard to obtain and is expensive

Fact: The cost of Ofcom general UK license is £75 for 5 years. It is really easy to obtain a license. Furthermore, when you are co-operating with a responsible company such as Apex, we will take care of all the paperwork involved in obtaining your radio licence and its renewals on your behalf.

Myth 3: The sound quality might not be as good as the telephone

Fact: Two-way radios offers an immediate sound transfer. You will need to choose the right equipment depending on your distance and surroundings. New digital radios are transmitting the sound digitally and therefore are able to cancel background noise- transmitting only clear audio.

Myth 4: Two-way radios don’t offer extra features

Fact: As we can see technology is evolving faster than ever before. One might think that attention isn’t given to ‘old school’ radio communication. Well, they couldn’t be more wrong.

Newer models of two-way radios (as for instance Sepura radios) offer functions such as GPS, group call, private call, all call, text messaging, man down option (ensuring workers safety), lone worker option, vibrate alerts, busy channel (prevents talking over other users), transmit interrupt (override conversations), emergency calls, etc…

Therefore, two-way radios are offering more fit-for-purpose options than any other similar equipmentIn addition, two-way radios are super tough and durable devices.

Myth 5: The Coverage is not good enough

Fact: If extensive coverage is needed repeaters can be IP linked to provide wide area coverage on digital radio systems so whole cities can be covered and different sites across the country can be linked over the internet.

Myth 6: Two-way radios are too big

Fact: Maybe we can all remember these old walkie talkies used in Die Hard from the 90s (which was by the way 20 years ago). As mentioned above, two-way radio technology is evolving. Currently, on the market are available radios smaller that iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S4 mini (For instance Hytera PD365)

Myth 7: Two-way radios are only used in large organisations

Fact: Lot of people associate two-way radios with large organisations or institutions such as airports or police. However, two-way radios have unlimited usage. You can have 2 or 1000 radios. In fact, many small organisations use radios to communicate such as restaurants or offices. Licence-free radios are also widely used by families in amusement parks or on road trips (which in my personal opinion makes the road trip even more interesting).

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