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Walkie Talkies are portable, hand-held communication devices. Their history can be traced back to the Second World War. It is believed there were many variations made for different armed forces, and it wasn’t until after the war that the walkie talkie found its way into the public and commercial sectors.

Features of Walkie Talkies
Walkie talkies are unique in that the half-duplex channel they operate on will only allow one radio to transmit at any time, though there are no limits to the amount that can listen. Rather than have an earpiece similar to a telephone, a walkie talkie has a built in speaker so the unit does not have to be held to the ear. Walkie talkies are used to connect to both other handheld units and to radio stations which are in a fixed location. Normally, the shape of a walkie talkie is that of a large telephone handset, and they incorporate a thick, fixed antenna at the top.

Walkie Talkie Origins
The fist radio audio transmiter and receiver that was coined the ‘walkie talkie’ was created by Motorola. The group involved created the Motorola SCR-300 using frequency modulation. The flagship walkie talkie, due to its size had to be worn on the back. Not long afterward, during World War 2, Motorola produced the ‘Handie Talkie’ which rather confusingly is what we would now recognise as a ‘Walkie Talkie’. It had massively reduced performance, but was the first completely self contained handheld device.

Wakie Talkies Today
Walkie talkies feature in a number of different environments nowadays, including military, outdoor recreation and public safety. As a result of this the prices and quality of the units vary greatly, from kids walkie talkies to rugged digital units for heavy industry use. Improvements in technology have meant that the size of the units has reduced considerably. Normally, you’l find the commercial walkie talkies are tougher, in protective cases and limited to a select few frequencies. Consumer versions of walkie talkies however are lighter, smaller in size and make it possible to scan across wider channels within bands. Kids walkie talkies are normally exempt from any licencing requirements as they are lower power units. Although they look similar to the fully featured versions, they are often of reduced technology.