How-To-Radio: Real World Range

If you are thinking of implementing a two-way radio solution into your workplace, it’s important to ensure that the radios you are using are going to be able to be talk to each other. 

This requires the radios to be 'in range’ – meaning the signals that your radio is putting out are able to reach the radios you are wanting to talk to. Understanding the difference between ‘ideal range’ and ‘real world range’ is essential to having a two-way radio solution that works for you.

The ‘ideal range’ of a two-way radio is the range that radio can achieve in perfect conditions, without any interference. This would require you to be completely unobstructed by buildings or foliage and have a clear line of sight to the person you are trying to communicate with. Often if you are in a workplace where two-way radios need to be implemented, you aren’t going to be able to ensure these perfect conditions. This is where ‘real word range’ comes in.

‘Real world range’ is the actual range of a radio, as it works in the conditions of your workplace. This can vary based on the wattage of your radio, obstructions that may be in the way such as foliage, or even weather in some cases. To learn more about wattage, check out this How-To-Radio we wrote about what it is, and why understanding it is important. In some cases, the range of your radios alone may not be enough to communicate with the people on your team. In situations like this, it may be beneficial to install a repeater to boost the signal across your workplace.

Repeaters are used to extend and increase the range of your radios, allowing you to communicate with your team across further distances and through more difficult terrain. They are able to overcome geographical features that would otherwise obstruct radio communications by breaking the line of sight, or to extend coverage to allow communication over greater distances. This means a repeater can be a vital addition to your two way radio fleet, particularly if you work on a large plot of land or there is thick foliage or other obstructions to your line of sight. If you want to know more about repeaters, check out this post where we go in depth about what they are and how they can improve your two-way radio communication setup.