Electrical Communication Systems Research Assignment: Two-Way Radio

Ari Bross, Zachary Zeitler

Electrical and Computer Engineering Rowan University Glassboro, NJ USA brossa22@students.rowan.edu, zeitle09@students.rowan.edu
AbstractThe two-way radio was researched as a specific pervasive communication method. The research included basic operation of the device, as well as the modulation and demodulation scheme, communication protocol, and transmission frequency bands. Current applications of the device were also investigated. Completing this assignment provided a better understanding of two-way radios and pervasive communication methods, in general.

I. INTRODUCTION A Two-way radio is a transceiver, a device that can both transmit and receive signals. It operates in half-duplex mode, which allows the user to either transmit or receive at any given time, but not simultaneously. A push button is used to activate the transmitter. When the button is released, the radio puts itself in receive mode. It has provided a simple, yet critical, means of communication in various industries since the early 1900s. Some of these industries include construction, public safety, armed forces, and maritime communications. Two-way radios are also used for personal communications. II. EXPLANATION Messages are transmitted by modulating, or combining, an audio signal with a higher frequency produced by the radios oscillator. This is achieved by imposing the audio signal on the radio frequency signal, called the carrier signal. In addition to audio signals, the carrier can also be modulated using tone signals or digital information. These methods allow data to be transmitted via the two-way radio. When receiving a signal, the message is separated from the carrier. This process is called demodulation. The two basic types of modulation are amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM). AM varies the amplitude of the carrier signal while the frequency remains constant. FM conveys information by simply varying its instantaneous frequency. FMs improved functionality is what makes it the most popular form of modulation in two-way radio systems. A major advantage of FM is its improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Compared to AM, FM typically has a poorer SNR below the noise threshold, the measure of how strong a signal is below its operating threshold. However, typical

operating conditions exist much higher than the noise margin, where FMs SNR is greatly improved. FM signals are less impacted by noise because noise affects the envelope of an AM signal, whereas FM does not have a signal envelope. This results in clearer and louder transmitted signals. Radio communication systems can follow many different types of protocols, but there are only two different ways of classifying these systems. They are considered either conventional or trunked. In a simple conventional system, a radio is tuned to transmit and receive on a frequency specified by the user. A trunked system is a more advanced form of the conventional system, where a computer decides what frequency the radio should use to transmit and receive. For example, a radio might be programmed with a bank of talkgroups, or channels, that have a number of frequencies available. When a talk-group is selected, the computer tells each radio what frequency it should use at that given moment. This type of system allows more channels to be used, with fewer frequencies required. Conventional systems have a form of selective calling similar to trunked systems that allows different people to communicate on the same frequency while only hearing specific people. This is accomplished by using a continuous tone-coded squelch system (CTCSS). In a CTCSS, a private line (PL) tone, as characterized by Motorola, is added to the signal to be transmitted. These tones tell the receiving radio if it should listen to that transmission. These tones are in the 67 Hz to 250 Hz range. The receiving radio removes these CTCSS tones from the audio signal so that the user does not hear it. If the transmitting radio does not use the correct tone, the receiving radio will not be able to hear the transmission. This allows communications among people or groups of people to remain private. Conventional systems also allow radio information to be transmitted in short data bursts at either the beginning or end of a transmission. This allows other radio users to see the ID of the currently transmitting radio. There are many different modes used for trunked radio systems. Popular systems include Enhanced Digital Access Communication System (EDACS), Logic Trunked Radio (LTR), and Motorola Type I and Type II. Each of these systems has different ways of selecting frequencies and channels. There are also differences in how each system responds to events, such as attempted transmission when no

more frequencies are available. Motorola Type I and II systems are more advanced than both EDACS and LTR in the way they handle data. Both of these systems transmit data at the start of every transmission. This data includes the radios ID, its fleet information, and the subfleet information. These fleets and subfleets are methods of grouping channels and talk-groups into logical divisions. There are various frequency bands on which a radio can operate. The most common two-way radio communication frequency bands include High Frequency (HF), Very High Frequency (VHF), and Ultra High Frequency (UHF). HF covers 3 to 30 MHz, and is common to shortwave radio. Frequencies in this band can travel long distances by skipping off of the Earth and the ionosphere. VHF covers 30 to 300 MHz, and is commonly used for FM radio, emergency service communications, amateur radio, and marine communications. VHF communications are not reflected by the ionosphere, so they cannot travel as far as HF. However, VHF is much less susceptible to noise. VHF tends to have a maximum range of approximately 100 miles, which is defined as the local radio horizon. UHF covers 300 MHZ to 3 GHz, and is commonly used for cordless phones, walkie-talkies, and emergency service communications. One of the many benefits of UHF communications is the need for shorter antennas, which are required for the shorter wavelengths. A major disadvantage of UHF communications is that UHF can only operate in a lineof-sight manner. This requires the transmitting and receiving antennas to have a direct line of sight, in order for the transmission to have little to no attenuation.

REFERENCES [1] K. Imel, J. Hart. (2003, January). Understanding wireless communications in public safety [Online]. Available: http://transition.fcc.gov/pshs/docs-best/imelwireless03.pdf [2] Advanced Radio Systems. (2013). Introduction to 2-way radios [Online]. Available: http://www.myradiomall.com/make-astore/static/radio_courses_1/1.html