Improved audio quality is one of the best reasons to use digital two-way radios (walkie-talkies) in commercial settings. Particularly in environments where radios are used by mobile work teams who move around a lot over large distances and need to stay in instant communication with other people in their organizations. Plus, when work operations are particularly noisy, digital radios really prove their value. Picture construction sites with equipment and vehicles running in the background, or factory floors with manufacturing lines rumbling all around. Any location where you have to shout to be heard – even when standing right next to someone – puts an added premium on audio quality. These kinds of situations demonstrate the superiority of digital radios. They also make the case for upgrading your radio network to digital technologies. Even in settings that are not overly noisy – the clarity of digital voice signals all the way to the boundaries of the coverage range is highly beneficial. For instance, you don't want to be misunderstood or waste time when your customer is waiting for an answer to their question, or if someone is hurt and you're calling to describe the location where you need help. Why is digital audio quality better? With analog two-way radios, the natural human voice is carried by radio signals. You can hear the person’s voice exactly as it sounds, and interference, obstacles, and coverage limitations can significantly degrade quality. In contrast, digital radios create an electronic version of our voices. The vocoder inside the radio converts traditional analog voice signals into positive and negative binary signals, and transmits this digital information to the other radio. Then the vocoder on the other end translates the signal back to an analog voice, so the signal goes from analog to digital and back to analog. With analog, as the radios move farther apart, their signals steadily degrade. Your car radio does the same thing when you drive down the highway creating a consistent downward slope as the signal fades. White noise starts coming in as more obstructions and distance comes between the receiver and the transmitter. A digital radio’s vocoder, however, has bit-error correction – a tool to help re-assemble the voice signals. As the radios are getting farther and farther apart, bit-error correction prevents the quality of the voice digital signal from degrading like the analog signal does. Hence, unlike analog platforms, the audio quality stays clear right to the very edge of the coverage range. Eventually however, the number of bit errors exceeds the number of corrections as the radios move farther apart and the signal ends, just as it does with a cell phone. That’s how digital performs – it eventually runs out of range and you lose signal. However, in the coverage range, digital maintains a strong, solid signal farther than analog. Fading analog signals can be extremely annoying when all you hear is the crackle and pop. Reducing background noise One of the major shortcomings of an analog radio system is that once you push the button to talk, you’re speaking into an open microphone that picks up any nearby noises and transmits them along with your voice. Imagine running a piece of heavy equipment and needing to ask a question of a foreman. You may have to holler to be heard over the noise of a backhoe or front loader – if you can be heard at all. If you’re working outdoors, wind rushing past the microphone can further complicate the strained communication. A digital radio is designed to do a much better job of filtering out background sounds that can clutter analog transmissions. The vocoder essentially knows how to turn up the human voice and turn down everything else. That’s because the vocoder has been programmed to identify the sound of people talking. For example, consider a race track with the stock cars thundering by. An analog radio is almost worthless because of the background noise, but digital radios like those in the Motorola Solutions MOTOTRBO line are usable because the background noise is suppressed significantly so voice comes across stronger due to the functionality of the vocoder. For users, that’s what matters, and that's why using digital two-way radios can make such a difference for effective communications in most business settings. BearCom will be happy to consult with you and develop the perfect digital solutions for your operations. Contact the BearCom Team at: 800.527.1670.

About BearCom

BearCom provides a broad line of high-performance wireless communications products, services, and complete mobility solutions. Founded in 1981, BearCom is America’s only nationwide dealer and integrator of wireless communications equipment, serves customers from 29 branch offices located throughout the U.S., and employs approximately 360 people. BearCom is headquartered in the Dallas, Texas area. MOTOROLA, MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2015 Motorola Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.