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MobileradioWikipedia

Mobileradio
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Mobileradioormobilesrefertowirelesscommunicationssystemsanddeviceswhicharebasedonradio
frequencies,andwherethepathofcommunicationsismovableoneitherend.Thereareavarietyofviewsabout
whatconstitutesmobileequipment.ForUSlicensingpurposes,mobilesmayincludehandcarried,(sometimes
calledportable),equipment.Anobsoletetermisradiophone.[1]
Asalespersonorradiorepairshopwouldunderstandthewordmobiletomeanvehiclemounted:atransmitter
receiver(transceiver)usedforradiocommunicationsfromavehicle.Mobileradiosaremountedtoamotorvehicle
usuallywiththemicrophoneandcontrolpanelinreachofthedriver.IntheUS,suchadeviceistypicallypowered
bythehostvehicle's12voltelectricalsystem.
Somemobileradiosaremountedinaircraft(aeronauticalmobile),shipboard(maritimemobile),onmotorcycles,or
railroadlocomotives.Powermayvarywitheachplatform.Forexample,amobileradioinstalledinalocomotive
wouldrunoffof72or30voltDCpower.Alargeshipwith117VACpowermighthaveabasestationmounted
ontheship'sbridge.

Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6

Disambiguation:Twowayversustelephone
History
Today
Details
Antenna
Multipleradiosets
6.1 Multiplecontrols,microphones
6.2 Dataradio
7 Walkietalkieconvertersinplaceofmobileradios
8 Notes

Disambiguation:Twowayversustelephone
Thedistinctionbetweenradiotelephonesandtwowayradioisbecomingblurredasthetwotechnologiesmerge.
Thebackboneorinfrastructuresupportingthesystemdefineswhichcategoryortaxonomyapplies.Aparallelto
thisconceptistheconvergenceofcomputingandtelephones.
Radiotelephonesarefullduplex(simultaneoustalkandlisten),circuitswitched,andprimarilycommunicatewith
telephonesconnectedtothepublicswitchedtelephonenetwork.Theconnectionsetsupbasedontheuserdialing.
Theconnectionistakendownwhentheendbuttonispressed.Theyrunontelephonybasedinfrastructuresuchas
AMPSorGSM.
Twowayradioisprimarilyadispatchtoolintendedtocommunicateinsimplexorhalfduplexmodesusingpush
totalk,andprimarilyintendedtocommunicatewithotherradiosratherthantelephones.Thesesystemsrunon
pushtotalkbasedinfrastructuresuchasNextel'siDEN,SpecializedMobileRadio(SMR),MPT1327,Enhanced
SpecializedMobileRadio(ESMR)orconventionaltwowaysystems.Certainmoderntwowayradiosystemsmay
havefullduplextelephonecapability.
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History
Earlyusersofmobileradioequipmentincludedtransportationandgovernment.Thesesystemsusedoneway
broadcastinginsteadoftwowayconversations.Railroadsusedmediumfrequencyrange(MF)communications
(similartotheAMbroadcastband)toimprovesafety.Insteadofhangingoutofalocomotivecabandgrabbing
trainorderswhilerollingpastastation,voicecommunicationswithrollingtrainsbecamepossible.Radioslinked
thecaboosewiththelocomotivecab.EarlypoliceradiosystemswereinitiallyonewayusingMFfrequencies
abovetheAMbroadcastband,(1.7MHz).Someearlysystemstalkedbacktodispatchona3050MHzlink,
(calledcrossband).
Earlymobileradiosusedamplitudemodulation(AM)toconveyintelligencethroughthecommunicationschannel.
Intime,problemswithsourcesofelectricalnoiseshowedthatfrequencymodulation(FM)wassuperiorforits
abilitytocopewithvehicleignitionandpowerlinenoise.Thefrequencyrangeusedbymostearlyradiosystems,
25to50MHz(vhf"lowband")isparticularlysusceptibletotheproblemofelectricalnoise.Thisplustheneedfor
morechannelsledtotheeventualexpansionoftwowayradiocommunicationsintotheVHF"highband"(150to
174MHz)andUHF(450to470MHz).TheUHFbandhassincebeenexpandedagain.
Oneofthemajorchallengesinearlymobileradiotechnologywasthatofconvertingthesixortwelvevoltpower
supplyofthevehicletothehighvoltageneededtooperatethevacuumtubesintheradio.Earlytubetyperadios
useddynamotorsessentiallyasixortwelvevoltmotorthatturnedageneratortoprovidethehighvoltages
requiredbythevacuumtubes.Someearlymobileradioswerethesizeofasuitcaseorhadseparateboxesforthe
transmitterandreceiver.Astimewenton,powersupplytechnologyevolvedtousefirstelectromechanical
vibrators,thensolidstatepowersuppliestoprovidehighvoltageforthevacuumtubes.Thesecircuits,called
"inverters",changedthe6Vor12Vdirectcurrent(DC)toalternatingcurrent(AC)whichcouldbepassedthrough
atransformertomakehighvoltage.ThepowersupplythenrectifiedthishighvoltagetomakethehighvoltageDC
requiredforthevacuumtubes,(calledvalvesinBritishEnglish).Thepowersuppliesneededtopowervacuumtube
radiosresultedinacommontraitoftubetypemobileradios:theirheavyweightduetotheironcoretransformers
inthepowersupplies.Thesehighvoltagepowersupplieswereinefficient,andthefilamentsofthevacuumtubes
addedtocurrentdemands,taxingvehicleelectricalsystems.Sometimes,ageneratororalternatorupgradewas
neededtosupportthecurrentrequiredforatubetypemobileradio.
ExamplesofUS1950s1960stubetypemobileradioswithnotransistors:
MotorolaFMTRU140D(dynamotorpowered)
MotorolaTwinV,namedforits"universal"6or12Voltpowersupply
GeneralElectricProgressLine(Earlymodelswithout"TPower"powersupply)
KaarEngineeringModel501
EquipmentfromdifferentUSmanufacturershadsimilartraits.ThiswaspartlydictatedbyFederal
CommunicationsCommission(FCC)regulations.Therequirementthatunauthorizedpersonsbeprohibitedfrom
usingtheradiotransmittermeantthatmanyradioswerewiredsotheycouldnottransmitunlessthevehicle
ignitionwason.Personswithoutakeytothevehiclecouldnottransmit.Equipmenthadtobe"typeaccepted",or
technicallyapproved,bytheFCCbeforeitcouldbeofferedforsale.Inordertobetypeaccepted,theradiosethad
tobeequippedwithanindicatorlight,usuallygreenoryellow,thatshowedpowerwasappliedandtheradiowas
readytotransmit.Radioswerealsorequiredtohavealamp(usuallyred)indicatingwhenthetransmitterwason.
Thesetraitscontinueinthedesignofmodernradios.
Earlytubetyperadiosoperatedon50kHzchannelspacingwithplusorminusfifteenkilohertzmodulation
deviation.Thismeantthatthenumberofradiochannelsthatcouldbeaccommodatedintheavailableradio
frequencyspectrumwerelimitedtoacertainnumber,dictatedbythebandwidthofthesignaloneachchannel.

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Solidstateequipmentarrivedinthe1960s,
withmoreefficientcircuitryandsmaller
size.Channelspacingnarrowedto20
30kHzwithmodulationdeviation
droppingtoplusorminusfivekilohertz.
Thiswasdonetoallowmoreradio
spectrumavailabilitytoaccommodatethe
rapidlygrowingnationalgroupoftwo
wayradiousers.Bythemid1970s,tube
typetransmitterpoweramplifiershadbeen
Intheearly1970s,theCaliforniaDepartmentofForestryrequirementfor
replacedwithhighpowertransistors.
6frequencytransmit,3frequencyreceive,scanning,anda5toneburst
Fromthe1960stothe1980s,largesystem
encoderwasunusual,leadingtothiscustombuiltmobileradio.
userswithspecializedrequirementsoften
hadcustombuiltradiosdesignedfortheir
uniquesystems.SystemswithmultipleCTCSStoneencodersandmorethantwochannelswereunusual.
ManufacturersofmobileradiosbuiltcustomizedequipmentforlargeradiofleetssuchastheCalifornia
DepartmentofForestryandtheCaliforniaHighwayPatrol.
ExamplesofUShybridpartiallysolidstatemobileradios:
MotorolaMotrac
MotorolaMJIMTSCarTelephone(1963)
GeneralElectricTransistorizedProgressLine
GeneralElectricMASTRProfessionalandMASTRExecutive
RCASuperCarfone

Today
Customdesignforaparticularcustomerisathingofthepast.Modernmobileradioequipmentis"featurerich".A
mobileradiomayhave100ormorechannels,bemicroprocessorcontrolledandhavebuiltinoptionssuchasunit
ID.Acomputerandsoftwareistypicallyrequiredtoprogramthefeaturesandchannelsofthemobileradio.Menus
ofoptionsmaybeseverallevelsdeepandofferacomplicatedarrayofpossibilities.Somemobileradioshave
alphanumericdisplaysthattranslatechannelnumbers(F1,F2)toaphrasemoremeaningfultotheuser,suchas
"ProvidenceBase","BostonBase",etc.Radiosarenowdesignedwithamyriadoffeaturestoprecludetheneedfor
customdesign.
ExamplesofUSmicroprocessorcontrolledmobileradios:
MotorolaAstroDigitalSpectraW9
KenwoodTK690
Asuseofmobileradioequipmenthasvirtuallyexploded,channelspacinghashadtobenarrowedagainto12.5
15kHzwithmodulationdeviationdroppingtoplusorminus2.5kilohertz.Inordertofitintosmaller,more
economicalvehicles,today'sradiosaretrendingtowardradicallysmallersizesthantheirtubetypeancestors.

Details
Commercialandprofessionalmobileradiosareoftenpurchasedfromanequipmentsupplierordealerwhosestaff
willinstalltheequipmentintotheuser'svehicles.Largefleetusersmaybuyradiosdirectlyfromanequipment
manufacturerandmayevenemploytheirowntechnicalstaffforinstallationandmaintenance.
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Amodernmobileradioconsistsofaradiotransceiver,housedinasinglebox,andamicrophonewithapushto
talkbutton.Eachinstallationwouldalsohaveavehiclemountedantennaconnectedtothetransceiverbyacoaxial
cable.Somemodelsmayhaveanexternal,separatespeakerwhichcanbepositionedandorientedfacingthedriver
toovercomeambientroadnoisepresentwhendriving.Theinstallerwouldhavetolocatethisequipmentinaway
thatdoesnotinterferewiththevehicle'ssunroof,electronicenginemanagementsystem,vehiclestability
computer,orairbags.
Mobileradiosinstalledonmotorcyclesaresubjecttoextremevibrationandweather.Professionalequipment
designedforuseonmotorcyclesisweatherandvibrationresistant.Shockmountingsystemsareusedtoreducethe
radio'sexposuretovibrationimpartedbythemotorcycle'smodal,orresonant,shaking.
Somemobileradiosusenoisecancelingmicrophonesorheadsets.Atspeedsover100MPH,theambientroadand
windnoisecanmakeradiocommunicationsdifficulttounderstand.Forexample,CaliforniaHighwayPatrol
mobileradioshavenoisecancelingmicrophoneswhichreduceroadandsirennoiseheardbythedispatcher.Most
fireenginesandradiosinheavyequipmentusenoisecancelingheadsets.Theseprotecttheoccupant'shearingand
reducebackgroundnoiseinthetransmittedaudio.Noisecancelingmicrophonesrequiretheoperatorspeakdirectly
intothefrontofthemicrophone.Holearraysinthebackofthemicrophonepickupambientnoise.Thisisapplied,
outofphase,tothebackofthemicrophone,effectivelyreducingorcancelinganysoundwhichispresentbothin
frontandbackofthemicrophone.Ideally,onlythevoicepresentonthefrontsideofthemicrophonegoesouton
theair.
Manyradiosareequippedwithtransmittertimeouttimerswhichlimitthelengthofatransmission.Abaneof
pushtotalksystemsisthestuckmicrophone:aradiolockedontransmitwhichdisruptscommunicationsonatwo
wayradiosystem.Oneexampleofthisproblemoccurredinacarwithaconcealedtwowayradioinstallation
wherethemicrophoneandcoiledcordwerehiddeninsidetheglovebox.Anoperatortossedthemikeintothe
gloveboxandshutit,causingthepushtotalkbuttontobedepressedandlockingthetransmitteron.Ontaxi
systems,adrivermaybeupsetwhenadispatcherassignsacall(s)hewantedtoanotherdriverandmay
deliberatelyholdthetransmitbuttondown(forwhichtheownercanbefinedbytheFCC).Radioswithtimeout
timerstransmitforthepresetamountoftime,usually30or60seconds,afterwhichthetransmitterautomatically
turnsoffandaloudtonecomesoutoftheradiospeaker.Thevolumelevelofthetoneonsomeradiosisloudand
cannotbeadjusted.Assoonasthepushtotalkbuttonisreleased,thetonestopsandthetimerresets.
MobileradioequipmentismanufacturedtospecificationsdevelopedbytheElectronicsIndustries
Association/TelecommunicationsIndustriesAssociation(EIA/TIA).Thesespecificationshavebeendevelopedto
helpassuretheuserthatmobileradioequipmentperformsasexpectedandtopreventthesaleanddistributionof
inferiorequipmentwhichcoulddegradecommunications.

Antenna
Amobileradiomusthaveanassociatedantenna.Themostcommonantennasarestainlesssteelwireorrodwhips
whichprotrudeverticallyfromthevehicle.Physicsdefinestheantennalength:lengthrelatestofrequencyand
cannotbearbitrarilylengthenedorshortened(morelikely)bytheenduser.Thestandard"quarterwave"antennain
the2550MHzrangecanbeoverninefeetlong.A900MHzantennamaybethreeincheslongforaquarter
wavelength.Atransitbusmayhavearuggedizedantenna,whichlookslikeawhiteplasticbladeorfin,onitsroof.
SomevehicleswithconcealedradioinstallationshaveantennasdesignedtolookliketheoriginalAM/FMantenna,
arearviewmirror,ormaybeinstalledinsidewindows,orhiddenonthefloorpanorundersideofavehicle.
Aircraftantennaslooklikebladesorfins,thesizeandshapebeingdeterminedbyfrequenciesused.Microwave
antennasmaylooklikeflatpanelsontheaircraft'sskin.Temporaryinstallationsmayhaveantennaswhichclipon
tovehiclepartsorareattachedtosteelbodypartsbyastrongmagnet.

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Thoughinitiallyrelativelyinexpensivemobileradiosystemcomponents,frequentlydamagedantennascanbe
costlytoreplacesincetheyareusuallynotincludedinmaintenancecontractsformobileradiofleets.Sometypes
ofvehiclesin24houruse,withstiffsuspensions,tallheights,orroughdieselengineidlevibrationsmaydamage
antennasquickly.Thelocationandtypeofantennacanaffectsystemperformancedrastically.Largefleetsusually
testafewvehiclesbeforemakingacommitmenttoacertainantennalocationortype.
USOccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministrationguidelinesfornonionizingradioenergygenerallysaythe
radioantennamustbetwofeetfromanyvehicleoccupants.(ReadtheOSHAguidelinesbeforeattemptingto
installanantenna.)Thisruleofthumbisintendedtoresultinpassengersbeingexposedtosafelevelsofradio
frequencyenergyintheeventtheradiotransmits.

Multipleradiosets
Dispatchreliantservices,suchastowcarsorambulances,mayhaveseveralradiosineachvehicle.Forexample,
towcarsmayhaveoneradiofortowingcompanycommunicationsandasecondforemergencyroadservice
communications.Ambulancesmayhaveasimilararrangementwithoneradioforgovernmentemergencymedical
servicesdispatchandoneforcompanydispatch.

Multiplecontrols,microphones
USambulancesoftenhaveradioswithdual
controlsanddualmicrophonesallowingthe
radiotobeusedfromthepatientcareareain
therearorfromthevehicle'scab.[2]

Dataradio
Bothtowcarsandambulancesmayhavean
additionalradiowhichtransmitsandreceivesto
supportamobiledataterminal.Adataterminal
radioallowsdatacommunicationstotakeplace
overtheseparateradio.Inthesamewaythata
facsimilemachinehasaseparatephoneline,
AmobileradioinaUSambulanceoftenhastwosetsofcontrols:one
thismeansdataandvoicecommunicationcan
inthepatientareaandanothernearthedriver.
takeplacesimultaneouslyoveraseparateradio.
EarlyFederalExpress(FedEx)radiosystems
usedasingleradiofordataandvoice.Theradiohadarequesttospeakbuttonwhich,whenacknowledged,
allowedvoicecommunicationtothedispatchcenter.
Eachradioworksoverasinglebandoffrequencies.Ifatowcarcompanyhadafrequencyonthesamebandasits
autoclub,asingleradiowithscanningmightbeemployedforbothsystems.Sinceamobileradiotypicallyworks
onasinglefrequencyband,multipleradiosmayberequiredincaseswherecommunicationstakeplaceover
systemsonmorethanonefrequencyband.[3]

Walkietalkieconvertersinplaceofmobileradios
Intendedasacostsavings,somesystemsemployvehicularchargersinsteadofamobileradio.Eachradiouseris
issuedawalkietalkie.Eachvehicleisequippedwithachargersystemconsole.Thewalkietalkieinsertedintoa
vehicularchargerorconverterwhiletheuserisinthevehicle.Thechargerorconverter1)connectsthewalkie
talkietothevehicle'stwowayradioantenna,2)connectsanamplifiedspeaker,3)connectsamobilemicrophone,
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and4)chargesthewalkietalkie'sbattery.[4]Theweakpointofthesesystemshasbeenconnectortechnologywhich
hasbeenprovenunreliableinsomeinstallations.Receiverperformanceisaproblemincongestedradiosignaland
urbanareas.Theseinstallationsaresometimesreferredtoasjerkandrunsystems.

Notes
1.Citedinmanyreferencesincludingonescutcheonsandsilkscreenedfaceplateson1960sMotorolaproductsincluding
earlyHT200andDispatcherseriesmobiles.LaterHT200sdroppedtheterm.ItwasalsoseenonsomeKaar
Engineeringmobileproducts.OneexampleisthetitleonaSpecialProductsservicemanualModelT31BAT3100BSP3
'Dispatcher'Radiophone2554MC12WRFPower12VDC,StateofCaliforniaRadioCommunicationsSystem,
(Chicago:MotorolaCommunicationsDivision,1965).TheOxfordEnglishDictionaryconflictswithsomeuses,saying
radiophoneisinterchangeablewithradiotelephone.The11theditionofNewton'sTelecomDictionarysaysradiophoneis
an,"obsoleteterm."
2."EvaluatingRegionalAlternatives,"PlanningEmergencyMedicalCommunications:Volume2,RegionallevelPlanning
Guide,(Washington,DC:DepartmentofTransportation,NationalHighwayTrafficSafetyAdministration,1995)pp.45
49.
3.Paragraph2.4(e),ArizonaPhaseIIFinalReport:StatewideRadioInteroperabilityNeedsAssessment,Macro
CorporationandTheStateofArizona,2004,pp.15.and"EvaluatingRegionalAlternatives,"PlanningEmergency
MedicalCommunications:Volume2,RegionallevelPlanningGuide,(Washington,DC:DepartmentofTransportation,
NationalHighwayTrafficSafetyAdministration,1995)pp.4549.
4.Forexample,MotorolahastrademarkedthenameConvertaComforasystemwhichaccomplishesallthreeofthese
tasks.SomeConvertaComsystemsallowtheattachmentofsignalingdevicesorexternaldevicesnotusuallycompatible
withwalkietalkies.OnehistoricexampleistheNLN4470AforMT500seriesradios.

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