Guides

On a dark street in a blackout, neighbors search for a signal on their phones behind a RIGR radio standing on the hood of a parked car.

Emergency Communication When Cell Service Fails...

Emergency communication depends on what has failed: calls, one network, tower power or nearly every local site. FCC figures on why sites go down, how long their batteries last, what...

Emergency Communication When Cell Service Fails...

Emergency communication depends on what has failed: calls, one network, tower power or nearly every local site. FCC figures on why sites go down, how long their batteries last, what...

A mother and her teenage son talk behind a kitchen table set with water jugs, canned food, a lantern, batteries and a portable radio.

Emergency Preparedness: Why Countries Say to St...

The UK launched Be Ready on 22 October and Japan plans an appeal on 2 November, yet no government in this comparison asks households for 30 or 90 days. What...

Emergency Preparedness: Why Countries Say to St...

The UK launched Be Ready on 22 October and Japan plans an appeal on 2 November, yet no government in this comparison asks households for 30 or 90 days. What...

An isometric illustration of a school, a bus leaving its loop and a coach at a museum, with three staff members linked by one line of radio contact.

Two-Way Radios for Schools: Campus, Buses and F...

A school has three places where staff need to reach each other: the buildings, the buses and the field trip. Which radio covers each, the FCC license and fee by...

Two-Way Radios for Schools: Campus, Buses and F...

A school has three places where staff need to reach each other: the buildings, the buses and the field trip. Which radio covers each, the FCC license and fee by...

A painterly illustration of two event crew members talking on handheld radios at dusk, a row of speech bubbles with simple symbols floating between them.

Walkie Talkie Lingo: 50 Terms and When to Use Each

Over hands the conversation back, out ends it, and over and out contradicts itself. This glossary gives 50 radio terms, with the official source named wherever one exists and a...

Walkie Talkie Lingo: 50 Terms and When to Use Each

Over hands the conversation back, out ends it, and over and out contradicts itself. This glossary gives 50 radio terms, with the official source named wherever one exists and a...

An illustration of eight kinds of walkie-talkie in a row, each linked to how it connects: straight to another radio, to a hilltop mast, to a cell tower or to a satellite.

What Is a Walkie Talkie? Every Type, and How Ea...

A walkie talkie is a handheld two-way radio, and eight kinds are in use today. They split on one question: whether the radios reach each other directly or through a...

What Is a Walkie Talkie? Every Type, and How Ea...

A walkie talkie is a handheld two-way radio, and eight kinds are in use today. They split on one question: whether the radios reach each other directly or through a...

At a mountain campground at blue hour, two tents glow in a meadow while a single headlamp climbs the switchbacks of a forested ridge above a hazy valley.

Walkie Talkies for Hiking and Camping: What Wor...

A campground loop, a trailhead and a backcountry valley need different radios. The right one for each, what nine of the most-visited national parks say about phone service, measured handheld...

Walkie Talkies for Hiking and Camping: What Wor...

A campground loop, a trailhead and a backcountry valley need different radios. The right one for each, what nine of the most-visited national parks say about phone service, measured handheld...