Hand-held portable two-way communications device

Walkie-talkie

Walkie-talkie

A walkie-talkie, more formally known as a handheld transceiver (HT), is a hand-held, portable, <a href="/en/Two-way_radio" title="Two-way radio" class="wl">two-way radio</a> <a href="/en/Transceiver" title="Transceiver" class="wl">transceiver</a>. Its development during the <a href="/en/Second_World_War" title="Second World War" class="mw-redirect wl">Second World War</a> has been variously credited to <a href="/en/Donald_Hings" title="Donald Hings" class="wl">Donald Hings</a>, radio engineer <a href="/en/Alfred_J._Gross" title="Alfred J. Gross" class="mw-redirect wl">Alfred J. Gross</a>, <a href="/en/Henryk_Magnuski" title="Henryk Magnuski" class="wl">Henryk Magnuski</a> and engineering teams at <a href="/en/Motorola" title="Motorola" class="wl">Motorola</a>. First used for infantry, similar designs were created for field artillery and tank units, and after the war, walkie-talkies spread to public safety and eventually commercial and jobsite work.<a href="#cite_note-Sterling2008-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Hand-held portable two-way communications device</div>
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<figure class="mw-default-size wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:Recreational_Walkie_Talkies.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Recreational_Walkie_Talkies.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Recreational_Walkie_Talkies.jpg/220px-Recreational_Walkie_Talkies.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="640" data-file-height="480" data-file-type="bitmap" height="165" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Recreational_Walkie_Talkies.jpg/330px-Recreational_Walkie_Talkies.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Recreational_Walkie_Talkies.jpg/440px-Recreational_Walkie_Talkies.jpg 2x" alt="Recreational_Walkie_Talkies.jpg"></a><figcaption>Recreational, toy and amateur radio walkie-talkies</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="mw-default-size wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:Various_Radios_&_head_unit.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Various_Radios_&_head_unit.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Various_Radios_%26_head_unit.jpg/220px-Various_Radios_%26_head_unit.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="6000" data-file-height="4000" data-file-type="bitmap" height="147" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Various_Radios_%26_head_unit.jpg/330px-Various_Radios_%26_head_unit.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Various_Radios_%26_head_unit.jpg/440px-Various_Radios_%26_head_unit.jpg 2x" alt="Various_Radios_%26_head_unit.jpg"></a><figcaption>Assorted two-way <a href="/en/Family_Radio_Service" title="Family Radio Service" class="wl">FRS</a> and <a href="/en/GMRS" title="GMRS" class="mw-redirect wl">GMRS</a> walkie talkies with hand mic</figcaption></figure>
Typical walkie-talkies resemble a <a href="/en/Telephone" title="Telephone" class="wl">telephone</a> <a href="/en/Handset" title="Handset" class="wl">handset</a>, with a <a href="/en/Loudspeaker" title="Loudspeaker" class="wl">speaker</a> built into one end and a <a href="/en/Microphone" title="Microphone" class="wl">microphone</a> in the other (in some devices the speaker also is used as the microphone) and an <a href="/en/Antenna_(electronics)" title="Antenna (electronics)" class="mw-redirect wl">antenna</a> mounted on the top of the unit. They are held up to the face to talk. A walkie-talkie is a <a href="/en/Duplex_(telecommunications)" title="Duplex (telecommunications)" class="wl">half-duplex</a> communication device. Multiple walkie-talkies use a single radio channel, and only one radio on the channel can transmit at a time, although any number can listen. The transceiver is normally in receive mode; when the user wants to talk they must press a "<a href="/en/Push-to-talk" title="Push-to-talk" class="wl">push-to-talk</a>" (PTT) button that turns off the receiver and turns on the transmitter. Smaller versions of this device are also very popular among young children. 

Some units have additional features such as sending calls, call reception with vibration alarm, keypad locking, and a stopwatch.<a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a><a href="#cite_note-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a>

A walkie-talkie, more formally known as a handheld transceiver , is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, Henryk Magnuski and engineering teams at Motorola. First used for infantry, similar designs were created for field artillery and tank units, and after the war, walkie-talkies spread to public safety and eventually commercial and jobsite work. Typical walkie-talkies resemble a telephone handset, with a speaker built into one end and a microphone in the other and an antenna mounted on the top of the unit. They are held up to the face to talk. A walkie-talkie is a half-duplex communication device. Multiple walkie-talkies use a single radio channel, and only one radio on the channel can transmit at a time, although any number can listen. The transceiver is normally in receive mode; when the user wants to talk they must press a  "push-to-talk" button that turns off the receiver and turns on the transmitter. Smaller versions of this device are also very popular among young children.  Some units have additional features such as sending calls, call reception with vibration alarm, keypad locking, and a stopwatch. 