- Walkie-talkies, in their most basic form, transmit on a frequency from an antenna. Walkie-talkies work on a half duplex channel. This means that only one person at a time can talk, but everyone on the same frequency channel can listen. On every walkie-talkie is a push-to-talk button that starts the transmission. While you have the switch on, only you can talk and everyone else can listen. Generally, walkie-talkies come as a small handset that you can walk and talk with--hence, the name.
- Although the walkie-talkie did start for military purposes, it has branched out into many different areas of life. A lot of people started to use it on construction work sites. Now days, work sites still use a walkie-talkie, but it's with cellphones. Big rig truckers use a version of the walkie-talkie called a CB radio to talk to other truckers on the road. Police enforcement and boaters use a similar system. A very popular use for a personal walkie-talkie is at a ski resort so that families can keep in touch when they are on different areas of the mountain. They can also be used in recreational games such as woods paintball or airsoft games.
