And, most of all, you will actually perceive the great boost to your radio’s signal yourself – you will know if it works or doesn’t work. That sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it, and a bit like the ‘patch’ devices that used to be sold to gullible fools to add to their cell phones, with claims either that they would magically filter out harmful radiation or boost the phone’s range or something.īut we’re not trying to sell you anything, and there is actual solid radio theory that readily explains how and why this works as it does. This device is simply a piece of wire which dangles down off your hand-held radio transceiver. Actually, we may have misstated the truth – the device might cost you less than 10¢! How a Piece of Wire Can Double Your Radio Range By now, you’re probably keen to understand the 10¢ device and how it can double your radio range. This is why our focus is not just on greater transmitting power, but also on better overall efficiency of the antenna so it can receive weaker signals more clearly, and – with our radios – if we improve our antenna, we often then cut back on our transmit power, keeping it at the minimum needed for the range we require.Įnough introduction. This is seldom a good thing, particularly when you are trying to keep a low profile. One more important issue – the more powerful your signal, the further it goes, and the greater the number of people who might receive it. More powerful transmitters and more sensitive receivers are, of course, more expensive than standard grade units, and a more powerful transmitter is also going to need much more power to operate – chewing through batteries maybe ten times faster, and/or becoming a power-hog when you’re off-grid and power is precious and limited.

We write about this topic regularly (please see our complete section on communication related topics to access these articles) and basically, the suggestions we offer fall into one of two categories – either getting a more powerful radio transmitter and more sensitive radio receiver, or boosting the effectiveness of your antenna.īetween these two choices, improving the effectiveness of your antenna is always the better approach. There are many ways to boost the range of your two-way radios. But for this article, we’ll concentrate just on radio range/efficiency! Some things in life you can never have too much of. Adding a simple piece of wire to your walkie-talkie could double its range.

Baofeng radio hack