Have you ever shouted in a concrete wall? Basically, that is what your phone does when you find yourself in a modern building with thick walls. I would like to explain why routine communication in concrete structures is about as successful as a date with Mother Teresa and more to the point; how to remedy it.
The Reasons Concrete Buildings Are Communication Nightmare
This is the thing about concrete: It is great stuff when it comes to the strength of the structure but it is lousy when it comes to radio signals . That lovely concrete wall that saves you against weather? It also is obstructing up to 82 percent of the radiations attempting to reach you.
Consider radio waves as water which attempts to pass through various materials. Wood? Easy passage. Glass? Minor resistance. Yet concrete reinforcement with steel? It is like trying to force water through a brick, most of it bounces off .
Height in building as well as density is increasing the problem. The current buildings have steel-enhanced concrete, which forms what engineers term as a Faraday cage effect – which basically makes your building a signal blocker in itself . Concrete walled buildings may lead to the loss of 10-15dB through a single wall so attempting to get through several walls may result in a loss of 70% of the signal strength .
UHF versus VHF The Debate of Frequencies: Which is the Winner?
here is something interesting: The majority of the population believes that the higher the frequency, the better the performance but this is not exactly the case with the concrete buildings.
UHF radios (Ultra High Frequency) are in 400-470MHz and namely have shorter wavelengths that actually penetrate better through the concrete and steel as opposed to its counterpart- VHF. Consider the UHF waves as smaller, nimbler, they can fit through small slots and around objects that would parallelize bigger waves .
VHF radios ( Very High Frequency ) operate between 136-174 MHz, and are generally more effective in cases where there are open fields but fail immensely when it comes to concrete . But here is the catch-VHF may sometimes penetrate thick concrete walls better than UHF does especially in the extremely thick walls.
What does professional opinion hold? UHF prevails amongst building applications that are most concrete . UHF frequencies find it easier to penetrate walls, steel as well as concrete and thus are ideal to use indoors .
Digital vs. Analog: The new Vs. Old School?
Now here is where it gets really interesting. Whereas analog radios have been the workhorses of communication over the last decades, digital technology is transforming the way we communicate in adverse environment .
The audio crystallinity of digital radios is exceptionally high all the way to the fringe of the coverage range–gone is the old static-filled speech as you move out of range of the transmitter . They also provide higher battery life and tend to have 40 percent more operation than analog options .
Analog radios are not gone yet and the demand is still valid with simple communication requirements and cash-conscious customers. They are easy, in most cases cheaper and every technician knows how to handle them.
But honestly? When you want to work on concrete buildings, do not go the traditional way, go digital. Digital radios stand a higher likelihood of sustaining the communications in a hostile terrain such as concrete structures .
We have the Best Choices of Concrete Building Communication
In cases of Small to Medium Buildings: Motorola RMU2080
The motorola rmU2080 is the swiss army knife in the business radio world. This radio has a power of 2 watts of UHF that is able to cover an area of 250,000 square feet or 20 floors. The presence of the antimicrobial coating is a very good addition- this in this current health conscious environment.
Key Features:
