Customers who are new to business radios are confronted with several confusing options, one of which is the type of frequency band to choose. This particular option consists of two choices, either UHF or VHF. These abbreviations make no sense to most people and without some research it is easy to choose a radio that is not right for your situation. So how do you determine which is the best choice for your application?
The quick answer is: choose VHF if you plan to only use the radios outdoors and in an area that is relatively free of obstructions, such as buildings. If you plan on using the radio indoors, both indoors and out, or outdoors but around buildings, choose UHF. UHF is the better all around signal and is by far the most popular, so if you are in doubt, choose UHF.
UHF signals don't travel quite as far outdoors as VHF signals, but they do a better job of penetrating wood, steel, and concrete, giving you better range and performance in urban environments and around buildings. VHF signals travel farther, absent obstructions, and tend to "hug" the earth better, providing better performance outdoors or in hilly terrain.
Related Resources
Buyer's Guide - VHF Business Radios
Buyer's Guide - UHF Business Radios
Two Way Radio Basics
MURS: Unlicensed VHF
Radio Compatibility: Which Models Will Work Together
The Two Way Radio Show TWRS-02 - An Introduction to Business Radios
Radio 101 - The difference between UHF and VHF radios
I am looking for about 8 to 10 moles
Can you pls help me
Ed Chernis
Ever heard of Luiton LT-188h 10w long distance portable 2 way radio?
Baofeng radios are either of these brands any good? I really appreciate anyone that could inform me about these two brands I really appreciate your help so very much thank you
"UHF signals don't travel quite as far outdoors as VHF signals"? without getting into diffracting over hill etc which is only applicable to much longer wavelengths anyway, UHF travels very well for 'line of sight'.
..."but they do a better job of penetrating wood, steel, and concrete, giving you better range and performance in urban environments and around buildings"
The problem with UHF is that it is prone to reflecting instead of penetrating through building etc.
I have tested handheld radios on both bands going through a block of multiple stone walled houses, the VHF was perfect on low power but UHF even on 5W and 8W didn't get through at all.
These are two of the easiest visual indicators to determine whether your radio is a UHF or VHF model. There are other ways to determine the band of the radio as well, but they are a little more involved. Searching by FCC ID doesn't always work because the same ID will often be applied to both models.
I wonder if you can help me with this.. I got a Motorola EP450 (without display) from a garage sale, without the manual. How can I know if it's VHF or UHF?
UHF will always be prone to more attenuation from obstacles compared to VHF. An analogy for this is to think about a car with a stereo turned all the way up and the doors closed. The higher frequencies (analogous to UHF) get attenuated drastically and all you here is the thump of the lower frequencies (analogous to VHF). The smaller the wavelength (the higher the frequency) the more prone to attenuation at a set power output that signal will be unless a resonant frequency of the medium is found.
The previous comment is 100% correct about the UHF being reflected and bounced around more and this is where the range comes from. VHF is also more prone to noise which can make receiving a signal harder to do.
"UHF VHF RADIO"
Lower frequencies, such as VHF, will be attenuated less by obstacles, whereas higher frequencies will reflect from obstacles.
The result of this is that, over a long path, a UHF signal will be scattered off any obstacles, and less of the signal will survive to directly reach a distant receiver.
In a built-up area, there may be areas where a VHF signal is so severely attenuated by obstacles as to be unreadable, but a UHF signal will scatter and be able to find alternative paths via multiple reflections, thus still producing a useable signal.
In summary, there would be no difference if there was a clear line of sight. A VHF signal will produce a stronger direct signal, whereas a UHF signal will produce a better indirect signal. The judgement for a potential user to make is which scenario best fits their required usage.