Shannon W Unit 20: Communication and technology in the uniformed public services M1, M2
Task (M1/M2)
In this report I will be analysing and comparing different forms of communication. To begin with,
walkie-talkies, also known as radios, are commonly used by public services such as the police,
military, fire service and ambulance service in order to communicate. Walkie talkies can be
compared to mobile phones because they are both hand held devices which use radio waves. An
advantage for mobile phones are that they have a much larger range in comparison to walkie talkies
because on average, a walkie talkie has a range of approximately 5 miles where as a mobile phone
can have the ability to contact people as long as they are connected to a nearby cell tower. On one
hand, this could be a disadvantage if an individual is in a rural area where there isn’t a nearby cell
tower because they won’t be able to get any signal to contact people. On the other hand, walkie
talkies would be good in that situation because there wouldn’t be any buildings to obstruct the
signal. Walkie talkies are also relatively cheap to buy and they don’t require any sort of licence,
where as a phone can cost quite a lot on money and on top of that you may need to pay for a
contract or a sim card to be able to call or text people. Unlike mobile phones, walkie talkies have
direct and instant communication, which would be effective in emergency situations because there
is no need to wait for it to ring and connect to the caller like a mobile phone does. Mobile phones do
have the advantage of two way calling because walkie talkies only allows one person to speak at a
time and depending on the price paid for the walkie talkie, the clarity of sound can vary; with many
cheaper models there can often be some noise and disturbances caught in the conversation,
therefore it causes the clarity to be quite poor and difficult to understand each other. Even though
they are both fairly easy to use, a walkie talkie is much more simple compared to a mobile phone
due to its lack in options and buttons to click. A huge disadvantage walkie talkies obtain is that a
conversation on that device can easily be tapped into or heard by anyone else who owns a walkie
talkie nearby because they can just join the same radio wave and listen in to your conversation.
Although it is still possible on a phone, it is much harder and it is actually illegal. Finally, another
disadvantage for both a mobile phone and a walkie talkie is that they both require to be charged in
order to be used. Overall, for public services use, I think that walkie talkies are more effective.
The second form of communications I will be comparing are semaphore’s and Morse code.
Semaphore is a way to communicate messages by holding two flags or poles in certain positions to
communicate information at distance. It can also be done with rods, paddles or hand held flags.
Morse code is a form of an alphabet in which each letter is represented by combinations of long and
short light or sound signals. Semaphore and Morse code have several advantages and they are
overall safe systems to use because they allow confidentiality. This is because they are hard to
understand if you haven’t learnt it. They both have the disadvantage of being quite difficult to learn
and the time it takes to learn it completely. However, this can also be seen as a positive because not
many people will be able to understand it if they haven’t learnt it. Another advantage for semaphore
and Morse code is that they both don’t require much equipment. To communicate with Morse code,
you only need a flash light at minimum which is very cheap and affordable and to communicate
using semaphore, you only require two hand held poles or flags, which is also very cheap and easy to
use one you learn how to communicate using semaphore. A disadvantage for both semaphore and
Morse code is that they both require a clear line of sight and clear weather conditions in order to
communicate. Another advantage for Morse code is that interference isn’t usually a problem and
another advantage for semaphore is that it doesn’t require any electrical equipment however, a
disadvantage is that is can be a relatively slow form of communication which wouldn’t make it
Task (M1/M2)
In this report I will be analysing and comparing different forms of communication. To begin with,
walkie-talkies, also known as radios, are commonly used by public services such as the police,
military, fire service and ambulance service in order to communicate. Walkie talkies can be
compared to mobile phones because they are both hand held devices which use radio waves. An
advantage for mobile phones are that they have a much larger range in comparison to walkie talkies
because on average, a walkie talkie has a range of approximately 5 miles where as a mobile phone
can have the ability to contact people as long as they are connected to a nearby cell tower. On one
hand, this could be a disadvantage if an individual is in a rural area where there isn’t a nearby cell
tower because they won’t be able to get any signal to contact people. On the other hand, walkie
talkies would be good in that situation because there wouldn’t be any buildings to obstruct the
signal. Walkie talkies are also relatively cheap to buy and they don’t require any sort of licence,
where as a phone can cost quite a lot on money and on top of that you may need to pay for a
contract or a sim card to be able to call or text people. Unlike mobile phones, walkie talkies have
direct and instant communication, which would be effective in emergency situations because there
is no need to wait for it to ring and connect to the caller like a mobile phone does. Mobile phones do
have the advantage of two way calling because walkie talkies only allows one person to speak at a
time and depending on the price paid for the walkie talkie, the clarity of sound can vary; with many
cheaper models there can often be some noise and disturbances caught in the conversation,
therefore it causes the clarity to be quite poor and difficult to understand each other. Even though
they are both fairly easy to use, a walkie talkie is much more simple compared to a mobile phone
due to its lack in options and buttons to click. A huge disadvantage walkie talkies obtain is that a
conversation on that device can easily be tapped into or heard by anyone else who owns a walkie
talkie nearby because they can just join the same radio wave and listen in to your conversation.
Although it is still possible on a phone, it is much harder and it is actually illegal. Finally, another
disadvantage for both a mobile phone and a walkie talkie is that they both require to be charged in
order to be used. Overall, for public services use, I think that walkie talkies are more effective.
The second form of communications I will be comparing are semaphore’s and Morse code.
Semaphore is a way to communicate messages by holding two flags or poles in certain positions to
communicate information at distance. It can also be done with rods, paddles or hand held flags.
Morse code is a form of an alphabet in which each letter is represented by combinations of long and
short light or sound signals. Semaphore and Morse code have several advantages and they are
overall safe systems to use because they allow confidentiality. This is because they are hard to
understand if you haven’t learnt it. They both have the disadvantage of being quite difficult to learn
and the time it takes to learn it completely. However, this can also be seen as a positive because not
many people will be able to understand it if they haven’t learnt it. Another advantage for semaphore
and Morse code is that they both don’t require much equipment. To communicate with Morse code,
you only need a flash light at minimum which is very cheap and affordable and to communicate
using semaphore, you only require two hand held poles or flags, which is also very cheap and easy to
use one you learn how to communicate using semaphore. A disadvantage for both semaphore and
Morse code is that they both require a clear line of sight and clear weather conditions in order to
communicate. Another advantage for Morse code is that interference isn’t usually a problem and
another advantage for semaphore is that it doesn’t require any electrical equipment however, a
disadvantage is that is can be a relatively slow form of communication which wouldn’t make it
