To effectively answer this question, we must first explore the varieties of walkie-talkies. To begin, the radios must share the same fundamental frequency band. Most “business” or “consumer” walkie-talkies will operate on either the UHF or the VHF bands. It is not feasible to connect a UHF radio using a VHF radio. Then you must determine if your radios are programmable to a wide range of frequencies or whether they are fixed-frequency license-free radios.
Remove the battery from the back of the radio and look at the information label that is normally situated under the battery to see what sort of radio you have. Typically, the following information will be there on the label:
- The frequency or range of frequencies that the radio can use
- The power output in watts
- The full model number of the walkie-talkie
Walkie-Talkie Channel & Programming Software
Most professional walkie-talkie radios can be programmed to use literally any of thousands of different frequencies using some PC software, which is provided by their manufacturer.
The user just sees a channel number that they may pick using a control knob. The real frequency that this channel number has been set to be “behind” this basic “channel number.”
Each of the walkie-talkies’ channels may be tuned to any frequency in the radios’ frequency range using the software. Even if you have two walkie-talkies of the same make and model. They will not communicate unless they are set to utilize the same frequencies.
Answer to the Question
In short, any two or more brands of walkie-talkie may be made to communicate with one another as long as they are on the same frequency range and are designed to utilize the same frequencies. However, they may not communicate with each other right once, or “out of the box,” because they may be programmed to utilize completely different frequencies.