Mobile radio or mobiles refer
to wireless communications systems and devices which are based on radio
frequencies, and where the path of communications is movable on either end.
For US licensing purposes, mobiles may include hand-carried, (sometimes
called portable), equipment. An obsolete term is radiophone.
Trained two way radio communication professionals would understand the word
mobile to mean vehicle-mounted: a transmitter-receiver (transceiver)
used for radio communications from a vehicle. Mobile radios are mounted
to a motor vehicle usually with the microphone and control panel in reach
of the driver. In the US, such a device is typically powered by the host
vehicle's 12 volt electrical system.
Some mobile radios are mounted in aircraft, (aeronautical mobile), shipboard,
(maritime mobile), on motorcycles, or railroad locomotives. Power may vary
with each platform. For example, a mobile radio installed in a locomotive
would run off of 72- or 30-volt DC power. A large ship with 117V AC power
might have a
base
station mounted on the ship's bridge.
