Communications

Communications covers the radios, walkie talkies, ham radios and televisions of Knox Country. These sets bring news of the Knox Event, music, weather warnings and even skill lessons. Two-way sets also let survivors talk across the map in multiplayer. Brands such as ValuTech, Premium Technologies and US ARMY COMM. sit beside makeshift sets built from scrap parts. The Electrician is the best occupation for communications. It starts with the most Electrical skill. The Engineer also starts with some Electrical skill.

All Tools and Equipment Categories

Best Communications

The top pick for each role, by the game's own figures.

For	Name	Image	Stats	Spawn ID
Lightest	Toys-R-Mine Walkie Talkie		1 weight	/additem Base.WalkieTalkie1
Heaviest	US ARMY COMM. Manpack Radio		15 weight	/additem Base.ManPackRadio

Radios

A radio only receives. It picks up the commercial band, where music, talk and news stations play through the first weeks of the outbreak. The ValuTech Radio and the Premium Technologies Radio are the common store models. Each weighs 1.5. The Premium Technologies Radio also plays a CD, so it doubles as a music player.

Every radio runs on a Battery. A set is usually found with one already fitted. A radio left switched on keeps draining that battery. Some radios in the world are already on when found, and their batteries have run down for as long as they played.

To use one, equip it or right-click it and open the device options. That window turns the set on and off, swaps the battery, sets the volume and stores preset frequencies. Earbuds or Headphones can be plugged in there. With them fitted, the sound stays silent to nearby zombies.

Car radios are the same items. The ValuTech Radio, the Premium Technologies Radio and the Makeshift Radio all fit the radio slot of a vehicle. A Screwdriver installs or removes them.

Walkie Talkies

A walkie talkie is a light two-way radio. It receives broadcasts like a normal radio. It also transmits, so a shout or a chat message carries to any set tuned to the same frequency. The models rise in quality from the Toys-R-Mine Walkie Talkie through the ValuTech Walkie Talkie and the Premium Tech. Walkie Talkie to the Tactical Walkie Talkie. The US Army Walkie Talkie sits at the top. Better models cover a wider band and transmit much farther.

A walkie talkie must stay equipped in a hand to transmit. It can also be set down as furniture. Sound that a walkie talkie plays draws zombies, and a louder volume draws them from farther away. Earbuds cut that noise. Muting the microphone in the device options stops an accidental transmission.

A placed radio makes a handy lure. Tune it to the walkie talkie frequency and leave it loud. Then shout into the walkie talkie from a safe distance. Nearby zombies walk toward the radio and away from the survivor.

Ham Radios

The ham radio is the long-range two-way set. The Premium Technologies Ham Radio and the US ARMY COMM. Ham Radio each weigh 15. They are too heavy to carry around, so they work best as fixed furniture in a safe base. The US ARMY COMM. Ham Radio covers the widest band and has the longest reach of any set.

The US ARMY COMM. Manpack Radio has the same reach in a wearable frame. It also weighs 15, but it rides on the back. Police cars and several work vans carry a ham radio in their radio slot. A Screwdriver removes it.

Televisions

The Antique Television, the ValuTech Television and the Premium Technologies Television are pieces of furniture. Each weighs 10. A television needs mains power or a Generator. After the grid fails, only a generator keeps it going.

News channels follow the Knox Event day by day. The Life and Living TV channel runs shows that teach a skill. Watching a lesson in the same room as the set grants experience in that skill. The game's own guide warns players not to fall in love with the Woodcraft guy.

The ValuTech Television and the Premium Technologies Television also play VHS tapes. The Antique Television only shows broadcasts. A VHS - Retail tape or a VHS - Home tape eases boredom. Some tapes also grant skill experience.

Locations

Store radios turn up on electronics store shelves, mechanic shelves and control room counters. Office desks, living rooms and break rooms hold them too. The toy and store walkie talkies sit on the same electronics shelves. The Toys-R-Mine Walkie Talkie also hides in children's bedrooms.

Military gear stays with the army. The US Army Walkie Talkie fills army storage, army hangars and army lockers. The US ARMY COMM. Ham Radio and the US ARMY COMM. Manpack Radio come from army electronics storage. A pawn shop can hold a manpack too. The Premium Technologies Ham Radio is the electronics store set, and control rooms keep one now and then.

Televisions stand in homes across every town. The Premium Technologies Television and the ValuTech Television can also turn up boxed in attic crates.

Crafting

Makeshift sets come from the Electrical skill. Make Makeshift Radio needs Electrical 1. It uses Scrap Electronics, an Amplifier, a Light Bulb, a Radio Receiver, Electrical Wire and aluminum. A Screwdriver is the tool, and it is kept. Make Makeshift Walkie Talkie needs Electrical 2. It adds a Radio Transmitter and a Light Bulb - Green. Make Makeshift Ham Radio needs Electrical 3 and the largest pile of parts.

Each of these recipes must be learned first. Magazine: Guerilla Radio - June 1993 teaches the radio. Magazine: Sparky's Radio Guide teaches the walkie talkie. Magazine: Guerilla Radio - May 1993 teaches the ham radio. The Electrician occupation knows them from the start and begins with Electrical 5. Researching a store set can also teach these recipes.

The Makeshift Walkie Talkie transmits a little farther than the Toys-R-Mine model. The Makeshift Ham Radio falls a little short of the Premium Technologies Ham Radio.

Dismantling

Every communication set can be taken apart. The Dismantle Electronic Device recipe uses a Screwdriver, which is kept. It returns Scrap Electronics and awards Electrical experience. That makes old radios and televisions a steady way to train Electrical early on.

The parts feed other builds. Scrap Electronics and an Amplifier go into a Noise Maker. A Radio Receiver, a Receiver or a Cordless Phone goes into a Crafted Trigger. Every spare set taken apart gives both experience and parts.

Notes

• The emergency broadcast station sits on a random frequency each game. Store it on a preset once found.
• Earbuds and Headphones go into the device options, not into an inventory slot.
• Most radios are found with the local stations already stored as presets.
• Some TV shows also teach recipes, not only skill experience.

All Communications