Radios, walkie-talkies and the emergency broadcast

As of 42.19 the Premium, ValuTech and Makeshift portable radios only receive. Older guides that call Premium the only two-way radio are out of date. House and car radios receive the broadcast and music but cannot be used as team comms.

All three tune 88.0 to 108.0 MHz and cannot transmit (the tables on this page were checked against the game files, November 2026).

Premium is louder near you but drains batteries faster. Volume range only sets how far the sound carries. It does not allow transmitting.

Range is in game distance units, not real metres. Better sets cover more bands and reach farther but are heavier on batteries. The second guide gives no range numbers, only that cheap sets are short range and military sets reach farther.

The ManPack gives a small run-speed penalty while worn. Ham radios are meant to sit at your base for long-range traffic.

The Automated Emergency Broadcast System (AEBS) is on a random FM frequency from 88.0 to 108.0 MHz in 0.2 steps. It is rolled once for each new world, so a number from another save or a video is wrong for yours. It never signs off for good, though storms can garble it.

• Power: flickers two days before shutoff, failures one day out, then Blackout on the shutoff day and after.
• Weather: minimum and maximum temperature, humidity, wind, fog, rain and snow for today and tomorrow. Harsh weather such as storms, tropical storms or blizzards is announced a few days ahead if the sandbox allows it.
• Air Activity detected: the helicopter warning. It usually comes last and refreshes around 7 AM. Wait a few seconds after the weather before switching off.

It airs at the top of each hour. One guide says about once an hour in game; the other says on the hour, which is the same in practice. To find it, check the presets on a household radio, car radio or ham set, since emergency vehicles always store it, or scan up in 0.2 MHz steps until the name reads Automated Emergency Broadcast System. A car radio can read its presets without a key if the battery has charge. Write the number down as a preset and in your base notes.

The fixed civilian stations (Hitz FM, KnoxTalk and the rest) fade after the first stretch of the Knox Event. Their channels and what they say are on lore and broadcasts. See the sandbox settings for helicopter frequency, and the zombies page for what the helicopter does.

Carried sets run on batteries (the guide mentions AA). Higher tiers drain faster, so carry spares. A walkie or ham set left transmitting drains quickly, so switch sets off when idle. A car radio can run on a car battery that still has charge. Placed sets can run from the grid or a generator after the power fails, but one guide says to confirm that in your own game. Generators are on generators and electricity.

1. Give each player a two-way set (walkie, ManPack or ham). Portable radios cannot transmit.
2. Pick a frequency inside the narrowest band in the group. If anyone has a Toys-R-Mine or Makeshift walkie, stay between 75 and 150 MHz.
3. Equip or place the set, open its radio window, set the frequency and turn on transmit or voice.
4. Save the frequency as a preset on every device and write it in your base or server notes.

On a public server treat walkie chat as proximity chat with extra range. If PvP is on, do not share base coordinates over it. Server setup is on multiplayer.

You can craft sets with the Electrical skill. Each needs its magazine, and the books on skill books speed up the XP.

Dismantling a TV, radio, walkie-talkie or ham radio gives 10 Electrical XP each, and the electronic item is destroyed, so keep a working one for yourself. Full skill details are on skills.