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weechat-radio:$ Try it with two computers

You can try this with no radio at all, or with two cheap walkie-talkies from a shop. You do not need a special radio cable. The computers pass the message as sound.

What you need

Two computers One person can sit them on the same desk. A friend on the second computer is fine too.
WeeChat Radio on both The 5-minute start installs it. A guest name such as ~alex is fine if you have no callsign.
Optional: two small walkie-talkies Leave them on the channels printed in the box, and put both on the same channel.

Pick your setup

Whichever you pick, the message crosses as sound. Watch a hi go over and the [ok] come back.

With two walkie-talkies

Each computer stays with its own radio. A plain headphone cable joins them. One lead carries the computer speaker into the radio microphone. The other lead carries the radio speaker into the computer microphone. Many small radios have one socket that does both jobs. The cable that came as a headset for that radio is the one to use.

The cable only carries sound. It does not program the radio. The radio sends when it hears the computer, so you never hold the talk button.

No cable

Rest the radio microphone against the computer speaker, and rest the radio speaker against the computer microphone. That is the same path the picture shows, with air where the cable would be. Keep the room fairly quiet.

With no radio at all

Skip the radios. Point the speaker of each computer at the microphone of the other. A short gap, about an arm’s length, is enough. Both computers still use the same sound setting below.

The message still has to cross as sound. If a line appears before you hear anything, it went over the internet. The steps below keep it on the sound path.

Which sound setting

On both computers, set PRESET to hf-poor. That is the slow, steady sound. In real tests with a speaker, a microphone, and a walkie-talkie, this is the one that gets through.

When a short message has arrived both ways, set both computers to vhf-fm. That is the faster sound made for handheld radios on a clear path. Send hi again. If the other computer stays quiet, set both back to hf-poor and carry on with that.

Steps

Install and open
Install on both computers and open the window with wcr gui. Follow the 5-minute start if this is the first time.
Run setup
In setup, choose Any radio with a plain audio cable (VOX). That is the choice that lets the radio talk when it hears the computer. When setup asks for the sound setting, choose hf-poor.

If it asks for a frequency and your radios only show channel numbers, type 446.006. Then put both radios on the same channel. The number in the app is a label. The channel knob is what makes the radios hear each other.
Switch to radio mode
In the app, on the left, set MODE to radio. Confirm if it asks. Do this on both computers. The words then travel as sound.
Set up the radios
Pair them as in the picture. Each radio stays next to its own computer. Put the two radios about an arm’s length apart so they do not howl at each other.

On the radio, turn on the setting that transmits when it hears a sound. The booklet often calls this VOX. Start in the middle.

If the radios have a privacy code, set both to the same code, or turn that code off on both.
Set the volume
Set the computer volume to about halfway. In the computer’s sound settings, choose the microphone that is next to the radio. Allow the microphone if Windows or the Mac asks.

You want the radio’s light to come on when the computer makes a sound, and to stay off while the room is quiet. Closer to the speaker, or a little more volume, if the light stays off. A little less volume if the light comes on when people talk.
Send hi
In the chat box, type hi and press Enter. Send one line, then wait. You should hear a tone, and the radio light should come on. A short line can take half a minute on hf-poor.
Try the faster sound
When that works both ways, switch both computers to vhf-fm and send hi once more.

How you know it worked

The other computer shows your words, and yours shows [ok]. Then they send one back. Hearing the tone and seeing the radio light means your side is talking. The line on the other screen means it arrived.

If it stays quiet

The radio light never comes on: Move the speaker closer to the radio microphone, raise the computer volume a little, and turn on the hear-and-talk setting.
The light comes on, and the other computer stays quiet: Same channel on both radios, same privacy code, both apps on hf-poor, both apps on radio. Turn the radio volume up so the computer microphone can hear it.
A howl or a squeal: Turn the volume down and move the radios further apart.

Fresh batteries. A weak radio can light up and still be too quiet to hear.
One line at a time. Wait for [ok] before you send the next one.

Keep the test short. Leave shop radios on the channels they came with.

Install first: 5-minute start. A later page for a proper radio cable: any radio with VOX.