Originally Posted by stolen from the 3rd wiki cause they are cool and stuff

Radio Check

The standard military Radio Check serves three purposes. First, it immediately identifies the name (call sign) of the individual joining the radio net. Second, it provides clear and concise feedback to the individual joining, as to how loud and clear other people on the same radio frequency hear their transmissions. Finally, it permits players to make adjustments to their settings, in order to improve how well others hear them from a loudness perspective, as well as the clarity of their transmissions.

In the virtual world of Battlefield 2142, soldiers do not use actual military radios, but with VoIP the similarities to real military radio practices are quite a good fit. The detachment has taken the liberty of abbreviating and modifying these procedures somewhat for the sake of game play simplicity.
[edit] Signal Strength (Loudness)

1. Faint signals, barely perceptible
2. Very weak signals
3. Weak signals
4. Fair signals
5. Strong signals


[edit] Readability (Comprehension)

1. Unreadable
2. Barely readable, occasional words distinguishable
3. Readable with considerable difficulty
4. Readable with practically no difficulty
5. Perfectly readable


The referencing of "5 by 5" stands for the combination of Signal Strength and Readability. "5 by 5" is a short form way of saying "your signal strength is strong and you are perfectly readable.” In actual practice, many players state the real words as opposed to using numbers. Saying "loud and clear" or "strong and readable", are perfectly acceptable.