Elements and Considerations of a Successful Disaster
Preparedness Supplemental Communications Plan using the Personal Radio Services
Including GMRS, FRS, MURS, and CB
(This is a work in progress. PRA invites comments.
Send those comments to doug@praweb.org)
Purpose
This document is intended to be a bullet-point resource and reference
for persons, organizations, and OEMs interested in developing community
communications programs that use the Family Radio Service, General Mobile Radio
Service, Citizens Radio Service, and Multi-Use Radio Service.
Set Expectations
People need to know what to expect. This is the most
overlooked aspect of many service related businesses and is no less important
in emergency management. When people do not know what to expect they get angry,
lose focus, and pandemonium results. In the case of a disaster, panic prevails
over common sense. We cannot let that happen in our communities.
Likewise we CANNOT create expectations that are
impossible to meet. There are
efforts to declare Family Radio Service Channel one as an emergency channel
that any citizen can use to call for help after an emergency has occurred. The
proposal claims it is “instant, reliable crisis communications,” but this is
far from the truth. Such a plan is unmanageable in its scope, particularly when
no neighborhood familiarization or training is even suggested and in fact
declared by the major proponent as unnecessary!
Planners need to provide the general public with some idea
of the “who, what, when, where, why and how” behind the mitigation efforts for
the aftermath of a disaster. Planners need to do this before the disaster and
NOT after the disaster! It should be an aggressive effort of the utmost
importance. One way to accomplish this is to engage the public in disaster
planning at the grass-roots-neighborhood level.
(CERT, neighborhood associations, Neighborhood Watch, local public meetings,
REACT, building associations, parks and recreation meetings, public awareness
advertising on radio and television etc.)
The public must accept a level of a responsibility toward disaster
preparation in order to understand their role in disaster recovery. Setting
expectations means the public learns basic concepts and can keep those concepts
in mind so that clear thinking prevails over panic thinking.
The following are some expectations to take into
consideration for a communications plan using the various Personal Radio Services.
- The
Federal Communications Commission Rules and Regulations must be followed
in every case. Licenses must be obtained where necessary and all users
should be familiar with Part 95 of the FCC Rules as they pertain to GMRS
and to the unlicensed FRS also in Part 95. The same goes for other radio
services in use like Amateur Radio, FCC R&R Part 97, CB Radio Service
Part 95, and the Business Radio Services in Part 90.
- Neighbors
must plan to be without emergency services for up to seventy-two hours or
more after a disaster. (More or less depending on the severity and scope
of the event.) Every jurisdiction has a policy regarding the delivery of services
after a disaster. It needs to be explained. People’s expectations must be set.
- Emergency
OES/OEM officials need to explain the expected role FRS and GMRS (Personal
Radio Services) have in the event of a disaster. What it can and cannot do
and what it is expected to do, how it can be used, how it should not be
used.
- Any
use of disaster related supplemental two-way radio to relay information
to public safety officials must be planned for and tested ahead of time.
There must be alternate plans e.g. a Plan B.
- Possession
and use of an FRS or GMRS two-way radio does not guarantee an instant and
reliable or an immediate and effective response to an individual’s call
for help using that radio. NEVER
set the expectation that calling out on a two-way radio will guarantee a
response. Unfortunately, since this concept has already been heavily
publicized some families may already believe it is a done deal. OEM’s need
to reach these families before the next disaster.
- Whenever
possible, use cellular or land-line telephones instead of two-way radios.
Conventional methods of communication (communication systems the public is
already familiar with) should always be the preferred method of
communication. It is recognized that these systems may be down or
temporarily unavailable immediately after a disaster event. It is the time
period immediately after the event and just before these systems are
restored that very-local neighborhood two-way radio communication can be
of the greatest help in mitigating welfare checks and rescues.
- Two-way
radios are primarily for neighbors to communicate with each other during
and after a disaster so that CERT volunteers or others can provide
immediate search and rescue or so neighbors can assist each other.
- Two-way
radio users must learn how to use their radios properly. They should know
how to turn it on and off, how to change channels, disable coded squelch
tones, adjust the volume, and transmit.
- Emergency
aid may not be available to some people whether or not they have a radio.
They may be isolated due to impassable conditions, flooding, down power
lines, fire, fallen structures, blocked roads, or there may not be public
safety or other resources to assist them.
- While
it cannot be guaranteed, having a two-way radio may enable appropriate
officials to communicate with persons in isolated areas.
- Emergency
management leaders, CERT trainers, and hobby radio operators need to train
their neighbors in the use of two-way radios.
- Persons
should be expected to obey emergency management officials and LEAVE
potential disaster areas before the event! When you are asked or ordered
to leave a potential disaster area LEAVE! If you cannot leave on your own
seek assistance but leave! Do not stick around expecting to use your tiny
little FRS radio to call for help if you find yourself in deep water!
- Since
we generally have a very good understanding of what can occur in a natural
disaster in the United States
every person should plan accordingly. Offices of OES and OEM have
pamphlets and websites persons can visit for disaster planning information.
- The
laws of physics as those laws relate to radio propagation of UHF radio
waves apply to the eventual range of a radio in a given circumstance. The
laws of sales and marketing do not apply.
- Amateur
Radio operators are NOT allowed to transmit on GMRS in an emergency with
modified equipment on GMRS. (Or with Part 95 approved equipment.) Amateur
Radio operators do NOT have GMRS privileges at any time.
- The
public must understand the procedures and reasons for evacuation and NOT
ignore evacuation warnings.
Questions to Ask before
you Begin Planning
- How
far will you need to communicate?
- Do
you need a relay by radio or telephone?
- Who,
what, where are your relay resources?
- How
many people and which people will have radios? (Not every person in a
large apartment building needs a radio.)
- Do
you have alternates for your Block Captains? (Or whatever you call your
very-local neighborhood emergency coordinators.)
- What
kind of interference may already exist on FRS and GMRS in my area?
- Can
the interference be mitigated?
- What
is the likelihood of intentional interference and how will interference be
dealt with it if it happens?
- Which
radio channels shall we use for our neighborhood? Select based on current
use. Scan the FRS and GMRS channels. Monitor activity. Choose the quietest
frequencies for your area. GMRS repeater output channels may be busy with
higher powered radio stations. Very-local communications should use FRS
one-fourteen.
- Are
GMRS repeaters available? Where are they? Who is already using them? Can
your neighborhood benefit from using the repeaters?
- Have
the licensees of those GMRS repeaters, or have other GMRS licensees been
asked to join the neighborhood team? Remember GMRS repeaters are private
property. While most licensees will be happy to participate as part of a
local communications plan they are NOT required to do so. AT this FCC
database you can search for GMRS licensees in your zip code: http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchGmrs.jsp
- Does
your local repeater have a tone for the neighborhood? (CTCSS/DCS)
- How
far away are we from the main roads?
- Will
our radios reach from our residences to key neighborhood access points?
Have we tested our neighborhood network?
- Can
we communicate with other neighborhoods? Do we need to?
- Is
there a way to relay requests for help beyond the range of FRS? Beyond the
range of GMRS?
- Are
there critical services, plants, roads, etc in the neighborhood where we
should put someone with a radio? Water pumping plant, club houses, damns,
beaches, guard shacks, major intersections etc.
- Are
we prepared to direct public safety resources to rescues and medical emergencies
after a disaster? How can we use our radios to do this?
- Do
we have a GMRS licensee in my neighborhood? Is that licensee part of our
plan?
- Do
we have an Amateur Radio operator in our neighborhood? Is that Ham part of
our plan?
- Does
or OEM office know about our group?
- Do
our OEM and local public safety officials have a copy of our neighborhood
communications plan?
- Has
our OEM trained us on basic emergency planning?
- Do
we have a neighborhood map and local telephone list? Is there an alerting
calling-tree to alert neighbors to take cover?
- Do
we have a welfare telephone calling-tree created to check on neighbors on
a priority basis! Elderly first!
- Does
our OEM have a CERT program? Do we have trained people in our
neighborhood?
- Do
we have a meeting place for training? Can we arrange one?
- Do
we have meetings already scheduled so we can add this topic to the agenda?
Assumptions
- Many
persons using FRS radios will have little or no prior communications
training. They will have no confidence in the method or the device. Some
may even refuse to own or learn to use one.
- Radios
may prove completely frustrating to some folks and they will give up using
them and resort to calling out for help. Planners should plan around both
scenarios and NOT rely solely on two-way radios.
- Calling
out for help, if within earshot of a neighbor, makes more sense than
taking the time to find one’s radio. Neighbors in no immediate peril will
exit their homes safely and begin checking on others.
- Some
persons may have no or very limited experience with a two-way radio. Finding
the push-to-talk function may be difficult for some.
- Some
users of FRS and GMRS radios will panic and cause unwanted interference
trying to reach anyone they can hear. They may even unwittingly interfere
with rescues in progress.
- Some
users of radios may be trapped in buildings or in other dangerous locations.
It may be difficult to locate these people. Some very-local responders
should be trained in simple radio direction finding techniques to
approximate the location of trapped radio users. (Body fading.)
- CTCSS
and DCS settings will prevent communication and cause severe confusion.
- Individuals
with criminal intent may attempt to take advantage of persons in distress,
or fake distress calls in order to identify the location of law
enforcement or search and rescue resources or unprotected properties to
coordinate looting.
- The
lack of training and sophistication of users requires extraordinary
personal communication and negotiation abilities of persons carrying radios
and responding to victims. Some pre-disaster communications training is
required.
- CB
may be useless or of very limited range. Most CB’s will be in cars. There
will be a few base stations. Communication during periods of active skip
may be limited depending on local terrain.
- MURS
users will be scarce.
- Many
families will already own an FRS or a GMRS bubble-pack radio. Not everyone
in the family will know how to use them. In most cases batteries will be
dead or will soon be dead since most radios cannot be recharged in a
vehicle.
- Some
two-way radio users will not cooperate with neighborhood groups and will
do as they please. Some may even cause deliberate interference.
- Some
smaller groups will organize and use FRS and GMRS radios without being
part of a larger plan. OEM officials will eventually learn about these
groups and have difficulty verifying their authenticity.
- Local
business radio users are going to be using their own business radio
channels. OES OEM should coordinate with companies that have large fleets
to take advantage of business repeaters and high powered simplex radios.
Planning
·
Participants using GMRS should license in GMRS.
Planning should include local GMRS licensees. There should be an effort to
license families in GMRS in America’s
neighborhoods that want to help each other during or immediately after an
emergency using two-way radios.
·
Encourage local jurisdictions to have an FRS
GMRS communications plan within the existing FCC Rules governing both services.
These jurisdictions should locate and negotiate with all GMRS resources.
·
GMRS based organizations can create a committee
to explore the appropriate use of the FRS in an emergency for their area and
make recommendations to OES/OEMs. GMRS groups should support community based
disaster communication plans and work within those plans to provide public
emergency communications.
·
GMRS repeater owners should invite new families
onto their systems so families get used to operating GMRS radio systems.
·
The public needs informative
packets, and training information. No disaster program will work without
training. This includes extremely basic
radio operation instructions, storage of spare batteries, and disaster related supplies.
Such training should be provided through local offices of emergency management
or groups with CERT affiliations, Neighborhood Watch, community associations
etc.
·
Eliminate any public expectation that FRS
channel one can be used in any emergency to summon assistance on demand.
·
In a local plan make use of radio frequencies
after surveying your area for activity. Create a primary and backup channel.
·
After an emergency, communications enthusiasts
can use an ordinary radio scanner and scan all GMRS and FRS channels for any
disoriented citizens.
·
It might be helpful to also scan and listen to
activity on locally used business radio frequencies.
·
Know your neighbors ahead of time. Get to know
folks on a first and last name basis before the disaster strikes.
·
Have designated alternates for important tasks.
·
Every family should have a communications plan
for a disaster. This includes a telephone contact plan, family-expectation
setting regarding future welfare related telephone calls. Every family should
have one designated contact person far from the emergency (another city or
state) that can be a single point of contact for all family members.
·
Disaster communications planners, while taking
into consideration the limitations of GMRS and FRS should:
a. Share
with neighborhoods the benefits of communicating after an emergency to assess
the welfare of persons by radio in a very local way.
b. The
need for a neighbor or neighbors to learn how to effectively use a two-way
radio during and immediately after a disaster.
c. Encourage
neighbors to use radios with coded-squelch disabled.
d. Develop
local ways for neighborhoods to communicate with OES/OEM officials.
Suggestions
- A
neighborhood should standardize on a particular make and model of FRS
radio (if possible) for those people that have no prior experience using
radios and that might be likely to have problems using their radios.
- Pick
a radio that uses regular alkaline batteries you can replace. When
electricity is out you may not be able to recharge your rechargeable
batteries.
- Some
simple method of wearing the radio on the belt, around the neck, or
clipped to clothing should be devised so it is not lost. (Especially for
the elderly and the sick.)
- Use
of call tones should be discouraged. These tones serve no useful purpose.
They make the radio an obnoxious toy.
- A
neighborhood communications volunteer should set up FRS radios for those
that cannot do it properly themselves.
- Neighborhoods
should have Block Captains. Block Captains have the responsibility to call
everyone on the radio during and after a disaster to verify the welfare of
people in the homes and buildings around them.
- Large
buildings should have designated Floor Captains and alternates that carry
radios. Every building should have a communications plan in place with
their evacuation plan. It is not realistic that every employee should carry
an FRS radio in a business structure but key employees that are part of
the neighborhood disaster plan should do so.
- A
neighborhood’s radio system should be tested at least four times a year. A
good time may be just prior to a Neighborhood Watch meeting or local
disaster preparedness meeting. Neighbors should use their radios informally
all year so they become familiar with the radio.
- As
many volunteers as can be found should take CERT training so everyone
responding to calls from help can so do with some confidence and without
injury.
- CERT
teams should not have to design or re-design communications systems or
methods already included in their local disaster plans. CERT emphasis is
on rescue and public welfare. Disaster planners should do this work for
CERT volunteers.
- Neighbors
who want to license in the GMRS should pay the license fee, and buy a base
station and mobile radio capable of attaching to an external antenna.
These neighbors can be a link to a designated resource up the
communications chain.
- Amateur
Radio operators in the neighborhood should be identified and included in
neighborhood communications planning. Amateurs can serve as a
neighborhood’s link back to the designated public safety agency. Areas
with great distances between neighborhoods can benefit from such a scheme.
- A
neighborhood should be included in a multi-hazard functional plan for the
jurisdiction in which it is located. Contact persons, and their addresses
and phone numbers should be kept up to date for every local neighborhood.
This is easier to do through Neighborhood Watch or Neighborhood
Association meetings since these are regularly conducted by local police
jurisdictions.
- When
using a radio to talk to a neighbor use plain language. Do not use ten
codes.
- Use radio codes instead of plain language
only if you can guarantee there will be no misunderstandings.
- Maritime
communities should think about communicating with each other on GMRS and
FRS. VHF maritime channels cannot be legally used on land. The maritime
channels may be busy with maritime distress activities.
- Teach
everyone who owns a radio how to use the radio with specific emphasis on:
- Listening
before transmitting
- Disabling
CTCSS and DCS
- Disabling
scrambling
- Speaking
in plain language.
- Directing
all communications to a specific person or unit.
- Responding
only to known persons.
- How
to make a general call to anyone that can hear you only when you cannot
reach designated persons.
- Having
enough batteries on hand to use your radio continuously for at least
seventy-two hours.
- Keeping
your radio and batteries within easy to reach, away from areas that might
be damaged during earthquakes or storms.
- In
advance warning of an emergency putting your radio on your belt or clipping
it to your clothing.
- Putting
packs of extra batteries in your pocket in case you are not able to get
back to your supply in the event of a building collapse.
- In
advance of a disaster warning, attempt to contact other members of your
neighborhood group and check in with Block Captains. Block Captains
should have paper and pencil to record names and addresses of check-ins. It
is also good to know who has already evacuated.
- Have
a current neighborhood map with address numbers, telephone numbers, and
names of families recorded on the map.
- After
a disaster Block Captains should contact every person that checked in and
attempt to contact those that did not.
- Block
Captains should allow persons in actual distress to check in before those
that are not. Everyone needs to know they are helped by neighborhood
resources on a priority basis!
- Persons
in distress should begin transmitting the moment they determine their vocal
cries for help are not being heard. Transmit and listen, transmit and
listen. “This is Bill on Main St.
Please help me.” Stop transmitting when you are called or are asked to do
so. Indicate you are injured when you are called. State your name, last
known location (where you should be), and the nature of your emergency. (A suggested communications protocol
need to be developed. (This is similar to the suggested methods of
calling and speaking with a Police, Fire, or Medical dispatch center
using 911.)
- Signaling
in the event you cannot speak. Radios require speech, but you can create
a method of signaling, or responding to yes and no questions if you can
tap or rub the radio against a solid object while transmitting. Whatever
system you develop should be widely understood among the neighbors and
only used as a last resort.
- Preventing
an open-microphone condition and what to do if one happens e.g. switching
to an alternate channel.
OES/OEM’s, Public
Safety - Make a Commitment Now
There are some considerations in this list that are frankly,
a little outside the scope of FRS and GMRS but these should be considered so
that FRS and GMRS use can be considered in context by disaster planners.
- OES/OEM’s
that plan for supplemental communication functions need to encourage and
train volunteers through drills and organized training. Volunteers need
encouragement, recognition, drills, training etc.
- Determine
the supplemental communications needs of every neighborhood, public safety
agency, major utility etc and work your volunteers into those places. Amateur
Radio RACES and ARES should be your primary supplemental civilian
communications resource.
- In
the case of Amateur Radio volunteers, Public Safety agencies, particularly
police, have an obligation to use Amateurs as RACES volunteers and not
ARES volunteers. This does not mean the local Ham population has to be
Balkanized! This just means that Hams assigned to work a specific agency
are volunteers at that agency as well as members of the local ARES. They
wear two hats. Public Safety agencies often fingerprint RACES
volunteers. This allows agencies to
assert some control over the quality and integrity of volunteers that
serve. In most cases it also qualifies volunteers to receive workman’s
compensation insurance benefits if injured in the line of duty.
- Actively
train and provide drills for volunteers.
- Encourage
firefighters, Dispatch, OES/OEM, medical personnel, and police officers to
become Amateur Radio operators. These folks are often terrific volunteer leaders.
They know the politics and planners tend to take them seriously.
Volunteers feel honored to serve alongside their very qualified partners.
- By
making a commitment you are more likely to identify those volunteers that
should not be part of a program before an emergency occurs. You can also
work with local volunteer groups to create other useful jobs for
volunteers. When you set standards and set expectations for volunteers you
will have a better program.
- Setting
up a grass-roots neighborhood supplemental
communications plan is difficult. The reason is that the people doing the
communicating are not necessarily radio or communications enthusiasts. Their
primary interest is the safety of family and neighbors. (CERT)
- An
OES/OEM may not have the resources to train communicators but your local
Amateur/GMRS population does! It is what they already do. They can serve
you well in this function. Work hard to develop their skills and help them
to write a training program with which your agency is comfortable.
- Avoid
competing communications volunteer programs. Political jurisdictions
should make this a requirement for OES/OEM’s and all volunteer groups. There
is no room for griping, finger pointing, politics, or empire building in
communications disaster planning. That message must be conveyed to
volunteers.
- CERT
communications volunteers should not be in the position of having to set
up their own communications methodologies without appropriate leadership.
You do not want these groups re-inventing the wheel.
- When
you find it difficult to recruit communications volunteers work harder at
it. Ask people why they no longer bother and you may be surprised. It is
not necessarily their age or lack of interest. On the contrary, it is
often that when volunteers do express an interest in serving the various
jurisdictions do not take the volunteers seriously. Amateur Radio
Operators have often been in the position, despite an incredible record of
service, of having to sell their capabilities and themselves to political
jurisdictions. The same goes for GMRS groups. Do not wait for them to come
to you, go to them.
- Make
sure your OES/OEM leaders are the right people. It is not a desk job. It’s
a people job, an organizers job, a political job, a leadership job, and a
tough job. The skills required are
supervisory, managerial, and political.
- The
diversity of America’s
neighborhoods makes an approach to a supplemental communications or CERT
program different on many levels. How you make it work and what you do
with it is going to depend on very-local circumstances. A CERT approach in
a farming community is going to be necessarily different than one in an
inner city apartment building.
- When
you create very-local communications plans decide first what it is you
want these communicators to do. Is communicating their job or is communication
necessary to get their real job done? These are two very different things.
An Amateur Radio operator trains to provide supplemental
communications. A CERT neighbor trains to rescue an elderly neighbor from
the debris of a collapsed building. This is also one major reason why you
do not want a CERT leader to have to reinvent communications plans! You
assign a communicator to help them find the appropriate radio service that
can provide tactical communication after an emergency. The communicator
then trains the trainers who trains the neighbors.
- Training
is easier than you think. Start train-the-trainer programs for neighborhood
volunteers.
- Standardize
training. Use handouts, Power Point, lectures, and demonstrations.
- Train
people not only how to do something but also discuss why it is so
important. Discuss the potential consequences for plan failures due to
modified personal interpretations and implementations.
- Trainers
should identify loose canons – people with scary security guard
mentalities, or personality problems that can make them a liability and
not an asset. Neighborhoods can find something for these folks to do but
they should not be responsible for the success of a program if they are
not likely to follow rules, guidelines, laws, or policies. It is OK to set
standards and ask neighborhood volunteers to accept those standards.
Develop volunteer agreements that contain a span of control, and a scope
of work and a defined chain of command. Standards of behavior and the
organization of the volunteer service need to be clearly understood.
Volunteers must be required to sign a document indicating their
understanding of policies and procedures.
A Quick Look at the
Personal Radio Services
Citizens Radio
Service
- The
service was originally created to provide the public with a simple,
low-cost radio service on which to conduct personal business or commerce.
- CB
was created in the high-end of the short-wave radio spectrum. It is the
old Amateur Radio Services eleven meter band.
- Short-wave
radio signals propagate over great distances. Low power signals can be
heard around the world. CB signals travel huge distances. Every eleven
years the sunspot cycle causes world-wide propagation.
- The
first CB rules and those of today forbid operators from talking to others
that are over one-hundred fifty miles away.
- When
average citizens discovered they could talk great distances like Amateur
Radio operators they began using CB illegally to “shoot skip.” CB was rendered useless by these
hobbyists.
- The
problem of illegal CB use became so great that the FCC abandoned licensing
of CB stations. The FCC even abandoned enforcement to a great extent by
asking Congress to allow local jurisdictions to investigate complaints of
illegal power amplifiers.
- There
is now complete anarchy on CB. Illegal hobbyists have had control of the
band for decades.
- Illegal
CB operations were the impetuous behind extraordinarily restrictive
covenants, codes, and restrictions against radio operation in homes and
neighborhoods. In some areas of the country housing discrimination is
reportedly being practiced against licensed radio hobbyists.
- The
use of illegal CB power amplifiers is still a problem throughout the United
States.
- There
are very few home CB base stations now.
- CB
is widely used by the trucking industry so drivers can communicate with
each other on the highways and in some cases their delivery depots.
- CB
hobby communication is frequently profane, off-color, and juvenile. Most
would say it is not a radio service they would want their children to
listen to.
- CB
is still used by some Americans in cars, by four-wheel-drive enthusiasts, in
boats, and RV’s.
- The
useful distance of a CB radio is greatly reduced during periods of
short-wave band openings due to illegal hobby operations.
- Very-local
distance expectations between mobile units can be from less than one mile
to tens of miles.
- The
CB clubs of the past died out with the popularity of CB.
- Four-wheel
drive clubs often have CB radios in all member vehicles. These clubs could
be an excellent communications and transportation resource. They have
their own communication and provide vehicles that can go where many
cannot.
- CB
walkie-talkie’s have very limited range because of low-profile and very
inefficient antennas.
- CB
might be a useful way for neighbors in rural areas to talk to each other
if they live within a few miles.
- Local
CB communication may be better at night when, in most cases, hobby
operations cease as signal propagation decreases.
- CB
should not be considered a highly reliable communications resource.
Wherever you plan to use it, test it first. Insist that all use of radios
be legal. Never allow illegal linear amplifiers to be used by volunteers.
Planners should question the integrity of any volunteer breaking FCC
Rules.
- There
are legitimate users of CB that do use their radios for family
communication. The PRA believes that encouraging such use may eventually
have an effect of the usefulness of the radio service.
Multi-Use Radio
Service
- The
Multi-Use Radio Service consists of five VHF radio frequencies. Operation
on these frequencies does not require an FCC license; however, unlicensed
operation does require that transceivers meet very specific FCC MURS requirements.
- Transceivers
that do not meet MURS requirements may not be used without an FCC license.
There are still licensed businesses sharing these radio channels.
- Some
major radio manufacturers were not pleased with the FCC’s decision to
create the MURS service and for this reason have stubbornly refused to
make equipment for it. Because of this, MURS radios are not as easy to
find or purchase as one might think.
- VHF
radio waves propagate better through forested areas.
- Two
watts on VHF may go considerably farther than two watts on UHF GMRS.
- Businesses
and unscrupulous radio dealers put customers on these five frequencies and
deliberately failed to license. The widespread abuse of the licensing
requirement prompted the FCC to license-by-rule just as the FCC did with
the CB band.
- Low-power
VHF generally does not propagate like short-wave radio.
- Interference
is likely to come from existing business users and unlicensed business
users.
- Interference
is more likely in urban areas.
- These
frequencies are often used as drive-up window channels at restaurants and
as portable-to-portable business radios in stores, warehouses, malls,
construction sites, and as itinerant devices.
- Users
of this radio service are required to share the frequencies they use.
- MURS
would be an acceptable very-local communications option for a
neighborhood, particular where forests and rolling hills are plentiful.
Family Radio Service
- The
FRS is a license-free very-short-range radio service.
- FRS
channels one through seven are shared with the General Mobile Radio
Service.
- GMRS
licensees may have small base stations up to five watts effective radiated
power on FRS one through seven. This rule can make FRS in a neighborhood
useful if one licensed resident can communicate well with many local
hand-held FRS radios.
- FRS
channels eight through fourteen are exclusive to the FRS.
- Families
and businesses are both allowed to use radios that are FCC approved for
the Family Radio Service.
- Anarchy
reigns on the FRS in urban areas. Interference can be severe.
- FRS
radio waves travel line of sight.
- Antenna
height is more important to range than is the power of the radio.
Communication over tens of miles is possible from high altitudes.
- Heavily
forested areas limit the range of FRS. UHF radio waves are absorbed by
vegetation.
- Intentional
interference on FRS is common. Call tones are typically used to interfere
and annoy others.
- Very-local
use of FRS around a neighborhood or a home is very effective.
- FRS
radios are limited to one-half watt output.
- Only
the United States
and Canada
share a Family Radio Service on the same frequencies. Use of FRS radios in other countries is
illegal. Some persons have obtained prior permission to use FRS
frequencies in other countries but this is the exception and not the rule.
- Manufacturer
marketing claims of useful communication beyond several hundred feet to
one half mile are greatly exaggerated and intended only to sell radios by
creating unrealistic expectations in the minds of consumers.
- Children
should not use FRS radios unsupervised. Parents should know who their
children are talking to especially with the new Hasbro text-messaging
radios.
- FRS
radios are unfortunately also used by criminals.
- Use
of FRS radios as children’s toys should be discouraged.
- Use
of FRS radios and other two-way radios by hunters to coordinate the
hunting of game may be regulated in some states. In some states it is
considered unsportsmanlike conduct to coordinate the hunt using two-way
radios.
- FRS
radios are perfect for neighbors to use to keep in touch before, during,
and after disasters.
- FCC
rules prohibit FRS radio connection to external antennas.
- FCC
rules prohibit FRS radio connection to telephone systems.
- FCC
rules prohibit FRS radio connection to store and forward repeaters.
General Mobile Radio
Service
- Use
of GMRS is limited to personal licensees. Organizations, clubs, and
businesses are not eligible to license in GMRS. Individuals are licensed
upon application and payment of a license fee. The renewable license is
good for five years.
- Personal
licensees may conduct their personal business.
- A
person’s GMRS license covers their immediate family members including
members of the immediate family not living in the licensee’s home.
- A
licensee is responsible for the proper operation of all radio equipment
used as part of the licensee’s system.
- GMRS
base stations and mobile units may use external antennas and power outputs
up to fifty watts.
- GMRS
licensees may use up to five watts effective radiated power on GMRS
interstitial channels also known as Family Radio Service channels one
through seven.
- GMRS
allows the use of radio repeater stations.
- Higher
power outputs of GMRS radios make communications more reliable over
greater distances.
- GMRS
repeaters are considered private property. Repeaters may be shared by
licensees but sharing agreements must be in writing and kept with station
records.
Methods of
Communication for Very-local Communication (Under development)
The following suggestions are for very-local neighborhood
groups. Your implementation may vary depending upon colloquial circumstances.
This is not a one-size fits all approach.
- The
planner wants to choose simple simple-language communication methods
rather than try to teach ten-codes or other similar codes used by public
safety communicators. The general public speaks in words so stick with
plain language call signs and/or tactical identifiers.
- Minimize
future confusion by encouraging neighbors to use their radios for family
use and events.
Mistakes to Avoid
- CERT
organizations have no right under law to issue GMRS radios to unlicensed
volunteers. There is a trend developing of jurisdictions purchasing the twenty-two
channel bubble-pack GMRS radios and issuing these radios to volunteers.
Jurisdictions tell volunteers to use the channels that do not require a
license and to avoid using the higher power GMRS channels unless told to
do so. Some jurisdictions even make up their own rules to say when
volunteers can use GMRS channels without license authority. This is
inconsistent with the license requirements for these radios and is against
FCC Rules. It is not good planning. Do not make this mistake or you will
run afoul of the law. Read the GMRS Rules in FCC R&R Part 95. Observe
the license requirements for radios certified as GMRS radios.
- Do
not make the assumption that you have the right to do as you please with a
GMRS radio because you represent a police, fire, or OEM agency. The
Federal Communications Commission makes the rules and enforces the rules.
You may not interpret the rules for your own benefit.
- Amateur
Radio operators, public safety jurisdictions, nor OES/OEM’s should
assume that they have the right to use GMRS radios without a
license or to issue GMRS radios to non hams in order to outfit citizen ACS
teams. (Auxiliary Communications Service teams.)
- Assume
that your illegal operations on GMRS will be noticed. Do not break the
law. There is an ever growing membership of the Personal Radio Association
taking responsibility for monitoring GMRS nationwide. Unlicensed operation
is reported to the Federal Communications Commission. You could find you
or your agency having to explain to the FCC why you have ignored and
operated outside of the FCC Rules.
- Do
not permit Amateur Radio operators assisting as communications volunteers
to use modified Amateur Radio equipment on GMRS frequencies. This is not
allowed under FCC Rules. Permitting your volunteers to break the law is
not the right thing to do.
- Do
not permit public safety employees to program GMRS channels in public
safety radios or to use modified Amateur Radios on public safety
frequencies.
- Do
not assume that your organization has the right to commandeer a GMRS or
FRS channel for your exclusive use.
Opportunities for
Manufacturers
Manufacturers have gone about the development and marketing
of FRS radios in all the wrong ways. Development is entirely about what the
marketing manager expects will tempt the average citizen to buy the product
without regard to licensing. The marketers want the radios loaded with
features. They insist on making bizarre claims as to the range radios will
transmit effectively. It is all about
what a marketing manager believes will sell the product and not at all about
how useful the radio actually is. The most glaring examples are the intentional
built-in complexities of these radios that should be so incredibly simple. Set-up
menus and multiple controls confuse and bemuse the average citizen making the
radios almost impossible to use. One excellent argument against the use of today’s
FRS/GMRS bubble-pack radios for use in emergency situations was put this way:
“Take any two FRS (or
bubble-pack GMRS) radios from competing manufacturers and set each radio on a
different channel with different call tones. Hand the radios to an average
person with an instruction book and ask them to set the radios up so they can
talk to each other.” One or both people will certainly give up and setting up a
radio to communicate during an emergency is too late!
Manufacturers have an opportunity to reverse confusion by
developing FRS only radios for use in neighborhoods as radios for crime
prevention teams or CERT with the following features:
- FRS
only channels so radios can be used license free.
- Elimination
of the tone-coded squelch option.
- Eliminates
complicated set up
- Eliminates
problems associated with model differences between manufacturers
- Eliminates
interference to GMRS repeaters when operated on FRS eight through
fourteen.
- Enables
persons to quickly and easily talk to each other.
- Elimination
of the call tone feature. This feature has rarely served a useful purpose.
It is most frequently used to interfere with and to annoy others. It makes
the radio a toy.
- Simple
one-button scan function.
Why make the changes?
- CTCSS
and DCS tones are difficult to set up in most radios.
- Manufacturers
market CTCSS and DCS tones as privacy feature when it is anything but a
privacy feature.
- Most
people with CTCSS or DCS enabled will never listen first before
transmitting and often interfere with others.
- An
FRS radio with CTCSS or DCS enabled will prevent communication with
others.
- Menu
and push-button function set up methods are confusing and difficult to
master.
- Feature
rich radios are communication poor.
- Reduced
complexity emphasizes voice communication.
- An
FRS-only radio is license free. Something that that has escaped the
attention of manufacturers and marketing managers for a number of years.
Most serious GMRS licensees invest in high quality
commercial grade two-way radio equipment and have invested a great deal of
money in this equipment. Commercial grade radios last longer, are more
reliable, and in many cases much simpler to use.