Family Radio Service, An Option for Neighborhood Emergency Communications

Adapted By Virginia ARES / RACES, Inc. from original material by Dick Rawson, N6CMJ (SVECS Handbook) and Doug Web, of the Personal Radio Steering Group.

Not everyone can afford a cellular telephone for emergency communications. Those who can should be aware that cellular or PCS may not "always work" during an emergency when everyone tries to use them at once and the system becomes "overloaded."  CERT, Neighborhood Watch and families should consider alternative means to check on each other's kids, elderly neighbors or keep in touch to make sure everyone is OK after the storm blows over and the telephones are out. 

All FRS radios are compatible in basic operation. You may choose any one of 14 "Channels" and talk to anyone within range using the same channel. The Personal Radio Steering Group and REACT International recommend that FRS "Channel 1" be used as a "family calling" channel.
See http://www.reactintl.org and  http://www.dougweb.com/ubb/forum2/html/000231.html 

Not all FRS radios have all 14 channels available, but all FRS radios have at least Channel 1. The idea is that if the power or telephones go out, everyone would turn on their radio to maintain a "listening watch" on Channel 1. Turn off any "privacy codes" and just listen with "carrier squelch" (explained later). Neighbors should check to ensure that anyone living alone is OK and that in families everyone is accounted for. If anyone requires assistance, relay emergency calls down the line to somebody who has contact with the "outside world" through a working telephone, phone patch via ham radio or other means.

If your neighborhood uses a channel other than Channel 1, let local emergency management know so that police and fire can program it into their scanners. Schedule a regular weekly test, maybe Sunday mornings at ten over coffee, for neighbors to meet "on the air," check the radio, and make sure the batteries are OK, become familiar with how it works and determine your area of coverage.

The so-called "privacy codes" touted by the manufacturers do NOT make your conversation private. Continuous Tone Coded Squelch or CTCSS is used in amateur, business and public safety radio services to enable multiple users to share the same channel without hearing each other. If FRS is to be of any use in an emergency everyone should DISABLE TONE SQUELCH and use carrier squelch only! Anyone can turn their "privacy code" off and hear all traffic on the channel, even if you transmit with tone squelch turned on.  Remember that CTCSS is like a "filter," to reduce ambient noise when you monitor the radio all the time. It is not a scrambler. Don't discuss anything on FRS you want to keep private!

If you ever need to use a 2-way radio in a real emergency, it is vital that you be clearly understood. Public safety professionals avoid "ten-codes" and jargon you hear on TV "cop shows" because these terms have different meanings and may be misunderstood. Professional emergency responders use plain language, so you should do the same. 

To call someone, say the name of the person your want to call, followed by the words "THIS IS," then say your name and "OVER."  For example: "MARTHA, THIS IS GEORGE, OVER."

When Martha hears her name, it gets her attention. She may not know George, so when she hears the words "THIS IS," it alerts her to pay attention to who is calling her. When she hears "OVER", she knows that it is her turn to speak. Two-way radios are not "full-duplex" like a telephone, because you cannot hear what someone else is saying when YOU are talking.  Because only one person can talk at a time, it is more important to LISTEN on a 2-way radio than to talk!  It's basic "radio etiquette" to establish contact and make sure that you have the other person's attention before just "blabbing away."  If you hear someone calling you, acknowledge his or her call by saying, "GO AHEAD." This lets the caller know that you heard them, and that you are ready to listen to what they have to say. When you want the other, person to respond say "OVER." 

The word "OVER" leaves no doubt about whose turn it is to talk and avoids any confusion which results in two people speaking at once and nobody hearing the other. When your business is finished, the person who started the conversation should end it by saying their name and the word "OUT," which leaves no mistake that contact has ended.

Always release the push-to-talk (PTT) button whenever you stop talking. If you forget and keep it pushed down when trying to think of something to say, the radio continues to transmit a carrier, making your battery run down faster and making "dead air" so that nobody else can speak or be heard. In the least sense, it is impolite. In an emergency, it could prevent someone with vital information from getting through.  If you need to collect your thoughts, release the PTT so that somebody else can break in case they have an emergency, additional information or simply wants to join in the conversation. Leave a second or two between "hand-offs" to give others a chance to break in. Its always best to speak in short simple phrases on the radio and toss the conversion back and forth with the word "OVER."

Don't speak immediately when you press the PTT, but wait an instant. Most two-way radios take 100 to 300 milliseconds to change from receive to transmit, so if you speak as soon you "key up" it "clips" the first syllable, making it harder to understand. If that word doesn't make it, you will just have to say it again and run down your batteries faster.

If you must use your radio to relay an emergency call to someone else who will make a telephone call for you, write the information down and collect your thoughts beforehand. The 911 operator will need the exact location, street name, house number and nearest cross street to the emergency. This is vital if a call being relayed is made from a location different from the emergency. Most automated 911 systems trace the call and it wastes precious response time if a unit is automatically dispatched to where the call is being made from, if it is far from the actual location of the emergency. Answer the call taker's questions as directly as possible, do not explain. If asked a question, just answer. If you think that additional information is vital, be brief and let the call taker ask for more detail.

It doesn't help to talk louder on the radio in a noisy environment, even though it's may seem natural to speak louder when it is noisy around you. When you yell, the radio clips your voice, distorting voice audio so that it is less understandable. Speak ACROSS the microphone rather than into it because breath sounds also reduce intelligibility. Use a natural speaking voice. The only way to overcome loud ambient noise is to shield the microphone from the wind, point it away from the source of noise or wait until the noise passes.

A hand-held microphone or headset may be convenient when you need your hands free to use tools or equipment and are speaking to someone nearby. You should be aware that any portable radio is much less effective when worn on your belt, because the radio signal is absorbed your body. This is very noticeable with low power FRS. Unless you are within 1/4 mile of the person you are talking to, hold the radio vertically, at face level, with its antenna in the clear. Range will be reduced to less than half if you use the radio inside a metal vehicle or inside a steel-reinforced building. If you have trouble communicating pull safely off the road, step outside the vehicle away from the traffic flow to use the radio.

Recharge NiCd battery packs at least monthly. Write the date the battery was charged on a strip of tape on each pack. In cold weather keep the radio warm inside a coat pocket and in your purse, NOT exposed on your belt. Adapters which enable you to power the radio from your auto cigarette lighter plug are useful for extended operation. If the radio will work with common AA batteries, you don't need to depend on household current to recharge.

An FRS radio is NOT a substitute for a cellular telephone. It is still prudent to have a cellular telephone for personal and emergency communications. But also be aware that cellular phones are not totally reliable under all emergency conditions. FRS, within its limitations, provides an inexpensive alternative for short-range neighborhood communications for people who are willing to learn and practice to supplement their neighborhood emergency communications. 

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