FRS Radio Communication

The North Hills Community Association is the focal point for two emergency communication systems available to the community.  These are the FRS (Family Radio System) radio network and the PENS (Emergency Notification System). Following is a brief description of the FRS Radio system.

FRS Radios

Key to the effective response to an emergency is the ability to effectively communicate within the neighborhood and outside of the neighborhood. While the primary communication means available to a neighborhood CORE group remains dedicated runners, radio communication is a popular alternative taught within the CORE training.

Practice Session

A practice network is held at 8PM the first Thursday of every month.  To join the network, please read the rest of this webpage, acquire a FRS radio if you do not already own one, identify your frequency on the map below and join the network!

North Hills FRS Radio Network (click images to enlarge):

The network is arranged in a hierarchy. Channels/privacy codes are clearly defined and – it works!

Viewing the Map:  Reading the diagram right to left, what you see are the actual neighbors within a neighborhood. Each of these neighborhoods has a designated channel and privacy code (e.g., in the case of Upper Alvarado it’s 6/6) for chatting within the neighborhood and up to the next level of the hierarchy, the neighborhood coordinator. Typically there would be fewer than 10 people operating radios within each neighborhood, providing status and receiving direction for their neighborhood coordinator.  Here is the complete list:

  6/6 Upper Alvarado
  5/5 Vicente Canyon
  7/7 Norfolk-Buckingham
  9/9 Hiller Highlands
  4/4 Skyline / Grizzly Peak
  3/3 Claremont Ridge

(2/2 FRS channel from incident command to the entire net)

Equipment

Combination FRS / GMRS Radios – These are rapidly becoming the most common variant available and are an excellent value in that they have access to 22 channels, both FRS and GMRS. If one decides on this type of radio, it is important that one understand the FCC rules before using the radio.

Low-power FM handheld walkie-talkies that are readily available at numerous electronics retailers for as little a $20 each. They use 14 dedicated channels and up to 38 “privacy codes”, and are completely unrestricted in their allowed use by the FCC.

GMRS – General Mobile Radio Service – These are higher power FM handheld walkie-talkies that are also readily available at numerous electronics retailers for only a few dollars more than FRS radios. They use 15 channels, 7 of which are shared with FRS radios. These also have up to 38 “privacy codes.” Unlike FRS radios, these require the user to purchase a family/entity license for $75, which is good for 5 years. Also, unlike FRS radios, these are regulated by the FCC. Due to this regulatory atmosphere we are suggesting that users check with the FCC to ensure that the use of these radio is in compliance with the law before buying.

Privacy Codes – This is somewhat of a misnomer in that these codes do nothing to prevent others from hearing your conversations, but limit what YOU can hear. This is a very important feature to have, as without these codes, the user will likely hear communications that only get in the way of hearing what he/she really wants/needs to hear. Make sure that, whatever radio you buy, that it has the 38 privacy codes, a common feature available for a nominal increase in cost.

Range – These radios have a range that is less than 5 miles, but generally limited by terrain/buildings rather than absolute power. The radios are "line of sight" (i.e., if you can visually see the location of the other radio, you can probably communicate with it provided you're within the range limits of the units), limited by terrain, buildings, etc.  We have found that in practice there is little difference in performance between the FRS and GMRS radios (although the GMRS do perform somewhat better). The bottom line is that either type has more than enough range to function effectively within a neighborhood, often between neighborhoods ...  if the network is designed properly.

Network

One of the key ingredients in a successful FRS/GMRS radio system is the planning involved in setting up the network. Some basic facts about radio communications are the following:

• only one person can be talking on one channel (within an area) at a time
• although range is pretty good, the network needs to be tested in advance under various weather conditions to ensure that the worst case scenario is covered
• channel/privacy code coordination is essential to an effective network

As described above the network is arranged in a hierarchy.  Starting from the right in diagram, what you see are the actual neighbors within a neighborhood. Each of these neighborhoods has a designated channel/privacy code (in the case of Upper Alvarado it’s 6/6) for chatting within the neighborhood and up to the next level of the hierarchy, the neighborhood coordinator. Typically there would be fewer than 10 people operating radios within each neighborhood, providing status and receiving direction for their neighborhood coordinator.

Moving to the left of the neighborhood coordinators something has changed. What has changed is that all the (in this case 7) neighborhood coordinators are talking to each other and incident command on the same channel / privacy code. In this way there is no interference with the discussions going on within the neighborhood, while ensuring that a higher level status is available for incident command (next level to the left).  By constructing the network in this manner there is minimal risk of interference, while ensuring that communications going up the line become increasingly succinct and useful to the outside world.

As indicated in the diagram, the incident commander will have direct access to the Amateur Radio community, which is well organized and is capable of communicating directly with the City’s emergency personnel. So, this system allow for communications within the neighborhood, outside the neighborhood, and to the world.

Radio Etiquette

Unlike telephones, (both cellular and fixed) a FRS/GMRS radio is a simplex rather than a duplex device. What this means is that only one person can speak at a time. This is a surprisingly difficult thing for new users to master, as everyone is so familiar with the use of telephones. In order to make it work then, it’s critical that people understand some rudiments of radio communication:

• If more than one person talks at the same time on a given channel, it’s likely that nobody will be heard.
• It’s important to be really formal about waiting to be contacted and responding to that person, clearly identifying yourself. Conversely, if you are attempting to initiate a discussion, it is essential that you identify who you are and who you are calling.
• During a discussion with one person, it’s important to make it really clear that you understand what is being said by repeating it and asking for confirmation that you got it right. Common expressions to indicate that what was stated was what was understood include “copy” and “roger”.
• Whenever you are finishing a period of talking, you need to make it clear that this is the case. This is typically done by saying “over”.
• When you are finished talking altogether you say, “out.”  If there is more than one person in the group, it’s extremely important to make it clear who you are directing your communications to and for the respondent to clearly indicate that he or she is who you are talking to.

Why Not Use Cell Phones?

The question of using cell phones for emergency communications comes up often, so it’s important to highlight how different the capabilities of these two technologies really are. Cell phones are point to point, while FRS/GMRS radios are point to multipoint. In other words, you can only talk with one person at a time using a cell phone, while with these radios you can talk to many. This is a huge advantage in an emergency.

Cell phones rely on fixed infrastructure that is susceptible to damage and overloading in an emergency. By comparison, FRS/GMRS radios are completely independent of any fixed infrastructure, hence are inherently extraordinarily reliable. There is simply one point of failure.

Summary

The bottom line is that it’s significantly harder to do this properly than it seems, and it really does require some practice. And as is the case in many other things, there is no substitute for up-front discussions, planning, testing, and frequent drills. This is an enormously useful technology that, until recently, was simply not available to the general public, a technology that has the power to dramatically improve the ability of neighborhoods to respond to emergencies.