[aprssig] Clubs, FRS and Ham Response teams

[Bob Bruninga]

> Thought 1/2 watt and no external antennas???  
> Have the rules changed??

No.  For monitoring in my office, I have a stock FRS radio inside a 2" PVC pipe on the roof.  I feed it 6 volts up and bring down speaker audio on a 4 conductor phone line type wiring to my desk about 200' away.

Stays in the rules.  Stock radio, stock antenna.  No rules about where you put the speaker.  THough I think there is a rule that it can only be used with type-approved accessories which probably does include plugging into the external speaker jack, though extending the RX capability does not in any way extend its TX range which is the rule's main concern.

If I need to respond to a call, I take a portable and walk over to stand by the window to TX.

Bob, WB4APR


>   Ron
>
>   --- On Sun, 8/28/11, Bob Bruninga <bruninga at usna.edu>
>   wrote:
>
>     From: Bob Bruninga <bruninga at usna.edu>
>     Subject: [aprssig] Clubs, FRS and Ham Response teams
>     To: aprssig at tapr.org
>     Date: Sunday, August 28, 2011, 2:15 PM
>
>     Cheap Radios for Emergency  Preparedness!
>
>     We bought 10 pairs of FRS radios amounting to about
>     $14 each and made them available to our entire school
>     ham radio club.  The idea being to make sure that all
>     boots-on-the-ground could contact each other and the
>     local campus EOC during the Hurricane.
>
>     Even the Hams found them very handy for short range
>     contact so that their HT could remain on the EOC,
>     AREA/RACES and other vital channels, leaving the FRS
>     channel available for logistics and coordination
>     within the club and on scene.
>
>     This sure keeps a lot of simplex traffic off of the
>     HAM channels that are already busy with longer
>     distance traffic.
>
>     The FRS radios are 1 watt UHF with 22 channels, PL,
>     CTCSS and DCS  (including CTCSS Scan!) and
>     rechargeable batteries and charger for $28 a pair.
>     We consider them expendible so they are the ones we
>     use in the rain, over the water, and into the mud.
>
>     Plus the unlicensed newcomers to the club can use
>     them to stay in touch with our Cadre of communicators
>     ntil they get thir licenses.
>
>     If you are Radioactive, dont overlook these excellent
>     HT's.  PS. I measured several on a Sig gen and ALL
>     are identical 0.2 uV or so sensitive as good as any
>     ham radio.
>
>     Bob, WB4APR
>
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