Formulating Your Comms Plan Using FRS

Hello to all my loyal viewers and readers!  Today's post takes us into the realm of formulating our comms plan and actually writing this plan down on paper.  If you are just now coming to us, I would like to ask you to take a few minutes to visit our YouTube channel Tactical Comms , start with the oldest video, and then you will have a decent understanding of what you need to know in order to build your Plan.  Before we get started, remember a few things;

1. Who do you want to talk to?
2. Where are they in relation to you?
3. What technology is available to you?

Also, I want you to remember this acronym which is applicable to more than Comms, "P.A.C.E.";

• P- Primary
• A- Alternate
• C- Contingent
• E- Emergency

We will not talk a lot about PACE in today's Blog, but will begin to talk more about it as we begin building your tool-box of tricks to solve Comms problems.  I only want to keep reminding you of a few basic terms with each video or blog I give you.

I realize many of you want me to give you the Magic Beans to work in every instance, but Comms simply do not work that way and as of this writing, I have been unable to locate the Magic Beans.  For today's discussion, I want you to plan a trip for you and your family, and you will be traveling in two cars.  Your trip is going to take you through areas with poor cell service so you want to be able to talk to each other without cell phones.  I will not get into the other things you should take with out on this trip as there are countless other channels and sources for that information who are much more qualified to give you that list than I am.

Since you will be fairly, "Line of Sight" (you can literally see each other), you have multiple options; cheap options.  For today, we want to look at FRS radios (Family Radio Service) for our Comms.  Now remember, we aren't talking about a SHTF scenario here.  We are only talking about a trip between points A and B so we need to follow the FCC Rules.  In other words, no Baofeng Radios on FRS on this trip.  Why not?  The FCC limits power of FRS radios to only two watts, an approved radio can't have a detachable antenna, and no mobile, or fixed (base station) radios are allowed.  If you feel like two watts of power is enough, go back to the YouTube channel and look for my discussion on GMRS.  Public Service Announcement- Go get your Amateur (Ham) Radio license!  Also, don't be fooled by advertisements claiming "up to" 20 or 40 mile range from a FRS radio.  In the vast majority of cases, that simply is not going to happen on two watts with a OEM antenna; unless the laws of physics have changed prior to reading this article.  The FRS radios will work just fine for you on today's trip so long as one of you doesn't decide to take a pit-stop while the other keeps moving.

What radios should I purchase?  This discussion has brought about conflicts between the best of friends and may or may not have contributed to small revolutions.  Okay, maybe that was a little sensational, but it has been the cause of many arguments.  One website,  Radioddity has a neat package of FRS radios along with a small Emergency Radio for a nice price.  Now I have not personally examined this setup, but the specs look interesting.  This kit gives you four handheld FRS radios with an Emergency Radio capable of receiving local broadcast stations, and the capability to possibly recharge your FRS radios.  There are numerous other options so do your homework and choose the radio that is right for you.

What channel should I pic?  This is the $64k question.  Personally, I try to pick something in the middle of the channel plan and in the middle of the PL/DPL tone plan.  Magic?  Nope, no magic, but the human culture is fairly lazy and we want quick and easy.  By selecting a channel and PL/DPL near the middle of the list, you eliminate a large portion of users because they are simply too lazy to keep pressing the buttons on the radios to get to the desired channel and PL/DPL tones.  Our culture wants easy and quick and most people don't want to read the User's Manual to learn how to setup the radio properly.  IMPORTANT; don't select channels 8-14 unless you are only working within one-half mile of each other.  Channels 8-14 are only allowed to operate with 0.5 watts.  So we will select Channel 15.

Now that our plan has selected Channel 15, we need to select a PL/DPL tone.  You need to make sure the radios you select have PL/DPL (Private Line/Digital Private Line also referred to as QT/DQT and CTCSS/DCS depending on manufacturer).  PL/DPL is like a mask limiting what the radio can hear and each radio needs to use the same PL/DPL in order to communicate with each other.  It is not encryption and does not prevent others from hearing you.  Referring to the users manual for the radio you purchased, let's select the PL tone, "203.5" which is a tone near the middle of the list.  Make sure all of your radios are set for the same channel and PL/DPL tone and test them before you hand them out.

Next, you need to go ahead and pick an alternate channel and PL Tone.  I realize this statement is going to be tough for some of you, but there are some jerks out there who will try to high jack your comms.  So, if you have chose channel 15 as your primary and 203.5 as your PL, make Channel 7 your Alternate with a DPL of D156N.  If you are forced to move to your Alternate, make the call and then stay quiet for awhile unless absolutely necessary.  Refer to your owners manual for instructions on how to set the PL/DPL for each channel.  

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Channel 3 Project.  The Channel 3 Project is not exclusive to AMRRON and covers many different radios and mode beyond FRS.  Visit the link above for more information, but make sure you setup FRS Channel 3 in Carrier Squelch (No PL/DPL).

So hear is what you plan looks like;

Primary- FRS Channel 15 with PL 203.5

Alternate- FRS Channel 7 with DPL D156N

Contingency- FRS Channel 3 with NO PL/DPL

And that's it! You have built your plan for your road trip.  Feel free to deviate within the FRS plan to meet your needs, but this plan will get you started.  DO NOT WAIT for the road trip to make sure everything is setup and charged properly.  Do that now!  Once you think you have the radios setup properly, give them to the kids and tell them to go play.  They'll let you know if they can't talk to each other.  Once the kids bring the radios back, make sure they are still setup correctly, re-charge them, and get ready for the road trip.

Until next time, stay Tactical!