As you know, I am an Amateur Radio Operator, I love the thrill of working QRP or low power, and I have spent a lot of time trying to promote Amateur Radio #1000NewHams, and I feel  I have left some people behind. There are those out there who for whatever reason choose not to get their Amateur Radio license,  however, they should still have communication capabilities. Well, I am going to rectify this today by discussing license-free radio communication options.

These license-free options for comms are Citizens Band (CB) and Family Radio Service (FRS). Each of these services has limitations as to power output and this needs to be understood from the outset., but for local communications, they are a truly viable option.  Let’s start with the Citizens Band. 

Citizens Band.

Those of us that older will remember the CB craze of the late 1970s and 1980s, with Smokey, and the Snowman driving to Texarkana to get some adult beverages, or even RubberDuck leading 1,000 screaming trucks across the US all the while communicating over CB. As fun as those movies are, the reality of CB for SHTF Comms/Pepper Comms is that CB  still remains a viable option.

Operating a CB Station is really easy, you need a CB Transmitter, a power supply and a proper antenna. That’s it. There are some rules that need to be adhered to (as this is not an SHTF or TEOTWAWKI we will be abiding by these rules set forth by the Federal Communications Commission) and these rules are as follows:

From the FCC  website:

Operating a Citizens Band (CB) Device

You may operate a CB transmitter at any location where the FCC regulates radio communications, subject to certain restrictions. A CB transmitter must be certified by the FCC. Transmitters that have been certified for use in the CB Radio Service may be found on the FCC website using the page at https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/GenericSearch.cfm.

None of the CB channels are assigned for the exclusive use of any station. You must cooperate in the selection and use of the channels in order to make the most efficient use of them and to reduce the possibility of interference. If you use a CB station to transmit a message, you cannot talk with another station for more than 5 minutes continuously and then you must wait at least one minute before starting another communication.

There are several additional things to consider when using a CB device, including:

You may not raise the power output of a CB transmitter.

You may not attach a “linear,” “linear amplifier” or any other type of power amplifier to your CB transmitter. Emphasis mine. 

There are no height restrictions for antennas mounted on vehicles or for hand-held devices.

For structures, the highest point of your antenna must not be more than 20 feet above the highest point of the building or tree on which it is mounted, or 60 feet above the ground. There are lower height limits if your antenna structure is located within two miles of an airport.

You may use an on-the-air pseudonym (“handle”) of your choosing.

You must at all times and on all channels, give priority to emergency communications.

Channels of note

• Channel 3 (26.985 MHz) – Prepper CB Network (AM)
• Channel 4 (27.005 MHz) – The American Preppers Network (TAPRN)
• Channel 9 (27.065 MHz) – Universal CB Emergency/REACT channel
• Channel 19 (27.185 MHz) – Main trucker channel
• Channel 36 (27.365 MHz) – Survivalist network
• Channel 37 (27.375 MHz) – Prepper 37 USB (Upper Side Band)

 From the SHTFBlog site https://www.shtfblog.com/emergency-radio-frequencies-preppers-must-know/

A new CB transmitter can be purchased for anywhere from $40 to $460 the choice is yours, so choose wisely. You can still get handheld CB units as well as mobile transmitters. A used Cb can be had for for cheaper, but you want to be sure that they are in working order before you buy them.

Range.

Realistically the range of a CB transmitter is 3 to 20 miles depending on antenna type, terrain, etc. Longer range communication does happen on occasion due to Atmospheric Ducting, or Shooting Skip. One should not always count on this as it is at the whim of the atmospheric conditions.   

Now we’re going to move on to The Family Radio Service. These types of radios are better suited for use indoors and in an urban setting as the frequencies have a better tendency to reflect and bounce off of the obstructions, as they are in the  UHF frequency range with frequencies between 462 and 467 Mhz,  as opposed to the VHF frequencies get absorbed by buildings, trees and other obstructions. 

These radios look very much like walkie-talkies and have no number pads on their face, just a speaker, and a PTT button, and a fixed antenna, meaning that you cannot add an aftermarket antenna to them. These are very inexpensive radios, usually sold in pairs for about $20 on Amazon.com.

FRS radios are not allowed to be used on any repeater system, they are strictly simplex operation, meaning they can only talk radio to radio only.

Now here come the rules from the FCC website:

Operating a Family Radio Service (FRS) Unit

You can operate an FRS transmitter at any place where the FCC regulates radio communications, subject to certain limitations. An FRS transmitter may not be modified and must be certified by the FCC.

None of the FRS channels are assigned for the exclusive use of any user. You must cooperate in the selection and use of the channels in order to make the most effective use of them and to reduce the possibility of interference.

The usual range of an FRS device on channels 8-14 is less than one-half mile, but longer-range communications can be achieved on channels 1-7 and 15-22 depending on conditions. You may not interconnect FRS transmitters and radios with the telephone system.

Licensing

FRS is licensed by rule. This means an individual license is not required to operate an FRS radio provided you comply with the rules. You may operate an FRS radio regardless of your age, and for personal or for business use if you are not a representative of a foreign government.

Channels

There are 22 FRS channels.  Each channel has a bandwidth of 12.5 kHz, but the power of each channel may vary as indicated below.  All channels are shared with GMRS, so you may hear communications from licensed GMRS stations on these channels.

Channels 1-7 are restricted to 2 Watts

Channels 8-14 are restricted to 0.5 watts

Channels 15-22 are restricted to 2 Watts

And there we have the rundown on both CB and FRS radio services, I hope that this gives you a better understanding of these two services for your communication needs. And as always I would encourage you, Dear Readers to get your Amateur Radio license to further your comms needs.

Thanks for listening, and I hope that you’ve gained some knowledge from this posting. As always, this is K0MRD your radio prepper saying stay safe and keep prepping.