Hi Tweets:
Several years ago my snowboarding friends were using FRS radios to keep
track of one another on the slopes. They told me they could communicate
from the top of Blackcomb Mt at Whistler to someone down in the village,
which is probably at least 1 1/2 miles away. This was amazing, since I had
used CB radios in the past. These older radios required large antennas, and
had very little range, maybe 1/2 mile. The CB's were in cars, and other
handheld CB's were large, bulky, and had even shorter range. And a lot of
things interfered w/ the signal.
Nowdays, we're all using FRS radios. FRS means Family Radio Service, and no
licence is required. It operates on UHF-FM frequencies, where the CB's
operated on another frequency. My Motorola Talkabouts have 14 Channels & 38
privacy codes per channel, giving me a choice of 532 Channels on which to
talk. The range is up to 2 miles. The are small, handheld, and don't
require a separate antenna. They use AA batteries (3 of them), which
usually last for 3 days of use. I turn them on in the morning on a birding
trip, leave them on all day, and turn them off at night.
These radios are available in a lot of sporting goods stores that sell gear
to hunters and fishermen. I bought 3 FRS radios on sale about 1 1/2 years
ago and have been using those 3 radios ever since. They were more expensive
back then. I paid $79.95 EACH for them on sale. Now you can get a PAIR of
them on sale for less than that. Combining my 3 radios w/ the 2 radios that
belong to Charlie Wright's family, I can provide 5 of them for a large
birding trip w/ 5 cars. Mainly I use them in cars, but occasionally we walk
w/ them if we're tracking a birding rarity. In towns, they're invaluable
for helping cars find each other in traffic and around corners.
There are a number of good brands out there. Mine are Motorola Talkabouts.
Many folks have Cobra. There are more. They are great.
Yours, Carol Schulz
DesMoines
linusq at worldnet.att.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Jack Stephens <jstephens62 at home.com>
To: Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date: Sunday, January 28, 2001 7:43 AM
Subject: FRS radios - a modest proposal


>Subject: Re: FRS Radios
>
>We have been using FRS radios for over a year now, and found them
absolutely
>invaluable for communication, especially when doing CBCs, searching for a
>single rarity which is ranging about, and even finding the lost folks
>(where ARE you??!!!). There are some caveats -- they do not work as well in
>hilly terrain or in dense forest (although they still work some),
................
-------------------------------
>I have also found them quite useful, so I would propose that those Tweeters
>who own FRS radios carry them when rarities are reported, and keep them
open
>to a mutually agreed upon frequency. If the bird in question is found,
>similarly equipped birders within a 1-2 mile radius could then be notified.
>With the price for the no-frills versions of these radios dipping into the
>$25 range, this could a very reasonable purchase for the majority of our
>members. I would also propose that we use channel 4, in honor of the
"number
>of species of chickadee in Washington State" that used to get you into the
>Birdbox. What do other members think?
>
>Jack Stephens
>Edmonds, WA
>jstephens62xx at home.com
>remove xx for return e-mail
>
>