The ABA has put together a working group on birders from around the country
to make recommendations regarding FRS radios. I have been asked to gather
input from birders in the Northwest regarding a national standard for FRS
frequency and privacy codes for birders.
For background information, FRS radios are the small two-way radios
available in sporting goods stores, with a range of about two miles. Some
models operate on one or two frequencies, while more expensive models have
up to 14. In addition, some models allow the use of privacy codes that
eliminate interference from other users on the same frequency.
In several areas of the country, birders have established a local standard
for FRS frequency and privacy codes; these are used primarily when chasing
rarities. A birder who finds an unusual bird can notify anyone else within a
two mile radius of the sighting, if they both have a radio set to the same
frequency and code. The advantage of a national (or international) standard
is obvious, you could travel to High Island, Point Pelee or Madera Canyon
and be in touch with other birders in the area.
The ABA working group will be discussing what that standard should be. I
would appreciate input from birders in Washington, Oregon and British
Columbia, so that I can pass it along. It is my impression that there is not
a FRS standard in the Northwest, so that adoption of a national standard
locally could be relatively easy. Responses could be public or private, but
public responses on Tweeters have the advantage of stimulating broader
discussion. Please send any input in the next week, I will be gone on
vacation after the 20th.

Thanks for you participation.

Jack Stephens
Edmonds, WA
jstephens62 at home.com