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42 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MAY 2021 FAMILY RADIO SERVICE (FRS) The Family Radio Service (FRS) is a radio system that uses walkie talkies. As the name implies, it is specifically for families or small groups to use because of its short range capability. We will talk a little this month about how these radios could be used here in Four Seasons Beaumont. FRS was approved by the FCC in 1996. There are seven other Citizens Band Radio Services besides FRS that operate on UHF. The General Mobile Radio Service at 460 MHz is one of these. One of the great things about the UHF bands is that it does not have interference that citizens band at 27 MHz or 49 MHz that are used by baby monitors, cordless phones, and other radio-operated devices have. A permanent antenna must be attached to the walkie talkie or radio, although base stations that sit on a table are available. These whip antennas can pick up many channels. Certain communications are prohibited over the FRS such as broadcasting music. Channels on FRS are shared with others much like old-fashioned party lines that were used in the US 50 years ago. When you turn the walkie talkie on you need to listen to see if another user is currently on. If so, you are obligated to get off the line until the current user is finished. If a person is on the walkie talkie and an emergency message comes over the line, emergencies will always take priority. FRS radios are fairly inexpensive and range from $10-100 in most places. There are stories of these radios reaching a range of around 40 miles from mountain tops but the expected normal range is around one mile. It is possible to buy Family Radio Station radios or walkie talkies at specialty stores or websites that sell radio devices. This article was taken from the FRS-radio primer article online. The Four Seasons Beaumont Amateur radio club meets on the last Friday of the month at 10 am. The next meeting will be held in ballroom number three on May 30. If you're interested, check our website at w6fsb.org. ~ Michael A. Mendoza, srmendoza@verizon. net Radio Club We hope to have a location approved soon and are working on our budget to make it a great addition to our community. Although still in progress, a steering committee is now meeting regularly and we welcome Martha Tureen as the president. Martha is a master gardener for Riverside County and we have several other master gardeners who have joined the group. We hope to have a location approved soon and are working on our budget to make it a great addition to our community! If you are interested and have not yet signed up, please email Pat Wayne at pwayne1@outlook.com. ~ Pat Wayne Community Garden Club