We know about Map Your Neighborhood and RYLAN, and about preparing for a major earthquake. But what happens when cell service goes out? How do we check on neighbors and nearby safety centers? RADIO is the answer. Inexpensive, no license Family Radio Service (FRS) radios are an effective emergency preparedness tool. Simple to use out of the box, these 2-watt radios have a range of several blocks. Neighbors can agree on a “meet me” channel like we do every Monday evening in Los Feliz on FRS Channel 15.
And there is a higher power version of these radio which operate mostly on the same frequencies called GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) which have a range of several miles. GMRS requires a no-test FCC license which is good for five-years at a nominal cost. You are assigned an FCC license and call sign. GMRS allows you to set up an external antenna which increases the range substantially.
In emergency communications the combination of several high-power GMRS radios with many lower-power FRS radios is a powerful combination allowing communication across several square miles.
See attached for more details.