Contemplating community comms options
Looking at practical solutions that may or may not include amateur radio
Preface and summary
This is a longer post than I usually publish. Because of that, I’m posting the very, very abbreviated summary at the beginning for your convenience. I’ve been a member of several emergency response groups/teams, some associated with amateur radio. Those experiences inform my thoughts but do not limit them.
Summary:
TL;DR: My choice for non-emergent comms is a simple email list or email group. For emergency comms, FRS or GMRS radios fill the bill. Create contact lists for use during everyday communications and for emergency use. Talk to local law enforcement.
Contemplating community comms options
I’ve been thinking a lot about how to communicate at the neighborhood level. This has brought to mind things like mesh networks, neighborhood nets, intergenerational communication, warning neighbors, and coordinating in an emergency. Most of my neighbors aren’t involved with radio communications and that may be true for you, too. It is a daunting topic to address.
Let me be clear about my own bias: as a licensed amateur radio operator, I tend to lean toward solutions that utilize amateur radio. However, in the context of this post, one must ask: is the goal to increase the number of licensed ham radio ops, or is it to find the most practical way for neighbors to communicate in an emergency? I think the important goal is to achieve practical neighbor-to-neighbor communication. Requiring a ham radio license to use a solution adds a hurdle that will likely prevent people who are not radio enthusiasts from participating in the solution. That doesn’t mean there is no place for amateur radio — au contraire! — but I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect every neighbor to get licensed.
There are probably two scenarios to consider: regular neighbor-to-neighbor communications, including broadcasts (e.g., there is a stranger in the neighborhood!) and emergency communications. In an emergency, you will probably fare better by coordinating with neighbors.
One of the givens in my thinking is that cutting-edge solutions aren’t really going to cut it. New technology is sexy and interesting, but it is also expensive and off-putting. That means I am leaning toward tech that is older rather than newer.
I don’t purport to present a complete overview of every possibility. What follows is more of a brain dump as I think about this topic. Every time I come back to my draft of this post I add more. I think I could do that forever because the possibilities are almost endless! The corollary of this is: there is no way this post provides complete coverage of this topic. I know I left things out. That’s what the comments space is for ;-)
OK, enough with the explanations and disclaimers. Let’s dive in. Requirements for a neighborhood system probably include as many of these characteristics as possible:
Cheap (and free is the cheapest form of cheap)
Reliable, even in the hands of those not familiar with the equipment
Resilient, meaning the loss of one station won’t directly limit other stations
Must be able to be powered by battery
Portable when needed
Device agnostic (insofar as this is possible) or at least usable on different platforms
Usable by people from teens to retirees
In the simplest of terms, the solutions I found occupy these realms:
Voice over radio
Radio to radio (simplex communications)
Radio through repeater
Internet including cellular networks
Devices that extend the range of cellular devices
VoIP
Applications
Email
Networks that can replace or fill-in for internet
Training on emergency communication systems and protocols
What follows is a big bucket of web links to occupy your time. Maybe you’ll find something that will pique your interest.
1 – Voice over radio
This is the realm of simplex (radio to radio) and repeater-dependent communications.
TL;DR: Modern solutions that are most applicable to neighborhood communications are FRS, GMRS, and MURS radios because they provide good voice quality and radios are both widely available and affordable. No license is required to use FRS or MURS radios; to use GMRS radios, a $35 license is needed.
1.1 – FRS and GMRS
For example, FRS (Family Radio Service) and GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) radios can provide neighborhood-scale voice communications at a very low cost. No license is required for FRS and the cost of a family GMRS license is low considering that it is good for ten years. GMRS also now allows “transmission of limited data applications such as text messaging and GPS location information,” says the FCC.
FRS radios cannot have removable antennas and are not allowed to use repeaters. Portable GMRS radios cannot have removable antennas but can use GMRS repeaters. FRS does not require a license. The license cost for GMRS was reduced in April 2022 by the FCC to $35 for 10 years.
However, both FRS and GMRS suffer from power limitations. FRS channels are limited to 0.5 watt for 467.X megahertz channels or 2 watts for channels operating on 462.X megahertz. Both FRS and GMRS radios operate in the UHF (Ultra-High Frequency) band. UHF is better at penetrating building walls compared to VHF (Very High Frequency) signals.
Power restrictions for GMRS are a little more complicated. In 47 CFR 95.1767 -- GMRS transmitting power limits, limitations on hand-held portable units are the same as FRS for 467.X MHz channels but are 5 watts for channels on 462.X MHz.
However, GMRS stations have higher limits.
The transmitter output power of mobile, repeater and base stations must not exceed 50 Watts.
The transmitter output power of fixed stations must not exceed 15 Watts.
Are 50-watt GMRS mobile radios available? Yes, yes, and yes. There are also 20-watt and 25-watt units on the market.
Just as interesting, GMRS repeaters are commercially available. Retevis makes a 10-watt portable repeater. Rick Donaldson, a fellow Substack author, speaks to a Basic Neighborhood Communications Network using GMRS.
1.2 MURS
The Multi-Use Radio Service, or MURS, is another possibility for neighborhood communications. MURS utilizes low-powered handheld radios for radio-to-radio communications. MURS radios tend to be somewhat more robust in construction compared to FRS and GMRS radios. No license is required to transmit.
MURS radios only have five VHF channels, significantly fewer than FRS and GMRS radios. In an emergency, this may actually be an advantage because as users check channels, they are more likely to hear traffic compared to transmissions on FRS and GMRS. VHF signals tend to transmit farther in open areas.
MURS radios are generally more expensive than FRS and GMRS radios. One reason for this is that in years past, MURS radios were manufactured for business use. Conversely, FRS and GMRS radios have been targeted as toys or recreational devices.
I rather like MURS because the radios as durable and operation is simple. Unfortunately, good quality MURS radios are probably a bit too expensive to be practical at the neighborhood level. But there are less expensive options, including one radio that combines MURS and GMRS.
1.3 Amateur radio
Amateur radio solutions are perhaps the most flexible options for experienced radio operators, if only because so many bands are available to licensed amateurs. You must be licensed to transmit. You can have a portable station, a mobile station, or a fixed station. You can transmit radio-to-radio or through repeaters.
Amateur radio can provide neighborhood-scale communications as well as wide-area communications. If you have one or more amateur radio operators in your neighborhood, it makes sense to try to involve them in your neighborhood communication system. At the very least, they may be able to relay information to others beyond your neighborhood.
The FCC set the price to apply for a new amateur radio license at $35 and the term is 10 years.
However, a new license is going to include additional costs. I would guess the average cost to take a 35-question exam is $15. If you buy a Technician-class manual to study from the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL), it will run you $33. Add these to the application fee to the FCC for a new license and you are looking at about $85. This amount does not include purchasing a radio.
1.4 Other
1.4.1 Citizens Band radio
Years ago — or more accurately, decades ago — CB radios would have been a likely solution. Radios were not expensive and no license was required. There were a lot of radios in commercial vehicles and, in rural communities, in plenty of pickup trucks. Sure, the antenna tended to be rather large but there were plenty of options for mobile and fixed stations. Handheld radios, though, tended to be big and unwieldy.
Today, CB radios are much less common than they used to be. Smartphones have taken their place or at least supplanted many uses of CB radio.
1.4.2 IDENS radio
There used to be a service through Motorola and Nextel that combined a cellular phone with a push-to-talk (PTT) walkie-talkie function. Cellular traffic was for wide area communications and PTT was for local comms. Nextel went offline in 2013 but, interestingly, appropriate devices are still available on eBay. Cellular service is not required for local comms but it does take some configuration. I found directions for doing this here and here for inexpensive Motorola i355 phones available on eBay.
This is an intriguing solution that is similar in cost to FRS radios. However, unless you have a good tech team in your neighborhood, this kind of custom-crafted solution probably doesn’t make sense.
1.4.3 Satellite phone
Satellite phones are proven technology that remains very expensive to own and operate. Refurbished units may be found for a few hundred dollars but you still have to purchase costly airtime.
2 – Internet including cellular networks
2.1 – Devices
I also looked at various devices and apps that purport to connect people and devices. These include, but are not limited to:
goTenna – Reviews rave about this device (for example, here)…or reviewers detest it. PCMag liked it.
Sonnet – If this becomes more than vaporware, it could be a good solution. Sonnet says: “Using long range radio frequencies, the Sonnet allows you to communicate with your friends using your smartphone even when there is no signal coverage.” So with this solution, you would have your cell phone plus a Sonnet device. It doesn’t look like it is ready for prime time yet, though.
Beartooth – Beartooth devices are larger and more costly (likely) than Sonnet devices. They exist but because of the cost, this solution is out of reach for many families.
Zoleo – This product is on the market. The device costs a few hundred dollars and requires purchasing airtime. “ZOLEO sends and receives messages via the Iridium global satellite network when you’re outside of cellular coverage.” It is an adjunct to your smartphone.
InReach satellite communicators – I have used InReach devices and I like them. They are costly, though, on the order of $300 to $600 per unit, and you will need to have a data/airtime plan. They provide wide-area coverage as long as satellites are in view.
As a ham radio operator, I am also intrigued by New Packet Radio (NPR) for point-to-point data transfers. (Hat tip to Steve Stroh N8GNJ for covering NPR in his Zero Retries blog.)
It may make sense for one or two operators to have wide-area capability in an emergency. If you only wish to have neighbor-to-neighbor or neighbor-to-neighborhood communications for something less than TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It), wide-area capability isn’t necessary.
2.2 – Voice over Internet Protocol
Some would argue that VoIP doesn’t have a place in neighbor-to-neighbor communications because it depends upon internet access. VoIP devices tend to be fixed, not portable.
On the flip side, older refurbished units can be had for the price of a FRS radio or two. Most people are familiar enough with telephones that the learning curve for using VoIP phones will be brief and simple.
VoIP phones could be used in a party line scenario by programming a conference line into each phone. This might be useful for scheduled conferences like a weekly neighborhood check-in.
The up-front cost is buying a phone and there is an ongoing cost for VoIP service. Two very inexpensive service providers are LES.NET and voip.ms (I use both).
2.3 – Applications
VoIP doesn’t really make much sense, not because it depends on having internet access but because if you do, various free apps provide many other ways to communicate one-to-one as well as to a group. This could be Google Chat, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, or similar messaging applications. These applications work on fixed computers, portable computers, tablets, and smartphones.
A few decades ago, we used bulletin board systems (BBS) online to communicate to/with a group of people. Today that functionality is replaced by a wide variety of applications.
2.3.1 – Walkie-Talkie applications
There are also applications for your smartphone that mimic walkie-talkies. For example:
2.4 – Email
Thirty years ago, email was emerging as a way to quickly and inexpensively communicate textual information. Today, it has become the #2 pencil of information sharing in that most people have an email account. With the advent of smartphones, email is no longer confined to a desktop or laptop computer.
Let’s look at three different styles of using email.
2.4.1 – One-to-one communications
The most obvious way to use email is to send information to another person. In a neighbor-to-neighbor setting, this could be about something that the entire neighborhood may not need to know. While you should never expect that your email conversation will remain private, a one-to-one email feels relatively private.
2.4.1 – One-to-many communications
Email to a group of recipients provides a way to broadcast information to many people at once. This could be as innocuous as announcing a block party or as important as announcing emergency restrictions or actions in or near the neighborhood.
I used to use Google Groups for this purpose but now I use Groups.io. A group system can allow individual subscribers to set how they would like to receive information. For example, one user may want to receive every email as it is sent and another may wish to get a digest of emails at the end of the day.
2.4.1 – Many-to-many communications
In the old days, we had things called bulletin board systems. I was on a CompuServe BBS. Today, we have applications on our computers and smartphones that take the place of old, text-based BBSes. The concept of a bulletin board lives on in the form of things like Facebook Groups where members can have conversations with others in the group, but non-members are excluded.
My siblings and I have a Facebook Group for our family members. It gives us an easy way to share information and coordinate activities without publicly sharing what we’d rather keep more private. The downside is that this service is dependent upon a single vendor and there is no guarantee that the vendor will continue to provide this service in the future.
3 – Networks
As I get to this part of the post, I realize that I am coloring outside the lines I loosely established in the beginning, i.e., that amateur radio-focused solutions probably aren’t the ticket for neighborhood-scale nets. I’ll include some links to interesting articles because if you have a ham radio operator or two in your neighborhood, these resources may help them come up with ways to connect your neighborhood to the wider world.
Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN) and Ham Mesh network
How to start a community network (NYC Mesh)
4 – Training/systems
I’ve taken FEMA training on emergency preparedness. I don’t recommend it. I say this not because of the quality of information (which is very good) but because the level of detail far exceeds what neighbors want and need to know. What I suggest as an alternative is a neighborhood meeting with your local law enforcement folks to talk about what to expect in an emergency and how to best communicate with emergency personnel.
You can find a ton of examples by searching Google.
Emergency Radio Communications for All or Anyone in Times of Disaster!
Family Radio Service, An Option for Neighborhood Emergency Communications
Conclusions
TL;DR: My choice for non-emergent comms is a simple email list or email group. For emergency comms, FRS or GMRS radios fill the bill. Create contact lists for use during everyday communications and for emergency use. Talk to local law enforcement.
The most fundamental aspect of neighborhood communications is this: is the situation an emergency or not? Non-emergent situations have the benefit of time. You have time to prepare your information. Recipients have time to digest the information and to respond.
In an emergency, time is a fleeting commodity. Things happen quickly and the focus is on actions, not discussion.
I like the idea of a layered system in which it is easy to have non-emergent communications but there is also a layer focused on emergency communication and coordination.
For non-emergent neighborhood communications, I like the #2 pencil approach: use email. Either create a group list or set up something on a service like Groups.io. And have at least two administrators of the list or group, because as the saying goes: two is one and one is none. Avoid depending upon a single point of failure (“SPOF”). A Facebook Group is easy but could easily be considered a SPOF.
Emergency communication is where radio shines. In a small neighborhood, FRS radios check most of the boxes. The number of channels can be confusing so it works best to establish a protocol for your chosen emergency channel. Channel 1 is easy to remember; every radio should be programmed the same on your selected emergency channel. Make sure to practice communicating by radio, perhaps with a monthly radio net.
I prefer GMRS radios for neighborhood-scale communications because they have more power, but they also require a license and they may cost a little bit more. If you have a few radio-centric folks in your group and a large neighborhood, consider establishing a local GMRS repeater.
It would be a good idea to think about how your group will communicate beyond the neighborhood if the internet goes down. A satellite phone (or two, because two is one and one is none) might make good sense, especially if you are in an area where internet and phone services are frequently disrupted.
You’ll also need at least minimal training. This can be as simple as developing and distributing call lists, one for non-emergencies and a more focused one for emergencies. The very act of creating these lists is going to require you to think about different scenarios. (Pro tip: have some food with the conversation about the lists because people will come for food and breaking bread together helps people bond.) Make it a two-sided list, with non-emergent contacts on one side and emergency contacts and protocols on the other side. Laminate the list because people tend to hold onto laminated items.
Be sure you have the non-emergency phone number for local law enforcement and visit with them about how and when to use it.
What did I leave out or get wrong? Use the comments below to help strengthen this piece!
Hey Tom, have you played around with Project Owl and the ClusterDuck Protocol? I have 4 devices that I am programming up and will be deploying them soon. Take a look at the Puerto Rico deployment. ITDRC has been working with them.
Project OWL deploys DuckLink wireless devices to rapidly create mesh networks on the ground. A DuckLink is a small Internet-of-Things (IoT) device that provides connectivity to consumer electronics over WiFi or Bluetooth, and can talk to other DuckLinks over 915Mhz LoRa, a long-range and low power radio. These wireless technologies in one device can provide an off-grid, off-telecoms networking solution when traditional infrastructure is offline.
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