[FedCom] ISR traffice this weekend -- NONE

[ken windyka]

Frank, I really don't think many of those radios are being used by any of
the civilian federal agencies.  They were orginally meant strictly for the
US Marine Corps & than a decision was made to put it on a GSA schedule
which would allow any federal or military department to buy the radios.
Also Civil Air Patrol jumped into the act.  A federal agency could go out
and buy some regular FRS radios with voice privacy (speech inversion) & be
in better shape than with these units.  I really don't understand why the
USMC would every buy a radio that can't allow some sort of
encryption/privacy (e.g. speech inversion) 

BTW with the exception of being retuned to the federal FRS freqs, it's the
same ICOM FRS radio, no enhanced specifications at all for $85.00 a piece.
Also the Army Guard/Reserves most likely will be using the VHF version,
which is 5 watts and 30 channels, & allows real encryption, which the US
Army designated as their intersquad radio.  I don't believe that this
showed up on the GSA schedule for anyone to buy

Ken  


At 11:42 PM 7/22/02 -0400, A10382 wrote:
>I did have the UHF ISR freqs in my PCR1000 this weekend.  Absolutely NOT a
>peep, not a whistle, or even a click.... I'm located at a high spot
>(elevation 1000') and usually catch some FRS UHF traffic from campgrounds
>and state parks as far away as 25 miles.
>
>This is summer when the Guard and Reserve units from New England go off play
>in the mud in Upstate NY and Pennsylvania.
>
>I'll give it a few more shots in the Fall...
>
>73
>Frank