3-3-3 communications plan

• Easy to remember (turn on the radio every 3 hours, for 3 minutes, on channel 3)
• Widely adopted by many neighborhoods, emergency comms groups, survivalists, and disaster preparedness groups.
• Fully compatible with the other major comms plan (known as the 1-2-3 plan)

Download WalletCard to print

FRS

Pros:

• inexpensive
• simple to use
• no license needed
• compatible with GMRS

Cons:

• no repeaters
• lower power output/limited range

GMRS

Pros:

• higher power output / longer range
• Can use repeaters
• Compatible with FRS
• Mobile radios can be permanently mounted in house/vehicle with 50w output

Cons:

• more expensive
• license required to transmit ($35 for 10 years, covers entire household, no testing/exam needed)
• repeaters require additional configuration

VHF/UHF/HF (ham radio)

Pros:

• most flexible
• most power
• most capable
• longest range (depending on band)

Cons:

• expensive
• licensing is required to transmit. ($70 for 10 years, only covers the individual, testing required, 3 “levels” of licensing, each with more privileges)
• All frequencies must be manually programmed - most complex solution to use
• Not legally compatible with FRS or GMRS (although it is technically compatible in life threatening scenarios)

Weather radio / NOAA alerts

Suggestions:

• Always on, for effective alerts. Alerts don’t help if the device is off.
• At least 2 power options, AC and battery minimum. Other models can be charged from solar or hand crank.
• S.A.M.E compatibility - allows restricting alerts to specific types and/or counties

Links

• FRS radios, no license needed. Lower power output than GMRS radios. USB-C rechargable
• GMRS radios, 10yr/$35 gmrs license needed. USB-C rechargable
• PowerBank Solar rechargable. Can be used to recharge any USB device.
• WeatherRadio Weather radio with alerts. Always on.