Home/Programs/Radio & Preparedness

Radio & preparedness

Cell service dies a mile past the gate

Radio is the cheapest serious safety equipment in outdoor recreation, and it is the one most people skip. The Foundation teaches it as preparedness first and as a hobby second.

GMRS

Trail communications

Group travel works on communication. GMRS handhelds keep a convoy coordinated: obstacle calls, spacing, stops, recovery instructions and the simple ability to tell the vehicle in front that the one behind has stopped.

A license covers a whole family, the radios are inexpensive, and it is the single change that most improves safety on a group outing.

Amateur

Ham radio

Amateur radio reaches further and keeps working when other things do not. In an emergency, or simply in the middle of a preserve with no signal, it is a route to help that does not depend on infrastructure.

We run beginner sessions for people considering their first license exam, with no assumption of any technical background.

POTA

Parks on the Air

Parks on the Air combines outdoor recreation, public lands, radio and education in one activity: operators set up in a park and make contacts from it.

It is a genuinely good excuse to spend a day in a preserve, and it gives radio newcomers something to watch that makes the point better than any explanation.

Programs

What we run

  • •Radio demonstrations at family and community events, hands on for anyone curious.
  • •Beginner classes for people working toward a first license.
  • •Radio check exercises so a convoy finds its problems in a car park instead of a slough.
  • •Antenna demonstrations covering what actually changes range in flat, wet terrain.
  • •Emergency communications practice, including what to say and to whom.
  • •POTA activations from South Florida public lands.

Community partnerships. Radio programming at Foundation events is run with the South Dade GMRS Club, who have supported community meetups including the Big Cypress family event. We work with other communications groups across the region as programs grow.

Licensing is your responsibility and it is straightforward. GMRS requires a license that covers your immediate family, with no exam. Amateur radio requires passing a written exam. We can point you at study material and at the nearest exam sessions, but we do not administer either, and operating without the right license is not something we will help with.

Come and pick one up

Loaner radios go out at most events. The fastest way to understand why this matters is to hear a convoy work.

Find an event