This is the DC Emergency Radio Network listserv automated monthly announcement.

Remember -- once a month, check that your FRS or GMRS radio is charged and you
have working batteries.

Be sure to tell your friends and neighbors about DCERN, http://www.dcradio.org.
Once a month is also a good time to bring somebody new into the DC Emergency
Radio Network.

Please add your name to the DCERN database. This information will be very
helpful in an emergency. You can add your name to the data base here
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DCERN/database or
http://www.dcradio.org/member.html

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When the Internet, cell phones and the telephone system aren't working, the DC
Emergency Radio Network, DCERN, can be used to communicate with family,
neighbors and others. DCERN uses off-the-shelf FRS and GMRS radios that can be
purchased at Radio Shack, Best Buy and elsewhere. FRS (Family Radio Service)
and GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) radios are hand-held two-way radios that
run on batteries and don't depend on cell phone networks.

DCERN is self-activating and doesn't require any special training or equipment,
other than an inexpensive FRS or GMRS radio. When other communication networks
go down, or if you need to communicate outside and your cell phone's not
working, just tune your FRS or GMRS radio to channel 1 and talk. DCERN works a
little like a relay, with people passing information down the line. DCERN works
on the keep-it-simple principle.

Besides the DCERN emergency frequency, channel 1, your family should have a
pre-planned channel that you will use among yourselves in an emergency. Write
that channel/subchannel combination on your radios so that you don't have to
remember which of the dozens of channel/subchannel combinations your family
uses.

For more about the DC Emergency Radio Network visit http://www.dcradio.org.