EXtreme Radio Service
Encyclopedia
eXtreme Radio Service is a proprietary personal communication
technology marketed by TriSquare in the United States. The radios, which are similar to other walkie-talkies, use the 900 MHz band, and employ frequency-hopping spread spectrum
technology to attempt to address some of the perceived shortcomings of FRS
radios. Since the frequency in use is rapidly changed in a pattern defined by the channel number, transmissions cannot be monitored by commercially available radio scanners.
The radios have 50 actual frequencies to use for hopping, however, many frequency-hopping patterns are available, providing ten billion unique frequency and frequency-hopping pattern combinations, known as channels. Due to the extremely high number of available channels, users are unlikely to encounter others on the same channel, and malicious interference
is unlikely unless the interferer knows the channel number being used. TriSquare claims that reliable communications can be maintained with up to 100,000 users in range of each other. This is in contrast to regular FRS or GMRS radios, which only permit 14 or 22 users to transmit simultaneously, one user per frequency, in range of each other, even with "privacy codes" or PL tones that simply prevent one user on a channel from hearing another on the same channel but do nothing to prevent interference.
The range of the eXRS radios is not explicitly stated, however, the manufacturer claims that it is equal to or grater than FRS and GMRS. Since the Earth is curved, the range of two way radios is limited to about 6 miles in good conditions, regardless of the advertised range.
By employing digital radio
modes, the TSX300 is able to send SMS
-type text messages directly to other radios, identify their transmissions with a user-defined name, and clone information and channels to other radios over the air. Due to the abundance of available channels, each radio can be given a "personal channel" which allows users both to contact individual radios privately and to contact multiple users on group channels.
No license is needed to operate the radios for personal or commercial use, and despite the name's similarity to the FRS allocation, the system is a proprietary design, rather than an official U.S. Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) allocated service.
Walkie-talkie
A walkie-talkie is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald L. Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, and engineering teams at Motorola...
technology marketed by TriSquare in the United States. The radios, which are similar to other walkie-talkies, use the 900 MHz band, and employ frequency-hopping spread spectrum
Frequency-hopping spread spectrum
Frequency-hopping spread spectrum is a method of transmitting radio signals by rapidly switching a carrier among many frequency channels, using a pseudorandom sequence known to both transmitter and receiver...
technology to attempt to address some of the perceived shortcomings of FRS
Family Radio Service
The Family Radio Service is an improved walkie talkie radio system authorized in the United States since 1996. This personal radio service uses channelized frequencies in the ultra high frequency band. It does not suffer the interference effects found on citizens' band at 27 MHz, or the...
radios. Since the frequency in use is rapidly changed in a pattern defined by the channel number, transmissions cannot be monitored by commercially available radio scanners.
The radios have 50 actual frequencies to use for hopping, however, many frequency-hopping patterns are available, providing ten billion unique frequency and frequency-hopping pattern combinations, known as channels. Due to the extremely high number of available channels, users are unlikely to encounter others on the same channel, and malicious interference
Radio jamming
Radio jamming is the transmission of radio signals that disrupt communications by decreasing the signal to noise ratio. Unintentional jamming occurs when an operator transmits on a busy frequency without first checking whether it is in use, or without being able to hear stations using the frequency...
is unlikely unless the interferer knows the channel number being used. TriSquare claims that reliable communications can be maintained with up to 100,000 users in range of each other. This is in contrast to regular FRS or GMRS radios, which only permit 14 or 22 users to transmit simultaneously, one user per frequency, in range of each other, even with "privacy codes" or PL tones that simply prevent one user on a channel from hearing another on the same channel but do nothing to prevent interference.
The range of the eXRS radios is not explicitly stated, however, the manufacturer claims that it is equal to or grater than FRS and GMRS. Since the Earth is curved, the range of two way radios is limited to about 6 miles in good conditions, regardless of the advertised range.
By employing digital radio
Digital radio
Digital radio has several meanings:1. Today the most common meaning is digital radio broadcasting technologies, such as the digital audio broadcasting system, also known as Eureka 147. In these systems, the analog audio signal is digitized into zeros and ones, compressed using formats such as...
modes, the TSX300 is able to send SMS
SMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
-type text messages directly to other radios, identify their transmissions with a user-defined name, and clone information and channels to other radios over the air. Due to the abundance of available channels, each radio can be given a "personal channel" which allows users both to contact individual radios privately and to contact multiple users on group channels.
No license is needed to operate the radios for personal or commercial use, and despite the name's similarity to the FRS allocation, the system is a proprietary design, rather than an official U.S. Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) allocated service.