Western Riverside Radio Group

The Purpose of this group is to bring together radio monitoring enthusiasts from around Western Riverside County and the adjacent areas. The idea is to form a public-safety radio monitoring group (or club, if you will) that focuses on exchanging current breaking incident information among one-another via a pager/cellphone/Email reflector, a GMRS based two-way radio system and other means such as telephone. This group is modeled after the San Diego area SDINA group. Also known as “The San Diego News Mafia” or “Yellow” group, SDINA has been around for well over ten years.

The Western Riverside Radio Group (or WRRG) is open to any resident of the Inland Empire and surrounding area who consistently monitors public safety radio transmissions using a scanner or two-way radio, and wishes to share what they hear with others. We encourage radio-savvy fire and law enforcement personnel, local members of the media, LMR radio techs, ham radio users, and interested scanner-owners/listeners to join. We like to take pride in knowing that the most knowledgeable public-safety minded ‘radio people’ in this county are working together within this group. There is also a place within our group for people just starting out in the hobby, and everyone in-between.

This group will help to give your monitoring of radios more of a purpose. For example, while monitoring Murrieta Police, you may hear that they engage in a pursuit. That’s something you may want to mention on our GMRS radio system, and even send out to the Email reflector. Using our radio system, you can exchange updates with other members as the pursuit carries on, and eventually comes to an end. Or maybe something else is happening on another frequency somewhere in the county and you missed the dispatch or other details. If you ask on our radio system, maybe another member who is listening will fill you in. That’s just a couple of examples of the usefulness of uniting as a group to effectively monitor Riverside County communications. A hand-held radio programmed on the WRRG system may be the only radio that another member has with him, and he may be relying on you to pass on the updates or significant dispatches so he may be informed.
This group is private and membership is contingent on the approval of the group organizer and/or a ‘steering committee’ of current, core group members.  At this time, membership is completely free. Initial membership for most people should be easy; however there will be a probationary period of two months before ‘regular member’ status is obtained by said member. All privileges are in effect from the minute a member is approved on the probationary level, with the exception of secure website access. (Explained in a paragraph below) A roster including each member’s information is kept (secure) and updated by the group organizer, and available only to other WRRG members unless any particular member requests that their information remain private. The roster information includes: Name, three-digit unit/ID number (to be picked by the member), GMRS call, HAM call, type of employment (if any), home Email address, pager/cellphone Email address, home phone number, cellular phone and pager numbers. 

Members wishing to use the GMRS repeater system must first obtain an FCC GMRS license. This license requires no test. The cost is $85 and is valid for five years. The license can be obtained on-line with a credit card. Members should start the process at this FCC website: http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=service_home&id=general_mobile Using the repeater system is the ‘fun’ part and major perk of being a WRRG member. All members are encouraged to participate on the radio system; however it is not a requirement. There are several types of GMRS/UHF radios; base, mobile, and hand-held units that will work on the system. There is something for everyone’s budget. Please ask the group organizer for details or help on selecting a suitable radio. More will be explained later.

The Email reflector(s) consist of two separate Email addresses. The first one is a specific Email address for ‘breaking incidents’. Using this Email address, you could send a short text message via your own pager/cellphone and/or home computer and it will (almost instantly) be re-Emailed back to a list of pagers and cellphones consisting of just the members within our group. This message should include information such as the type of incident, who’s involved, where it is (an address and Thomas Brothers map page would be best) and what frequency or talkgroup it’s being worked on. The second Email address reflects to each members home (and/or work) computer only, and is used more for non-urgent group administration and notices.

There is also this group website: www.wrrg.net which contains information on our group for new prospective members and the general public to read. The website has a public forum and then a secure area, accessible only by our members. This secure area is where we have a frequency, membership, and informational database stored.  This is also where other details of our GMRS radio system are located. The repeaters will be re-programmed every now an then to help thwart off ‘hackers’ or ‘jammers’. The same goes with the reflector Email address. They may be changed from time to time to help prevent spamming. The most current details will always be Emailed to current members and available from the secure area of the website.

WRRG meetings are held at centrally located restaurants or meeting halls and take place at-least twice a year. Attendance by all members is usually not required, but obviously the more that show up, the better. Group issues, direction, changes and other general business will be discussed. This is also a good opportunity to put a face to a name or radio ID that you hear on the system, and make a few new friends who share the hobby.

If you are interested in becoming a WRRG member, have questions, or would like more information, please Email the group organizer at: info@wrrg.net