A California Public Benefit Corporation
Team Number: C-57
REACT stands for RADIO EMERGENCY
ASSOCIATED COMMUNICATIONS TEAMS.
A Brief History of REACT International
REACT is an International organization dedicated to providing citizens radio communications for emergencies as a public service.
The idea was prompted by some road help Henry B. "Pete" Kreer gave to a motorist in Chicago during a snow storm. He used a Citizen Band (CB) radio to summon help.
On January 23, 1962, the Hallicrafters Company agreed to sponsor the REACT program with Pete Kreer as National Director.
In 1964 CB Channel 9 was adopted as a voluntary emergency channel. As of this date, there were 560,000 CB licenses and REACT had 800 teams.
In 1970, the FCC designated CB Channel 9 as the official Emergency Channel.
In 1978, REACT membership peaked, along with CB radio use at 74,000 members.
In 1984, CB Radio was de-licensed in the USA.
Today, in addition to CB radio, REACT Teams use Ultra High Frequency radios (UHF) in a band designated by the FCC General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS), which requires a license from the FCC.
In addition to CB and GMRS radio frequencies, REACT teams use HAM radio frequencies by members who are also licensed amateur radio operators (HAMS).
This Page is Maintained by Phil Henderson Updated December 19, 2004
