Abstract
Reliable communication in low-infrastructure environments depends as much on systems of use as on the device itself. My capstone project, A GPS Transmission MURS Radio Module, was undertaken to improve safety coordination for youth mountain biking events on wooded trails where cellular coverage is unreliable and voice-only radio updates can leave rider locations vague. The project proposes a lightweight add-on that appends brief GPS and rider-ID bursts to normal MURS radio use so coaches can receive time-stamped last-known locations without changing workflow or adding new infrastructure. My STS research paper, Spectrum Governance and Community Safety: How FCC Part 95 Shapes MURS-Based Solutions, was undertaken to examine how FCC Part 95 influences what kinds of community safety radio systems are practical, legitimate, and ethically acceptable. These projects are connected because the technical design must operate within the regulatory, ethical, and social order created by Part 95.
The immediate rationale for the capstone project is that youth cycling organizations need faster, and clearer incident response without relying on smartphones, subscriptions, or a second network. Our team addressed this by designing a module placed between a handheld MURS radio and its speaker microphone that uses an ESP32 microcontroller, a U-blox GPS module, and audio-frequency signaling to transmit short, encoded GPS + ID packets after push-to-talk use and at controlled intervals. On the receiving side, a second radio feeds audio into decoding software that maps location data on-site via local host software. The method emphasizes compatibility with existing radios, conservative airtime use, privacy protection for minors, and compliance with FCC Part 95 shared-spectrum limits.
The capstone project concludes that a low-infrastructure MURS add-on can improve situational awareness while preserving the simplicity of existing radio practice. By embedding short location bursts into the same workflow coaches already use, the design improves safety without replacing current equipment or creating a more intrusive tracking system. It also shows that bandwidth limits, channel sharing, battery life, portability, and decoder reliability are not side issues, but core requirements that make the design practical. The most effective solution for this setting is therefore not the most complex one, but one carefully fitted to real terrain, volunteer use, and regulatory limits.
My STS paper asks: How have FCC Part 95 regulations shaped the adoption and technical form of MURS-based community safety solutions in the United States? This question matters because community groups rely on accessible radio systems for safety, yet those systems are shaped by regulatory choices affecting autonomy, privacy, and coordination. To study this issue, I used qualitative policy analysis and comparative case analysis guided by Langdon Winner’s framework of technological politics. I closely read FCC Part 95 and the 2017 Part 95 Report and Order, then connected those texts to research on radio propagation, emergency communication, and alternative tracking systems such as APRS.
The evidence shows that FCC Part 95 does more than allocate spectrum; it shapes a distinct form of community safety communication. Because MURS is license-by-rule, it lowers barriers to participation, but by restricting infrastructure, power, and certain operating styles, it favors decentralized, low-power, privacy-limited coordination over wide-area or persistent tracking. Comparing MURS to APRS shows that different regulatory regimes encourage different technical architectures and different arrangements of responsibility and visibility. I conclude that Part 95 functions as a form of order, helping determine what kinds of safety tools seem reasonable, ethical, and feasible for community users.
