Most 22 channel radios of this type, marketed as gmrsfrs combination radios, are not capable of repeater operation, do not include the repeater input frequencies, have a maximum power of 2 watts, and have been reclassified as frs radios. The united states permits use by adult individuals who possess a valid gmrs license, as well as their immediate family members. Radio equipment used on this service must be certified by local authority, frs radio purchased in canada may not be used on frs in. All of our consumer radios operate on either the gmrs or frs channels, and most support both. Frequency channel chart frs gmrs transceivers in the united states as of september 28, 2017 channel frequency channel number radio gmrs license maximum permitted power detachable antenna ok. Like the frs, gmrs uses fm rather than am waves to send signals, but unlike the frs, gmrs can use up to 50 watts of power. The family radio service frs is an improved walkietalkie radio system authorized in the. Frs radios with 14 or fewer channels and up to 12 watt power output are still manufactured and sold. Ham vs cb vs frs vs gmrs vs murs joel jojo link 20 december 30 at 19. It will only transmit on gmrs channels, but will otherwise receive in the same ranges as other baofengs. Gmrs radios, on the other hand, use specific frequencies within that same band designated for frs radios. If you are going to go with this band i recommend instead the garmin rhino handheld gps with gmrs radio built in. It requires a license in the united states, but some gmrs compatible equipment can be used licensefree in canada. The family radio service frs and general mobile radio service gmrs are 2 separate services.
Updated february 2018 to include changes from fcc part 95 reform. Gmrs base models can usually be expected to work even if they havent been powered on for some time. Getting the most from your personal radio, murs or frs gmrs. The key difference between the gmrs and frs frequencies is there are an added 8 gmrs frequencies that are intended to be used only for repeater inputs in the 467 mhz range. I am currently reading your website i love it, but i have an issue i would like to share. Since a license is required and power levels are higher they tend to be used in a more formal matter. Channels 1522, however, offer gmrs users the highest power option, so these are preferred for tactical communications. R, part 95 subpart e radio service codes za gmrs callout the general mobile radio service gmrs is a licensed radio service that uses channels around 462 mhz and 467 mhz. The 22 channels assigned to the frs and gmrs radio services are all shared, meaning that frs operators can talk to gmrs operators, and vice versa, on all 22 channels. Family radio service frs federal communications commission. The above graph shows the distance range between a pedestrian with a whip antenna and a mobile vehicle with a basic vehicle whip antenna. License free radios frsgmrs north america family radio service frsu.
A twoway radio allows you to communicate with others over a set distance. The multiuse radio service murs is better than frsgmrs for family and neighborhood emergency communications and does not require a license. The most common use of murs channels is for shortdistance, twoway communications using small, portable handheld radios that function similar to walkietalkies. With regard to type acceptance, there are differences between the actual gmrs specs and the specs of other baofeng radios. Frs or family radios service radios are compact, handheld, wireless 2way radios that provide very good clarity over a relatively short range. Most 22 channel radios of this type, marketed as gmrs frs combination radios, are not capable of repeater operation, do not include the repeater input frequencies, have a maximum power of 2 watts, and have been reclassified as frs radios. These frequencies are shared with the general mobile radio service gmrs.
They are ok as a cheap radio, within their limitations. The frs is authorized 22 channels in the 462 mhz and 467 mhz range, all of which are shared with gmrs. The 22channels assigned to the frs and gmrs radio services are all shared, meaning that frs operators can talk to gmrs operators, and vice versa, on all 22channels. A discrepancy has been noted with federal documents as well as some frsgmrs radios, which list. You can find the complete list of all the extra midland channels above channel 22 and what frsgmrs frequencies are assigned to them in the following article. However, they do require a license and are more expensive to buy. The multiuse radio service murs uses channels in the 151 154 mhz spectrum range. Range of frsgmrs radios and an intro to murs the range of frsgmrs radios is wildly overrated. If you could please drop unlisted names of manufacturers of hand held, mobiles, base stations, repeaters, and antennas, id.
Frs frequencies are interleaved with gmrs frequencies. These channels share the same frequency and can be transmitted to and received from both frs and gmrs radios. Their range is a bit better than frs radios, with typical handheld devices being somewhere in the 12 mile window. The most common use of gmrs channels is for shortdistance, twoway voice communications using handheld radios, mobile radios and repeater systems. This link is listed in our web site directory since friday mar 4 2016, and till today gmrs frs frequencies and ctcss has been.
Operation over 2 watts, or operation on gmrs repeater input channels, will still require gmrs licensing. Twoway radios contd frs gmrs hybrids advantages and limitations are the same as frs radios and gmrs radios widely available handheld only nonicensed users cannot operate on gmrs l channels cert emergency communications 34. The main category is band plans, frequency allocations, rf spectrum that is about radio frequemcy spectrum and allocations including radio band plans. The gmrs band consists of 30 gmrs frequencies, which after recent fcc revisions of the prs rules, now overlap on 22 channels with the frs family radio service band with a revised band plan as of september 2017. Gmrs frs frequencies and ctcss resource detail the. High power is available on the 462mhz gmrs channels 5watt and half a watt on 467mhz frs channels. What is the difference between frs and gmrs frequencies. Gmrsfrs frequency cheat sheet do not transmit on frequencies that you are not authorized to use. Gmrsa any mobile station or small base station in a gmrs system operating in the simplex mode may transmit voice type emissions with no more than 5 watts erp on the following 462 mhz channels. Family radio service frs advantages inexpensive widely used no license required range up to 1 mile varies with terrain 14 channels shared communication with gmrs radios best used for intrateam communications cert emergency communications 29. If you dont have a ham license, and the public service telephone network, cellular and internet are out of service, having portable 2way radios among family and neighbors can be a life saver.
Oh, and dont even bother with those cheapass frsgmrs integralantenna hybrids, those are junk. On a 22 channel consumergrade radio, you may operate without a license on channels 714. The motorola convention names channels 8 through 14 as frs only and channels 15 through 22 for as gmrs only frequencies. The general mobile radio service gmrs is a landmobile fm uhf radio service designed for shortdistance twoway communication. A lot of the frs channels are shared with gmrs, so listening to one set of frequencies you may hear both services. Shtf survivalist radio frequency list and charts for the doomsday prepper the original source of this article and chart is radiomaster reports. Gmrs radios also require a license from the fcc to operate. They are reliable and even handheld options can transmit up to 50 miles. Frs was established by creating channels on the frequencies lying between the already existing gmrs channels in the usa and in addition sharing seven gmrs channels. Frs specification has been adapted by canada, mexico, brazil. It does not suffer the interference effects found on citizens band cb at 27 mhz, or the 49 mhz band also used by cordless telephones, toys aside from.
Frs radios operating on the gmrs channels can use more power, but are realistically limited by the small handheld package and its antenna to about 2 watts max. For emergency preparedness, ham radios are the best option. Uhf ultra high frequency between 300 mhz and 3 ghz uhf radio waves propagate mainly by line of sight. Fcc adopts long awaited changes to prs bands gmrs, frs. Greetings, im currently considering acquiring a gmrs license, but would like to do research on my options for radios to purchase. This adds 7 new shared interstitial gmrs channels, giving existing hybrid frsgmrs radio users more legal. Frsgmrs combined channel chart the radioreference wiki. Gmrs radios will remain largely the same, except that they will gain use of the previously frsonly 467 mhz ch. Fcc personal radio service revisions will affect gmrs, frs. Transmitting on gmrs channels does require a notest license, which can be easily obtained online by any us citizen 18 years. Multiuse radio service murs federal communications. Gmrs radios are limited by fcc rules to personal use only. Otherwise, the frequencies are the same, but power levels are different, and also in the high power channels, gmrs can use wideband fm as well as narrowband fm.
The extra channels on the gxt are simply frsgmrs frequencies with preprogrammed interference eliminator codes, so channel 40 would be the same as gmrs channel 20. Im assuming you were talking about a real gmrs radio with decent receiver specs and. Getting the most from your personal radio, murs or frsgmrs. Below is a table showing the channel number, type of channel, and the frequency. Hf backpack radios, hf packs, cb backpack radios, or manpack radios are compared with handy talkies. Two 2w vhf rigs will perform as good as 5w gmrs uhf rigs in your situation, when comparing likegain antennas, and the batteries will last twice as long. Radio service frs and general mobile radio service gmrs. On the page describing freeband and cb radio, you describe the difference in using usb as. Information about common frequencies and channels for tactical, emergency, and survival for ham, cb, murs, gmrs, pmr, marine, and other radios. Introduction to frs and gmrs radio walkietalkie youtube. Family radio service frs scanner frequencies and radio. Frs radios operating on the frs channels, on the other hand, are never permitted more than. Gmrs radios also operate in the uhf band with handheld radio power outputs of up to 5 watts. Frs radios operate on any of 14 dedicated channels 114 designated by the fcc federal communications commission expressly for frs radio usage.
Since a two way radio assigned to either the gmrs or frs system uses frequencies located within the same wavelength, most users will notice relatively little difference in fidelity. Fcc frs channel numbers commonly used on 22 channel radios are shown in the leftmost column. The difference is that gmrs radios have designated channels within those frequencies that arent available to frs radios. We saw the use of interstitial frequencies in the 462 mhz band in the gmrs. Similar services include general mobile radio service gmrs and family radio service frs. Gmrs radios are typically handheld portable devices much like frs radios. These are not allowed to be used in the uk although are used in. Frs radios operate at a maximum power of 12 watt and cannot be connected to an external antenna. They share some common frequencies, and also have frequencies unique to their respective services. Chart designed by n6vi updated by nr6v febdruary 29, 2018. The family radio service frs is an improved walkietalkie radio system authorized in the united states since 1996. All frs channels are simplex, with 3 khz deviation, 500 milliwatts output, and fixed antennas only.
General mobile radio service the general mobile radio service gmrs is a licensed walkie talkie or base station radio system gmrs radios are typically handheld portable devices much like frs radios, and share some frequencies with frs gmrs radios provide very good clarity over a slightly longer range than frs. You may also operate on channels 17 if you use low power only. These radios use a fixed antenna as required by frs rules and operate at. Lowpower frs gmrs uhf radios with a fixed antenna are only reliable from onehalf to one mile in average urban terrain. Lastly, there is the so called combo radio a 22 channel version with both gmrs and frs frequencies internally programmed. Gmrs radios are also authorized to transmit on frs channels 1 to 7 with no more than 5 watts and using 5 khz deviation. They are designated channels 8 through 14 for reasons that will become clear later. Gmrs is a licensed walkie talkie or base station radio system. Typically though, most gmrs radios use between 1 and 5 watts of power. In a lengthy report and order in a proceeding wt docket no. About gmrs frs frequencies and ctcss the resource is currently listed in in a single category. Everything you need to know about gmrsfrs, but were.