WaveTalkers Emergency Prepardness Guide: GMRS_FRS

GMRS & FRS: Family and Community Communications - Episode 79

Recorded LIVE at 1pm PST August 3, 2023

GMRS is the General Mobile Radio Service and FRS is the Family Radio Service, both of which are Personal Radio Services licensed by the US FCC.

GMRS and FRS are completely compatible with each other and share 22 FM modulated common frequencies which are called Channels. Both systems allow for basic voice communications within the United States using radios designed for each service. The biggest difference between the two services is that for FRS, the license to use the service is tied to the radio itself where as for GMRS, the operator needs to obtain a valid FCC GMRS license.

All FRS radios have antennas that are permantly fixed to the radio, while GMRS radios are allowed to remove and attach other antennas. GMRS is also allowed to use higher power levels which when combined with external antennas can greatly incrase the range of the service. GMRS also is permitted to use repeaters on channels 15-22 which again expands the range and usefulness of the service.

Table 1: FRS & GMRS Channels and Frequencies

Channel	Frequency (MHz)	Radio Service	FRS Power	GMRS Power
1	462.5625	FRS & GMRS	2W	5W
2	462.5875	FRS & GMRS	2W	5W
3	462.6125	FRS & GMRS	2W	5W
4	462.6375	FRS & GMRS	2W	5W
5	462.6625	FRS & GMRS	2W	5W
6	462.6875	FRS & GMRS	2W	5W
7	462.7125	FRS & GMRS	2W	5W
8	467.5625	FRS & GMRS	0.5W	0.5W
9	467.5875	FRS & GMRS	0.5W	0.5W
10	467.6125	FRS & GMRS	0.5W	0.5W
11	467.6375	FRS & GMRS	0.5W	0.5W
12	467.6625	FRS & GMRS	0.5W	0.5W
13	467.6875	FRS & GMRS	0.5W	0.5W
14	467.7125	FRS & GMRS	0.5W	0.5W
15	462.5500	FRS & GMRS	2W	50W
16	462.5750	FRS & GMRS	2W	50W
17	462.6000	FRS & GMRS	2W	50W
18	462.6250	FRS & GMRS	2W	50W
19	462.6500	FRS & GMRS	2W	50W
20	462.6750	FRS & GMRS	2W	50W
21	462.7000	FRS & GMRS	2W	50W
22	462.7250	FRS & GMRS	2W	50W
15RP	467.5500	GMRS		50W
16RP	467.5750	GMRS		50W
17RP	467.6000	GMRS		50W
18RP	467.6250	GMRS		50W
19RP	467.6500	GMRS		50W
20RP	467.6750	GMRS		50W
21RP	467.7000	GMRS		50W
22RP	467.7250	GMRS		50W

FRS Radio Equipment

Below are Amazon Affiliate links to common FRS radios that you may want to consider for your family communications. To help suppor WaveTalkers, you can follow these links and make a purchase direclty from Amazon. These links will not cost you any more money than searching for these products directly on Amazon, but following these links will provide a small return to WaveTalkers direclty from Amazon.

What to look for in an FRS radio:

Most FRS radios use common AA or AAA primary batteries. In an emergency these common batteries are often more readily available than a location where you can charge internal recharable batteries. The best of both worlds is to have a radio that uses an internal recharchable battery that can be swapped for primary batteries when needed. Be sure to check which type of battery your radio requires and include fresh spare batteries in your emergency go kit.

NOAA Weather Radio & Alerts. Some FRS radios have the ability to recieve NOAA weather radio stations and some include an emergency alert capability that can be triggered by a NOAA weather alert in your immediate area. Although not required, these are very nice features to have on an FRS radio.

Privacy Tones. Although these sounds like a great idea, in reality, privacy tones often get in the way of family communications and do not constitute private channels of communication. In the ham world, these 'privacy tones' are technicaly just CTCSS sub audible tones that can be applied on the transmit and recieve frequencies. It is advisable to look for FRS radios that allow you to completely disable these privacy tones if possible.

GMRS Radio Equipment

Below are Amazon Affiliate links to common GMRS radios that you may want to consider for your family communications. To help suppor WaveTalkers, you can follow these links and make a purchase direclty from Amazon. These links will not cost you any more money than searching for these products directly on Amazon, but following these links will provide a small return to WaveTalkers direclty from Amazon.

What to look for in an GMRS radio:

Most GMRS radios use common AA or AAA primary batteries. In an emergency these common batteries are often more readily available than a location where you can charge internal recharable batteries. The best of both worlds is to have a radio that uses an internal recharchable battery that can be swapped for primary batteries when needed. Be sure to check which type of battery your radio requires and include fresh spare batteries in your emergency go kit.

NOAA Weather Radio & Alerts. Most GMRS radios have the ability to recieve NOAA weather radio stations and some include an emergency alert capability that can be triggered by a NOAA weather alert in your immediate area. Although not required, these are very nice features to have on an GMRS radio.

Privacy Tones. Although these sounds like a great idea, in reality, privacy tones often get in the way of family communications and do not constitute private channels of communication. In the ham world, these 'privacy tones' are technicaly just CTCSS sub audible tones that can be applied on the transmit and recieve frequencies. It is advisable to look for FRS radios that allow you to completely disable these privacy tones if possible.

MURS Radio Equipment

Below are Amazon Affiliate links to common MURS radios that you may want to consider for your family communications. To help suppor WaveTalkers, you can follow these links and make a purchase direclty from Amazon. These links will not cost you any more money than searching for these products directly on Amazon, but following these links will provide a small return to WaveTalkers direclty from Amazon.