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Depends on who you ask. It turns out there really isn't one. Before it was generally accepted to use 20. Now people are advocating for 19, and others don't use either one. It's turning into a bit of a mess since people simply can't agree on one and stick with it.

I agree, now that the Line A restrictions have been removed. Marc referred to Randy, of Notarubicon fame, when he used his online name here, @OffRoaderX. Channel 19 is not a repeater channel though.

NOTARUBICON has stated that 19 is the go to as well (per his YT channel). Makes sense to me considering 19 used to be the travel channel on CB.

Most preferred? Sure. Single? Absolutely not. There's a bunch of GMRS repeaters just in my area that aren't on here but are published elsewhere.

It's like this... If you're in the U.S. and you're talking to someone else in the U.S., and you knowingly interfere with RF operations in Canada, you are in violation of a U.S.-Canada treaty. You're not likely to get caught and even less likely to receive any actual punishment, but you're still an asshole. If you know you're close to the border, dial the power down to the least wattage that will do the job, and if somehow you do find out that you interfere with Canadian airwaves, find another frequency. It's unlikely that of 22 frequencies, all of them will cause interference at any significant distance. Possible, but unlikely. The Canadians know about GMRS and they probably avoid putting any sort of critical RF-based infrastructure operating near those frequencies close to the border. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, but I would be considerate.

Most HAM operators i'm acquainted with knows how to use the tools available to him/her to find HAM repeater frequencies and associated PL tones.. GMRS is really no different other than the resources to find that info.. Unlike HAM where you have a handfull of ways to find repeater info, this site (MyGMRS.com) is probably the single and most preferred place to find GMRS repeaters. Repeater Book tried but failed to gain traction with GMRS users.. Stick with MyGMRS and you'll find all the info you need to access GMRS repeaters acfross the nation.

Well, not officially, although tradition probably makes it a more prevalently used tone. it used to be when there was a travel channel, but there no longer is. Here’s Marc Spaz’s far better explanation:

Thank you for the reply.. that isn't what I was asking about.

Thank you. That is what I was asking what a standard input tone would be. I hate to post questions, because they always seem to fall off track. Yes, repeaters can be found but was curious as to the specific 8 GMRS repeaters that are built in. I understand folks put up and pay for their own and use input/output tones on those. Just didn't know if there were anything special about the 8... thank you for the reply.

Those are the "Sad Hams". They have been pissed off and angry for a long time since Thrifty Drug stores closed up so they can test their radio tubes with the tube tester and get a 5 cent ice cream cone at the same time.

The standard travel tone is 141.3Hz. If there is a repeater in the area that is designed for people traveling through this is the most likely tone it will be on. But as others have said there is no reason that it can't be on any of the other analog tones along with the digital tones. Lots of smaller shorter range repeaters held by people who only use them for their own families or small groups. In CT there seem to be 2 repeaters you can use. One in Glastonbury which is permission based only and the other in Holyoke, Ma that is open for you to use or join their little group. Lots more smaller repeaters with a lot less range if you know where to look.

I'm not sure why you find that GMRS would be any different than Amateur radio. Just like Amateur radio, GMRS repeaters are put on the air by various enthusiasts that are willing to invest there hard earned money and time for various reasons to accomplish some personal radio communication goals. Traveling throughout the country and finding available GMRS repeaters that are open for you to use without obtaining permission would be no different than the Amateur Radio world. For GMRS, you have mygmrs.com to obtain the locations, frequency, and tone information for repeaters and any pertinent information regarding the use of those repeaters just like you can find for the Amateur Radio world with ARRL or Repeater Book. Yes, there are more Amateur radio repeaters than GMRS repeaters and there are only 8 GMRS channel as compared to a Gazillion channel possibility with Amatrur radio. In most areas GMRS enthusiasts do a pretty good job with sharing the spectrum. For an example, in the Phoenix Area, there are about 13-15 GMRS repeaters that are spreadout through the Valley with frequent use and with Amateur Radio, there approx 30-35 2 Meter and approx 15-20 70 cm repeaters with very little use except for one 2 Meter repeater that has some activity and one or two 70 cm repeaters with occasional traffic. As for simplex traffic on the Amateur 2 Meter and 70 cm channels, it is very seldom that you hear anything on the designated simplex channels. As for GMRS simplex traffic, all 14 Interstitial and 8 Main 462 MHz channels are very heavily used throughout the day and there appears not to be any serious conflicts with co-channel uses . In my opinion, there is a lot of wasted Amateur 2 Meter and 70 cm, and probably the 1.25 M and 33 cm channels as well sit idle and are a total waste of spectrum resources and not being used efficiently.

GMRS has only 22 official channels to use. Out of those 8 are reserved for repeater operation, with the matching 8 input only frequencies. If there is no traffic on the output frequencies they can be used for simplex. Normally the purpose built GMRS radios have the channel frequencies builtin by the firmware. At best you can select which access tone to use. Various radios allow duplicates of the repeater channels with different tones to accommodate traveling around different areas. Also the repeater channels you find the builtin ones are set for a +5MHz split. However the current FCC rules allow any of the 8 input frequencies to be paired with any of the 8 output frequencies, which results in a non standard split. Most repeaters stick to the standard +5MHz.

Was having a great deal of difficulty accessing the programming for my new 935G Plus. After some searching, I found there is an actual program zip file for the 935G Plus on the buytwowayradios.com website as well as a driver that needs to be installed for the programming cable. I have included the buytwowayradios.com popular download link. Thought this might be helpful. Popular Downloads

There are no universal tones. By regulation GMRS repeaters are individually operated, unlike ham radio with its club licensing. As such each GMRS repeater operator can choose whatever tone they want. When traveling, a person should research what repeaters are available and program DIY channels for them. This site is probably the best resource for repeater information. Look at the map or the repeater database. Welcome to the forums!

Sorry if this topic has been discussed before, but I didn't see it covered exactly. Forgive the intrusion, but I see you are very active on the forum. I am a HAM operator and new GMRS user. To that end, I am curious as to the function of the 8 built in GMRS repeater channels. Is there a common key or input/output tone these need to be programmed with? Also, how does that work if there is not an established nationwide repeater network for GMRS? Meaning, how does one travel from State X to State Y and use the set repeater channels? It is merely luck of the draw if you happen to be close to a repeater or am I missing something? Thank you.. WSJL651

You are no doubt correct. The ham tests can be intimidating to some people. There really is a very, very, low barrier to entry in GMRS and no barrier at all for FRS. Honestly, the folks in the local amateur radio club near me have thus far been very friendly and welcoming. I've not met him yet, but I understand that there is a high school student in the club, so that is a positive sign... Still the majority of the membership seems overwhelmingly north of 60.

But the folks that put their cash and effort to put up Nesses 625 are having a gathering this weekend for the Hams & GMRS folks in Salley, SC for what I think is a equipment swap meet kind of thing. You going? They were just publizing it tonight. Vance 600 was mentioned also.

Why are you telling this to OP who already IS a licensed Ham?!? I am convinced that some of the members of this Forum think they get paid by their sheer number of posts!!

the lack of volunteer frequency coordination to manage the GMRS repeater spectrum will kill any chance the FCC will even come close to consider permitting linking. And i honestly don't think it would take to many complaints about bandwidth hogging to awake the FCC sending out a few letters to the BIG abusers. Especially with some of these guys whom blatantly advertise what they are doing while taking money to do it. They don't affect me so i quite making noise about it, but i have been in cities where these guys operate and i can see the problems they create.

...because too many of them tell lies and fairy-tales to make themselves look more important...

Not to mention that this thread is 2 years old.

Marc, while I believe that you had that conversation (I've never had reason to doubt you) and find it interesting, it isn't however the official reason the FCC put forth with their clarification. Thus I think using "sending voice over POTS / Broadband is considered theft of services" as an antiquated idea argument wont go very far. Perhaps that was the genesis of the reason some time ago for not linking GMRS but it's clearly not the reason they put forth recently in writing despite what this engineer says. It certainly is an easier argument to fight in this day and age it just isn't the one I think would sway the FCC because it dosn't address what they have publicly stated as the reason. In addition to violating Commission rules, linking repeaters is not in the public interest. Because GMRS spectrum is limited and used on a shared “commons” basis, the service only works well on a localized basis when users can hear each other and cooperate in the sharing of channels. Linking repeaters not only increases the potential for interference, but also uses up a limited spectrum resource over much larger areas than intended, limiting localized availability of the repeater channels. GMRS and the Family Radio Service (FRS), which share many of the GMRS channels, are intended for individuals such as family members and friends, scouting troops, emergency response groups, and hobbyists to communicate with each other over short distances, directly or through a repeater station. Linking repeaters, via the internet or other networks, undermines the purpose and usefulness of the GMRS and FRS.

Nice; appreciate it!