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This chart is inaccurate and is mostly confusing and contrary to the rules in Parts 95.567 and 95.1767 in respect to RF output power levels for both the FRS and GMRS radio services. The rules state that Channels 1-7 are regulated to 2 watts ERP for non-licensed FRS service and 5 watts ERP for licensed GMRS service. The left chart indicates channels 1-7 for both FRS & GMRS are regulated to a .5 watt and that is incorrect. The right chart indicates that Channels 8-14 are regulated to .5 watt ERP for FRS and that is correct, and 5 watts for GMRS and that is incorrect, all transmitter transmitting on these channels are regulated to a .5 watt ERP, regardless of the two radio services. The left chart indicates that channels 15-22 are regulated to 2 watts ERP and that is correct. Both charts indicates that the 462 (462.550, 462.575, 462.600, 462.625, 462.650, 462.675, 462.700, and 462.725) and 467 (467.550, 467.575, 467.600, 467.625, 467.650, 467.675, 467.700, and 467.725) Main Channels are regulated to 50 watts and that is correct, except for the 467 main channels, they are regulated to 15 watts for fixed class station operations. The 50-watt output is not limited to the measurement of antenna ERP for the 462 & 467 main channels. The 50-watt output limit is the measurement of power out of the transmitter before the antenna and there is no limit of the ERP of the antenna.

It helps a lot when the GMRS radios are small enough to fit in your pocket. The huge silver telescope antenna on a hand held CB looks like some kind of exotic taser weapon to non technical people. Just holding on to the end of the antenna and swinging it around makes for a reasonably useful club too.

I like the chart for how is visually displays the channels and frequencies, didn't even look (or care) about the power limit thing. I've got a similar chart for shipboard communications in kind of the same format, it's just the first one I've seen for GMRS.

What a wealth of information this has become for me in understanding how things work and what is authorized in accordance § 95.1763 GMRS channels. Sometimes you have to slow down to speed up, if that makes any sense to you. Thank you, all of you for this help!

FRS-GMRS Channels Layout.pdf

My brother runs his mobile radios on a 100AH LifePo4 battery. He charges it with a LifePo4 charger plugged into the 120V inverter built into his truck. He does this so that he doesn't have to try and get power wires through the firewall since he does not keep his trucks very long. I've never heard him complain about RF issues with the radios. Definitely get the correct charger for LifePo4 batteries if that is what you are going to use. A standard charger will ruin the battery. And there is a difference between regular lithium batteries and LifePo4 batteries. Note: my brother uses a 100AH battery in the truck since he also uses it for Parks On The Air with his 100 watt Icom IC-7300 HF radio. You can definitely get by with a smaller battery for a 50 watt radio and even smaller one for a 20 watt radio.

Hi John, For GMRS and FRS, the FCC has designated 22 specific frequencies for our simplex use and 8 more for transmitting to the repeater. The channels are interlaced. So tuning to an “in-between” frequency might be interfering with other services or other channels. You’ll definitely want to read the regulations to see what frequencies we are allowed and the power and bandwidth: § 95.1763 GMRS channels. The GMRS is allotted 30 channels—16 main channels and 14 interstitial channels. GMRS stations may transmit on any of the channels as indicated below. (a) 462 MHz main channels. Only mobile, hand-held portable, repeater, base and fixed stations may transmit on these 8 channels. The channel center frequencies are: 462.5500, 462.5750, 462.6000, 462.6250, 462.6500, 462.6750, 462.7000, and 462.7250 MHz. (b) 462 MHz interstitial channels. Only mobile, hand-held portable and base stations may transmit on these 7 channels. The channel center frequencies are: 462.5625, 462.5875, 462.6125, 462.6375, 462.6625, 462.6875, and 462.7125 MHz. (c) 467 MHz main channels. Only mobile, hand-held portable, control and fixed stations may transmit on these 8 channels. Mobile, hand-held portable and control stations may transmit on these channels only when communicating through a repeater station or making brief test transmissions in accordance with § 95.319(c). The channel center frequencies are: 467.5500, 467.5750, 467.6000, 467.6250, 467.6500, 467.6750, 467.7000, and 467.7250 MHz. (d) 467 MHz interstitial channels. Only hand-held portable units may transmit on these 7 channels. The channel center frequencies are: 467.5625, 467.5875, 467.6125, 467.6375, 467.6625, 467.6875, and 467.7125 MHz.

That's basically why I usually don't set RX tones. I want to monitor all traffic on the frequency. If somebody is close by on the repeater output frequency using simplex it could muck up the signal from the repeater depending on the relative strength of the two. It helps to figure out if the garbled reception is due to a repeater issue or someone else on the frequency. If I have the tone set and not watching the channel busy light I might miss what the cause might be since there would be no audio produced from the simplex traffic.

We’re at that age (I assume) where we help those who need help. It’s not always easy but it’s rewarding in its own right.

considering that more and more radios are capable of programing zones and various channels,, it could be very easy to occupy all those channels, especially considering what Marc stated..

There are some things to be careful of. If you get a LiFePO4 battery and intend to charge it from the alternator, there are special chargers that need to be used to avoid burning out your alternator. There are lots of YouTube videos about it. I haven’t done it and have no experience.

That's why I have those channels set to not transmit on my mobile units. They're there, and if I have a good enough reason, I can fairly quickly turn the transmit feature back on. Having them in the radio means I can listen and even scan them if I want. So far, I haven't felt the need to do that, but it's an option.

My ole eyes and brain just did not compute this knowledge until, NOW! Thanks to all that asked and to those that answered! I kept seeing the words "Mobile GMRS" and thinking my MXT-400 qualified for that. But then comes along... "467 MHz interstitial channels. Only hand-held portable units may transmit on these 7 channels. The channel center frequencies are: 467.5625, 467.5875, 467.6125, 467.6375, 467.6625, 467.6875, and 467.7125 MHz. So now I realize why I don't have those channels in my radio! We had this exact problem on the trails (Trail Guild wanted to use CH 10.....) now it sinks in after studying this, again Thank you all~!

I'm going to close my post out with something that will piss some people off, and others will say I don't know what I am talking about... so if you don't want to read all of the post, you may want to skip to the END. The reason CB went to the wayside isn't known for sure, but I have a few ideas. Modulation type isn't one of them. I think there is zero chance of CB replacing FRS. I don't think it could even take a significant part of the market, and I will explain why. First, people get extremely frustrated because their mobile CB radio performs so poorly, with regard to range. As mentioned above, that is almost always due to the antenna. The primary problem is, the average DIY person doesn't poses the tools or skills to properly install a CB and antenna, nor verify if it is working correctly. This wasn't always the case, but somewhere in time, this common knowledge kind of vanished, leading people to think they can just bolt on the antenna and life is good. Then, there is the size of the antenna. The shortest proper length for a CB antenna is 104 inches. That's not a type-o... that is over eight and a half feet. Not everyone is willing to put an antenna that big on their vehicle. So, you see everyone using a compromised antenna... like the 4' and even 3' firestik antennas. I own a 4 footer and a 1 footer, but I know they are only going to work for a mile or less. FRS is at a frequency that only requires a 6" antenna, and the installation is way, way more forgiving. Just by it's nature, its not common to incorrectly install an FRS antenna. And when manufacturers put even shorter antennas on them, say a 3", it's no where near the compromise made in CB with a 3' antenna. So, you take a radio and antenna that doesn't install correctly easily and complicate that install with an antenna that more resembles a dummy load than an antenna, and yeah, the performance is gonna suck. Creating an even smaller, overpriced version in a handheld doesn't sound like a good time, either. Now, there is also another issue to deal with. While there are FM CB radios available, FM quality on CB is no where near the audio quality of FRS. FRS radio uses a lot more bandwidth, which means the signal can carry more data, aka higher fidelity audio. Many people will prefer FRS just because it sounds better. END Now to upset some people... I believe that a properly installed mobile CB and antenna or a quality CB handheld will outperform an FRS radio 100% of the time. I also believe that a properly installed mobile CB and antenna AND a quality CB handheld will outperform their counterpart in GMRS radio a vast majority of the time, when it comes to P2P comms. The two top reasons why GMRS has made it to the top of the pile is due to repeaters and the frequency used is ideal for heavily wooded and dense urban areas. While generally, I believe CB is superior in many cases, it seems that US radio use in dense woods and cities are the most common use cases... hence GMRS (and FRS) win over mobile and handheld CB.

On GMRS certified radios the channels [1-30] are already programmed. Channels 1-14 should have 4 digits after the decimal like 462.5625. These all end in 5 - they're 12.5KHz above and below the frequencies for channels 15-30. If you do a search you should be able to find a chart to help you visualize the relationship.

I'm a budget minded radio hobbyist, which means that I'm an avid consumer of the "cheap Chinese junk". I've possessed all variety of Baofeng, Quansheng, QYT, Talkpod, Radioddity, Retivis, etc. My experiences have been mostly positive. Some QC issues occur at a higher rate than higher priced "known quality brands", but they all DO essentially work. When factoring in the price/value ratio, there's simply no debating whether or not they're worthwhile purchases. Furthermore, when you move away from the $30 category into the $50-80 tier of such radios, It's been my experience that they're mostly excellent, especially when accounting for the value relative to the $200+ options. (Secret time,.. Those radios are made in China too). And say what you want about the Chinese makers of radio equipment, they seem to be very active in being a driving force in innovation and care about what people in the space ask for, and then they do their best to bring it to market. Quickly. If you choose to not be a consumer of such products, that's ok, but you should at least appreciate that they're there applying pressure in the market. Anyone who follows the radio YouTube space is familiar with how often these guys are being sent radios for testing, get pretty honest feedback about the shortcomings, and then revisions are made to solve the problems. That's a pretty remarkable thing for a market sector in the US that if left to the mainline brands, we'd be pretty niche and neglected. A prime case example is the TidRadio brand and the TD-H8 model. A relatively new entrant in the market. The early versions of the H8 had problems, honest feedback was given, and revisions were made. I've waited until I've reached a bit over 30 days of ownership to write this review. Initial impression: Very good build quality. feels "weighty" and stout in the hand. Powers on to a standard logo screen and defaults to a dual VFO display screen. One pet-peeve I have with some of these Chinese made radios is the font choice of the characters. Please stop using seriffed fonts. It's an odd look for a display that should only emphasize utility and readability. Another thing that I found to be a bit of a detraction was the mushy feel of the PTT button. This is less of an issue for my use case because I have my example of the radio mounted down statically and operate it with an external speaker mic. But if I used this radio daily in HT only form, I'd probably really have an issue with this. On day one, when trying to use the bluetooth programming function, I found it to be broken because it wasn't properly saving my repeater shift information. I later found that it was my mistake because I wasn't doing so with the "repeater designated channel" but the simplex one. I now know that the bluetooth programing of this radio does work perfectly fine, but I'll stick to the Chirp method just because of the ergonomics and familiarity that I have with the format. After prolonged use: The handful of cons listed above seem to be the extent of anything wrong with this radio. It probably should be mentioned HOW I deploy this radio. I've made it my primary home "base" radio. It's mounted statically on my desk, with a hand speaker/mic, and via LMR-400 coax to a 9db gain GMRS yagi outdoors about 17ft high and rotatable. I have my reasons for wanting to operate this way. A low power draw radio that operates from a self contained battery. I don't require a high amp power supply that requires mains power to operate. I could even get it charged with solar if need be. Maybe you're getting the idea of why that might matter to me and why I'm of the mind of wanting that. So with that being said, I've been in search of an HT style radio, but, one that has a bit more balls than the standard 3-4 watt options. Anyone whose done the same thing might be familiar with how frustrating that search is, with all of the gaudy and fake Aliexpress (false) advertisements of 8-10 watt HTs. The TidRadio TD-H8 is genuinely a 10 watt radio (picture below). Which means that it straddles the line perfectly between a more powerful mobile and a less powerful handheld. With a 9db gain antenna and 1.4db loss across a 50ft run, it provides for an ERP of 57.8 watts. Which has been good enough to simplex my mobiles solidly in a 12 mile radius, and reach repeaters full quieting at least 50 miles away. The way that I have things configured, for my needs, I give this radio two very big thumbs up and recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone trying to accomplish a similar thing. ::Edit:: I neglected to mention one important thing. There are two variants for sale of the H8. The GMRS and Ham versions. The GMRS version of this radio will be software locked to transmit at 5 watts. Fortunately it doesn't matter which model that you buy, because there is an unlock method that simply involves a button press combination at startup to toggle the radio into operating unlocked. You'll need to do this with either model to get it to both operate on GMRS frequencies, and also at the higher power. Ham mode will be the higher power but wont allow operation on GMRS, GMRS version grants the GMRS frequencies but at low power. Unlocked mode is the third mode that allows both and both variants of the radio can be toggled into it..

I normally run RX tones but will definitely turn them off if I think we are getting some interference on the repeater. I also monitor the repeater input frequency at times. On the hunt for ID10T's. We had an ID10T Tuesday night keying up and making noise on our repeater during our net. The hunt is on.

Plus you will hear people on the repeater's output frequency when they are talking on the corresponding simplex channel. Now if you have receive tones set then you should not hear anyone talking that does not have the same tone set. I will give a perfect example. Our repeater using the repeater channel 17 so the repeater input is 467.600 and the repeater output is 462.600. We have both TX and RX tones set on the repeater. The simplex channel 17 is also 462.600. A group of us were traveling in separate vehicles when one guy asked if the rest of us were hearing the kids on the repeater. The guy hearing the kids did not have the RX tone set on his radio. The kids were on simplex channel 17 and the reason he was hearing them and the rest of us weren't was because he did not have his RX tone turned on.

Welcome! I’m new myself, both to GMRS and the forum. I’ve made a permission request to a repeater owner through the repeater map on this site and was granted permission rather quickly. I’m not saying it’s the only way, or even the preferred means of requesting permission, but it worked in my case.

That works perfectly. I didn’t even think to do that. Thank you very much.

More people should take a few minutes out to help somebody in need. The world would be a more pleasant place to live in. I spent half of my weekends for about a year or so along with my two sisters taking a shift to look after my Mom before she passed away. She had advance dementia and needed at home 24/7 care. The insurance only covered half of the cost of at home hospice care while the rest came out of their retirement savings and our volunteered help.

Exactly. The reason I ordered the UV380 was because I’d been programming code plugs for a blind/deaf (mostly) ham friend. The OpenGD77 and OpenUV380 software supports a fairly rich set of voice prompts which are a huge benefit to my friend. For the Anytone/Alinco model I found that the only way to make channels easier for him were to exactly duplicate the channels for every DMR zone. That way he could memorize the numbers of the zones and the numbers of the channels within the zones. So, channels 191, 291, 391, … all pointed to Talk group 91, the North American talk group, differing only in zone number. But as you say that’s a lot of duplication and ends up with many channels that differ minimally. The OpenGD77 model is much more intuitive.

I've done the same. It's even more fun doing a digital radio. In that case I've spent a day, or more, just building the "prototype" code plug for a few hundred channels. Then tying to get all of the options configured is even more work. The worst ones are the Anytone DMR ones. The number of options, many I don't need or use, to configure is just mind blowing.

With the frequency coverage, there is a lot of amateur radio, commercial radio and PRS that are all covered. If you unlock it, you could use all those memory for MURS, Amateur repeaters, GMRS repeaters, your favorite simplex frequencies, etc. If you travel a lot and want to save a bunch of GMRS or amateur repeater for where you travel to, that can be handy, too. Just some thoughts.

OffroaderX, one of the members saw my post and reached out we are meeting today to help me. Thank you to all for the guidance.

Normally when the 7/8 hardline enters the building/shelter it goes to a polyphaser on the bulkhead. From there you would use 1/2" superflex to the N on the kenwood. 7/8" is the feedline for the tower only.

I'm stealing this chart. It's the first time I've seen the frequencies laid out this way, pretty cool.

It wasn’t a stupid question.

There is at least one technical reason why FRS would be a better choice: You can get way (wayyyy) more fars-per-inch of the antenna with an FRS than a hand-held CB.. a 5-inch antenna an on FRS radio can get you 10miles in excellent conditions, ~1/2 mile in decent/poor conditions. For those same farz on CB, you would need a 25-inch (just a guess, but much larger, you get the point) antenna on the radio, making a hand-held very unwieldy and a potential deadly eye-poking menace.

It happens to the receiver, although a strong enough RF signal could certainly interfere with a transmitter.

Project Update: Upcoming Mast Installation & Repeater Expansion I wanted to take a moment to share an update on the GMRS repeater project. I'm still on track to install a 46 ft telescoping mast, with the installation planned for late winter or early spring. Once completed, this should significantly extend the range and improve the overall performance of the repeater system for everyone in the area. This project is part of a long-term effort to build a sustainable and reliable communication system. It’s being funded entirely out of pocket, but my goal is to make it highly available with redundancy in power, backup equipment, and spare parts to ensure minimal downtime in the future. Additionally, I’m also building a DMR repeater on site. It’s currently operational as a high-powered hotspot, and if anyone is interested in using it or learning more about it, feel free to reach out and I can provide those details. I’ll provide further updates as we get closer to the installation date. - Barry WSDH649

Definitely reading too much into it, following the sentiment of this thread, it is only GMRS in the end.

Here’s the actual text, but I think you’re reading too much into it. The licensee can maintain control by verbally commanding a person: (2) The licensee must maintain access to and control over all stations authorized under its license.

I'm a ole CB person (whom got a license in the day) but was told to get a GMRS radio or no more comms with my Jeepin buddies... Purchased the Midland MXT 400 (about three yrs ago or, just before the 500 came out) and it is has been a pleasure to operate (easy to understand instructions). Only gripe I have is that there are few Repeaters in my area locally and almost as few people with GMRS. GMRS was designed for a different purpose, I get it. Cell phone takes care of about all the other calls I need to make. When I switch up it will likely be with the MXT 500 or the Wouxun KG1000 so I won't have to increase the volume button.

I am both a ham radio and GMRS operator. I love topics like this. So called SAD hams. Oh I love that term. But in reality I find hams and GMRS operators very friendly and welcome questions and contacts from all operators. Both of our local ham and GMRS clubs are welcoming to all and I have many friends that have both licenses. A lot of us can from CB radio. So radio is radio. It is how you approach it. Just enjoy it and the people you meet. Both have their place. GMRS as you all know operates on fixed frequencies and the types of radios and the power you can use is fixed. Han radio is experimental and it is up to the operator for the most part. Still at the end of the day it is about making a contact from point a to point b. Enjoy the radio and friends you make.

No no you can do it! If you break the louvres off you can stuff Baofengs in the air vents and also they will stick to the dash in the desert heat. Also a rubber band or one of those hair tie thingys your wife or girl friend has will hold an extra one firmly in the ash tray… you can do it, totally.

Another DB20-g user here. It's not perfect, but for <$100 it's hard to beat. More money to spend on a good antenna mount and antenna. And it meets your brief. Will receive NOAA radio, dual band listening (...unless you unlock it). And like WRUQ357 said, it's as easy as changing to a repeater channel and setting the tones. You can even program in channel names from the face of the radio (ie: without plugging in a computer) if you want. My only real complaint is, like many cheaper GMRS radios, it's super restrictive on what it'll allow you to program (ie: it wants the channels in very specific places. Channel 1 goes in memory slot 1, etc) and it only has 8 or 9 'extra' repeater channels. But that can be... fixed (see above). Something to note: The Retevis flavor of this same radio (they're both basically Anytone 779UVs with different stickers on them. My DB20-G even said "ANYTONE" on the power up message when I first got it) does *not* come with a programming cable, that I've seen. The Radioddity does. So if that's something you want, keep that in mind. You can buy the cable for a few bucks, but Amazon shows the Radioddity $10 cheaper than the Retevis that doesn't come with it. There are some programming quirks (and the manual sucks) but there's plenty of info out there, including on this site, with user guides. TLDR: Not the best radio, but does what you want for relatively little $.

If you buy the $18 Baofeng and it does exactly what you hoped it did, there's definite case to be made that it is in fact the "best" GMRS radio.

UHF will generally be at a lower power compared to VHF. This is totally normal. We can look at most 50 watt mobile radios as an example. They will put out 50 watts on VHF but only put out between 35-45 watts on UHF.