Mr

[Guest Robert]

What is the hailing Channel for gmrs

[WRUU653]

the weather channel, sorry I like a bad pun...

Hi Robert, I am still new at this myself but as I understand it while there is nothing official the folks using them for offroad situations typically use 16 (4X4 equals...) and for the road (travel) people use 19, though there are those that use 20 and you can find out all about the debate by just serching "travel channel" here.  I personally just let the radio scan on one level while monitoring the local repeater channel on another. 

[wayoverthere]

There was a push in the past for channel 20, but that's kind of gotten lost since, and there isn't really one solid answer.

As @wruu653 alludes to, there been a fair amount of discussion on it on the forum.

[KAF6045]

Back some 25-30 years ago, .675 WAS an FCC declared Emergency/Traveller Assistance channel. This was back in the days when one's license only authorized TWO of the 8 main frequency pairs (simplex& repeater; Channel numbers did not apply -- you only had channels 1&2/A&B; channel numbers were only standardized with the 2017 reorganization of GMRS and FRS). If one's license did not list .675, and one had a radio that could tune to it (unlikely in those days as most were using LMR units with just an A/B channel switch and had to be programmed at a dealer for the licensee's two frequencies*) it could only be used for Emergency/TA purposes. If the license /did/ list .675, it was just plain general use frequency.

 

* The Maxon GMRS 210+3 was a bit of a wonder radio in 97; it had the 7 interstitials (usable without being listed on a license), .675 as channel 8, and then had 9&10 programmable (officially by a shop, but the programming manual was included with the unit) for the channels on one's license. Programming CTCSS was available via front panel.

It wasn't until 1999 that the "2 main frequency" license restriction was removed.