Most used Channel/Frequency in your area

[WRVG593]

As we all know GMRS as defined by the FCC has no "main channel". Something I've noticed is that some states have more repeaters on specific channels than others. In your area, what is the most used channel/frequency? Here, the most tied up frequency is generally [.575/channel 16] and [.675/channel 20]. Although there are other repeaters that people generally use, they are never usually as active as the other frequencies. 

So what are the most active channels in your area?

[gortex2]

FRS/GMRS without a doubt CH1 and CH2. Listening to hunters right now on CH2. 

For repeaters I have them on 600,625,675. Some of my locations are above line A so cannot use 462.650 MHZ, 462.700 and 467.700.

I used to have on on 550 but too many folks programmed the radio on the input and would use it to talk simplex. 

[H8SPVMT]

CH.1 FRS Child Care center is on it all day with a bad mic wire I think as it cuts on /off without mercy.  Hear the children screaming and talking to one another but never an adult.

Ruins the scan feather...

 

[wayoverthere]

16/.575 here as well...I have 2 repeaters in range, and a hotel housekeeping on simplex...pl tones are a great thing there.

We also have the bubble pack call button pounding kids on channel 1, which is why I don't feel too bad using that as a default frequency for unintended key ups for things I have for receive and REALLY don't want to interfere with.

[Over2U]

4 hours ago, WRVG593 said:

Here, the most tied up frequency is generally [.575/channel 16] and [.675/channel 20]. 

Whereabouts is “Here”?

[MichaelLAX]

Cincinatti?

Aren't you in Palm Springs? 

[marcspaz]

My primary home is in the DC metro area.  FRS, GMRS and MURS are slammed on every channel for at least some part of every day.  Though, the repeaters are not heavily utilized.  We have about 30 to 50 people whom are regular users on all of the repeaters around me.

[AdmiralCochrane]

19 minutes ago, marcspaz said:

My primary home is in the DC metro area.  FRS, GMRS and MURS are slammed on every channel for at least some part of every day.  Though, the repeaters are not heavily utilized.  We have about 30 to 50 people whom are regular users on all of the repeaters around me.

I'm not far away, our area has a lot of repeaters.  There might be one on every available frequency within 40 miles of me.  Lots of simplex use, some regulars on some of the better located repeaters. 

[SteveShannon]

I’m in Butte, Montana. There are no repeaters here. Occasionally I hear the staff of a hotel that’s a couple miles away but I never noticed what channel they’re on. 

[AdmiralCochrane]

I hear a local hotel staff as well.  There are 4 hotels less than a mile as the crow flies, I haven't figured out which one it is yet. 

[WRVG593]

17 minutes ago, AdmiralCochrane said:

I hear a local hotel staff as well.  There are 4 hotels less than a mile as the crow flies, I haven't figured out which one it is yet. 

Interesting. I pick up some fast food place near me. Not sure what it is. I'm sure if I listened long enough I could figure it out. Weird because I thought most FF chains stopped using anything UHF. I also pick up alot of police in my area using UHF and VHF radios still instead of trunking their systems. 

[WRHS218]

I live in a mountain town south of Yosemite that has a lot of tourist traffic driving through and hear car to car on the FRS channels. I regularly hear at least one local business on 18. There is some mountain top fire lookout traffic on 7 during the late spring and summer but they are using it talk to friends and family in town. My son-in-law and I use 17. No operational repeaters in our area.

[WRVG593]

1 minute ago, WRHS218 said:

I live in a mountain town south of Yosemite that has a lot of tourist traffic driving through and hear car to car on the FRS channels. I regularly hear at least one local business on 18. There is some mountain top fire lookout traffic on 7 during the late spring and summer but they are using it talk to friends and family in town. My son-in-law and I use 17. No operational repeaters in our area.

That's a shame there's no repeaters in the area. Open systems are a ton of fun. Especially when you and older family members are involved. Not to mention when it drops in the negative in temp and my tmobile goes out,  but I still have coms on my HT. The most FRS activity I receive is on Channel 3 and 13. 3 seems to be business and 13 generally seems to be car to car coms. 

[WRUU653]

2 hours ago, WRHS218 said:

No operational repeaters in our area.

Check out Ten Mile 725.  He says it’s a permission only closed system and sounds like he’s still dialing it in but may be worth the request especially since you are in the area you may have a better shot than tourist traffic. 

[MarkInTampa]

Had to lock out GMRS channel 3 from scan because a Nursery & Landscaping company less than a block from me has a bunch of users (traffic) on it. Channel 14 is very active with the road crews around here and you can bank on channel 5 being really active from 3:30 to 4:30 during school hours, a local school uses it for student pickup.

Right now (for the past week or two) the most used repeater frequency is being used by some a-hole's that are running DMR simplex on 462.700 that happens to be where my favorite repeater is. Don't have a way to transmit DMR but can receive it using a RTL dongle using SDR-Sharp with a DMR plugin. They appear to be speaking Portuguese and I'd guess they are a foreign ship sitting in the Port of Tampa and hopefully will be gone soon, it's ticking me off. We have had issues with foreign ships causing interference on our local repeaters before but this is the first time DMR has been blasting through.

[Lscott]

3 hours ago, markskjerve said:

Had to lock out GMRS channel 3 from scan because a Nursery & Landscaping company less than a block from me has a bunch of users (traffic) on it. Channel 14 is very active with the road crews around here and you can bank on channel 5 being really active from 3:30 to 4:30 during school hours, a local school uses it for student pickup.

As a side note I've notice that a surprising number of schools are now using NXDN radios verses analog. They quit using the cheap FRS radios.

[WRHS218]

On 1/6/2023 at 10:03 PM, WRUU653 said:

Check out Ten Mile 725.  He says it’s a permission only closed system and sounds like he’s still dialing it in but may be worth the request especially since you are in the area you may have a better shot than tourist traffic. 

I will have to try Ten Mile again. I tried over a year ago and If I recall it was not operating. My memory isn't that great. If it was in operation I cannot reach it from where I live as there a several high ridges between me and the repeaters. Several of the other listed repeaters were lost in the Creek Fire and were in the process of being rebuilt as were several of the HAM repeaters.