GMRS / FRS PROGRAMMING

[WRUH324]

My radio use is for remote off road comm. ONLY...  

The attached image spreadsheet from CHIRP list GMRS / FRS settings.   

My question is... if I only use the freq. without yellow highlighter settings.  Will all store bought GMRS / FRS radios be able to communicate with my radio freq. only settings.  SIMPLEX ?  

The yellow highlighted settings are only for repeater use or people choosing to modify their tone settings from factory ?

There may be private radios or Motorolla pre programmed for company use but the info. I'm looking for is if someone buys a GMRS radio and puts it in a JEEP.  Will the GMRS channels be SIMPLES only ?  If I tell others channel 7.   Everyone on channel 7 can communicate ?  

The GMRS repeaters in the area would assign a private freq. and code for use.  If you can get that info. 

Thank you

[OffRoaderX]

All GMRS and FRS radios manufactured since 2017 use/share the same frequencies for channels 1-22 which are simplex, so yes, you will be able to say "go to channel 7" and talk with everyone as long as someone didnt buy one of those shitty radios that comes pre-programmed with tones/codes (most do not).

[SteveShannon]

46 minutes ago, WRUH324 said:

My radio use is for remote off road comm. ONLY...  

The attached image spreadsheet from CHIRP list GMRS / FRS settings.   

My question is... if I only use the freq. without yellow highlighter settings.  Will all store bought GMRS / FRS radios be able to communicate with my radio freq. only settings.  SIMPLEX ?  

The yellow highlighted settings are only for repeater use or people choosing to modify their tone settings from factory ?

There may be private radios or Motorolla pre programmed for company use but the info. I'm looking for is if someone buys a GMRS radio and puts it in a JEEP.  Will the GMRS channels be SIMPLES only ?  If I tell others channel 7.   Everyone on channel 7 can communicate ?  

The GMRS repeaters in the area would assign a private freq. and code for use.  If you can get that info. 

Thank you

Yes, if you set a frequency with no tones and another GMRS (or even FRS) radio goes to that same frequency you will be able to talk to each other.

All GMRS radios should be capable of tuning the frequencies you have with GMRS in their name.  All GMRS radios are capable of using simplex.

[KAF6045]

Note that in your screen image, the only difference between the "FRS 1-7" and "GMRS 1-7" is the difference between NFM and FM bandwidth. 8-14 are IDENTICAL -- 0.5W ERP NFM. GMRS is permitted up to 5W on 1-7, and up to 50W on 14-22 (and repeater pairs); true FRS is limited to 2W NFM on 1-7/15-22 (and NO repeaters). If the radio can exceed 2W on any channel, or access repeaters, that radio is classified as a GMRS radio. Oh, and FRS-only radios are license free, GMRS requires a license.

The only justification (in my mind) for duplicating the FRS NFM config is that you have a lot of associates using old (pre-2017 "FRS/GMRS") radios with NFM only. Otherwise I'd just strip out the FRS configuration and stick with GMRS FM (remember 8-14 are low power NFM in both services).

[WRUH324]

11 hours ago, KAF6045 said:

Note that in your screen image, the only difference between the "FRS 1-7" and "GMRS 1-7" is the difference between NFM and FM bandwidth. 8-14 are IDENTICAL -- 0.5W ERP NFM. GMRS is permitted up to 5W on 1-7, and up to 50W on 14-22 (and repeater pairs); true FRS is limited to 2W NFM on 1-7/15-22 (and NO repeaters). If the radio can exceed 2W on any channel, or access repeaters, that radio is classified as a GMRS radio. Oh, and FRS-only radios are license free, GMRS requires a license.

The only justification (in my mind) for duplicating the FRS NFM config is that you have a lot of associates using old (pre-2017 "FRS/GMRS") radios with NFM only. Otherwise I'd just strip out the FRS configuration and stick with GMRS FM (remember 8-14 are low power NFM in both services).

Got GMRS lic. and was 1 missed Q away from Amateur Radio lic. in 2022. ( 40 Q out of a possible 1500 or something like that ) Don't know much more about radios now than when I started, for the most part.  That Amateur Radio test is more about Gov. reg. vs teaching people how to use radios.  (Basically a written driving test, without knowing how to drive a car.)  Radios will remain "Emergency use ONLY" in my life. 

Because there are older pre 2017 radios with NFM only.  Your suggesting I keep both FRS/GMRS 1-7 setting as NFM and FM just in case someone with an older radio would like to communicate?  Good info. didn't know that and was thinking about deleting the FRS because I thought NFM vs FM was basically a power setting.  Thank you!

The only time someone would us tone squelch with FRS/GMRS is for privacy ? 

 I have handheld GMRS from 10 yrs. ago with channel selector and then privacy channel option dial.  If I wanted to set up a privacy freq. on programmable GMRS Radio using Ch -14 and only wanted to transmit / recieve radios with those settings.   Would I use "tone squelch" setting only ?  (CHIRP Name )  So my radio only receives communication from other radios on Ch-14 using same "Tone Squelch" setting ?     Radios only use DTCS, cross mode, offset, skip, etc.  settings for repeaters?   You can tell I would need to be dying and repeaters my only hope of survival before I went through the trouble of trying to unlock the secret code and get permission from the owner to transmit on repeater if I"m asking this many Q's about general GMRS privacy settings. 

Thank you

[WRUU653]

 

1 hour ago, WRUH324 said:

Your suggesting I keep both FRS/GMRS 1-7 setting as NFM and FM just in case someone with an older radio would like to communicate

You would still be able to communicate if you don’t have that. My understanding though it is better that your settings match those that you are communicating with for a clearer reception. I personally don’t have a separate set of programmed channels just for narrow band FRS settings but if you are talking with FRS radios (bubble packs) a lot I suppose it would make sense to have it if you got the room. 

[KAF6045]

9 hours ago, WRUH324 said:

Got GMRS lic. and was 1 missed Q away from Amateur Radio lic. in 2022. ( 40 Q out of a possible 1500 or something like that ) Don't know much more about radios now than when I started, for the most part.  That Amateur Radio test is more about Gov. reg. vs teaching people how to use radios.  (Basically a written driving test, without knowing how to drive a car.)  Radios will remain "Emergency use ONLY" in my life. 

The Technician license is focused on regulations with just a touch of theory. This is to ensure you don't cause interference with others or misuse the privileges.

You get more radio theory/practice (circuits) at the General level, and a lot more at Extra level exam.

I started as a "no-good" (no-code) Tech when they created the VHF/UHF-only option decades ago. Lockheed (Sunnyvale) radio club had their own repeater, and membership to get auto-patch (telephone linking) was much cheaper than a cell-phone at the time.

When they finally dropped the code requirement a decade or so ago, I spent two weeks with a General class study guide. Found an on-line practice test site. Was passing all tries with 90% scores. Tried (without study) the Extra class practice exams, and managed to pass about 3 of every 4 I did. So -- that weekend I drove up the Bay area to a license session and took both tests. I felt that if I didn't pass Extra, I could study for two weeks and get the next exam session down where I lived. Passed Extra by 1 question.

9 hours ago, WRUH324 said:

Because there are older pre 2017 radios with NFM only.  Your suggesting I keep both FRS/GMRS 1-7 setting as NFM and FM just in case someone with an older radio would like to communicate?  Good info. didn't know that and was thinking about deleting the FRS because I thought NFM vs FM was basically a power setting.  Thank you!

There are post-2017 radios that are also NFM only... But these radios will be marked as FRS (the 2017 reorganization banned radios marked FRS/GMRS, and gave FRS the typical power of pre-2017 dual-marked bubble pack radios).

My recommendation was to remove the FRS NFM config UNLESS you have a lot of associates who are using FRS radios. If most are using licensed GMRS, stick with FM setting and put up with the slight audio quality mis-match for the rare FRS user.

9 hours ago, WRUH324 said:

The only time someone would us tone squelch with FRS/GMRS is for privacy ? 

Technically -- there is NO privacy for GMRS/MURS/FRS/Amateur. Setting a tone only controls who YOU HEAR (they have to be sending the same tone). Anyone with a radio that has no tones set will hear /everything/ on the frequency. "PL" ("Private Line") is Motorola marketing speak. To the rest of the world it is just CTCSS (Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System -- though newer systems also support Digital Coded Squelch). Granted, many radio programming software separates it as "CT" (send a tone) and "CTCSS" (send and receive tone).

9 hours ago, WRUH324 said:

 I have handheld GMRS from 10 yrs. ago with channel selector and then privacy channel option dial.  If I wanted to set up a privacy freq. on programmable GMRS Radio using Ch -14 and only wanted to transmit / recieve radios with those settings.   Would I use "tone squelch" setting only ?  (CHIRP Name )  So my radio only receives communication from other radios on Ch-14 using same "Tone Squelch" setting ?     Radios only use DTCS, cross mode, offset, skip, etc.  settings for repeaters?   You can tell I would need to be dying and repeaters my only hope of survival before I went through the trouble of trying to unlock the secret code and get permission from the owner to transmit on repeater if I"m asking this many Q's about general GMRS privacy settings.

Skip is for scanning purposes -- it says "skip this channel when scanning"

Offset is for repeaters. For GMRS it is supposed to be +5.0MHz (listen on 462, transmit on 467)

Cross mode is a confusing entry -- depending upon the programming software. Some radios can be configured to use CTCSS tone in one direction and DTC tone in the other.

As I recall, in CHIRP, "TONE" means SEND-only, "TONE SQUELCH" is SEND/RECEIVE. And to confuse matters, CHIRP uses different columns for the tone specification itself (my Amateur gear, OTOH, doesn't require first selecting mode, then picking tone -- just encode/decode [send/receive] tone columns, and if that column is set to "None" then no tone is used for that side).

[axorlov]

There is no privacy in GMRS, see what KAF6045 said. "Privacy tones" don't bring you any privacy. If privacy is needed, the Motorola DTR/DLR radios is much better choice, with its 10000 hopsets and talkgroups, and no easy way to scan them. Check 900MHz forum here. They do have their own limitations, though.

[SteveShannon]

Sometimes "privacy" means "We want fewer interruptions."  

Privacy tones help in that sense, but they do not prevent you from being overheard.

[Wannabe]

1 hour ago, Sshannon said:

Sometimes "privacy" means "We want fewer interruptions."

Yup, I’ve understood tones to be more of a “filter”, filtering out the rest of the chatter.