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Appendix
Remember though, these are public-use frequencies and everyone has a right to talk or listen in.
Channel scan allows your FRS radio to scan all FRS frequencies for signals. After scan-
ning briefly to see what channels other users are on, simply set your FRS radios to an unused
channel and enjoy less interference. For greater privacy, some FRS radios have a voice scramble
feature. This feature causes your message to sound garbled to other FRS users that are not part
of your group. However, it does not guarantee your conversations will be 100 percent private
and secure. Other casual FRS users will not hear your messages, but users with similar radios
or more technically-oriented users can still monitor your conversations.
FRS limitations
If you are operating in an urban environment or in varying terrain, some features (such as
canyons or mountains) act as obstructions limiting the maximum reception range of your FRS
radio. The UHF FRS frequencies are “line of sight”, meaning that the signals do not follow the
surface of the earth, but instead radiate in a straight line from the transmitting antenna. If there
is an obstruction between the transmitting FRS radio and the receiving FRS radio, the signal
will not be received. Smaller obstructions, such as trees, cars and even crowds of people cause
some loss of signal, resulting in reduced maximum range.
GMRS
The use of a GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) radio requires an FCC license. The
operating frequency of GMRS ranges from 462.550 to 467.725 MHz. GMRS use is currently
not allowed in Canada and is disabled on Canadian models. GMRS radios can use repeater
channels and repeater towers to extend the range of the operation. A repeater tower simultane-
ously receives GMRS signals on a 467 MHz frequency and then rebroadcasts the signal on a 462
MHz frequency. Refer to the Frequency Charts for a complete list of each channel’s frequency.
FRS Explained