Radio Reference

FRS & GMRS: the shared channel chart

Nearly every consumer walkie-talkie in the United States shares one channel plan: 22 numbered channels between 462 and 467 MHz. FRS (Family Radio Service) and GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) overlap on most of them, which means a license-free FRS radio and a licensed GMRS radio can hear each other perfectly well. The differences are power, antennas, and repeaters.

All 22 FRS/GMRS channels. Power figures are FCC ceilings — most handhelds transmit well under them.

Ch	Frequency	Who may talk	Power ceiling	Typical use
1	462.5625 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 5 W	Calling & emergency — the channel everyone monitors first
2	462.5875 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 5 W	Travel & trail convoys — first step off the calling channel
3	462.6125 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 5 W	Outdoors calling convention; common group meetup channel
4	462.6375 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 5 W	General family chat
5	462.6625 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 5 W	General family chat
6	462.6875 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 5 W	General family chat
7	462.7125 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 5 W	General family chat
8	467.5625 MHz	FRS only	0.5 W	Short-range errands; GMRS stations may not transmit here
9	467.5875 MHz	FRS only	0.5 W	Short range
10	467.6125 MHz	FRS only	0.5 W	Short range
11	467.6375 MHz	FRS only	0.5 W	Short range
12	467.6625 MHz	FRS only	0.5 W	Short range
13	467.6875 MHz	FRS only	0.5 W	Short range
14	467.7125 MHz	FRS only	0.5 W	Short range — the quietest tier of the band
15	462.5500 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 50 W	GMRS main line begins — high-power simplex and repeater outputs
16	462.5750 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 50 W	GMRS simplex
17	462.6000 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 50 W	GMRS simplex
18	462.6250 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 50 W	GMRS simplex
19	462.6500 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 50 W	GMRS simplex
20	462.6750 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 50 W	Travel-tone emergency convention (141.3 Hz) and a popular repeater output
21	462.7000 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 50 W	GMRS simplex
22	462.7250 MHz	FRS + GMRS	FRS 2 W · GMRS 50 W	GMRS simplex — top of the shared band

NOAA Weather Radio: the one-way lifeline

NOAA Weather Radio is a nationwide network of more than a thousand transmitters run by the National Weather Service. It broadcasts forecasts, watches, and warnings around the clock — you can only listen. Every weather-band receiver sold in the U.S. tunes these seven frequencies:

The seven NOAA weather bands. Each area broadcasts on one to three of them — scan until the voice comes through strongest.

Band	Frequency	Notes
WX1	162.400 MHz	One of the three most-used channels; try this first
WX2	162.425 MHz	Second-most common broadcast
WX3	162.450 MHz	Third-most common broadcast
WX4	162.475 MHz	Active where local coverage needs it
WX5	162.500 MHz	Active where local coverage needs it
WX6	162.525 MHz	Active where local coverage needs it
WX7	162.550 MHz	The original weather channel; still widely used

SAME alerts wake the radio up

SAME — Specific Area Message Encoding — is the digital preamble that precedes every alert. It names the affected counties by code, so a SAME-capable receiver stays silent until a warning targets your county, then blares a distinctive 1050 Hz attention tone before the spoken message. A dedicated weather radio with SAME programming and battery backup will wake a sleeping household faster than any phone alert that depends on a cell network.

Emergency traffic discipline

A radio channel shared by a panicked crowd is worth almost nothing. Discipline is what turns it into a tool, and discipline is mostly restraint:

• Plain language always. Say "I need help," not codes. Ten-codes vary by agency and mean nothing across groups.
• Identify station and location first. Name, where you are, status. Everything else can wait.
• Listen before you transmit. Two stations talking over each other equals zero stations heard. Wait for a pause, then key up.
• Keep transmissions short. Say it once, clearly, then release the button and listen. Long-winded transmissions block real emergencies.
• Honor minutes-of-silence windows. Directed nets often hold quiet periods — for example the first five minutes past each hour — when nobody transmits except priority traffic, so weak or distant stations can finally be heard. If a net announces silence windows, respect them absolutely.

1. Listen on the agreed channel for several seconds — longer if a net is running.
2. Say who, where, status: "Rivera, corner of 5th and Oak, we are fine and staying put."
3. Release and wait. Count to five silently before trying again; the other side may need a moment to respond.
4. Move to a working channel once contact is made, leaving the calling channel clear.

Antenna & reach basics

Range problems are usually antenna problems wearing a power disguise. These frequencies travel almost line-of-sight: whatever your antenna can "see," it can reach.

• Height beats power. Climbing to higher ground gains far more range than any wattage bump. A radio on a hill hears a valley; a radio in a valley hears itself.
• Antenna up means range multiplied. Moving a base antenna from the desk to the attic or roofline can double or triple coverage. On handhelds, extend the antenna fully and hold the radio vertical, away from your body.
• Buildings and terrain kill UHF. The 462/467 MHz band is easily absorbed by concrete, metal walls, and hillsides. Indoors, move upstairs or near a window; outside, get out of the gulch.

What two stock handhelds really manage in each terrain — treat box ranges as fiction.

Terrain	Realistic range
Inside buildings / dense urban blocks	a few blocks to about half a mile
Wooded hills	about half a mile to a mile
Open flat ground or over water	roughly two to five miles
Handheld to home base with rooftop antenna	five to ten-plus miles, depending on height

Going further: the ham radio starter path

Amateur radio is the only service here that requires study, and that study is why hams run the nets when everything else fails. The entry license is the Technician class: one 35-question multiple-choice exam (26 correct to pass), no Morse code requirement, administered locally by volunteer examiners for a small session fee. The FCC issues the license free, and it renews every ten years at no cost. Study guides from ARRL-affiliated publishers and free online practice exams cover everything; most people pass within a few weekends of casual study.

Why bother: after a real disaster, ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) and RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) volunteers staff health-and-welfare traffic, shelter reporting, and agency liaison nets when phones and internet are gone. Licensed operators can join that work; anyone with a scanner or even an unlicensed receiver can still listen to it. Getting licensed in calm weather means you arrive useful, not curious.