FRS VS GMRS: A Radio Service Comparison Guide

do you choose general mobile radio services or family radio services these two radio services are frequently on the mind of anyone looking into getting involved with radio in a more casual manner or perhaps who require a self-reliant communication device the problem is it's a little confusing trying to decipher which one is right for you which one best fits your needs which one provides the best trade-offs we're here to make that decision a little less stressful hi i'm cody w3 amg with bridgecom systems today we are going to share with you exactly what frs and gmrs are and the differences between them and lastly we'll cover which one we would recommend for you first let's start with frs according to the fcc the family radio service also known as frs as a private two-way short distance voice and data communication service for facilitating family and group activities the most common use for frs channels is short distance two-way voice communications using small handheld radios that are similar to walkie-talkies radioshack initially put forward frs as a band set aside solely for recreational use they did this because of a frequency competition among walkie-talkies and other devices in lower frequencies as opposed to cb radios on 27 megahertz your frs radios will not suffer from interference from radio stations tvs or cell phones frs radios operate on the uhf band between the frequencies of 462 and 467 megahertz in the services frequency range you'll have 22 different channels your typical range of an frs radio on channels 8 through 14 is just short of a half mile you can achieve longer communications on the other channels but that will depend on the environment around you operating within the same frequency is gmrs according to the fcc general mobile radio service is a licensed radio service that uses channels around 462 megahertz and 467 megahertz the most common use of gmrs channels is for short distance two-way voice communications using handheld radios mobile radios and repeater systems to make it simple think of gmrs as a more serious more powerful version of frs we say that because gmrs doesn't just offer radios with significantly higher wattage it also has specific channels to operate on within 462 to 467 megahertz gmrs most commonly comes in portable radios but being gmrs there are also mobile radio options to act as your base station now if you are paying close attention to the fcc's definition of these two radio services you will have noticed a significant difference between the two services with licensing with frs you don't have to worry about getting a license it's completely rule based that means as long as you operate your radio within fcc rules you'll be fine gmrs on the other hand requires licensing now we know you're probably turned off a little bit by the idea of a license but it's much less complicated than it seems you just have to apply and pay a fee once you receive your license you'll have it for 10 years on top of that all your immediate family members will be able to operate for free on gmrs radio this licensing is in place because gmrs offers many more capabilities mainly because of messaging applications and unique channels but most importantly is repeater functionality as we said earlier using frs you're most likely to max out at half a mile with a regular gmrs radio you can expect up to five miles of range gmrs gives the user a lot more flexibility in terms of communication range but with a repeater system you can expect a communications range of 20 to 25 miles frs radios are unable to transmit via a repeater system this inability to connect to a local network that's why their range is so limited with the gmrs repeater system you will have a much easier time communicating so which one should you choose now both of these radio services will serve you well but we do have a few recommendations if you're just looking for a radio that will work within short ranges and don't plan to use the radio as a daily carry then i would recommend you go with frs it's just easier to jump into and doesn't require licensing if you're trying to find a radio that's a bit more expensive but also higher quality and more powerful we recommend you go with gmrs although it does require licensing it makes up for in terms of broadcasting power and by utilizing gmrs communications you will be able to connect to a gmrs repeater system gmrs just gives you that extra safety that additional certainty in being prepared with reliable comms do you have more questions about frs or gmrs that we didn't cover today let us know down below in the comments section also don't forget to hit that notification bell so you never miss out on another one of these awesome videos thanks again for watching i'm cody w3 amg with bridgecom systems 73

Channel: BridgeCom Systems, Inc

Views: 83,197

Keywords: gmrs radio, general mobile radio service, family radio service, FRS, GMRS, family radio service frequency, family radio service repeater, gmrs radio repeater, gmrs radio range, gmrs radio explained, gmrs radio use, frs radio explained

Id: cuqPawftFhQ

Length: 4min 49sec (289 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 26 2021