Pd On Frs!!

[Thornizzle]

Ok, this is odd... my PD is on 460.6375... for channel one, I believe. But I asked an officer to key up channel two "Only two channel radios" and it was 462.7125!!! Is that an FRS Freq or is that just me? They use DPL 023 for both channels but isn't that a bit odd? It was direct, well, not channel one but two was. Thanks for the help!

 

[Tweekerbob]

Sounds criminal to me!

 

[MacombMonitor]

462.7125MHz is GMRS (not FRS) channel 7. I think it's possible if they had this frequency licensed for a very long time, they are grandfathered in by the FCC to keep it.

 

[trace1]

Just a thought...

But I asked an officer to key up channel two "Only two channel radios" and it was 462.7125!!!

Were you standing in close proximity of the officer when he keyed up the radio? If so, you may have received an erroneous reading on the frequency.

 

[Mick]

A SWAT team in Or. Co. Calif. used GMRS years ago. I've also heard an Or. Co. Calif. PD air unit using FRS. Makes for interesting listening!

 

[hoser147]

Anything is possile but if you were standing near him he may have just overbled to your radio Hoser147

 

[loumaag]

Ok, this is odd... my PD is on 460.6375... for channel one, I believe. But I asked an officer to key up channel two "Only two channel radios" and it was 462.7125!!! Is that an FRS Freq or is that just me? They use DPL 023 for both channels but isn't that a bit odd? It was direct, well, not channel one but two was. Thanks for the help!

Using an FRS/GMRS frequency for PD is not unheard of, usually because someone was looking for a easy way out. A SD town was using a FRS frequency for it's TAC channel and was somewhat upset when it realized that any kid with a FRS radio could get on it. :roll:

What I found more interesting is that 460.6375 is most often assigned to Fire Departments as opposed to Police Departments. Just where is this?

 

[Joseph11]

462.7125MHz is GMRS (not FRS) channel 7. I think it's possible if they had this frequency licensed for a very long time, they are grandfathered in by the FCC to keep it.

462.7125 MHz is FRS/GMRS channel 7.

 

[MacombMonitor]

462.7125 MHz is FRS/GMRS channel 7.

You are correct Joseph11, my mistake. I got confused because I use GMRS, and GMRS is licensed to use FRS Ch 7, @ 5-watts, so I was thinking it was GMRS.

Bill

 

[USAPatriot]

I've heard what sounds like PD on FRS before. I think some just use it in special circumstances as a quick and dirty way to keep the bad guys from listening in. Those with scanners will be scanning the PD freqs. -Rod-

 

[Thornizzle]

Northville, OH. I heard on it, "1 Adam, 2 Baker", "Gohead", "It looks like we got gowkers, you might wanna shut it down at Wilson", "2 Baker to any traffic unit on 2" they didn't answer. I couldn't hear them very well... I asked my dad's friend who works for Motorola and he said that freqeucys cost money and a lot of the time if it is a small department they will use the free FRS frequecies.

 

[K5MAR]

You are correct Joseph11, my mistake. I got confused because I use GMRS, and GMRS is licensed to use FRS Ch 7, @ 5-watts, so I was thinking it was GMRS.

Bill

Actually, it's the other way around. FRS is permitted to use certain GMRS freqs, but they must adhere to the power/antenna limitations of FRS. ( FRS does have some exclusive freqs also.) There was quite a fuss by the GMRS licensees at the time FRS was introduced, they didn't like the idea of sharing any of their freqs with an unlicensed service.

Mark S.

 

[MacombMonitor]

Actually, it's the other way around. FRS is permitted to use certain GMRS freqs, but they must adhere to the power/antenna limitations of FRS. ( FRS does have some exclusive freqs also.) There was quite a fuss by the GMRS licensees at the time FRS was introduced, they didn't like the idea of sharing any of their freqs with an unlicensed service.

Mark S.

Looking at this FRS/GMRS frequency table, it appears that all of the GMRS frequencies are unique to GMRS. It also shows that GMRS is allowed to operate on FRS channels 1-7.

[Frequency Table]
http://www.ba-marc.org/writeups/gmrs-frs-freq.htm

 

[K5MAR]

Looking at this FRS/GMRS frequency table, it appears that all of the GMRS frequencies are unique to GMRS. It also shows that GMRS is allowed to operate on FRS channels 1-7.

[Frequency Table]
http://www.ba-marc.org/writeups/gmrs-frs-freq.htm

No, those frequencies were allocated to GMRS before FRS was setup. They are the so-called interstitial frequencies, falling between the higher power main GMRS freqs. These freqs were allocated for GMRS use at low power, that is why FRS was given them to use also. FRS has unique allocations, channels 8-14. GMRS has unique allocations, the higher-powered repeater pairs.

When FRS was first set, the GMRS user group PRSG (Personal Radio Steering Group) had a fit. They (he actually, it's a one-man band) claimed that allowing FRS to use the interstitial frequencies would result in interference to repeaters and licensed users. There's been far more interference from the GMRS/FRS radios that are marketed with the GMRS repeater output freqs as simplex channels. The pious declarations by the manufacturers that you must have a license to use these channels has had no effect.

Just for background, the original GMRS license required you to choose your repeater pairs, you couldn't use any at will. The interstitial freqs were open access to any licensed GMRS user. Here's a webpage that still has the old rules on it:

GMRS consists of 14 "channels" or frequencies. The FCC will license you for 2 "main" channels or channel pairs of your choice, and will allow you to use the emergency and interstitial frequencies without additional licensing. Repeaters on GMRS operate like any other, they have an input frequency 5 Mhz above the output. Here are all of the GMRS frequencies:

Main: 462.550, 462.575, 462.600, 462.625, 462.650, *462.675, 462.700, 462.725

Interstitial: 462.5625, 462.5875, 462.6125, 462.6375, 462.6625, 462.6875, 462.7125

Emergency: *462.675

The "Emergency" channel is the GMRS call channel, or Traveler's Aid frequency, or what-have-you. It's been called many things over the years.

Mark S.

 

[MacombMonitor]

No, those frequencies were allocated to GMRS before FRS was setup. They are the so-called interstitial frequencies, falling between the higher power main GMRS freqs. These freqs were allocated for GMRS use at low power, that is why FRS was given them to use also. FRS has unique allocations, channels 8-14. GMRS has unique allocations, the higher-powered repeater pairs.

When FRS was first set, the GMRS user group PRSG (Personal Radio Steering Group) had a fit. They (he actually, it's a one-man band) claimed that allowing FRS to use the interstitial frequencies would result in interference to repeaters and licensed users. There's been far more interference from the GMRS/FRS radios that are marketed with the GMRS repeater output freqs as simplex channels. The pious declarations by the manufacturers that you must have a license to use these channels has had no effect.

Just for background, the original GMRS license required you to choose your repeater pairs, you couldn't use any at will. The interstitial freqs were open access to any licensed GMRS user. Here's a webpage that still has the old rules on it:

The "Emergency" channel is the GMRS call channel, or Traveler's Aid frequency, or what-have-you. It's been called many things over the years.

Mark S.

Thanks for clearing that up.

Bill

 

[cellblock776]

The "Emergency" channel is the GMRS call channel, or Traveler's Aid frequency, or what-have-you. It's been called many things over the years.

Mark S.

Just to clarify things, 462.675 is no longer the "Emergency/Travelers/whatever" frequency. Since the FCC changed the rules saying that GMRS licensees can usy any repeater pair they want that freq no longer has any specific emergency use. There's even a discussion about this happening right now on a REACT Yahoo Group I subscribe to.
Here in Baton Rouge the only GMRS repeater in town is on the 462/467.675 repeater pair. It is privately owned and not affiliated with any REACT Team or other group. It is an open repeater and can be used by any GMRS license holder while in the Baton Rouge area.
While some have claimed there is a gentlemans agreement to reserve this freq for emergency use, locally there is little to no GMRS traffic on the repeater and IF someone did have an emergency I doubt anyone would have a problem with them using the repeater for that purpose. Heck, the problem would probably be trying to find anyone even monitoring the repeater.

 

[DPD1]

I've heard a LOT of organizations using FRS that really shouldn't be. No big deal, but they also seem to think it's not for anyone to use but them. I went to an elevation of about 8000' once, and heard everything from Home Depot to Security people using it. I've also heard military using it at some public functions. It comes in handy having that many people out there if you want to do DX though.

Dave
http://www.dpdproductions.com
- Custom Scanner, MURS, GMRS, & Ham Antennas -

 

[car2back]

PD on FRS

I was traveling through New Mexico several years ago with a large group, and we were using FRS radios for communicating between vehicles. As we were passing through Taos, we had a person come on the channel we were using and inform us that we were on a "Restricted Law Enforcement Frequency" and that we needed to switch channels immediately! :lol:

 

[Voyager]

What I found more interesting is that 460.6375 is most often assigned to Fire Departments as opposed to Police Departments.

460.575 to 460.6375 USED to be allocated to the Fire Radio Service (PF FCC designation). Since the FCC lumpped all PS (Public Safety, not the old PS service designation for EMS) frequencies into one pool (FCC designation PW), any PS agency can get any PW frequency.

They did the same with business frequencies. There used to be frequencies just for busses, just for taxis, just for industrial, Etc. Now, it's all open for any business users.

Joe M.

 

[Voyager]

I was traveling through New Mexico several years ago with a large group, and we were using FRS radios for communicating between vehicles. As we were passing through Taos, we had a person come on the channel we were using and inform us that we were on a "Restricted Law Enforcement Frequency" and that we needed to switch channels immediately! :lol:

I would have asked 'Restricted by whom? I have authorization from the Federal Government (the FCC) to use this frequency, and lower governments cannot preempt that authorization. Have a nice day.'

FRS is used quite a bit by PS agencies anymore. It's all a cost issue. The FCC should have put the more restrictions on it.

Actually, it might be interesting to report your experience to the FCC office servng that area, as all FRS frequencies must, by FEDERAL LAW, be shared.

Joe M.