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FRS/GMRS: How does one tell if the radio is combination

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SnowWalker

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A friend of mine bought a bubble pack radio set from Wal Mart that are supposed to be both FRS and GMRS combination radios. Is there any way to tell if an FRS radio set also broadcasts or receives the GMRS channels?

I don't trust the packaging claims anymore. FRS: 50 miles?????? Yeah, OK!
 
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SteveC0625

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SnowWalker said:
A friend of mine bought a bubble pack radio set from Wal Mart that are supposed to be both FRS and GMRS combination radios. Is there any way to tell if an FRS radio set also broadcasts or receives the GMRS channels?

I don't trust the packaging claims anymore. FRS: 50 miles?????? Yeah, OK!
Click to expand...

Older bubble pack FRS only radios have only 14 (1-14) channels and no hi/lo power switch.

If the radio has 22 channels and you can select high or low power for some of them, it is a FRS/GMRS unit.

The distance claims are all based on very optimistic line of sight calculations, not real world use.

FWIW, the new FRS rules allow high power (2 watts or less) on channels 1-7 and 15-22. What was GMRS on these bubble pack radios is now FRS and GMRS. You can leave them on high power settings for those channels. I am pretty sure none of them allow high power on 8-14 anyway.
 
mmckenna

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SnowWalker said:
A friend of mine bought a bubble pack radio set from Wal Mart that are supposed to be both FRS and GMRS combination radios. Is there any way to tell if an FRS radio set also broadcasts or receives the GMRS channels?

I don't trust the packaging claims anymore. FRS: 50 miles?????? Yeah, OK!
Click to expand...

Since you are in British Columbia, the FCC rules don't matter.

Canada does things a little bit different. There's no license involved and all 22 channels are included.
Power limitation is 2 watts, non-removeable antenna. Very similar to the updated U.S. FCC rules.



Usually what you'll find on the radios that were released before the FCC rewrote it's rules back in the summer is…

The 8 Primary GMRS channels are full power, narrow band FM.
The 7 GMRS Interstitial channels that are shared with FRS (The 462.xxxx channels) are usually defaulted to the GMRS settings, 2 watts.
The other 7 "FRS only" channels, (467.xxxx) are under the FRS rules, so 500milliwatts.

A good breakdown on this is located here:
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/FRS/GMRS_combined_channel_chart
 
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