I’m a newbie when it comes to two-way radios, but these are the radios that we recommend to start with… they are inexpensive and dependable.
The Retevis RT22S radios run on the FRS, which is a free-to-use (no license required) frequency.
To see more info on FRS, check out the FCC website and click on the DATA tab…
The FRS spectrum has 22 frequencies – but the RT22s only have the ability to program only 16 of those channels. Due of this limitation, I’ve selected the “best” 16 channels out of the possible 22. Some channels numbers match the FCC/standard numbers, but others do not. So, my “Channel 15” might not sync up with someone else’s standard “Channel 15.” (There is a method to my madness and I’ll explain my reasoning for the my choice of frequencies below.)
If you have a radio that can be programmed and you want to match our settings, here’s what we use.
Privacy Codes
Just to make it more complicated, the FRS frequency offers CTCSS and DCS codes that can be programmed into the radios. I’ll just call them Privacy Codes. These codes are meant to limit the communications you can hear so you are not bombarded with a lot of other radio traffic on your channel.
For example, imagine this…
You’re at Kings Dominion amusement park with your family and each of them has a two-way radio tuned to Channel 2. Unfortunately, the Jones family is also at the park and also using radios and also on Channel 2… and little Billy Jones can’t shut up. He’s constantly keying in to tell the rest of his family what he’s thinking. If you set your family all to the same Privacy Code – you won’t hear little Billy – even though he’s on the same frequency. Your radio will only let you hear the other members of your family.
The problem with Privacy Codes is that on group trail rides, with many different people running many different models of two-ways, you might not be able to hear the other drivers – even if they are on the same Channel/Frequency as you.
To combat this – we have removed all Privacy Codes from our standard programming. We hear everybody and every transmission. Because of that it’s difficult to select a standard frequency to be used on all rides (the trail might be in range of a night club that uses the same frequency for their security guards). The actual frequency will need to be chosen at the location.
Just a note: “Privacy Codes” is kind of a misnomer. It’s not an encryption code that keeps your conversation secret. It doesn’t really stop people from hearing what YOU’RE saying. It stops you from hearing what SOMEONE ELSE is saying. If you remove Privacy Codes from your radio, you’ll hear EVERYTHING that is said on that Frequency.
This is an embedded spreadsheet of the frequencies that should be easier to cut and paste.
Oh yeah… I promised to explain WHY I selected the frequencies that I did…
The FRS “band” of frequencies allows for certain power levels for each channel. This wattage measurement tells you how strong your broadcasting power is “legally” allowed to be. For some reason, the middle range of FCC frequencies is legally set to a lower wattage than the rest of them. So basically, we selected the ones that should go the FARTHEST DISTANCE.
SEE YA (and hopefully HEAR YA) on the trail.
kev