Today, smartphones and other mobile devices are used for communication. Accordingly, the use of Everyman Radio has decreased. Nevertheless, there are numerous frequencies available for communication with radio devices. In this article, I will explain which frequencies are used by walkie-talkies today and which ones are available beyond that.
Short Answer
Modern walkie-talkies in the USA nowadays usually use FRS (Family Radio Service). This is a license-free radio application with 22 channels in the range from 462.5625 MHz to 462.7250 MHz. The maximum transmission power is limited to 0.5 watts or 2 watts depending on the channel.
Furthermore GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) with a frequency of 462.5625 MHz to 462.7250 MHz is available. A license is required for the use of GMRS. However, it is possible to transmit with a higher power of up to 50 Watt on 30 different channels.
Long Answer
In the “short answer”, I have already explained that walkie-talkies for private use can usually communicate in a frequency range from 462.5625 MHz to 462.7250 MHz. Also, there are other radio applications with which walkie-talkies communicate. I would like to introduce all of them to you now and explain their most important features.
FRS
The FRS (Family Radio Service) is a radio service that uses 22 channels in the UHF band. These are in the frequency range from 462.5625 MHz to 462.7250 MHz. The maximum power output is 2 watts (channels 1 to 7 and 15 to 22) or 0.5 watts (channels 8 to 14). No license is required to operate walkie talkies with FRS. However, you must follow the rules of the FCC.
In the following table, all FRS channels are listed with the corresponding frequencies:
| Channel | Frequency | EIRP Restriction |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 462.5625 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
| 2 | 462.5875 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
| 3 | 462.6125 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
| 4 | 462.6375 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
| 5 | 462.6625 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
| 6 | 462.6875 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
| 7 | 462.7125 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
| 8 | 467.5625 MHz | Up to 0.5 Watt |
| 9 | 467.5875 MHz | Up to 0.5 Watt |
| 10 | 467.6125 MHz | Up to 0.5 Watt |
| 11 | 467.6375 MHz | Up to 0.5 Watt |
| 12 | 467.6625 MHz | Up to 0.5 Watt |
| 13 | 467.6875 MHz | Up to 0.5 Watt |
| 14 | 467.7125 MHz | Up to 0.5 Watt |
| 15 | 462.5500 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
| 16 | 462.5750 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
| 17 | 462.6000 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
| 18 | 462.6250 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
| 19 | 462.6500 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
| 20 | 462.6750 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
| 21 | 462.7000 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
| 22 | 462.7250 MHz | Up to 2 Watt |
Read more about FRS here: Does FRS require a License?
GMRS
GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) is a radio application that uses channels in the frequency range from approximately 462 MHz to 467 MHz. GMRS is mainly used for data transmissions over short distances, such as with a walkie talkie.
An FCC license is required to use GMRS. The license is issued for 10 years. To obtain it, you must be at least 18 years old.
The following table shows you all channels and frequencies of GMRS:
| Channel | Frequency | EIRP Restriction | Bandwith |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 462.5625 MHz | Up to 5 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 2 | 462.5875 MHz | Up to 5 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 3 | 462.6125 MHz | Up to 5 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 4 | 462.6375 MHz | Up to 5 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 5 | 462.6625 MHz | Up to 5 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 6 | 462.6875 MHz | Up to 5 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 7 | 462.7125 MHz | Up to 5 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 8 | 467.5625 MHz | Up to 0.5 Watt | 12.5 kHz |
| 9 | 467.5875 MHz | Up to 0.5 Watt | 12.5 kHz |
| 10 | 467.6125 MHz | Up to 0.5 Watt | 12.5 kHz |
| 11 | 467.6375 MHz | Up to 0.5 Watt | 12.5 kHz |
| 12 | 467.6625 MHz | Up to 0.5 Watt | 12.5 kHz |
| 13 | 467.6875 MHz | Up to 0.5 Watt | 12.5 kHz |
| 14 | 467.7125 MHz | Up to 0.5 Watt | 12.5 kHz |
| 15 | 462.5500 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 16 | 462.5750 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 17 | 462.6000 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 18 | 462.6250 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 19 | 462.6500 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 20 | 462.6750 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 21 | 462.7000 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 22 | 462.7250 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 23 | 467.5500 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 24 | 467.5750 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 25 | 467.6000 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 26 | 467.6250 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 27 | 467.6500 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 28 | 467.6750 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 29 | 467.7000 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
| 30 | 467.7250 MHz | Up to 50 Watts | 20 kHz |
PMR446
PMR446 is now a kind of quasi-standard for privately used walkie-talkies. The abbreviation denotes an application for public address radio in the EU and UK. PMR446 analogously transmits speech. DMR446 is the digital counterpart to PMR446.
The channel raster is 12.5 kHz, the maximum transmission power is 0.5 watts, and a transmission cycle must not last longer than 180 seconds. A total of 16 channels with the corresponding frequencies are available for communication, which you can see in the table below:
| Channel | Frequency |
|---|---|
| 1 | 446.00625 MHz |
| 2 | 446.01875 MHz |
| 3 | 446.03125 MHz |
| 4 | 446.04375 MHz |
| 5 | 446.05625 MHz |
| 6 | 446.06875 MHz |
| 7 | 446.08125 MHz |
| 8 | 446.09375 MHz |
| 9 | 446.10625 MHz |
| 10 | 446.11875 MHz |
| 11 | 446.13125 MHz |
| 12 | 446.14375 MHz |
| 13 | 446.15625 MHz |
| 14 | 446.16875 MHz |
| 15 | 446.18125 MHz |
| 16 | 446.19375 MHz |
PMR446 may not be used in the USA, Canada, and Australia as it is assigned to amateur radio operators and military radar systems.
UHF
UHF stands for Ultra High Frequency. This frequency band ranges from 300 MHz to 3,000 MHz. At Business radios in Uk, UHF is used over a range from 400 MHz to 470 MHz.
VHF
VHF is the abbreviation for Very High Frequency. This frequency band usually ranges from 30 MHz to 300 MHz and is used at sea, among other things. For example, frequencies between 136 MHz and 174 MHz are used for communication between ships.
VHF is also used by business radios in the UK, which use the same frequency ranges as for communication between ships.
Other Frequencies
Other frequencies you should know are the Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS) and the Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS). However, these two are rarely used, so I will not introduce them further. The most important thing you need to know about them is that they have similar functionality to GMRS and FRS.
Conclusion – Walkie Talkie Frequency
The frequency you can use with a walkie talkie depends on your device, the country you are in, and whether you have a license. There are also differences between UHF and VHF, as you have learned in the text.
I hope that I was able to help you. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to comment. 🙂
