FRS Cheat Sheet

For the one person in the group with a Baofeng or another programmable radio. Everyone else just picks a channel and a “privacy code.” Here is what those actually mean, and what to set on your radio to hear them and be heard.

Quick start

Five settings. Get these right and you are on the air with the group.

  1. Frequency = the FRS channelFRS channel numbers are standardized. Channel 1 is 462.5625 MHz, channel 22 is 462.7250 MHz. Full table below.
  2. Bandwidth = Narrow FM (NFM, 12.5 kHz)FRS is narrowband on every channel. Wide FM will still work but your audio will be loud and distorted to them, and theirs will be quiet to you.
  3. Power = LowFRS is limited to 2 W on channels 1–7 and 15–22, and 0.5 W on channels 8–14. A Baofeng on low is about 1 W.
  4. Transmit tone/code = their “privacy code”Codes 1–38 are CTCSS tones (in Hz). Codes 39–121 are DCS codes (three digits). The FRS radios ignore any transmission that doesn’t carry the matching code, so you must transmit it.
  5. Receive tone/code = off (or match theirs)Leave receive filtering off and you hear everyone on the frequency, including the group. Turn it on to hear only the group. Either works.

Settings builder

Ask the group “what channel and what code?”, pick them here, and get the exact settings. The link updates so you can send it to the next person.

Result

Baofeng UV-5R family (menu numbers)

Other radios (Yaesu, Kenwood, Icom, Anytone…)

CHIRP

Paste this row into CHIRP’s memory list (or import the CSV), then upload to the radio. Download gives you all 22 channels with this code so you can hop channels with the group.


    

      
      
      
      
    

  







  
FRS channels

  
All 22 channels, per FCC Part 95 Subpart B. Channel numbers have been standardized across brands since 2017. Click a row to load it in the builder.

  

    

      
      
        
ChFrequency (MHz)FRS max powerBandwidthNotes

      
      
    

  

  

    
Worth knowing

    
    
      
  • Channels 1–7 sit between the main GMRS channels (“interstitial”). Shared with GMRS at up to 5 W.
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  • Channels 8–14 are 467 MHz interstitials. Handheld only, 0.5 W, for everyone. Least crowded, shortest range.
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  • Channels 15–22 are the main GMRS channels. Licensed GMRS users can run up to 50 W here and use repeaters, so expect stronger and more distant traffic.
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  • GMRS repeater inputs are 467.5500–467.7250 in 25 kHz steps (5 MHz above channels 15–22). Not FRS. Don’t transmit there without a GMRS license and a reason.
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  • Informal conventions: channel 1 with no code is the most common default. Channel 20 with code 22 (141.3 Hz) is an unofficial GMRS/FRS “travel” or hailing channel in some areas. Neither is official.
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  • Channel 23 and up on some Midland, Cobra, and Uniden radios are just one of these 22 frequencies with a preset code baked in. Check that radio’s manual for the mapping.
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“Privacy” codes

  

    They are not private. A privacy code just tells the receiving radio to stay silent unless the transmission carries the same sub-audible tone or digital code. Anyone on the frequency with the code off hears everything. Your programmable radio calls this CTCSS (tones) and DCS (digital codes).
  

  
Codes 1–38 are CTCSS tones, 39–121 are DCS codes. This ordering is shared by Motorola, Midland, Cobra, Uniden, and most others. A few older or off-brand radios differ, so if the code doesn’t work, ask them to read the setting from the manual. Click a row to load it in the builder.

  
  
Showing all 121 codes.

  

    

      

        
        
CodeCTCSS (Hz)Baofeng shows

        
      

    

    

      

        
        
CodeDCSBaofeng shows

        
      

    

  

  

    
Same thing, different names

    

      

        
        
CodesGenericMotorolaKenwoodIcomBaofeng menu

        
          
1–38CTCSS, “Tone”, “TSQL”PL (Private Line)QTTone / TSQLT-CTCS / R-CTCS

          
39–121DCS, “DTCS”, digital codeDPL (Digital PL)DQTDTCST-DCS / R-DCS

          
0 / offCarrier squelch, “no tone”CSQOffOffOFF on all four

        
      

    

    
DCS codes have a polarity. FRS radios use normal polarity, which Baofeng shows as the trailing N (e.g. D023N) and CHIRP calls NN. Leave inverted (I) alone.

  







  
Radio notes

  

    

      
Baofeng UV-5R, BF-F8HP, UV-82, GT-3 and clones

      
    
        
  • Press VFO/MR until the display shows a frequency, not a channel number. Make sure you are on the A (top) line, or use A/B.
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  • Key in the frequency: 4 6 2 5 6 2 5 for channel 1. If it lands on 462.5620 instead of 462.5625, set Menu 1 STEP to 2.50 kHz and try again, or nudge with the arrow keys.
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  • Some units display only three decimals (462.562). The radio still stores the full frequency.
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  • Menu 5 W/N → NARR. Menu 2 TXP → LOW. Menu 25 SFT-D → OFF (no repeater offset).
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  • Menu 13 T-CTCS for a code 1–38, or Menu 12 T-DCS for 39–121. Set the other one to OFF.
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  • Menu 11 R-CTCS / Menu 10 R-DCS set to OFF to hear everyone, or match the transmit code to hear only the group.
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  • To save: Menu 27 MEM-CH, pick an empty slot, press Menu to confirm. Do it once for the receive frequency, then again into the same slot after setting the transmit tone. Or just use CHIRP.
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  • Press Exit after each menu change or it won’t stick.
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Tone-mode vocabulary on other radios

      

        
Tone / ENC / T
Transmit CTCSS only. You hear everyone.

        
TSQL / ENC+DEC / T SQ
Transmit and require CTCSS. You hear only matching traffic.

        
DCS / DTCS / DQT
Usually both directions for the digital code. Some radios split TX and RX.

        
Cross / Split tone
Different setting each way. Use it for “transmit DCS, receive open.”

      

      
General gotchas

      
    
        
  • FRS radios have no offset and are simplex. Turn off any repeater shift or duplex.
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  • If they hear you but you don’t hear them, your receive code is set and doesn’t match. Turn it off.
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  • If you hear them but they don’t hear you, your transmit code is wrong or off. Also check you’re narrowband and on the exact frequency, not 462.5620.
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  • FRS radios often have VOX, roger beeps, and call tones. Ignore them; none of that matters for interop.
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  • Their squelch is fixed and fairly tight. Your marginal signal into a bubble-pack radio is quieter than it looks on your S-meter.
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  • Your antenna is better than theirs. You will hear them from further away than they hear you.
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