Walkie-talkie frequencies are a little tricky when you are just jumping into the world of radios. When I used my first walkie-talkie, I didn’t know what frequencies to use or what worked best. I am sure most people have faced this.
All two-way radios, including walkie-talkies, operate on FCC assigned frequencies. In this article, we will discuss what frequency do walkie-talkies work on. It shall help you choose the channel that best meets your communication requirements. Typically, a higher frequency, such as 450 MHz in the UHF band, will enable better in-building penetration. Contrastingly, a relatively lower frequency like 150 MHz in the VHF band will allow you to communicate further away.
What Frequency Does Walkie Talkies Use?
Today, the walkie-talkies feature 22 channels operating in the 462.5625 to 462.7250 MHz range, which is the Family Radio Service (FRS). Other popular walkie-talkie band frequencies are 462.5625 MHz to 462.7250 MHz of the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). There are several different radio spectrums and their applications as well that we will cover in this article.
UHF Frequencies
The Ultra High Frequency (UHF) ranges from 300 MHz-3000 MHz. In UK, the UHF band range from 400 MHz-470 MHz. This radio band is most suitable for indoor use as its short radio waves can easily penetrate obstructions, such as walls and doors.
VHF Frequency
Very High Frequency (VHF) operates at a frequency range of 136-174 MHz. Unlike UHF, VHF has longer radio waves that can cover vast distances at a lower power. But, VHF walkie-talkies work best when there are fewer obstructions outdoors. Compared to UHF, VHF radio antennas are longer, so that they transmit over a longer distance. VHF radios are popular among agriculture, transportation, and construction workers.
Frequencies of License-free (PMR446) radios
Two-way radios and their frequencies, such as VHF or UHF, are governed and licensed by communication agencies. These include Federal Communications Commission in the US and Ofcom in the UK. Although some radio frequencies require a license, there are other license-free frequencies, such as PMR446 in the UK. Personal Mobile Radio or Public Address Radio (PMR) is a quasi-standard for private communications. These include lower-powered walkie-talkies having a maximum transmission power of 0.5 Watts and therefore serve short-range communication purposes. If you’re in open areas, you can expect a range of up to a few kilometers. But, in areas with obstructions, you can expect to reach up to a few hundred meters. The closest equivalent to PMR446 is the FRS band In the USA and Canada.
There were eight channels for license-free use in the UK until January 2018. Later, the spectrum was expanded to increase capacity across Europe. The channel raster of PMR446 is 12.5 kHz with 16 channels. Here’s a list of the frequencies:
Channel Frequency
1 446.00625
2 446.01875
3 446.03125
4 446.04375
5 446.05625
6 446.06875
7 446.08125
8 446.09375
9 446.10625
10 446.11875
11 446.13125
12 446.14375
13 446.15625
14 446.16875
15 446.18125
16 446.19375
FRS
FRS uses 22 channels in the UHF band, ranging from 462.5625 MHz to 462.7250 MHz. The maximum power output on the FRS is 2 watts (channels 1-7 and 15-22) or 0.5 watts (channels 8-14). Since it has low power requirements, you do not need an FCC permit to operate FRS walkie-talkies. It’s an ideal choice for family and group activities.
Here’s a list of all the FRS channels and their corresponding frequencies:
Channel Frequency Power Restriction
1 462.5625 MHz Up to 2 Watts
2 462.5875 MHz Up to 2 Watts
3 462.6125 MHz Up to 2 Watts
4 462.6375 MHz Up to 2 Watts
5 462.6625 MHz Up to 2 Watts
6 462.6875 MHz Up to 2 Watts
7 462.7125 MHz Up to 2 Watts
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 Watts
16 462.5750 MHz Up to 2 Watts
17 462.6000 MHz Up to 2 Watts
18 462.6250 MHz Up to 2 Watts
19 462.6500 MHz Up to 2 Watts
20 462.6750 MHz Up to 2 Watts
21 462.7000 MHz Up to 2 Watts
22 462.7250 MHz Up to 2 Watts
GMRS
General Mobile Radio Service operates in the frequency range 462 MHz to 467 MHz. It uses 30 channels operating at a power output of up to 50 Watts. Therefore, you need an FCC permit to run on the GMRS frequencies.
Channels Frequency Power Restriction Bandwidth
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
Other frequencies
MURS
Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS) uses five frequencies between 151.820 and 154.600 MHz. It’s pretty similar to Citizens Band (CB). The FCC has set aside these frequencies for short-range, two-way, private communications. Since MURS lies in the VHF range, it’s not suitable for indoor communications. Keep in mind; it’s not permitted to use repeaters or transmit above 2 Watts on MURS.
PoC
Push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) is an LTE technology that combines radio and smartphone functionality in a single, smart device. It’s a popular choice of communication among property management, construction, transportation, and security industries.
CBRS
Citizens Broadband Radio Service operates on the 3.5 GHz radio band, between 3550 and 3700 MHz. The US Navy previously used this radio spectrum. Currently, the CBRS is open to shared wireless access for industrial and commercial business users.
Conclusion
In today’s article, we have attempted to answer an important question: what frequency do most walkie-talkies use. However, the frequencies you should use for your walkie-talkie depend on factors, such as purpose, device, your country of location, and whether you have a license. If you’re looking for license-free operation, I recommend PMR446 in the EU and UK and FRS in the US and Canada. If getting a license is not a problem, then GMRS an excellent choice, too.