The manufacturer says my FRS radio has hundreds of channels! What gives?
FRS radios have 14 channels. The manufacturer has given you, in most cases, 38 possible CTCSS tones to use in receiver and transmitter of your FRS hand-held radio. Thirty eight codes times 14 channels means you can have 532 different channel configurations. Referring to these channel configuration options as “channels” is deliberately misleading. Marketing managers hype numbers BECAUSE numbers mean something to average consumers. We perpetuate this business behavior by reacting positively to it, but that is another FAQ on another web page ;-). The reality is you have only fourteen channels on FRS and some FRS radios have ONLY seven channels! You can however configure different CTCSS tones for each of the seven or fourteen channels. In addition, ANYONE with CTCSS disabled can still hear your radio transmissions on their radio! Every scanner listener close enough to hear you can hear you regardless of the CTCSS tone you use. There is NO security or communication privacy on FRS. (Scramble
