GMRS Emergency Channel: What to Monitor During a Power Outage

If the power is out and cell service is starting to fail, GMRS Channel 20, 462.675 MHz, is one of the first channels worth monitoring. But don’t make the mistake of listening only there.

Channel 20 has a long history as a traveler-assistance and calling channel. It is not an official FCC emergency channel today. Local GMRS repeaters, Channels 15 through 22, and even the lower shared FRS/GMRS channels may produce more useful traffic where you live.

A GMRS radio may become much more useful as an outage drags on and cell service gets spotty or fails. Battery-powered two-way radios can keep local communications going, provided you have a way to keep them charged.

There is also one radio setting that can make a big difference. If you’re listening for anyone who might be out there, leave the receive privacy tone off.

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For a handheld outage radio, the BTECH GMRS-PRO on Amazon is one example that fits this job. It can scan programmed channels and GMRS repeaters, and it also receives NOAA weather broadcasts. The scanning ability is the important part here.

Is There an Official GMRS Emergency Channel?

Not really.

Current FCC rules allow emergency communications and traveler assistance on any GMRS channel. Emergency traffic is supposed to receive priority.

That is different from the old idea of having one channel everybody treats as the emergency frequency.

Channel 20 still comes up often because of its history. The frequency is 462.675 MHz. Older GMRS rules gave the 462.675/467.675 MHz pair a special role involving emergency communications and traveler assistance.

That history has stuck around.

You will still find GMRS users referring to Channel 20 as an emergency, calling, or traveler-assistance channel. Federal interoperability guidance also continues to identify 462.675 MHz for nationwide traveler assistance.

So Channel 20 is worth knowing about. Just don’t assume someone is always listening to it.

There is no nationwide GMRS dispatcher sitting on the other end.

Why GMRS Channel 20 Is Still Worth Monitoring

The main advantage of Channel 20 is simple. Other radio users may think of it too.

That becomes useful when people who normally have nothing to do with each other suddenly lose cell service. During a long outage, someone traveling through an area, checking on neighbors, or trying to make contact may decide to try Channel 20.

The traditional CTCSS tone associated with this use is 141.3 Hz.

That does not mean you need to program 141.3 Hz as your receive tone. In fact, for general emergency monitoring, I wouldn’t.

More on that in a moment.

Channel 20 works best as part of a larger monitoring plan. Think of it as a likely place to listen, not the only place.

Local GMRS Repeaters Could Be More Useful

Before a power outage, find out which GMRS repeaters cover your area.

A repeater receives a signal and retransmits it from another location, often from a tower, hill, or tall building. That can extend coverage well beyond what two handheld radios could manage directly.

Repeaters may also have an established group of local users.

That could make a nearby repeater more useful during an outage than Channel 20 simplex. Someone may report a blocked road, gas station status, storm damage, power restoration work, or what is happening in a nearby town.

For vehicle use, hitting a repeater with a radio such as the Midland MXT275 on Amazon is another reasonable fit. The bigger advantage is not simply the higher transmitter power. A properly mounted outside antenna gets the antenna out of the vehicle and usually improves both transmitting and receiving.

Of course, repeaters have a weakness during power outages too.

They need electricity.

Some repeater sites have batteries or generator backup. Others may disappear as soon as utility power fails. A repeater that works for the first few hours may also go silent later.

Find the useful ones ahead of time. Write down the repeater name, frequency or channel, access tone, and approximate coverage area.

Don’t assume you’ll be able to look it up online after the outage begins.

Don’t Block Emergency Traffic With a Privacy Tone

This is easy to overlook.

The so-called privacy codes used by GMRS and FRS radios don’t make a conversation private. CTCSS and DCS tones simply control which signals open your speaker.

Suppose you’re monitoring Channel 20 with a 141.3 Hz receive tone programmed.

Someone nearby transmits on Channel 20 without that tone.

Your radio can receive the signal, but you may never hear it.

For general outage monitoring, carrier squelch with no receive tone makes more sense. You hear anyone transmitting on that channel.

Some radios let you use different settings for transmit and receive. In that case, Channel 20 could be programmed like this:

Receive tone: None

Transmit tone: 141.3 Hz

That lets you hear all traffic while still transmitting the traditional travel-assistance tone if you choose to use it.

If your radio doesn’t support separate tones, hearing everyone is more useful than filtering the channel.

Which GMRS Channels Should You Scan During a Blackout?

Instead of choosing one channel and leaving the radio there, build a short scan list.

My starting order would look something like this:

1. Known active local GMRS repeater channels
2. Channel 20, 462.675 MHz
3. The remaining Channels 15 through 22
4. Channels 1 through 7
5. Channels 8 through 14

The order can change depending on where you live.

Channels 15 through 22 deserve more attention because these are the higher-power GMRS channels and also include the repeater output frequencies.

Channels 1 through 7 are worth scanning because they are shared with FRS. There are a lot of inexpensive FRS radios already sitting in drawers, campers, vehicles, workshops, and hunting packs.

During a regional outage, some of those radios are going to come out.

Channels 8 through 14 have lower power limits and shorter practical range. That doesn’t make them useless. A neighbor several houses away may still be within rang

What About GMRS Channel 19?

Channel 19 occasionally gets mentioned as a GMRS road or highway channel.

Part of that idea probably comes from CB radio, where Channel 19 became the well-known trucker and highway channel. I’m old enough to remember those CB days. “Breaker 19..” 😉

Some GMRS users have adopted Channel 19 for road communications too. It isn’t universal.

That is the problem with trying to declare a nationwide GMRS calling channel. Radio habits develop locally. What works in one part of the country may be nearly silent somewhere else.

This is another reason scanning beats parking the receiver on one frequency.

If Channel 19 is active where you travel, put it in the scan list.

Set Up the Radio Before You Need It

A power outage is not the time to start digging through a radio manual.

Program a small emergency scan bank beforehand. I have several Baofeng BF-F8HP (Amazon) and UV-5R (Amazon) handhelds that I use for monitoring. I programmed them with my preferred receive frequencies, including local VHF fire, police, municipal, and others. My actual GMRS transmit radios are Part 95E certified for GMRS.

I recommend adding the GMRS repeaters that actually cover your area. Include Channel 20 and the simplex channels you want to monitor. Then try the scan function while normal radio traffic is available. My favorite source for this type of information is RadioReference.com.

Keep a printed copy of the important repeater information with the radio. A simple sheet of paper may be more useful than a bookmarked website when the Internet is down.

And remember what GMRS is good at.

It gives you another way to hear and talk with people relatively nearby. It does not replace NOAA Weather Radio, local AM/FM stations, scanners where legal and useful, or other sources of official information.

There probably isn’t one perfect GMRS emergency channel for a regional blackout.

Channel 20 is a good place to start. Local repeaters may be better. Other GMRS and FRS channels may suddenly become active when phones stop working.

The radio that is scanning has a much better chance of hearing them.

Let us know in the comments which GMRS channel or local repeater you monitor during an outage.

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