Garmin Rino 120 - Manual (Page 103)

Rino ® 120 Owner’s Manual 97
A
PPENDIX
> W
HAT IS
FRS?
Channel scan allows your FRS radio to scan all FRS
frequencies for signals. After scanning briefly to see what
channels other users are on, simply set your FRS radios to
an unused channel and enjoy less interference. For greater
privacy, some FRS radios have a voice scramble feature.
This feature causes your message to sound garbled to
other FRS users that are not part of your group. However,
it does not guarantee your conversations will be 100
percent private and secure. Other casual FRS users will
not hear your messages, but users with similar radios or
more technically-oriented users can still monitor your
conversations.
FRS Limitations
If you are operating in an urban environment or in
varying terrain such as canyons or mountains, some
features act as obstructions limiting the maximum
reception range of your FRS radio. The UHF FRS
frequencies are “line of sight,” meaning that the signals
do not follow the surface of the earth, but instead radiate
in a straight line from the transmitting antenna. If there
is an obstruction between the transmitting FRS radio and
the receiving FRS radio, the signal will not be received.
Smaller obstructions, such as trees, cars, and even crowds
of people cause some loss of signal, resulting in reduced
maximum range.
GMRS
The use of a GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service)
radio requires an FCC license. No license is required in
Canada to operate on GMRS channels. The operating
frequency of GMRS ranges from 462.550 to 462.725
MHz. GMRS radios can use repeater channels (15R–22R)
and repeater towers to extend the range of the operation.
A repeater tower simultaneously receives GMRS signals
on a 467 MHz frequency and then rebroadcasts the
signal on a 462 MHz frequency. Refer to the “Frequency
Charts” for a complete list of each channel’s frequency.
GMRS repeater channels are not approved for use by the
Canadian government, so they are disabled on Rino 120
units sold in Canada.