A printable quick reference for common radio services, channels, and frequencies. Plus a list of recommended radio equipment for hobbyists.

Radio Quick Reference

When I was looking into radio communication options, the information that I wanted was scattered across multiple books and websites. I wanted this information in a compact printed form to keep with my radio equipment, so I wrote the Radio Quick Reference.

The Radio Quick Reference is intended to be printed as a folded booklet. The pages in the following three PDFs are in booklet layout. Print double-sided and fold the pages in half.

• Radio Quick Reference Booklet (US letter paper)
• Radio Quick Reference Booklet (US legal paper)
• Radio Quick Reference Booklet (ISO A4 paper)

Page layout was done to take advantage of the constant aspect ratio of the ISO A-Series paper sizes. The resulting document was then resized for printing on US letter or legal paper sizes. When printing on US letter paper, optionally cut 3/8" from the top and bottom of the folded booklet. When printing on US legal paper, cut 1" from the right edge of the folded booklet.

If you want to print the Radio Quick Reference on full-sized pages (such as for placing in a three-ring binder), use one of the following two PDFs.

• Radio Quick Reference (US letter paper)
• Radio Quick Reference (ISO A4 paper)

If you want a durable and waterproof version of the Radio Quick Reference, you can print on DuraCopy waterproof paper (Amazon) or iGage weatherproof paper (Amazon).

Recommended Radio Equipment

After comparing product specifications, customer reviews, and testing various models of radios, I recommend the following radio equipment. There are cheaper radios available, but the cheaper radios are lacking important features. There are more expensive radios available, but the more expensive radios did not provide enough compelling features to justify their price. For the various hobbyists use cases that I am considering, the following radios provide the best combinations of features, build quality, and usability for the price.

I’ve included the FCC ID for radio transmitters. You can find FCC equipment authorizations by using the FCC Equipment Authorization Search.

Radio Scanners

Uniden BC125AT

• Price: about $100 (Amazon)
• Features:
  • 500 programmable channels in 10 banks (50 channels per bank).
  • Supported modes: NFM, FM, and AM.
  • Frequency ranges: 25 – 54 MHz, 108 – 174 MHz, 225 – 380 MHz, and 400 – 512 MHz.
  • Scan rate: 80 channels/second.
  • Search rate: 270 steps/second (5 kHz step) or 90 steps/second (any other step).
• Power sources:
  • 2 x AA batteries (Ni-MH rechargeable or Alkaline).
  • Mini-USB charging cable.

FRS Radios

Motorola MT350R

• Price: about $75/pair (Amazon)
• Features:
  • 22 channels.
  • 121 Interference Eliminator Codes (IECs).
  • Dual Push-To-Talk (PTT) keys: High (H) and Low (L).
  • Transmit power: 1.5 W (PTT-H) or 0.5 W (PTT-L).
  • IP-54 rating for dust and water resistance.
• Power sources:
  • Included Ni-MH rechargeable battery pack.
  • 3 x AA batteries (Ni-MH rechargeable or Alkaline).
  • Mini-USB charging cable.

GMRS Radios

BTECH GMRS-V1

• FCC ID: 2AGND-GMRS-V1
• Price: about $55 (BTECH, Amazon)
• Features:
  • Supported modes: NFM on channels 8 – 14, NFM or FM on channels 1 – 7 and 15 – 22.
  • Repeater capable: channels 15 – 22.
  • Transmit power: configurable 2 W (high) or 0.5 W (low).
  • Programmable using a BTECH PC03 programming cable (Amazon) and the CHIRP open-source software.
• Power sources:
  • Included Li-ion battery pack (7.4 V, 1800 mAh).

BTECH GMRS-50X1

• FCC ID: 2AGND50X1G
• Price: about $180 (BTECH, Amazon)
• Features:
  • Supported modes: NFM or FM on channels 1 – 7 and 15 – 22.
  • Repeater capable: channels 15 – 22.
  • Receive-only: channels 8 – 14.
  • Transmit power: configurable 50 W (high), 20 W (mid), or 5 W (low).
  • Programmable using a BTECH PC04 programming cable (Amazon) and the CHIRP open-source software.
• Power sources:
  • 13.8 V DC.

Midland MXT105

• FCC ID: MMAMXT105
• Price: about $100 (Amazon)
• Features:
  • Transmit power: 5 W.
• Power sources:
  • 13.8 V DC.

MURS Radios

BTECH MURS-V1

• FCC ID: 2AGND-MURS-V1
• Price: about $55 (BTECH, Amazon)
• Features:
  • Supported modes: NFM on channels 1 – 3, NFM or FM on channels 4 – 5.
  • Transmit power: configurable 2 W (high) or 0.5 W (low).
  • Programmable using a BTECH PC03 programming cable (Amazon) and the CHIRP open-source software.
• Power sources:
  • Included Li-ion battery pack (7.4 V, 1800 mAh).

CBRS Radios

Midland 75-822

• FCC ID: MMA75822
• Price: about $90 (Amazon)
• Features:
  • Supported modes: AM.
  • Dual Push-To-Talk (PTT) keys: High (H) and Low (L).
  • Transmit power: 4 W (PTT-H) or 1 W (PTT-L).
• Power sources:
  • Included 13.8 V DC vehicle adapter.
  • 6 x AA batteries (Ni-MH rechargeable or Alkaline).
  • 8 x AA batteries (Ni-MH rechargeable only).

Uniden PRO505XL

• FCC ID: AMWUT383
• Price: about $35 (Amazon)
• Features:
  • Supported modes: AM.
  • Transmit power: 4 W.
• Power sources:
  • 13.8 V DC.

Software Defined Radios

This section only considers software defined radio (SDR) equipment with GNU Radio and Gqrx support. On Debian-derived Linux systems, install GNU Radio and Gqrx with the following command.

apt install gnuradio gr-osmosdr gqrx-sdr

NooElec NESDR SMArt

• Price: about $24 by itself (Amazon), or $30 bundled with simple antennas (Amazon)
• Features:
  • Receive-only (no transmit).
  • Frequency range: 24 – 1766 MHz.
  • 0.5 PPM temperature compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO).
  • Connector: SMA-female.
  • Interface: USB 2.0.

RTL-SDR R820T2 RTL2832U

• Price: about $22 by itself (Amazon), or $30 bundled with simple antennas (Amazon)
• Features:
  • Receive-only (no transmit).
  • Frequency range: 24 – 1766 MHz.
  • 1.0 PPM temperature compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO).
  • Connector: SMA-female.
  • Interface: USB 2.0.