Troop Radios

In light of all of the adventures that Troop 501 has, we have invested in some new Cobra CXT595 FRS/GMRS two-way radios. These radios are rugged and durable, water proof, and have a range of up to 32 miles (in the most ideal line-of-sight conditions). As the best ranges are obtained on the higher power GMRS channels, we will operate on Channel 15 (channel 05 is on the FRS frequency, and uses lower power, producing a weaker signal). To reduce interference from other users on other radios, we will use CTCSS code 01. By using CTCSS encoding, we maintain backwards compatibility with older handsets that do not have DCS encoding. The display should read 1501. Cobra handsets that feature 15 channels will need to be tuned to channel 11. Though Troop 501’s radios are compatible with other brands of FRS/GMRS radios, some field testing may be required to synchronize tuning. Another feature of these radios is that they will automatically receive severe weather warnings from the National Weather Service. The manual is available, here.