When the power is out and the cell network is jammed or down, a pair of simple two-way radios can keep your family, your campground neighbours or your convoy in touch. In Canada, FRS, GMRS and CB radios need no licence and no exam. They are worth having in the emergency kit, as long as you know what they can and cannot do.
What they are
- FRS and GMRS are the little “walkie-talkies” sold in pairs at hardware and outdoor stores. In Canada, the radios combine both services, need no licence, and are limited to low power (2 watts at most on the GMRS channels, less on some FRS channels). The antenna is fixed to the radio.
- CB (Citizens Band) is the 40-channel radio on 27 MHz that truckers made famous. No licence is needed. The limit is 4 watts on AM, or 12 watts on single sideband for radios that have it. A CB is usually mounted in a vehicle with an outside antenna, which makes a big difference to range.
Where they are handy in an emergency
- They work with no cell towers, no internet and no power grid: just charged batteries.
- Keeping a group together: a family spread around a campground, vehicles travelling in a convoy, neighbours checking on each other on the same street or acreage after a storm.
- Anyone can use them, including kids and visitors, with no training beyond “push to talk, let go to listen.”
- A CB in the truck can still reach other drivers on the highway. Channel 9 is traditionally the emergency channel and channel 19 is the highway channel, though fewer drivers listen these days.
What they cannot do
- Range is short. The “50 km” on the box is a best case from a mountaintop. Expect roughly 1 to 3 km for handhelds in town or rolling coulee country, often less inside buildings. A vehicle CB with a good antenna does better, typically several kilometres.
- No repeaters. In Canada, GMRS repeaters and high-power GMRS radios are not allowed, so you cannot extend your range the way hams do.
- Nobody official is listening. These are not a way to reach 911, police or emergency services. Use a phone, or a landline if you have one, for that.
- They are shared and not private. Every channel is shared with anyone nearby. The “privacy codes” only stop you hearing others; anyone can still hear you. Never give out anything you would not say in a crowded room.
- Batteries run down. Keep spares, or radios that take ordinary AA cells, in the kit, and check them twice a year when you check your smoke alarms.
A warning about cheap import radios
Online marketplaces are full of very cheap handhelds that claim to do everything: FRS, GMRS, ham bands, “police and fire,” dozens of bands. Our advice: stay away from them, at least as your emergency radio.
- Many are not certified for use in Canada, and many let you transmit on frequencies you have no right to use, including ones used by public safety and businesses. Interfering with those can put people at risk and is against the law.
- Quality varies wildly from one unit to the next. You do not know how they will act or perform, and many put out signals well outside the channel you think you are on.
- The lithium batteries that come with the cheapest ones are an unknown. Poor batteries can fail, swell or overheat, and the last thing you need in an emergency is a radio that won’t power up, or a battery fire.
Stick to a known quantity. Buy FRS/GMRS or CB radios from a recognized brand at a Canadian store, and look for an ISED certification number on the label (it starts with “IC:”). Practise with them before you need them, so everyone in the family knows which channel to use.
When you want more
If you find you want more range, repeaters that cover all of southern Alberta, and a community of people who train for emergencies, that is what amateur (ham) radio is for. The Basic qualification exam is very doable with a few weeks of study: see Getting your ham licence and What is amateur radio?