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Garmin 520 User Manual

Page 109

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Channel scan allows your FRS radio to scan all FRS

frequencies for signals. After scanning briefly to see what

channels other users are on, 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, some features (such as canyons or

mountains) 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 Radio

The use of a GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service)

radio requires an FCC license (refer to the Web site

http://www.wireless.fcc.gov/uls/ for details.) 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 520/530 units sold in Canada.

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520/530 Owner’s Manual

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520/530 Owner’s Manual

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520/530 Owner’s Manual

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