PMR446

Equipment used ranges from consumer-grade to professional quality walkie-talkies (similar to those used for FRS/GMRS in the United States and Canada).

Typically PMR446 is used for both recreational and business use, additionally it has been utilized by amateur-radio operators and radio enthusiasts as a license-free experimental band.

In October 2005, ECC Decision (05)02 added unlicensed band 446.1–446.2 MHz for use by digital DMR/dPMR equipment.

The antenna type and location, transmit power and receive sensitivity also affect range.

Range may be many kilometres, for example between hilltops, or only a few hundred metres, if for example a hill or large metal object is in the transmission path between radios.

The best known long-distance record is 333 mi (536 km) from Blyth in the United Kingdom to Almere, Netherlands.

These frequencies are allocated to the emergency services in Europe, notably the fire brigade in the UK, police in Russia and commercial users in Australia.

The general ECC decision[16] however still requires integral antennas and the actual implementation varies between different countries.

Some Digital PMR446 radios (Hytera BD305LF, Retevis RT40, ...) support Dual Capacity Direct Mode (DCDM), which allows for the use of two timeslots during simplex (radio-to-radio) communication.

TalkGroups are used to separate groups of users (ex: TG1 for direction and TG2 for room service in a hotel using channel 12 CC7).

These gateways are connected through internet using a client/server VoIP system such as eQSO or the Free Radio Network (FRN).