Communication at the retreat, off the grid, or on the farm is essential and does not have to be extremely expensive or overly complicated.
For less than the cost of a decent dinner out for two people a full-featured short to medium distance communication tool – the Baofeng UV-5R – can be purchased. Extremely popular, the Baofeng is a compact, handheld radio capable of transmitting with 4 watts of power across 136-174 MHz and 400-480 MHz frequencies. It can be programmed with up to 128 channels.
The Baofeng is a ham radio. Transmitting on this radio requires a license in order to do so legally. There are lots of places on the ‘net to get more information on that. The purpose of this post is to provide an assortment of useful frequencies the Baofeng can be programmed for.
Did you know the Baofeng also receives FM radio? Pretty cool and useful.
Did you know the Baofeng has a built-in flashlight? Yeah – pretty neat.
For the money, the Baofeng UV-5R and similar models are a great deal.
FRS/GMRS Frequencies
MURS Radio Frequencies
151.820 Mhz
151.880 Mhz
151.940 Mhz
154.570 Mhz
154.600 Mhz
NOAA Weather Radio Frequencies
WX1 -- 162.550
WX2 -- 162.400
WX3 -- 162.475
WX4 -- 162.425
WX5 -- 162.450
WX6 -- 162.500
WX7 -- 162.525
Commercial “DOT” Frequencies
151.625 Red Dot
154.570 Blue Dot
154.600 Green Dot
151.955 Purple Dot
464.550 Yellow Dot
464.500 Brown Dot
467.7625 J Dot
467.8125 KDot
467.8500 Silver Star
467.8750 Gold Star
467.9000 Red Star
467.9250 Blue Star
| Marine VHF Designated Frequencies | |||
| Channel Number | Ship Transmit MHz |
Ship Receive MHz |
Intended And Designated Use |
| 01A | 156.050 | 156.050 | Port Operations and Commercial, VTS. Available only in New Orleans / Lower Mississippi area. |
| 05A | 156.250 | 156.250 | Port Operations or VTS in the Houston, New Orleans and Seattle areas. |
| 06 | 156.300 | 156.300 | Intership Safety |
| 07A | 156.350 | 156.350 | Commercial |
| 08 | 156.400 | 156.400 | Commercial (Intership only) |
| 09 | 156.450 | 156.450 | Boater Calling. Commercial and Non-Commercial. |
| 10 | 156.500 | 156.500 | Commercial |
| 11 | 156.550 | 156.550 | Commercial. VTS in selected areas. |
| 12 | 156.600 | 156.600 | Port Operations. VTS in selected areas. |
| 13 | 156.650 | 156.650 | Intership Navigation Safety (Bridge-to-bridge). Ships >20m length maintain a listening watch on this channel in US waters. |
| 14 | 156.700 | 156.700 | Port Operations. VTS in selected areas. |
| 15 | — | 156.750 | Environmental (Receive only). Used by Class C EPIRBs. |
| 16 | 156.800 | 156.800 | International Distress, Safety and Calling. Ships required to carry radio, USCG, and most coast stations maintain a listening watch on this channel. |
| 17 | 156.850 | 156.850 | State Control |
| 18A | 156.900 | 156.900 | Commercial |
| 19A | 156.950 | 156.950 | Commercial |
| 20 | 157.000 | 161.600 | Port Operations (duplex) |
| 20A | 157.000 | 157.000 | Port Operations |
| 21A | 157.050 | 157.050 | U.S. Coast Guard only |
| 22A | 157.100 | 157.100 | Coast Guard Liaison and Maritime Safety Information Broadcasts. Broadcasts announced on channel 16. |
| 23A | 157.150 | 157.150 | U.S. Coast Guard only |
| 24 | 157.200 | 161.800 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 25 | 157.250 | 161.850 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 26 | 157.300 | 161.900 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 27 | 157.350 | 161.950 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 28 | 157.400 | 162.000 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 63A | 156.175 | 156.175 | Port Operations and Commercial, VTS. Available only in New Orleans / Lower Mississippi area. |
| 65A | 156.275 | 156.275 | Port Operations |
| 66A | 156.325 | 156.325 | Port Operations |
| 67 | 156.375 | 156.375 | Commercial. Used for Bridge-to-bridge communications in lower Mississippi River. Intership only. |
| 68 | 156.425 | 156.425 | Non-Commercial |
| 69 | 156.475 | 156.475 | Non-Commercial |
| 70 | 156.525 | 156.525 | Digital Selective Calling (voice communications not allowed) |
| 71 | 156.575 | 156.575 | Non-Commercial |
| 72 | 156.625 | 156.625 | Non-Commercial (Intership only) |
| 73 | 156.675 | 156.675 | Port Operations |
| 74 | 156.725 | 156.725 | Port Operations |
| 77 | 156.875 | 156.875 | Port Operations (Intership only) |
| 78A | 156.925 | 156.925 | Non-Commercial |
| 79A | 156.975 | 156.975 | Commercial. Non-Commercial in Great Lakes only |
| 80A | 157.025 | 157.025 | Commercial. Non-Commercial in Great Lakes only |
| 81A | 157.075 | 157.075 | U.S. Government only – Environmental protection operations. |
| 82A | 157.125 | 157.125 | U.S. Government only |
| 83A | 157.175 | 157.175 | U.S. Coast Guard only |
| 84 | 157.225 | 161.825 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 85 | 157.275 | 161.875 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 86 | 157.325 | 161.925 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 87 | 157.375 | 161.975 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| AIS 1 | 161.975 | 161.975 | Automatic Identification System #1 (AIS) – Special equipment required! |
| 88 | 157.425 | 162.025 | Public Correspondence only near Canadian border. |
| AIS 2 | 162.025 | 162.025 | Automatic Identification System #2 (AIS) – Special equipment required! |
| 88A | 157.425 | 157.425 | Commercial, Intership only. |
