What are licence free frequencies? These are free to use frequencies that are in the UHF band of the frequency spectrum. No licence is required to operate licence free walkie talkies within the UK and many parts of the EU. As these frequencies are free to use you may well have interference from other parties using the same channel as you in a densely populated area. This problem can be solved to a certain extent by using different CTCSS frequencies or another channel. CTCSS is transmitted along with your voice when you transmit at a much lower level than your voice. The receiving radio must be set to the same code and this will be recognised and the radio will unmute and receive the message. DCS tones work in the same way as CTCSS tones and serve the same purpose but are digital in nature as opposed to analogue. These additional tones give a much wider choice to assist with the elimination of interference from users on the same channel. It should however be noted that if you are receiving a valid tone and getting a message you can still receive interference from nearby users on the same channel. This is because once your receiver has received a valid tone and unmuted it is open and will receive all transmissions on the channel you are using. (Subject to users transmitting within range of your receiver) Licence free or 446 walkie talkies are limited to 0.5watt of RF output, while licensed handhelds transmit with an RF power output of up to 4 watts. This means you are fairly limited to range and in general you will get up to two or three miles in ideal conditions. Range is dependent on many factors, in a dense forest you may get only a few hundred yards or less, while over flat open country you might be lucky and get three of four miles. Below is a list of the 446 licence free frequencies and the CTCCs tones along with the DCS tones. Any questions are welcome and you can contact us here.