[chirp_users] GMRS Channel Locking

[Chris Romp]

Hello,

I have a question about how CHIRP handles GMRS radios, e.g. BTech GMRS V1
and Retevis RB26. I've noticed that CHIRP enforces that GMRS channels
follow the FRS channel number and frequency pairings, e.g. Channel 1 is
462.5625, Channel 18 is 462.625, etc.  I've been trying to find in the FCC
regs if this mapping is a requirement of GMRS operation. The only place
I've found the channels spelled out is on 47 CFR Part 95B §95.563 "FRS
Channels" (link), but GMRS seems only to specify the frequencies and
bandwidth which may be used via Part 95E §95.1763 "GMRS Channels" (link).
It's entirely possible that I've missed the clause requiring this mapping,
and I am not a lawyer, so apologies if I've overlooked it.

When I am programming a GMRS radio, I don't always want what my family
refers to as our "channel 1" to be 462.5625.  Likewise I may want to set up
different repeaters that may use the same frequencies, but different tones
(especially on radios where I cannot edit the tone from the radio itself)
 I am able to program the RB26 to accept an alternate GMRS-legal frequency
with a little trickery, so there does not seem to be a firmware restriction
enforcing this and it hasn't bricked my radio (yet).

Would it be possible for CHIRP to accept GMRS-legal frequencies in any
channel slot, and not require the FRS channel-frequency mapping?

Thank you,
Chris Romp
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