Run a few trucks on GMRS and sooner or later someone else talks over you. Another group, a kid with a bubble pack, a repeater in the next valley. CrewTalk is GME's fix. Every radio in your group gets the same group number, and the radios find a clear channel and stay on it together.
For me it's one of the most useful features on these radios. Other people on the same channel stop cutting in. On a production, it keeps the crew on its own channel and the work moving. On the trail, when I'm directing a group, it keeps the calls clear and the day runs smoother.
It's on the XRS-660-U handheld and the XRS Connect mobiles. There's one setting to watch when the two run together, and it's further down.
/WHAT GME CREWTALK DOES
CrewTalk is a preset version of GME's Net-Scan. A group shares one tone and a set of four channels. All the radios scan those four.
- When you key up, your radio picks a clear channel from the four.
- The other radios in the group hear your tone, stop on that channel and open up.
- A reply goes out on the same channel while it stays clear.
- If someone outside the group talks on that channel without your tone, the next call moves the whole group to a clear one.
Nobody touches a knob. The tone also keeps outside chatter quiet, so you only hear your group.
/CREWTALK VS NET-SCAN
Net-Scan does the same job, but you build it yourself: pick the channels, add each one to the scan list, set the tone, then copy it all to every radio in the group. CrewTalk replaces that with one number from 1 to 30. If everyone dials in the same number, they're set up the same.
/HOW TO TURN ON CREWTALK
Same menu on the handheld and the mobile:
- Press MENU.
- Go to XRS Features, then CrewTalk.
- Set Enable to On.
- Open Group Number and pick a group, 1 to 30. Everyone in your crew picks the same one.
- Press SCAN. The screen shows CrewTalk scan is on and your group number.
Every radio has to be scanning. A radio parked on one channel won't follow the group when it moves.
While CrewTalk is on, it takes over the SCAN button. To scan your zones or the regular channels again, turn Enable off. Zones are covered in how to program zones on the XRS-660-U.
/GME CREWTALK GROUPS
Each group is one tone and four channels. The tones are the uncommon ones at the end of GME's tone list, from 69.3 to 206.5 Hz, so another group is less likely to share yours.
| Group | Tone (Hz) | XRS-660-U channels | Mobile channels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 69.3 | 14, 15, 16, 17 | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 2 | 159.8 | 14, 15, 16, 17 | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 3 | 165.5 | 14, 15, 16, 17 | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 4 | 171.3 | 14, 15, 16, 17 | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 5 | 177.3 | 14, 15, 16, 17 | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 6 | 183.5 | 14, 15, 16, 17 | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 7 | 189.9 | 14, 15, 16, 17 | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 8 | 196.6 | 14, 15, 16, 17 | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 9 | 199.5 | 14, 15, 16, 17 | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 10 | 206.5 | 14, 15, 16, 17 | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 11 | 69.3 | 15, 16, 17, 18 | 15, 16, 17, 18 |
| 12 | 159.8 | 15, 16, 17, 18 | 15, 16, 17, 18 |
| 13 | 165.5 | 15, 16, 17, 18 | 15, 16, 17, 18 |
| 14 | 171.3 | 15, 16, 17, 18 | 15, 16, 17, 18 |
| 15 | 177.3 | 15, 16, 17, 18 | 15, 16, 17, 18 |
| 16 | 183.5 | 15, 16, 17, 18 | 15, 16, 17, 18 |
| 17 | 189.9 | 15, 16, 17, 18 | 15, 16, 17, 18 |
| 18 | 196.6 | 15, 16, 17, 18 | 15, 16, 17, 18 |
| 19 | 199.5 | 15, 16, 17, 18 | 15, 16, 17, 18 |
| 20 | 206.5 | 15, 16, 17, 18 | 15, 16, 17, 18 |
| 21 | 69.3 | 19, 20, 21, 22 | 19, 20, 21, 22 |
| 22 | 159.8 | 19, 20, 21, 22 | 19, 20, 21, 22 |
| 23 | 165.5 | 19, 20, 21, 22 | 19, 20, 21, 22 |
| 24 | 171.3 | 19, 20, 21, 22 | 19, 20, 21, 22 |
| 25 | 177.3 | 19, 20, 21, 22 | 19, 20, 21, 22 |
| 26 | 183.5 | 19, 20, 21, 22 | 19, 20, 21, 22 |
| 27 | 189.9 | 19, 20, 21, 22 | 19, 20, 21, 22 |
| 28 | 196.6 | 19, 20, 21, 22 | 19, 20, 21, 22 |
| 29 | 199.5 | 19, 20, 21, 22 | 19, 20, 21, 22 |
| 30 | 206.5 | 19, 20, 21, 22 | 19, 20, 21, 22 |
From GME's XRS-660-U manual and XRS Connect mobile manual, which covers the 330C, 370C and 390C.
/HANDHELDS AND MOBILES TOGETHER
Look at groups 1 to 10 in GME's two manuals. The handheld uses channels 14 to 17. The mobiles use 4 to 7. The mobiles don't have channels 8 to 14 at all, so GME gave them a different set. Same group number, no channels in common.
Groups 11 to 30 match on both. If your crew mixes handhelds and mobiles, pick a group from 11 to 30.
/CREWTALK AND GMRS REPEATERS
Channels 15 to 22 are also where GMRS repeaters transmit. GME's manual says to keep repeater channels out of Net-Scan unless you know nobody uses them where you are. CrewTalk groups 11 to 30 all sit on those channels.
Around Portland, the PNW zone sheet lists 10 repeaters on channels 15 to 18 and 6 on 19 to 22. So groups 21 to 30 run into fewer of them here. If a repeater keeps pushing your group around, try another group.
An all-mobile crew can use groups 1 to 10. Those sit on channels 4 to 7, where repeaters don't transmit. Channels 1 to 7 are capped at 5 watts, which is what these radios put out anyway.
/BEFORE YOU KEY UP
- Everyone transmitting needs to be covered by a GMRS license. Here's how to get a GMRS license.
- Say your call sign at the end of a transmission or a run of them, and every 15 minutes during a long one. CrewTalk doesn't change that.
- Set it up before you roll out. It takes a minute in the driveway and a lot longer on a trail.
/WHERE TO GET A GME XRS RADIO
The XRS-330C-U mobile is in the shop as the GME XRS Connect Outback Pack, with the antenna. The handheld is covered in my XRS-660-U post, with where to find a GME dealer.
Why it pays to put the whole crew on GME, with 30 trucks at Eighties on Edison, is in why switch to GME GMRS radios.
Kingston
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