How to Program Zones on the GME XRS-660-U

The XRS-660-U has a scanner built in. Eight zones, 50 channels each, receive only, anywhere from 403 to 520 MHz. Load them with ham repeaters, county fire, SAR and road crews, and you hear what's going on around you while you drive.

There aren't many plain setup guides out there, so here's mine. It uses the XRS Connect app, and it's how I loaded zones for Portland, Mt Hood and Central Oregon, and SW Washington. The channel list for all eight Northwest zones is free on the PNW zone sheet.

/WHAT YOU NEED

• A GME XRS-660-U
• The XRS Connect app on your phone, paired to the radio over Bluetooth
• A list of frequencies for where you travel. Mine is on the zone sheet.
• Time. Each channel is a name and two scroll wheels. Budget a minute or so per channel.

Listening needs no license. Transmitting on GMRS needs an FCC GMRS license. Here's how to get a GMRS license.

/GMRS CHANNELS VS ZONES

The radio's regular channels are the 30 GMRS channels: 1 to 22, plus 15R to 22R for repeaters. You talk on these.

Zones are separate. Each one holds up to 50 receive-only channels you name and program yourself. You can hear them, but you can't talk on them. One zone is active at a time, and its channels sit above your last regular channel.

• Receive range: 403 to 520 MHz
• Analog FM only. DMR, P25 and other digital traffic won't decode.
• 8 zones, 50 channels each
• Channel names: 16 characters max, no periods
• Zone names: 15 characters max

/PLAN YOUR ZONES

Build zones around places you drive, not around agencies. My first three are PDX VANCOUVER, MT HOOD CENTRAL and SW WA ST HELENS. Heading up 26, I switch to zone 2 and get Timberline, Government Camp, Bend and Santiam Pass.

Put the best channels first. Mountaintop ham repeaters carry the most traffic and cover the most ground. County fire, SAR and road channels come after. RadioReference listings go stale, and plenty of agencies have gone digital. Expect a few dead channels.

For ham repeaters, use RepeaterBook and filter to 70cm FM. For county and business channels, use RadioReference. Leave one zone empty for one-off trips.

Or skip the research. The PNW zone sheet has 206 channels across 8 zones for Oregon and Washington, plus 45 GMRS repeaters. Seven are loaded: PDX VANCOUVER, MT HOOD CENTRAL, SW WA ST HELENS, COLUMBIA GORGE, OREGON COAST, OLYMPIC PEN and CASCADE CENT WA. Zone 8 is left spare. Tap a frequency to copy it and tick channels off as you load them.

/HOW TO LOAD A ZONE IN XRS CONNECT

1. Turn the radio on and connect it in XRS Connect.
2. Tap Read Radio. This pulls the radio's current setup into the app. More on why below.

3. Tap the gear icon, then Configure.
4. Pick a zone. Tap the name and rename it to something you'll recognize on the screen. Keep it to 15 characters.

5. Tap + and choose Create custom. Zone channels are receive only.
6. Type the channel name. I use the site plus the first three digits of the frequency: LIVINGSTON 442.
7. Set the frequency. The first wheel sets the MHz, 442. The second wheel sets the decimal in 12.5 kHz steps, .375.

8. Tap back to save the channel. Repeat for the rest of the zone.
9. Back out to the radio screen and tap Write Radio. It takes about 25 seconds. Leave the phone alone until the buttons come back.

10. Save the config in the app under a clear name, like HANDHELD 3 ZONES.

/READ BEFORE YOU WRITE

Write Radio sends the app's copy of the setup to the radio and replaces what's on it. If you changed anything on the radio since your last read, a write wipes it. Read Radio first, every time.

/SAME ZONES ON THE XRS-330C-U

A saved config isn't tied to one radio. I wrote mine to the GME XRS-330C-U in my car, and the zones came across. It holds 400 receive-only channels, same as the handheld.

Read the in-car radio and save its config first. A write replaces its setup the same way.

The XRS-330C-U is in the shop as the GME XRS Connect Outback Pack, with a speaker mic and antenna in the box.

/PRIORITY CHANNELS

Each zone has its own priority channels, and every zone starts on GMRS 1 and 2. The app shows them but won't change them. Set them on the radio, zone by zone. Then Read Radio so the app has the change before your next write.

I run GMRS 20 and GMRS 2 in every zone.

/XRS-660-U BUTTON SETUP

Here's how the three side buttons on mine are set. Hold XRS2 and you're in Zones.

/GMRS REPEATERS IN OREGON & WASHINGTON

Repeaters don't go in a zone. They go on the repeater channels, 15R to 22R, because you transmit through them. You need a GMRS license and callsign for those.

Most repeaters list their tone on myGMRS. Some hide it until you sign in with a callsign. Permission repeaters want a request through myGMRS before you key up.

XRS Connect has no tone setting for a single channel. Set it on the radio. Go to the repeater channel, open MENU, then the channel subtone, and set TX and RX to the repeater's tone. Leave Global Subtone off. Then Read Radio so the app has the tones before your next write.

In the app, go to Radio Settings, then Subtones, and set Display as to Value. The radio then shows the tone in Hz, like 94.8, not a code number.

The zone sheet lists 45 around Portland, Mt Hood, SW Washington, Central Oregon and the coast.

/QUICK TIPS

• No periods in names. Channel names top out at 16 characters, zone names at 15.
• The app shows no message after a write. Check the last channel you added on the radio to confirm it landed.
• Save a config after every zone, and name each one so you know which is newest.
• Where two stations share a frequency, load it once and name it for both.
• If a channel stays silent for a few trips, swap it out.
• Scrolling wheels on a phone gets old. I ran XRS Connect through iPhone Mirroring on my Mac, and long zones went faster.
• Running a group with handhelds and mobiles? GME CrewTalk keeps everyone on one clear channel. Pick a group from 11 to 30.

/WHERE TO GET ONE

Specs, price and the license are in my XRS-660-U post. GME's dealer finder shows who carries it near you.

Kingston