Season Kickoff Meeting! 9/25 Trek off Lamar @5:30pm
At each race, there will be official race communication, health/medical calls, and announcements from NICA. These are handled over the FRS/GMRS channel 6, privacy code 6 which is NICA's league broadcast channel. In addition to this league-wide channel, each team has their own channel and privacy code assigned by NICA.
You want a radio that is easy to use, easy to program, has good range, and is a good value. There are a lot of good radios out there, here's what I'd recommend as of late 2025.
The TD-H3 (~$25) for anyone who needs good range and needs to hear both their team and NICA. This radio is relatively small and inexpensive and has a good set of features. We've had the TIDRADIO M11 for over a year now and they're all still working great, these H3 get similar praise online.
The TD-M11 (~$15) for use around camp, within a mile or so, and around races. Non-critical personnel. These are very light and easy.
Pros: Easy to use. Dual channel monitor. Dual channel talk. Small (for a full GMRS radio). Very good range. Lockable keypad so you can't accidentally change settings. Separate talk buttons for each channel. Bluetooth programmable from your phone, USB-C programmable from your PC (CHIRP) or by using a Kenwood cable. Review1 Review2
Cons: Not waterproof. More complex than FRS radios (but one of the easier GMRS I've seen).
Use Case: A coach or participant who needs extended range and the ability to listen to multiple channels at the same time (NICA and Austin High, for example). Great for staging, camp, feedzone, and warmup coaches who need to know what's up with their athletes and what's happening with NICA announcements.
Pros: Simple. Waterproof. Very light weight. Come with earpieces. Decent range. Bluetooth programmable from your phone. If you buy a 10 pack, these can be a cheap as $11 each 2pack, 4pack, 10pack
Cons: Single channel monitor (vs. dual). Range is limited. Can't 'lock' the channels so a user can accidentally switch channels and not understand why nobody hears them...
Use Case: These are very lightweight, they even work well in a breast pocket. These are good for a parent or coach to take around camp to relay messages to coaches at feedzone, staging, and warmups from athletes. Also good for a parent to go up the trail a bit to let feedzone know when a rider is inbound. Like all FRS, these are not great for coaches on-course who need to reach camp in an emergency.
If you want a more capable radio, get GMRS. If you want a simple to use radio, get FRS. If you want more range, GMRS, if you don't care (or are just around camp or within sight) FRS. If you need to program multiple radios to deploy to your team - GMRS (programming 10 radios by keypad is crazy-pills). Cost is pretty similar at this point.
FRS radios are less capable than GMRS radios. They are lower wattage and have reduced range.
Pros: No license required. Usually dead simple to use, not always simple to program, however.
Cons: Reduced range (<2 miles).
GMRS radios are more capable than FRS radios. They are higher wattage, have increased (~5 miles) range, and are programmable by PC or phone apps.
Pros: Increased range (5 miles). Dual monitor (NICA + team). Clone programming once you've done the first one.
Cons: Requires a FCC license ($35 for 10 years), covers your whole family. Information
Below are 4 radio files that can be written to GMRS radios. These have almost all Texas NICA teams as well as Austin local repeaters and channels. These files can be installed with CHIRP or the manufacture's software and a USB Kenwood cable for the radios.
Even if you don't have these exact radios, these files can help you. In the software, you can usually copy and paste (just like excel) the channel data from these files into a file that matches whatever radio you have. These 4 radios use three different software (Baofeng, Pofung, and CHIRP).
NICA Teams Data file GMRS ONLY (CHIRP file)
NICA Teams Data file NORMAL (GMRS and HAM) (CHIRP file)
This radio can program via mobile phone app, USB-C, or Kenwood cable
This radio can be GMRS, HAM or both (Normal). (PTT + * + power on). Note, it will erase your programming when you switch modes.
NICA Teams Data file (CHIRP file)
NICA Teams Data file (Manufacturer file)
NICA Teams Data file (Manufacturer file)
AHS has access to 6 dual-channel GMRS radios that will allow you to monitor both the NICA channel 6(6) [462.68750 (82.5)] and the Maroons channel 1(3) [462.56250 (74.4)] at the same time and choose which channel to respond to. AHS also has 4 single-channel FRS Rocky Talkies and access to 4 single-channel FRS TIDRadio TD-M11.
