Fast food drive through frequencies

[Edgar Souse]

I remember many years ago they were in the 150 mhz region. A ham friend with a modified 2 meter radio enjoyed pranking both the drive through and the headsets of the employees indoors. Are they still around 150 mhz, or have they moved?

Asking for a friend...

[radiogaga]

The golden arches locally is still on 154.600....
ymmv...
Have fun

rgg

[Kage]

Get a Baofeng and you'll be on all their frequencies at the same time according to a ham, get a Baofeng and you can have access to all their frequencies according to a ham. Get a Baofeng and be lucky to be heard a few hundred feet away by a ham. Make some mashed potatoes and gravy and get yourself some ham.

[ThaDood]

I'm going back about 33 years, but the Golden Haunches in the town that I grew up in was heard on 35.020MHz FM. I just happen to catch it while doing a FREQ scan with the scanner. It would be dead-air for minutes at a time, then you'd hear a BOING sound, (Like a Mac Computer being booted up.), then a, "Hi!!! Welcome to McDonalds. May I take you order Please?" And, you heard both sides of the conversation. That was with a GND-plane antenna about 30-some feet in a pine tree and this McDonalds was over 3 miles away. However, I was living up on a hill, almost line of sight of the place. I've always wondered about the power of those Drive-In radios, but where I was, even 100mW wouldn't be a total stretch.

[radiogaga]

Dont know how dated this is:
https://www.bearcat1.com/fastfood.htm
Enjoy

rgg

[Kage]

I wish the 30MHz segment was used more because my Anytone 5555n transceiver covers up 25.615 to 30.105 and I always wondered what would be up on those higher frequencies around my area.

[KandiKlover]

Most use 2.4 GHz now, it’s possible to get into them still if you buy the proper headset for whatever system they use now since they tend to leave it in default configuration. Like my local KFC used a 3M brand system and if you get close enough with one of the headsets it connects to the base and all the others so you can mess with people at the order windows.

Most mainline USA franchises like McDonalds, Taco Bell, KFC, Burger King, Carl Jr/Hardee stopped using the regular RF systems in about 2014. Sonic Drive in was the last one which I could get from almost 2 miles away with the 10 meter quarter wave on the roof of my former house connected to my BCT15x thanks to their base being on the lowband itinerant of 30.84 MHz. By mid 2017 I stopped being able to receive, even took my handheld in to look for upper crossband frequencies of the headsets on the way to home depot for Xmas decor in November of that year. I even went back later again afterhours with the Signal Stalker nearfield mode running and pressed all the order buttons but no hits.

Most worked crossband duplex, with the base on lowband being common and the headsets on VHF-Hi and some on UHF. Not as common but still enough out there were some that split between VHF-hi and UHF instead. There were also some systems that had an intercom frequency of sort, that allowed all the headsets to talk to each other but not the drive-thru so you didn’t have to yell across the kitchen for something. Those were the most fun frequencies because the staff had no idea anyone else could hear them and the sh*t talking between window orders was hilarious, also if someone messed up and sent the wrong item to the front of the kitchen you would hear them catch an earful for it.

I would die to have that back again, I don’t live in a big area so it might be worth checking out independent non-franchised type restaurants that happen drive thrus with an order intercom before the window to see if they have a normal RF system going, unfortunately there’s none in the rundown area I live now (the last one closed in 2013) but everyone else that does live in a city and love business band scanning as well should keep an eye out and give it a try.