GMRS

[doctor]

What is so good about this radio system, it is on uhf , distance is limited, and can you chat with others like CB?, and a license needed at $80 smacks, government collection monopoly, to me.

Repeaters are far and few between also, so fill me in if anyone uses one and chats like cb...

DOCTOR/795 :shock:

 

[Beetle]

I believe you can set up your own repeater.

 

[IMD262]

If you want to use VHF/UHF for hobby type communications I suggest amateur radio and use the $80 towards a radio.

 

[KingCobra_CDX882]

Although i rarely use GMRS myself

there are a couple good things
is nowhere as expensive as ham radio
also one needs not to be techie in order to pass a test and so is easy to use

it also cames with frequency's of FRS

it does have ability to hook-up to repeaters and on repeater frequencys i a decent wattage allowed

it is good to have hooked up for local emergency frequencys

the down sides are

is so so quality (especially the HT's)
the HT's especally when not used with repeater is poor range

it all has too much of a kiddish sound to it

All in all
study a bit for a super easy ham radio test
buy an inexpensive HT (i suggest tri-band Icom T-90A)
a decent but cheep ham radio HT can be exellent

can be easily moded (ham HT's) to accept and use FRS and GMRS frequency's

i think an even more over looked is MURS
for is so near to frs/gmrs
but gets out quite simular to ham radio HT's
and you are allowed 2 watts but also can hook it up to whatever HT or base antenna you want (FRS and GMRS HT's are not allowed to change antenas)
and so MURS can get exellent range

but again Ham radio HT's can usally be easily modified to accept and use MURS-FRS-GMRS (but not legal to mod it to these frequences)

Still go with a cheep new or cheeper used Ham Radio HT
that can be dual-tri-quad band and moded to MURS-FRS-GMRS)

 

[park]

What is so good about this radio system, it is on uhf , distance is limited, and can you chat with others like CB?, and a license needed at $80 smacks, government collection monopoly, to me.

Repeaters are far and few between also, so fill me in if anyone uses one and chats like cb...

DOCTOR/795 :shock:

I use to have a couple of ham repeaters and with some spare parts I rigged up a GMRS repeater. It was a lot of fun, my wife and I used it. It was at the house, I had Motorola ht's and mobiles and the repeater was an old Repco 20 watt. It's not the same as CB (that's why we were using it) you have to have permission from the control operator to use a GMRS repeater, unlike open ham repeaters. It took a lighting hit one day and that was the end of that! We are now on MURS.

 

[CDX8412]

My GMRS license will expire this coming year, and I probably won't renew it. GMRS is a good idea, poorly executed by the FCC's decision to allow the FRS radios to be sold with GMRS frequencies in them. Now, GMRS freqs have the beeps, chirps and other sounds on them, that should have stayed only on FRS.
Why should you pay $80 for a license to use a service that is being used improperly by neighborhood kids, who didn't pay a dime?
Not sure why the FCC increased the fee to $80 a few years ago, but I won't pay it again. Most of the people I heard on the freqs weren't licensed.
I have a nice Uniden ARU-251 UHF desktop repeater on GMRS freqs, if anyone is interested. I won't be using it.

 

[park]

poorly executed by the FCC's decision to allow the FRS radios to be sold with GMRS frequencies in them.

I never understood that either? That's why I did not stay there.

 

[trash]

You guys should visit your local Congressman and stir them up.
Tell them you want GRMS expanded, and the licences reduced $5 a year or licence free like Australian 477MHz UHF CB.

While you're at it... push the ARRL and congress for a new class of ham radio licence. There is a new class of ham radio licence here called the "Foundation Licence".

Anybody off the street can walk in and walk out with the licence. The course consists of an induction of a couple of hours where people learn the basics of setting up and operating the radio. There is a simple 30 question multiple choice exam which can be instructor assisted if a candidate is not as smart as he is enthusiastic.

The exam is so simple that my local girl guides now has 6 ham radio operators, most of them were 12 years old when they got their licences.

They get to use 80m (3MHz), 15m (21MHz), 10m (28MHz), 2m (147MHz), 70cm (430MHz) all modes.

 

[Cheech]

Geting an amateur licence here is not much harder. Saidly anyone who can memorize the answer in the pool for the 35 multiple choice questions can get a licence. I wish they would have left the code for extra class but thats just me and I dont want to start a code vs no code war either. :roll:

 

[todt061458]

http://rzq4x4.com/laggroup/index.php
You could try this group if you really want to know about rptrs and such in the Gmrs service