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murs n scanners..

Splash1

Active Member
Jun 11, 2006
308
5
28
have a cheapo bearcat scanner an noticed that i could program all the murs channels..havnt heard a thing..has anyone else....have scanner on a'' long ''wire antenna..
 

murs is one of those tricky set of frequency's
by me i have found a security patrol and a jail using murs
(both told me to get the f off their channel lol)

in some places it is being used (mostly cities i think)
funny thing is
is supposed to be like gmrs
yet it is not come close to the use of gmrs
yet it probigates much better
 
Yep mostly dead here also.
I think the problem might be the low power reqirement and lack of sellers and lack of good equipment.
The low power keeps me from using it as a cb replacement as CW would like us to do.
Hey I am not married to cb radio but give me a viable second choice and I will only use cb for a second radio. :roll:
 
how much can a murs be peaked an tuned..how bout putting an amp on them..i mean just for experimental purposes..lol..
 
Splash1 said:
have a cheapo bearcat scanner an noticed that i could program all the murs channels..havnt heard a thing..has anyone else....have scanner on a'' long ''wire antenna..

If you have a "long" wire as an antenna (not clear), then you may have a problem that a vertical would cure. Most of those VHF radios are verticaly polarized and low power to begin with.
Plus they have those little "ducky" antennas. Unless your antenna is near their frequency AND polarized the same theirs is, that may be why you don't hear much.


73
 
i havent heard anything on any of the murs frequencys, its to bad the legal limit is 2 watts as my kenwood 271 does 60 just fine on murs.
 
I think if you are worried about that than you would be one of the few.
Most users I know run around 25 to 50 Watts on commercial radios.
I think one of the problems with MURS is the low power requirment. Not all of us live in a treeless flat terrain building free area.
The way the FCC set up the rules on MURS makes almost as much sense as where they put the FRS freqs right between the GMRS rptr freqs
 
well,

Although it is restricted to only 2 watts (those who may actually use only 2 watts...lol) there is a way of getting out..

there is no restriction such as in GMRS/FRS in power being a E.R.P.
power rating..
there is also no restriction in being able to use an exturnal antenna (such as GMRS and FRS)..

i never looked up the hight restrictions (i am sure there is a restriction in height of antennas,likly simular to those of CM/11 meters)

So a High Gain Vertical or even better a good beam

Later
 
Yes Put up a nice omni for general chat and a beam to pin point your contact
Use a standard 25 to 50 Watt commercial rig and you got a nice set up. even in the mobile.
It could even help with the 11 meter problem. But alas the FCC again has their finger up their butts on this one to low a power and not enough freq's. Oh well try again FCC. :moon
 
i wish it would catch on up here. when murs was first introduced they had a 2 watt e.r.p but im glad they they only specify that the maximum capale output from the transmitter be 2 watts. i agree that a smaller omni would be a killer cheap way to get into the hobby and a smaller yagi would be great for longer distance. antennas are cheap and well designed, it just sucks that transmitters are somewhat limited (so far).

antenna limits are the same as 27mhz cb
95.1315 Antenna height restriction.

The highest point of any MURS antenna must no be more than 18.3 meters (60 feet) above the ground or 6.10 meters (20 feet) above the highest point of the structure on which it is mounted.

this is great for many people, imagine a handi talk that actually get out like a real radio! a cheap 2m handheld can be had for under $100 and allows the end user to use crystal clear communication across town regardless of conditions.

i agree that the 2m mobiles are the hot ticket. i love my little kenwood 271a, i wish it had a few different power levels other than 25watt low or 60watt high. i also wished it had a swr meter :D.
 
As you know, VHF and UHF communications are pretty much limited to line of sight, so even if you could 100 watts on MURS, you will still have big limitations on coverage based on your terrain. Having a good gain antenna up as high as you can get it will help out far more than raising the transmitter output of your transceiver.

The question you might ask yourself is, what do you want to use MURS for? I haven't figured that one out yet.

For local communications, both fixed base and mobile, I think CB (particularly SSB mode) has much better coverage.
Radio waves at 27 mhz tend to go around hills and buildings much better than VHF/UHF signals. Running stock power output, I easily cover a 30-40 mile radius on CB.

If you want to keep in touch with you family via radio, GMRS is a better way to go, especially if someone in your area has a repeater that you can use. Then you have effective communications that cover a wide area. Of course, you need to pay for the license, but it basically costs $16 a year ($80 for a 5 year license) and covers you and everyone in your immediate ( and to some extend, your extended) family.

If you want to have fun playing with radios of all types and on lots of different frequencies, then amateur radio is the way to go. HF/VHF/UHF/SHF, all modes, simplex, repeaters, etc.

So when someone figures out a good use for MURS, please let me know.
 
It might get some people off the cb band and could make CW MORSE happy? :roll:
I also use it for chit chat while on the road trucking just so I don't have to listen to all the morons on cb radio out their in cb trucking land. :D
 

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