With some research I discovered that people who are actually in to radios are more likely to be using cheap used business radios for GMRS than the $300 new consumer offerings. This made me look at the consumer GMRS mobile units, like the Midland offerings, with some distrust. The GMRS radio was effectively the same thing with nasty hobbled firmware, lockedĭown functionality and a non-removable antenna. Influenced by owning before mentioned Baofeng UV-5R and a very similar Chinese radio typed for GMRS. Regardless of what toys I may or may not collect along the way, I definitely wanted my primary equipment to be type certified and legit. At the end of the day, the GMRS community and repeater owners are much more interested in appropriate licensing and on air etiquette than The attitude towards cheap handhelds like the ubiquitous Baofeng UV-5R is you shouldn't use them because theyĪre crap, not because they aren't type certified. In reality I find the attitude towards bending GMRS rules to be quite common. It means that you can't legally use cheap ham radios on GMRS, and specific GMRS products are too locked down to be used on similar ham frequencies! To keep things from falling into chaos, the FCC mandates that only GMRS (Type 95) certified equipment Just a fee of $75 for 10 years that covers and entire family. The realization that I could have meaningful communication with others from the Vanagon, and additionally have possible emergency service from the Vanagon or the motorcycles also appealed.įor ham you pass a test to show you have some level of understanding of the art, and at that point the FCC doesn't care if you transmit on a modified toaster. Repeater services the whole of Denver and surrounding areas. Going MANY miles to a repeater that is up in the air is easy though, so a well placed repeater can service an entire city - and in fact, a single Going from one GMRS unit to another a couple of miles away n a city can be toughīecause of all the stuff in the way. GMRS is up in UHF range which means itĭoesn't bounce around off the ionosphere like lower frequency ham bands. It's a little bit more complex than that, but it's something that basically becomes the communications hub.
A repeater is a strategically placedĭevice that "repeats" what it hears. What I didn't know is that beyond Walmart bubble-pack hand helds, there's a ham-ish GMRS community, and significant repeater infrastructure. Looked at the various walkie talkies I'd picked up along the way and decided to go legit and buy the GMRS license. Heading into the idea of a grim 2020 winter I was scratching around for ideas for a new hobby, and decided to study for the ham radio technicians license. It didn't take long toĭiscover with disappointment that no matter where I went, all I seemed to hear was an Elvis impersonator with tourette syndrome screaming at their echo mic. I've always had a thing for two way radios, and when I moved to the states in 1998, the first thing I did to the first vehicle I bought was to add a CB radio.
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