All Activity

Probably not, and it is not necessary.

Omg. There is no travel channel. It’s not what gmrs is for. 90plus percent of people are going to run tones. Most of those people think it’s a privacy thing and no one can hear them. Anyway your going to be reaching out on 19,22,21,16 what ever and no one can here you because of tones. Soooo let’s just close the book on this. If you want to talk to randos on the highway get a cb and atleast in my area learn one of 2 new new languages. because engrish is not going to cut it. since cell phones now cover 99.9% of the us I’m going to bet your odds of getting aaa or 911 on a cell phone are much greater then some rando on gmrs. Just use it for what it is and stop making more of it than it is. It’s not a Swiss Army knife.

I'm pretty sure I didn't get a new FRN for my amateur license. Is it normal to have different FRNs for GMRS and amateur licenses?

When was that change made? I just looked at the copy of my GMRS license that I saved to my computer in October 2023 and it still states the Lina A/Line C restrictions.

Some time ago it appears that these prohibitions no longer exist. Folks reprinted the official copy of their licences and the language about the Line A prohibition no longer appeared. Try logging into your license manager at fcc and see.

This really isn’t ambiguous: Plain language voice communications. Voice communications without codes or coded messages intended to provide a hidden meaning. Foreign languages and commonly known radio operating words and phrases, such as “ten four” and “roger,” not intended to provide a hidden meaning, are not considered codes or coded messages.

Not sure exactly what you were expecting. But compared to some forums this one is pretty active. Perhaps the greatest benefit is using the search function. I think I have always found the information about GMRS I was looking for once I understood how to use the search function. And using the repeater list or location map is an outstanding feature. It took me about a month of casual use to figure out all the features. So I would give it more time. So there a lot of GMRS licensees here. Did you find thirty users in your area alone? Or the whole website? Also keep in mind there are a ton of GMRS users who want nothing to do with being part of a website for many reasons. Locating those folks and establishing a conversation with them is a challenge. But worth it. Sorry you got attacked by an advertiser. While most site owners do their reasonable due diligence on vetting and permitting good advertisers things just sometimes happen. In those cases, not sure what Anti-Virus service you use. But it's 2025 and even the most basic anti-virus services are great at sniffing out bad-advertisers / malware. So a lot of this is on the computer owner making sure they are using a quality Anti-Virus service. Hopefully you will give it more time to explore the site and it's features.

On our 5 Kenwood handhelds I have changed the programing several times to match how we use them. All 5 are set up exactly the same so no matter who grabs one they know exactly what to expect. Despite being a commercial radio that is Part95 certified the TK-3170 / 3173s will easily push down to receiving to about 440. Since Ham and Municipal Channels are outside GMRS channels they are for monitoring only. Could also get someone in legal trouble if they are unwise enough to butt in local government channels. Bank One - All GMRS / FRS channels & In Rage Repeater Channels we plan to use. (I tell told the whole family to stay on this bank as it gives exactly what we need). Keep it simple. If they do change banks accidentally one of the buttons is programed to bring them back to this bank at the push of a button. Bank Two - All repeater channels in range and to the immediate North, South, East and West for about 40 miles. For use locally or during local travel. Bank Three - All GMRS Channels without the repeaters listed. Might change this in the future. Bank Four - All surrounding Municipal Community and County Channels as Frequency and Digital / Non-Digital allows. Public Works, Highway, Schools, Water and Power and local government. Legally these are monitoring only. This and SDR monitoring is great for bad weather, power outages, emergencies, road closures etc... Bank Five - All Ham / Amateur on 70cm of interested. Again only for monitoring. Includes ARES/Races and Skywarn. Bank Six - All GMRS repeaters out of range to the North and South but and used for travelling outside the range of local repeaters. Extends out repeaters about 150 Miles. Bank Seven - All GMRS repeaters out of range to the East and West and used for travelling outside range of local repeaters. Extends out about 100 Miles. I know it's a bit complicated, but it's made simple for those in the family that want to mainly stay on the main bank and simply push the button and talk. But for those interested in a lot more two-way GMRS communications capability, and extended HAM / Amateur and Municipal monitoring, it works great.

I'm currently away from home, but mine arrived while I was gone. I have a friend picking up packages and putting them in the garage, so hopefully it will still be there when I return tomorrow night. I'm kind of excited to play with it and see what it can do.

I too faced this. But being a rookie I left the factory programming as, for now. I am using the factory repeater channels but putting the closest one in the first position and naming it accordingly. Working out from there, geographically speaking. Wil it work out? Who knows. On the other hand reprogramming isn't a big deal. But along as I am here. Since you can, sometimes program power outputs, why would you ever select the lower setting?

I'm not sure they wouldn't. IMO, it's worth a try.

I do a little bit of both of these. I have GMRS 1-22 simplex, some "friends and family" channels, and then repeaters. The repeaters are grouped according to where they are geographically, generally based upon how far they are from my home and if they're on a route I travel quite a bit. 1-22 have no codes engaged, "friends and family" channels have codes to match whatever the person I expect to talk to has entered, then of course the repeaters have input codes I don't usually enter rx codes unless it's in a particularly busy area.

By that logic, to someone who's a non English speaker using a GMRS radio, anyone speaking English is talking in code. I guess none of us get to use our radios now...

Then Why Post A Deffiniton Of "Code Talker." Makes No Sense & Totally Irrelevant. FCC Definitions Are Quite Clear To Me.......

Really ?? I did not infer that "Code Talker" is mentioned anywhere in the FCC rules. I'm merely using that as an example to point out that "Plain Language" is an ambiguous term, not all foreign languages are commonly understood, and that perhaps the FCC's definition is not as clear or definitive as it should be!

Well, I'll be a 'Art, Bart, Fart and Fargo'... welcome to the site there fella

Nice! the F150 is by far the easiest truck to install gear in. Lots of room and many spots to install radios, which is only limited by your imagination. Keeping it covert. And you won't find my GMRS radio.

"Code Talker" Is Not Mentioned Anywhere In FCC Regulations, Part 95 Subpart E Why Are You Displaying Definitions For Terms That Are Irrelevant ? The Part 95 Regs For GMRS Are Quite Clear - Guess Folks Just Need To Learn How To Read & Understand Them.....

___ @JHENRY, yours was a very good question. I'm fairly new to this forum, but I'm quickly learning to just ignore the regular trolls...

Well..... Sorry You're Not Impressed - This Site Is Outstanding You Are Unfortunately Wrong - There Are Many Daily Posts Containing Great Info & Discussions And It's Too Bad You Don't Have An Adequate Security Subscription In Place To Guard Against Possibly Some Of Your Previously Scrupulous Websites You Have Visited. Don't Throw Blame That You Cannot Confirm. Rich & His Staff Has Done One Hell Of A Job On This Site & It's Offensive That You Post This Type Of BS Be That As It May: Maybe GMRS Radio / Forums - Are Not For You At All.....

Hundreds of thousands of members logged off just before you came on, they will be back. While you are waiting watch this video:

No one is forcing you to be here, or to stay.

Just like the word "unreasonable" is arguably the most important word in the 4th amendment of the U.S. constitution, the definition of the term "Plain Language" is the key phrase in the FCC rules. Actually, the precise definition wording of section 95.303 as shown above poses a very interesting question as it is being presumed that all foreign languages, by definition, are not considered coded or secretive. It says: "Foreign languages and commonly known radio operating words...". It does not say; "Common Foreign languages and ..." The public at large cannot be expected to understand the wide variety of foreign languages that may be broadcast over the air. Clearly some recognized foreign languages are not at all well-known and in fact our own military has used this strategy expressly to create "secret communications"! "CODE TALKER" Wikipedia: "A code talker was a person employed by the military during wartime to use a little-known language as a means of secret communication. The term is most often used for United States service members during the World Wars who used their knowledge of Native American languages as a basis to transmit coded messages." As @UncleYoda pointed out, it is the FCC's responsibility to make the rules clear. At this point, I'm not sure they really are.

Oh wait. Reddit's slower than this place, by far. My bad.

Can you post a screen-grab of what channel 26 looks like either through the ODMaster app or Chirp, if you're using it? That'd be the simplest way to actually see what the radio is trying to do.