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Just get an FRS radio. No license is needed to talk and you can listen to all of the same channels.

If all you plan on doing is using a radio or scanner to listen, you do not need a license and there would be no benefit. If you want to talk, you need a license.

The only FCC rule restriction that comes to mind would be that you cannot use a 5W GMRS radio on channels 8 thru 14. Those channels are restricted to 0.5W which is common for most FRS radios. If you can set your radio to low power, you might be ok, but most 5W radios, even at low power, would probably still exceed the 0.5W power limit. That being said, if you were to transmit on those channels with more than the permitted 0.5W of power nobody would likely know or even care.

When I recently got my HAM license I got an invite to join the ARRL buy the cost of the yearly dues were too much. There's a local club that's closer to my price range that I'd like to join though.

I got a hit on Shaw 725 a couple days ago. I wasn't expecting it but I tried it to test a radio I'd just programmed and got a return from it. There's not that many GMRS Repeaters in the Phoenix area, it'd be ashamed if we lost one. On the other hand we're covered up in 2M/70cm HAM Repeaters here in the Valley which is a good reason to get your Amature License.

Seems like there is always the tendency to make things more complicated than the really are.

My RT-900 gets 6.82w on 1.25M. For $25 bucks it's a heck of a nice radio.

Maybe your tune is a bit off. Doesn't take much.

Noted, I may need to visit that facet

I have the similar XLT 100 watt duplexer, DP-GMRS-100R and it has less than a 1.3dB loss through the duplexer. I think the difference is it's in a rack case and has N connectors instead of 239s. I saw almost no difference between the 3 duplexers I have from the output of my repeater.

My kids likes the ducks and my oldest likes to trade ducks so they stay.

Soooo... I might have a duplexer for sale, Justa sayin....

FYI, the Duplexer I am/was using which gave me 24W from a 47W input is the DP-GMRS-100 by XLT.

Update: I contacted Radioddity about the TYT TH-9800. explained my issue. I have had this gear for over a month but they replied that they would replace it. I am not surprised due to the reputation of this particular machine BUT they did act fast with no pushback, as least for now. Thank you again for all of your input to lead me to not keeping a piece of gear that doesn't work. As a newby, I would have kept it and eventually trashed the $ amount paid.

Get those stupid ducks off the dash! That's an embarrassment to real Jeepers!

Can you remote in to program it?

Needing help programming my Baofeng dmr 1701 to Open GD77. Getting a Comport No communication with Radio error message.

I've done a lot of solar power station/panel reviews on my YouTube channel. I "preach" solar to anyone who'll listen. We get a lot of sunny days here in Arizona so it only makes sense to use solar power.

Picked up a Jeep a few months ago finally got the radios installed. Icom-2730a (Black) for the ham stuff. Antenna is a Larsen 2/70B Motorola XTL5000 with W3 head for the GMRS, Ham P25 and FD stuff. Antenna is a PCTEL (B)MWU4002S I used the fender mounts by Topsy.

Well, I'm not doing show and tell. You are wrong about the equipment. It does not have to be a desktop type rig, i.e. a true base radio; mobiles and handhelds in a house, garage, radio shack, office, etc. with an external antenna on a pole, roof, chimney or in a tree are base stations. That's what they mean by fixed location, and notice they always refer to base station not base radio. My DB20G can be setup as base station, mobile station and portable station. Even my UV5G can be a base station.

I just wanted to make sure I don’t end up on some restricted use channel on accident… or is that impossible with a 5W handheld?

Show me a GMRS base station. One that is manufactured to fit the qualifications of a true base station, not cobbled together from a portable or mobile transceiver and power supply. The only units I can see that approximate the requirements of being in a fixed location are repeaters however, they fail the "communicates only with other fixed stations" prong of the FCC definition.

That doesn't match what FCC said. (I put that in another thread.) They specifically said "any station..." without qualifying it except for the specific fixed station limitations. So IMO a base setup definitely fits when it follows the fixed station rules. [And that's not what this topic/thread is about anyway.]

You really have that mixed up. Fixed station has nothing to do with this.

Love my anytone 778, in fact i have 2, have one in the car, and the other was my base unit until i came across a 50w anytone 5888 for $50 in "unknown" condition (translation... replace the fuse in the lead and it works) which is now the base radio...