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I have always felt that we do not need laws for this. We need people to think about reasonable actions. Such as not using a radio while you are driving on an icy curvy road at night time. It seems like lawmakers feel that we need laws in place of reasonable thinking. At least there are proper exemptions in place. For phone texting and driving, that is a significant threat to others.

It's not perfect, but 100% a step in the right direction. Like I said earlier... In a situation of a GMRS user, I doubt many law enforcement officers would waste their time to see if you have a license or what service you are using. It would defeat the spirit of the law. Of course, that is just my opinion. Also, the law states that licensed hams are exempt. It does not say they are exempt only on ham bands/gear. So Hams can legally use their GMRS gear. It's really easy to get an amateur radio license. My wife was a Code Tech at 11, and I have talked to several kids that are 9 to 11 that have their Extra class license. If it is a desire, someone can simply get a GMRS and Amateur license and then it's not an issue. Amateur radio does have better lobbying power... but Amateur Radio operators and the community at large has been, and continues to help the US, State and local governments since the late 1800's. They are a widely recognized part of the emergency response community in this country, and many others. So it make sense that State governments have exemptions that would normally only extend to law enforcement and emergency responders. A great example of that is, in Virginia, Amateur radio operators can have and use emergency strobe lights in their vehicles. We have to use amber and/or white... but that exemption was made.

Ok thanks for clearing that up for me. There are lots of things to learn when you are just starting out. :-) B

^^^ That's awesome!

While search the web for applicable laws in the state of Ohio, I found this for the state of Connecticut which outright prohibits the prohibition of amateur radio handhelds while driving. “AN ACT EXEMPTING AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS USING HAND-HELD RADIOS FROM THE PROHIBITION ON USING HAND-HELD MOBILE TELEPHONES AND MOBILE ELECTRONIC DEVICES WHILE DRIVING” Here is the link to the government website. https://www.cga.ct.gov/2012/SUM/2012SUM00067-R01SB-00061-SUM.htm Michael WRSH965 Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Wanted to do a follow up post regarding the radio. I performed power measurements on my radios using setup depicted in the following photo. Based on this configuration, I tested TX output power on all 30 GMRS frequencies. I used the factory stock battery, freshly charged, but rested for 24 hours. My results were as follows: Channels 1-7, 15-22, R15-R22 output power ranged from 4.99-5.15 watts. Channels 8-14 ranged from .62-.63 watts. Using a fresh-off-the-charger battery, the output peaked at 5.44 as shown in the image. These numbers seem to suggest that the radio is performing on par with its advertised ratings. The manufacturer of the meter does state that meter accuracy is not as good when power drops below 1/2w. We seem to be above that. Thought perhaps those of you considering getting this radio might appreciate these findings. Michael WRSH965 Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I apologize for being "off topic," but it's neat story about a local ham club setting up a repeater and getting residents on GMRS, where cell towers went down during the wild fires and the order to evacuate wasn't received by a lot of victims. Here's the link to the story....hope it gifts you a smile today! https://www.mtdemocrat.com/disaster-resource-guide-2020/disaster-radio-to-the-rescue/

That is not what I'd consider a sizable purchase. Now four base stations and 30 HT's might gain some interest...