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I wanted share my experience as I am new to GMRS and recently setup a TK-8180 in my truck. Not only was this was my first mobile setup, but also my first time programming. To be honest I was concerned that I was getting in over my head. I purchased the software and programming cable and couldn't get my computer to read the radio. After doing a little investigation I realized that the programming cable I bought was junk. I replaced it with a quality cable and everything worked like a charm. The KPG-89D software is pretty simple to use. After playing around with it for about 15 minutes I started programming the radio. 20 minutes after I started programming I had all of my repeaters loaded in zone 1 and all of the simplex channels loaded in zone 2. It really couldn't have been easier. I recommend buying your cable on Ebay from bluemax49ers. You'll pay a little more for his stuff, but it works great! If you follow this youtube link and jump to the 1 min mark you can see just how easy this software is to use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-S_DHkcg6o

Should not be a problem as long as the NMO makes good contact to the underside.

Well then, if a licensed GMRS operator is communicating with an licensed-by-rule FRS operator, s/he is doing so as an FRS operator, if we truly wish to be precisely accurate.

OK. You need to explain this one. There are 8 GMRS frequencies only. Repeaters always transmit LOW and is how many of the GMRS radios sold on the market support. I dont understand why you would not use defined frequency plan. I mean do you mean different TX and RX pairs ? IF so not sure why again. Please explain your question.

Totally true. Usages cases are different for different people. Cobbled-together repeater with cheap diplexer works wonders in the mountains or in the woods where there is no RF interference. 10 miles - sure possible with tall antenna. Even more if you place your repeater in a good place, up the tall tree or high on the hill. Same system will be deaf and mute in urban or suburban setting.

Technically they CAN, but legally absolutely without a doubt "NO".

I've read at least 2 or 3 people in here saying that a cheap cobbled together repeater is useless, just use simplex (what can you do with this that you can't do with FRS), and how you're not going to gain any range, it's way too expensive, and way too technical for most licensees, what are you going to get out of it ... I guess some people just started with a mountain of equipment, truckload of money, and all the know-how! You know what I get out of a cheesy sub thousand dollar repeater setup that I can't get from FRS? Almost 10 miles in any direction reliably to HT's. Oh, and unlike these fancy high dollar commercial setups I keep hearing about "needing" to make a useful repeater? It's not illegal. I also have fun building, and improving, and geeking out on techie things. Are you guys really getting 10+ miles simplex on HT's (on bubble pack FRS radios no less!)? I didn't think so because that would be absolute poppycock! I'm so glad I never listened to guys that kept saying "you can't". I'm not saying everybody should go set up a repeater, but the idea that they're useless unless you spend tens of thousands on a commercial type install (which again - is most likely not legal to begin with) is patently absurd. Not everybody has the same goals, or is in the same situation.

Been pondering that factor lately, and completely agree, although even reddit is a step up from Facebook for being able to make use of a knowledge base like this. (One of my car groups has ditched the forum and gone all Facebook...not a fan)

I've dipped my toe in the GMRS waters with Midland and Wouxan. I'd like to buy a used Kenwood and try my hand at programming. I'm looking at an 8180 for a base unit at the house. What do I need to know about programming? I've got the whole family using channel 16 with CTCSS 2. Is this something a newbie can do with relative ease? I really appreciate all of the advice I've gotten here so far. Thanks in advance.

bluemax49ers only sells genuine FTDI chipped cables. The cheaper knock-offs are using pirated Prolific chips that rarely work.

$70-club? Phufffff. Whiners, no sympathy. There are people here who are members of $90-for-5-years-club. Some people are more than once members.

Some operators would choose to ID every 15 minutes with no breaks as a way to advertise their "presence" on a channel. If you were trying to locate a repeater to use in your area, picking the ID off of the one you hear the best could serve as a way to put you in touch with the owner of the machine. Not everyone posts their info on MyGMRS. Also, if you're going to invest the time and money to put up a genuine high elevation repeater with good coverage area, having a constant ID would serve as a way to Mark your Territory, letting others know that you're already on that channel. Also, having a unit throwing out an ID constantly can serve a "heartbeat function", letting the owner know that there's power to the site and the transmitter is still able to transmit. Those are just 3 of the reasons I can think of, there's probably more.

Long time lurker. Got my GMRS license last year. I use a B-Tech GMRS V-1. I also have some other cheaper Radioditty "give away" handhelds for non-radio friends. I just bought a Kenwood 880 v1, just need good antenna and vehicle mount for it. I actually got into GMRS from CB, which these two services are motivating me to get a ham ticket. Thanks for the forums (I kinda miss forums instead of reddit)

I'm aware that the GMRS license can only be used by family members. Any friends would use the old FRS radios (but we usually travel solo).

Many farmers and ranchers use MURS for gate alarms, controllers for irrigation pumps, et cetera.

Here in Northwest Indiana (District 1) we are re-energizing ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) but our plans are to include FRS and GMRS into the organization. We are modeling ourselves very closely to what has been done in California, where one GMRS/ham station will coordinate with FRS users at the lowest level, then if needed can move the traffic upstream to the ARES ham net control. They in turn will route the traffic upstream to the District 1 ICS (Incident Command), Red Cross, Salvation Army, et cetera. See: https://www.aresd1.com/ for further details on our plans.

I posted this article before on this forum (apologies), but it does a nice job answering your question with a system up and running in California. Disaster: Radio to the rescue (mtdemocrat.com)

No offense, but no one is stopping you from using the service you paid to use, all 22 channels of it. They absolutely do have the option of deciding who uses their equipment (repeaters) though, for whatever valid or silly reason they may have. It was a harsh realization for me too, but gmrs isn't a hobbyist oriented service, it's primarily aimed at families and groups having comms within their groups with minimal technical knowledge needed, and outside this bubble we have here, it's pretty much how most people use it, as a utility among their group, and stick to their group....which means they'll generally have their tones set not to hear outsiders. I've had a total of one contact so far, as there's basically almost no hobbyist traffic here either. Also recently got booted from a gmrs group on Facebook, because one of their "instant ban" rules is no mention of other radio services (ham, cb, Murs, etc); guess I slipped and forgot which group I was replying to and supplied some info about online testing availability for ham tickets (in addition to that one, I'm in a couple gmrs groups and few ham groups as well).

Na. screw it. Between you and the guy that said I need to get a part 90 frequency pair and run P25 with ASE256 and RAC to keep things private,,, I am in agreement. Why should I care about other license holders. And if I invest in a number of FB6 pairs, I can put up a commercial DMR system instead and sell time on it. Who has time for hobby and family radio users anyway. Thank you for helping me to see the error in my thought process. I will say that we need to quit hijacking this threat. So when a Mod see's all this,,,, please clear it out until it's back on topic.

The responses don't surprise me. Seems counter productive towards getting people interested in a radio hobby. You want to talk money, we're currently burning in a brand new hytera ip addressable repeater going up with a DB420 antenna. Easily over $3k without counting duplexer, lightning protection, and cable. This will be at 950' in downtown Miami. Open to all. Part of the reason it's being done is the general "you stay off my repeater" vibe we picked up from looking at the local gmrs listings. It was baffling to see how unfriendly this side of the radio hobby can feel.

At the risk of sounding arrogant. I've said this before and will re post it again

The benefit of using a narrow channel is the lower noise along better sensitivity and range. The advantage of wideband is the capability to transfer higher data rates. I would stay away from narrow band unless you want to forget about digital and hi-fidelity. As far as repeater pairs go, CTCSS and DCS were created for a reason. If you are using tone or digital code squelching, unless the repeaters are within miles of each other, you can have potentially hundreds of repeaters in place within a 500 mile radius and not interfere with another repeater. The only exception I could potentially see there is if traffic went up 100 fold and all repeater owners started using 200' towers; which I don't see happening. Additionally, there is a massive shortage of people willing to spend insane amounts of money for proper repeater equipment, site rentals and maintenance costs, just to allow other people to user their system for free. (Hard to imagine, I know.) Opening up more pairs isn't really a need.