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Why do so many people come to my beloved GMRS and then try to find ways around the rules? Even if YOU dont like them or YOU think you are so special you need not follow them, those rules are what makes GMRS the best option for the two-way radio community that uses it. Maybe you need to be on ham, where they seem to accept out of the box ideas. Or maybe you need to join the yahoos on CB 6, where rules dont apply. But, I feel, GMRS is well crafted for what it does. I know you will never get caught but you could just accept our rules and be a good radio citizen.

Next time I'm given another "Performance Award" from California Highway Patrol, I'm going to say: "Your beef, officer, is with Kawasaki. These darn Ninjas are too darn fast. I did not do anything that was not in the manual! Just merely kept it at wide-fooking-open!" I'll report here how it went.

Everyone should encourage compliance with the rules. They're not there for an arbitrary reason. The RF spectrum is a limited resource. The rules are set to try and minimize interference between ALL users of the shared resource. I would encourage you to take a look at the frequency layout for the FRS/GMRS channels, the permitted band widths and power level. What you will immediately notice are the interstitial frequencies lie between the GMRS main channels. In particular the interstitial channels 8 through 14. Those are limited to 0.5 watts and narrow band to minimize interference to the adjacent wide band GMRS repeater input channels. Even at a narrow band width those still overlap the wide band repeater channels. In fact several repeater owners on this forum have commented about interference from FRS radios buggering up things on their systems even with radios that are complaint with the rules. Then there is the issue with dirty radios, the CCR's are the group most likely to be the offenders. If for example one was transmitting on lets say channel 1, 462.55 MHz, the second harmonic would be at 925.15 MHz, right in the middle of the 900 MHz ISM band. https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/compendium/0902.00-0928.00_01MAR14.pdf I had a buddy do the known code plug hack on a cheap Baofeng BF-888S UHF radio to operate on VHF too. It worked. He had a dual band radio that would SIMULTANEOUSLY transmit on the 2M and 70cm band! That ended that experiment quickly. FRS-GMRS Channels Layout.pdf

Good Day Droopy. Welcome to myGMRS. Admiral Cochrane pretty much summed it up for you. No, there isn’t any special lingo in GMRS. Just much more decorum, respect and order on the airwaves than the legacy CB service. Repeaters are the key feature that really makes GMRS special compared to its licensed-by-rule low-power sibling, FRS. Repeaters on the service however are private property. You may use them with the permission of the owner only. Just because a repeater is listed on this site or another does not mean you may use it unless the owner specifically indicates it is an open repeater free for all to use. The easiest way to gain permission is to submit a request to the owner through this site using the mechanism provided. Some owners may want a phone call from you, and if they do it will either say so in the listing or they may tell you so in your permission request. Respect them. It is there personal investment in the service that makes this service special. GMRS operation is pretty much a local line-of-site communication service. Raising your antenna will nearly always translate into greater distance than adding power. Use simplex communication where you can and then use the repeaters when you truly need the range. There seem to be a lot of amateur radios operators that are also licensed GMRSrs. In many regards this is a good thing because the decorum they learn in the amateur service rubs off on the rest of the GMRS community. I find that refreshing. Keep it civil. Don’t hog the airwaves. Try to keep individual transmissions short. Leave 3-5 seconds between transmissions to give time for repeaters to drop out and time for others to announce their presence. When you want to announce your presence on the airwaves so others know you are now online and available for communications, simply give your call sign followed by “Listening” or “monitoring” or “In the mobile” or “on the handheld”. If you are looking for another licensee on the air waves, announce their callsign followed by “this is [your callsign]” or something similar. Transmit it 2-4 times if necessary to catch their attention if they are monitoring. In GMRS, some areas hold weekly Nets using a repeater on regular days and times. These are used to bring the community together, learn about others, talk about shared interest topics and do radio training. Cincinnati holds one every Sunday night that draws a pretty good crowd. (Side note: A young father is teaching radio and radio etiquette to his 10 year old, and his ten year old ran the net a couple of months ago. What a responsible father.) Enough for now. Again, Welcome! Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

This is a list of speaker mics that I have personally purchased and tested along with any pros or cons. I hope this helps. https://www.amazon.com/Compact-Reinforced-Arcshell-Shoulder-Microphone/dp/B01N5LJ0YR/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=commountain&qid=1628179895&sr=8-3 Pros: Small but very loud. Treble seems elevated but this is (IMO) the part that increases the volume and performs well in high noise areas when it comes to hearing received transmissions. Reinforced cord with Kevlar fiber for increased life. Offers 3.5mm ear bud jack. Cons: Not water or even rain proof I have several of these and are used by Fire/EMS team https://www.amazon.com/Speaker-Reinforced-Arcshell-Shoulder-Microphone/dp/B07MX4J3W8/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=commountain&qid=1628180226&sr=8-4 Pros: Heavy Duty waterproof with reinforced Kevlar cord and reinforced strain relief on both ends. Offers 3.5mm ear bud jack These are the speaker mics I own in the greatest of numbers and my number one pick. Cons: Currently have none IMO. https://www.amazon.com/Platinum-Rainproof-Shoulder-Speaker-Kenwood/dp/B073ZZ3DDD/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=xfox+solutions&qid=1628181068&sr=8-1 Pros: Equal to the Commountain in ALL features at a much lower price. You get 2 for the price of one basically. Cons: Currently have none IMO. https://www.amazon.com/BTECH-QHM22-Platinum-Rainproof-Shoulder/dp/B00Z4X3MM6/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=BTECH+speaker+mic&qid=1628181246&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExVUNSUFdGVDZGN0U3JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjgyMTQyVThVWENVRlFYOU1GJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA1MzI0MzZOMENOQkQ1SDBHM0Mmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl Pros: IP54 Rainproof, High impact casing and High Grade re-enforced cabling but see cons. All in all a decent option Cons: both the casing and cable seems a bit lighter than the Commountain but performs well https://www.amazon.com/Retevis-Shoulder-Speaker-Compatible-Baofeng/dp/B01MTW1AQN/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&keywords=Retevis+speaker+mic&qid=1628181532&sr=8-15 Pros: Equal to the Commountain in all features Cons: Currently have none - AVOID ALL OTHER RETEVIS MICS EXCEPT THE POWERED MIC IN THE NEXT LISTING. https://www.amazon.com/Retevis-Shoulder-Adjustable-Handheld-Arcshell/dp/B085LZRZNL/ref=sr_1_18?dchild=1&keywords=Retevis+speaker+mic&qid=1628181656&sr=8-18 Pros: Equal in construction to Commountain. A little larger head unit than most other speaker mics but nothing outrageous. IF YOU USE YOUR RADIO IN HIGH NOISE CONDITIONS AND STRUGGLE TO HEAR TRANSMISSIONS, THIS SHOULD WORK FOR YOU. Cons: Unit amplifies received audio requiring a power source which is provided with the "built in" rechargeable battery. Current models do not allow for replacement of the battery so there's no way to swap it out for extra low use or replacement when the battery reaches end of life but, at this price you can just buy two and rotate them as needed. I have a nephew that is an engineer on a railroad and has struggled to hear his HT in the cab of the locomotive. I gifted him one of these and he swears by it. If you're looking for headsets, these are the ones I use and would recommend. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017KQCYGO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Pros: Absolutely the best quality and most comfortable of all (over eight different brands & models) the lightweight over the head brands/models tested and used. Part of the reason is the flat/smooth ear piece, the double band and amount of flax vs rigidity. I can't praise these enough, we are more then pleased (myself and my team members that choose to wear them) how great these are, especially for the price. They're not always available but you can't go wrong with this headset. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Z76GY3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Pros: So far, great medium duty headset. Seems to be well made and all testing has been positive. Decent comfort for this style of headset but we have only tested these headsets and have not had the opportunity to use them in real world or field settings. Cons: Currently have none IMO I am not affiliated with any manufacturers or selling agents for any of the products I have listed. I purchased all equipment with my own money and personally tested over 26 speaker mics and 10 headsets. Above are the results regarding my personal testing and experience along with my team's input. There are other brands and models that have performed decent but only the ones listed would I feel comfortable recommending. I hope this will help and wish you good luck with correcting the USPS mess. JC