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Just in case anyone checks the forums before the main site... we have a new myGMRS! After well over a year of fooling around with the new website, I have finally launched it. This is a big leap in technology since the original website was created in 2006 and only had a few incremental updates over the years. This new platform will allow us to put out quicker updates, brand-new features, and bonus features for Premium Members. Premium Membership is an optional subscription where you can remove ads from the website, generate PDF reports of repeaters and licenses in any state, and create your own Club listing (part of the forums) so you don't need to create your own website! All of the existing features of myGMRS will remain free, of course. A new mobile app is also in the works, although we're not close to a release date for that. The long-awaited iOS version will be part of the release, as well as a completely new Android app. Since this is such a radically different website, I'm sure there will be some issues along the way. If anyone runs into bugs or problems of any kind, please don't hesitate to submit a bug report at this Google Forms URL rather than the forums or by email (as it'll be much easier to review): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6XLmCW-UU0Bp9lN9zM3L9gO_TCkArIN2oY-hOLG9x01B3lg/viewform Thank you everyone for the wonderful support and thank you to our Beta testers. You know who you are! Have a Happy New Year!

Welcome to myGRMS. From a portability standpoint, the FRS & GMRS radios are smaller than the CD handhelds have historically been. And because they operate in the UHF band their antennas are naturally much smaller. FRS and GMRS both use FM modulation which means that atmospheric static is not introduced into the audio. CB(CBRS) using AM, USB, LSB. FM has recently been approved by the FCC for use in the CBRS, so in time that difference will become moot. FRS and GMRS hardware supports squelch codes (CTCSS & DCS) that give you and your group the ability to prevent the squelch on your radios from opening except when a transmitter using that code transmits. So if you are on a camping trip and your family all uses CTCSS 67.0, you will only hear radios that use that code. FRS and GMRS are not subjected to the gross degree of daily signal propagation changes that affect your range and the ability to communicate locally as CB is. Don’t expect skip to suddenly permit you to talk to Texas from New York because of temporarily atmospheric condition change. But you may experience conditions were perhaps you can talk another town or two away. FRS and GMRS radios can mostly interoperate because they share 22 or 30 frequencies in common. GMRS radios are permitted to use wide-band modulation, which can give some GMRS radios an audio quality advantage over FRS. FRS is limited to narrow-band modulation. GMRS requires a FCC license whereas CBRS and FRS do not. The GMRS service permits use of radios up to 50 watts. FRS maxes out at 2 and CBRS maxes out at 4. The GMRS allows for the use of repeaters. Repeaters make it to possible to increase the usable coverage range, most notably when the repeater is installed in a prime high location. It is not uncommon to have repeaters that cover an entire City, even some that will make it possible for two handhelds 40 miles and more apart to communicate. A GMRS license gives you the permission you need to put up and operate your own repeater. Antennas for GMRS do not have the 20’ above building or tree rule that the CBRS is subjected to. Instead, height limit rules are the same as for Cell Towers, TV Towers and other tall structures where the FAA rules dominate. If you can afford to put up a 200’ tower and get approved to do so from your local AHJ you can put it up. Regarding hardware. FCC rules require the use of part 95 certified hardware for CBRS, FRS and GMRS. Each service has its own set of technical certification criteria. I know of no equipment that is dual-service certified. This does not mean there is not hardware that can be modified to operate on two or more services, just that doing so violates your authority to use it. Many, including some members of this forum, choose to operate outside the rules. Hopefully this information is useful. Regards, and again, welcome to myGMRS. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Hook the antenna up to an UHF antenna analyzer or to a VNA and run the correct tests and you should be able to find your answer. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I approve this message.

Working-Radio-On-Air-6-7-5 ?

Danny: While technologically feasible (but perhaps commercial not feasible), current FCC Part 95 regulations are generally interpreted to not allow certification for a GMRS device that can also transmit outside the GMRS channels. This topic comes up quite frequently about why GMRS devices do not include the license free MURS channels.

Marvelous explanation! Thank you very much.

I found if you put a rubber band around it to hold it tight to the radio,,,it works

Yes Michael, there are units that do cover those frequencies but Mr. KIA, the OP was asking as a person not licensed to operate that type of unit and specifically for a unit to cover just the GMRS and CB bands which there isn't a unit. So, quit being an idiot and address the question being asked in the frame it was asked. And further, the Yaesu doesn't operate on the GMRS or CB frequencies without illegal modification so the answer is STILL there isn't a unit that combines those particular frequencies.

GMRS is short range, line-of-sight communications but has a higher power output than CB. GMRS is also FM where CB is AM so the messages are much clearer. GMRS is able to use repeaters that improve the range and can be connected to form networks. Because the frequencies for CB are around 27 MHz and GMRS is in the 460 MHz area the two can't be combined into a single unit.

Id grab the Laird GF4500 antenna and a 3' or so LMR style jumper. Heck 1/2" harline would be ideal. Think you;ll be happy with the FG4500. I run it on my Motorhome with the RT97 and it works great. I run about 12' of RG142.

Your last point above is VERY important and a source of confusion with repeater owners. If a repeater is used by anyone not using, operating under, the repeater owners license the repeater MUST self ID using the owners call sign.

As MichaelLax has indicated, the repeater tail is a function of the repeater and is set by the repeater owner. If you were building your own repeater out of a pair of KG-1000G then you would setting the tail on one of those two radios that comprises your repeater. The KG1000 does have a setting for adjusting the tail, but it is only relevant when it is repeater mode and being used as part of a repeater system. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Hello and Welcome, Gil: The tail, if there is to be one, is a function that is programmed on the particular repeater. You, as the repeater user, cannot choose to turn it on or off.

I have been watching both of these potential changes for a while now on another website. Administering a large radio network with semi tractors equipped with both Motorola commercial radios, FM and 40-50 Watts, and 5 Watt Cobra CB radios that are built as cheaply as possible, the FM CB idea may help with voice clarity and overall usability. AM has forced technicians to make a clean and efficient install, and users to bring them in for a watt-meter test when they suspect a problem. As for location on GMRS, I have wanted this ever since taking a Garmin Rino 120 to Afghanistan in 2004. Many of us bought them for augmenting the Rockwell PSN-11, being careful about the location sending feature. Garmin's first series of Rino radio/GPS receivers were in many people's pockets, as they had a map, and were even olive drab green in the 120 model. That location feature helped a lot as well in certain situations......adding this to a higher power GMRS and mobile radio would be great. Hope it happens.

For that price one can buy 8+ commercial mobile radios that have Part 95 certification and better audio.

A box will be heading your way next week Lou..

Lou: A box is going out to UPS today with the following: Baofeng UV-5R5 Baofeng BF-888S Baofeng BF-T1 and specialized programming cable (USB to USB-micro) All have been pre-programmed to your 4 repeater channels, two simplex channels and the remainder filled to the other GMRS/FRS channels as space remains. I did my due diligence and this is a tax deductible 501(c)(3) organization helping out the homeless of Atlantic City and I strongly encourage others here on myGMRS to donate their unused HTs to them (or a local homeless organization that is utilizing GMRS): https://www.havenstreets.org

As you can see by the replies, interpretations/opinions are divided. As a reminder, my question was specifically regarding GMRS from a legal perspective. Before starting this post, searching the web for an answer to the question yielded no answers. Also, I had looked at the GMRS portion of the Part 95 rules, and it didn't seem to support use of one's license by a friend under normal circumstances. There was a provision for emergency use. According to Part 95.1705 subpart (c), the following people can operate a GMRS station under the authority of an individual license: + the GMRS licensee + a list of the license holder's immediate family members, defined as spouse, children, grandchildren, stepchildren, parents, grandparents, stepparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and in-laws + anyone if necessary to communicate an emergency message + a partnership + a corporation + an association + a governmental unit Since it appears that the Part 95 rules don't support GMRS use by a friend (except for an emergency), I figured I'd create this post anyway in case anyone was aware of a rule to the contrary and could cite the rule. I also figured that other folks might search this forum for an answer to this question, so it was worth posting. Therefore, since nobody was able to cite a specific GMRS Part 95 rule which supports use by a friend, I'm going with the approach that it is not legal. Even though amateur radio makes a provision for use by a friend if the licensee acts as a control operator, this does not appear to apply to GMRS by extension. Since my question was from a strictly speaking legal perspective, that is what I wanted an answer to. If a GMRS licensee chooses to let a non-licensed friend transmit on the holder's license, this appears to be illegal based on everything I've seen in the GMRS portion of Rule 95. Bottom line: It appears that it is illegal to let a non-licensed friend transmit under the authority of your GMRS license, except for an emergency.

No. One input frequency and one output frequency (aka “Repeater Pair”) at at time. And despite the ability to change frequencies on the radio, expect performance to suffer if you set the radio’s frequency to something other than what the internal duplexer has been optimized for. Hope that helps. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

It's a 10W transmitter but by the time the signal is passed through the notch duplexer inside, the output is 5W. Because of this, we market these as 5W repeaters and that's the power the FCC has certified them at. If the transmit and receive frequencies were further apart than 5 MHz, the duplexer would not have as much loss and you'd see something closer to 10W.

From what I can see checking the Canadian frequency allocation at least two of the excluded frequencies are not allocated to the Canadian FRS/GMRS service. Those would be for the US 467 MHz repeater inputs. Excluding those would make some sense. So I would assume that still applies. The other two are listed for the Canadian FRS/GMRS service. It would appear those two could be used and allowed by the FCC. I agree that something likely is messed up with the license restrictions. As you pointed out it might have gotten missed. It won't be the first time the FCC messed things up.

The rule states as follows "Licensees who operate North of Line A and East of Line C may not operate on channels 462.650 MHZ,467.650 MHZ, 462.700 MHZ and 467.700 MHZ unless your previous license authorized such operations." Thus, Channels 19 and 21 are not permitted to be used north of Line A. All other channels are ok as long as you follow part 95 rules.

Michael, Kindly show the world where there is an approved device that covers both the GMRS and CB frequencies and not a unit that covers frequencies outside those two bands.