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The range between 400-470 has segments dedicated to a variety of uses. One of those uses is HAM 70cm (specifically, 420-450). Other uses include a portion of the GMRS/FRS range, some could be business use, and so on. A useful HAM guide is https://www.arrl.org/band-plan That guide would also cover the 2M amateur band, which falls within the 136-174 range you mentioned (more specifically, 144-148). For a broader coverage of what might be found in the range of 400-470 and 136-174 you can look at https://transition.fcc.gov/oet/spectrum/table/fcctable.pdf For example, I believe Marine VHF are in the 156-157+ and 161-162+ range. But there are numerous services that will be found in various portions of the ranges you described. MURS is in the 151-154 range.

The current photos of the mxt115 show it with the lighter plug, and the older one I have in a box does a well. Can't find it in the photos, but the "in the box" for the 275 references it including a 12v adapter as well. https://midlandusa.com/products/mxt115-micromobile-2-way-radio

I'm primarily a Kenwood guy but I do have several of the older Motorola XPR-6550 radios. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/261-e451d5e2-f358-40dd-95a1-af106f7e8584jpeg/ Yes they can be programmed to work on GMRS. However I checked my documentation and non of the FCC certification grants show Part 95 on them so technically they are not legal to use. I have no idea if any Motorola commercial grade radios that will work on GMRS carry Part 95 certification. To start off with you should be looking for a radio that has it regardless of manufacture anyway. On the other hand a number of my Kenwood radios have Part 95A certification and are legal. The one I carry around lately is the TK-3170 Type-1. https://pdfs.kenwoodproducts.com/9/TK-2170&3170Brochure.pdf Another one that a few have as well is the TK-3180 Type-1. While the Type-2 will work only the Type-1 has Part 95A certification. https://pdfs.kenwoodproducts.com/10/TK-2180&3180Brochure.pdf I do have a collection of other radios some of which also have Part 95A certification. If you have questions about those I can help with that. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/249-934916052_radiocollectionjpg/ Here's a couple of photos of the mid-tier radios I have. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/254-tk-5320-1jpg/ https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/251-nx-300jpg/ This is a cool radio, will work on GMRS, BUT it doesn't have Part 95 certification, doesn't have an FCC ID either since it was never sold in the US! Bummer. Works great on the Ham bands for DMR and FM, which is why I got it. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/255-tk-d300e-fmdmr/ https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/271-new-in-the-box-tk-d300e/

One consideration for Marine radio is that the channels have fairly specific assignments (and yes, chit chat by kids would probably be in violation of any channel). One listing: 16: Distress calls, ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore -- except for emergencies, MUST change to a working channel after initial contact; must be monitored when not using radio for other purposes 09: New FCC recommended recreational vessel calling channel, to free 16 for distress (this probably means one needs a dual-receive radio to monitor 16, while also monitoring 09) 06: ship-to-ship safety; SAR; Coast Guard 13 (& 67): "bridge to bridge" navigation in tight waterways; 1W max; 13 is all vessels, 67 is commercial vessels only 22: Coast Guard after making initial contact on 16 68, 69, 71, 72: solely ship-to-ship 01, 07-11, 18, 19, 63, 67, 79, 80: COMMERCIAL vessels only 24-28, 84-88: ship-to-shore Marine Operator phone-patches 70: "Digital Selective Calling", ships with DSC radios use this for distress&calling rather than 16 Heh -- that listing also has a warning: do not let children play with the radio!

In reading up on this, I’ve learned that a small minority of backcountry BWCA folks carry FRS/GMRS - mostly those like me with larger or multiple groups. Beyond that, people carry either nothing or a Personal Location Beacon like an InReach or ResQLink. We’ll just be doing day trips, I’ll go the IP67 5W GMRS route (UV9G, RB23, S88G, etc). Apparently, there aren’t really people up there using Marine VHF. So nobody will hear you.

I know a few around me use VHF marine channels as I'll hear them on the river talking to each other. We carry a few in our SAR command post for this purpose. There are tons of models of marine grade handhelds out there with various features including wx alerts and beacons. I'd go that route.

Most commercial antenna's will work much better than the ham/hobby stuff people buy on amazon. Laird makes gear for public safety, and commercial markets. The antenna is one of the most important parts of the equation when it comes to RF so buying quality normally helps. I do run that antenna on some of our SAR vehicles for our TLMR stuff. Works well.

sorry to rain on that point, but I can at least speak to the 805g...Wouxun's unmodified software will allow you to combine any of the GMRS RX frequencies with ANY of the in-bounds transmit frequencies...the lockdown for part 95 certification is strictly software based (as i've alluded to elsewhere), it only gives you in bounds frequencies to choose from the drop-down that is the TX frequency column. I have a couple screenshots (that successfully loaded to the radio) with 462.550 as the RX, and both 467.725 and 467.7125 as associated TX frequencies. I also grabbed one showing the drop-down for the TX frequency column.

My wife is a Scout den leader and we went as a family to a fall campout. The Scout camp has pretty spotty cell reception and in the past we've had trouble getting calls to each other when needing to coordinate the "divide and conquer" with the two kids being in two different groups traveling around different areas of the camp. I picked up a couple of the KG805M's thinking that MURS being VHF would cover better than GMRS due to the amount of woods and slightly rolling terrain at the camp. I was impressed with the audio quality and we had clear signals the whole time just using the stock antennas. I programmed them with a couple copies of the 5 channels using different CTCSS and DCS just in case there was other traffic on the channels but they were completely quiet. Being so far out of town we were nowhere near a Wal-Mart or anyplace else of the sort. I do have a GMRS license and have a pair of KG935's as well as a couple of Kenwood TK3180's programmed for GMRS, but never tried GMRS out there to get a comparison of how well it would work (wasn't going to try to talk the wife into carrying two different radios). I did run into two other families that had GMRS radios, one had some sort of bubble pack radio and I never got to talk to him to ask how well it was working, and the other group had Baofengs for the adults and something simpler for the kids, maybe a Retevis. The dad said they had encountered some dead spots there at the far corners of the camp. In any case, I thought using MURS for this particular application worked out very well and felt like the KG805M's were a cut above some of the cheaper stuff out there. I did buy a BTech MURS-V1 but wasn't thrilled with it and will probably just sell it off. The programming capability in it was very limited compared to the 805M's which I was able to program with some extra receive-only channels I figured might be useful, namely the local NOAA weather radio and Skywarn 2m repeaters in case the weather got dicey.

VHF marine HT’s might be the way to go as long as they are used on the water. They are license free as far as I know. Many if not all will float if dropped into the water. Something a GMRS HT likely won’t do. Nothing worse than watching a $100+ radio sink out of sight.

It's also not Part 95 certified. I'm talking about radios certified to use on GMRS.

Back some 25-30 years ago, .675 WAS an FCC declared Emergency/Traveller Assistance channel. This was back in the days when one's license only authorized TWO of the 8 main frequency pairs (simplex& repeater; Channel numbers did not apply -- you only had channels 1&2/A&B; channel numbers were only standardized with the 2017 reorganization of GMRS and FRS). If one's license did not list .675, and one had a radio that could tune to it (unlikely in those days as most were using LMR units with just an A/B channel switch and had to be programmed at a dealer for the licensee's two frequencies*) it could only be used for Emergency/TA purposes. If the license /did/ list .675, it was just plain general use frequency. * The Maxon GMRS 210+3 was a bit of a wonder radio in 97; it had the 7 interstitials (usable without being listed on a license), .675 as channel 8, and then had 9&10 programmable (officially by a shop, but the programming manual was included with the unit) for the channels on one's license. Programming CTCSS was available via front panel. It wasn't until 1999 that the "2 main frequency" license restriction was removed.

Michael, I'm a former NATIONAL frequency coordinator for Parts 90.20 and was a member of both the Land Mobile Communications Council and the Public Safety Communications Councils besides being a member of the FCC's Communications Information Security and Reliability Federal Advisory panel. I did part 90.35 and 101 coordination. I have written petitions to the FCC for rule changes and had them implemented. One petition initiated the first rule change in 35 years. I was an instrumental part of obtaining the Band 14 allocation at 800 MHZ among other items in my career. Now, what have you done that provides you with your qualifications?

OK, here's what is being misunderstood here. There was a time the the FCC issued repeater pairs to new GMRS license applicants. These were from the 8 repeater pairs laiid out in the rules pertaining to the service. You typically would get two pairs to use and this was to more or less act as 'coordination' for frequency use. That was stopped and all license holders had unrestricted access to ALL 8 pairs to be put into use or to be used to access other repeaters. Repeaters back then were more 'private use' that what we are doing now with the service where a few put up big repeater systems that the rest enjoy the coverage of. Some charge for that access and others don't. But the bigger point is that we all can use ALL the repeater pairs and WE as license holders are now responsible to do our own frequency coordination. Now that isn't a bad thing as long as both parties involved are willing to work with each other. At the point one or both parties decide to not be flexible, then it turns into a mess that the FCC will NOT get involved in unless the regulations on the books are broken. At that point the pull the license of the problem individual or individuals and the problem is again solved. Guessing this is the basis of what you are understanding with the statement you made. It's partly correct but not close to the truth. No big deal. We all are learning every day. And hope to keep learning.

Great antennas.....have used these and similar variants for years on fleet vehicles for commercial and public safety users. This version of coil also does not get caught in car wash brushes or cloth flaps (we tell end users to hand wash the cars but they do not listen) as often as the exposed coil version too. Some have lasted so long that they only fail (after years of use) when the center conductor spring has corroded into pieces, breaking the connection between the antenna and NMO mount. This is in a very wet environment, the Pacific Northwest, so everything gets wet over time. As for the 12 miles, you should try again as they do tend to get a bit further out, depending on what you are talking into (in my case it is a UHF repeater network, so 12-16 miles is common with a GMRS mobile.

Except that the RT81V isn't accepted/type certified for MURS. If it was, it would have a fixed antenna, max 2 watts and just 5 frequencies. Thus, the bend. In reality, the MURS world is a free for all with all types of 4 watt portables being programmed up on those channels as simplex users. I see that with the FRS channels in UHF also.

Pretty sure Crestline .575 is not linked.. If it was you would be seeing everyone complaining about the non-english long-talkers on it all day with out ever ID'ing with a callsign.