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No, but that’s a myopic view. The U.S. government has regulations against conducting radio communications on the U.S. side of the border that violate international treaties that they have with other countries. So even though the communications you actually interfere with are in Canada, you can be penalized on the U.S. side.

This weekend I sat down and talked to an engineer who has been working with the FCC to shape rules for GMRS since before it was called GMRS. I got some pretty eye-opening information from him on the whole POTS v Broadband thing. He explained that linking a GMRS system to the POTS lines (no longer exists) and Broadband connections are legal (not a rule violation) for remote control... but not for voice traffic, because all POTS providers and now Broadband providers provide voice service for a fee. So, sending voice over POTS / Broadband is considered theft of services. That explains why remote operation of a PRS station from any location on the same premises where the transmitter is located, is not considered to be remote operation/remote control and why RF (non-network) linking for voice operation is not prohibited. No theft of services is occurring.

LOL. The HAM guy who said "Good for you" will probably be the one who turns them in.

Not to mention that this thread is 2 years old.

The rules don’t actually say that repeaters can’t be linked but the say that GMRS communications can’t be conveyed by any kind of network. The FCC has issued an interpretation that says that means no linking. It has yet to be tested and this is why lawyers have flashy cars.

Amateur radio skews toward being an "old man's hobby." GMRS as a tool in support of family activities skews toward younger, family-activity aged people. But GMRS as a hobby is going to skew toward amateur radio age. Old men talking to random old about the radios they have and antennas they run, as a hobby. If you're using GMRS for skiing, boating, camping, hiking, offroading, that sort of thing, you're "keeping it young." If you're using GMRS to kibitz on forums, run neighborhood nets, talk to people you met through GMRS, you're raising the average age. I'm clearly guilty of kibitzing on GMRS forums. I don't get involved in nets or socializing over the air, I do ski, camp, hike... and I'm younger than some here, and older than others. I'm probably in the middle of the age range on this forum, on the older side of the "activity-oriented" users, and haven't reached the "socializing on 2 way radios" age yet.

I went to brand new HAM radio club meeting this weekend, and everyone stared at me when I walked in. I'm 49, and covered in tattoos. I was definitely at least 15 years younger than anyone else there.

the lack of volunteer frequency coordination to manage the GMRS repeater spectrum will kill any chance the FCC will even come close to consider permitting linking. And i honestly don't think it would take to many complaints about bandwidth hogging to awake the FCC sending out a few letters to the BIG abusers. Especially with some of these guys whom blatantly advertise what they are doing while taking money to do it. They don't affect me so i quite making noise about it, but i have been in cities where these guys operate and i can see the problems they create.

Marc, while I believe that you had that conversation (I've never had reason to doubt you) and find it interesting, it isn't however the official reason the FCC put forth with their clarification. Thus I think using "sending voice over POTS / Broadband is considered theft of services" as an antiquated idea argument wont go very far. Perhaps that was the genesis of the reason some time ago for not linking GMRS but it's clearly not the reason they put forth recently in writing despite what this engineer says. It certainly is an easier argument to fight in this day and age it just isn't the one I think would sway the FCC because it dosn't address what they have publicly stated as the reason. In addition to violating Commission rules, linking repeaters is not in the public interest. Because GMRS spectrum is limited and used on a shared “commons” basis, the service only works well on a localized basis when users can hear each other and cooperate in the sharing of channels. Linking repeaters not only increases the potential for interference, but also uses up a limited spectrum resource over much larger areas than intended, limiting localized availability of the repeater channels. GMRS and the Family Radio Service (FRS), which share many of the GMRS channels, are intended for individuals such as family members and friends, scouting troops, emergency response groups, and hobbyists to communicate with each other over short distances, directly or through a repeater station. Linking repeaters, via the internet or other networks, undermines the purpose and usefulness of the GMRS and FRS.

On my oldest UV-5R: menu 21 MDF-A, menu 22 MDF-B (A & B correspond to the 2 displayed channels) *All those things you mention need to be transmit blocked to stay w/in regs. And you need a ham license for talking on ham frequencies.

I use both only because i have friends on HAM in some areas we travel.. I use GMRS 70% of the time.. It's nice to have the HAM license and utlize their linked systems which does come in handy at times.. Also, there are a couple RV Parks we travel to where the Park Manager is HAM and reaching out to them comes in very handy and really helps getting into the prime spots.. Yea, if yoiu have an interest to get a HAM license, i would go for it.

I used to hang around a bit with Kevin Mitnick back in the day building 2600Hz boxes until he started doing really crazy stuff.

The FCC has a ruling specifically exempting amateur radio. It's been 20 years since I read the most recent ruling, but the FCC published a docket in 2005/2006 time frame say something along the lines of 'amateur radio operators who volunteer to provide essential communications and warning links to supplement State and local government assets during emergencies, currently is sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency'. Due to Amateur Radio Services being used by the government for auxiliary communications services, they had been deemed exempt. Some people have debated if amateur repeater linking is a violation of 47 CFR § 97.113(a)(5), but there are zero examples of anyone actually being fine for it. Likely because of the aforementioned docket, which eventually lead to permanent changes in the rules in 2010, specifically 47 CFR § 97.219 and 47 CFR § 97.3.

"Once upon a time" You mean when I was a boy?

Vocationally, I, on occasion, am paid to write things. One of my favorite lines to this day was a client talking to his clinically mandated psychologist. The shrink was trying to get him to open up and he, being sardonic and largely capable of bearing his own burdens, had been refusing. Also, he had some pretty dark passengers. When he finally decided to yield and talk about his issues, he led with "OK, fine. Let's put a Lambo in your garage." I thought it was witty.

Maybe he has notifications for it and can’t read them because they’re black on dark gray…

change your setting in your browser setting. Dark to Light or Same as Windows

That's not even believable. As someone from outside the AO (but within receive range of Augusta repeater, which used to be linked), I still have an interest in the issue. Some brave soul who lives there should document the details and submit it to FCC and let them sort it out.

I've been an RV'er most of my life.. In the mid 2000's the RV group i traveled with out of Sacramento used HAM frequencies to stay in touch with each other.. It's funny when i compare 'then and now'. Back then our trips where kinda of boring on the road. We seldom used the radios and only did so to coordinate our gas stops. Now and with GMRS we enjoy and look forward to the road time. We actually have a little bit of fun yapping in a casual manner. To me, GMRS is just more relaxing and less stressful. No one to tell you how and what you are dong wrong on the air waves. And now with all these GMRS repeaters out there, 'getting out' with your radio is probably as good or better than the HAM side. I still HAM but most of my time is spent on GMRS

As I have said several times on here. GMRS is radio facebook, radio chatroom. It's how many are using it. It's a social gathering spot for people that just want to chat. The reason GMRS and not HAM is HAM requires testing and more effort. With GMRS, you pay your money and you get a license. And the codgers involved with ham radio aren't always real welcoming to the younger generation either.

And for the sake of the discussion, there is NOTHING stopping you from putting a repeater up, on one of the frequencies they are using and talking on it. And this is for the same reason I gave before on them backing themselves into a corner. They have a linked repeater system and have overlapping coverage of a number of the pairs if not all the pairs. But again, who are they going to call? The FCC? I seriously doubt it. Because again, backed into a corner with no recourse. What are they gonna tell the FCC? They going to admit they have all the pairs tied up with linking? That they are running a for profit business selling air time on GMRS? I personally dealt with this in Ohio. At first I was willing to try to work with the guy. But he started telling me HE had the pairs and I could only run a short antenna and low power. His repeaters (turned out to be paper repeaters) were well established. When I started looking into his repeaters, and found his business license and it stated he was for profit selling air time on GMRS, I picked the two pairs he was on and parked repeaters on both pairs. He wasn't happy. I invited him to call the FCC and told him I had all of it documented including his state business license where he was selling air time for profit. It never went any further.

I have the H3 and it's easy to program it. Are both input and output tones the same? If not reverse them just to make sure you aren't mistaken which one is the repeater input tone. If both are the same then leave the Rx tone at none so you will receive the repeater output no matter what.

You can sign up to receive a weekly digest of changes. Go to the repeater level and edit your account profile

I’ve been flying high power rockets for 25 years. I got GMRS radios to enhance my enjoyment of my high power rocketry hobby. Most of us in my rocket club got Garmin Rino radios so we could see where each other were while out recovering our rockets. After several years of being a scofflaw I decided that I wanted to do the right thing and get licensed as well. Somewhere along the line I started watching Notarubicon videos where Randy (@OffRoaderX) spoke about Baofeng UV5R radios. Also a friend showed me his UV5R radio and I ended buying one. I discovered that I really enjoyed programming it which gave me confidence. Playing with the Baofeng radios reawakened a barely dormant interest in ham radio that I’ve had since eighth grade. So three years ago I finally got around to applying myself to ham radio. For me (not for everyone) ham radio has been a fascinating experience. It keeps my brain working and is something I will be able to do even as I eventually get old. (I’ll be 70 next month but I feel 40 most of the time.) GMRS is something that can be done in conjunction with other activities, including very dynamic and energetic ones, and without becoming an expert on radio operations. Ham radio is a government sanctioned hobby intended to develop radio operators. It’s structured in such a way that older hams can (and sometimes do) mentor younger hams with differing levels of licensing and activities that are relatively sedentary. So, I think it’s natural to perceive GMRS as a younger person’s hobby. Now why did I come into this room?

Why are you telling this to OP who already IS a licensed Ham?!? I am convinced that some of the members of this Forum think they get paid by their sheer number of posts!!

Nice; appreciate it!

I do not recall the exact name of it, but there is a Menu Setting that you can change to show name, frequency or channel.. Might be called MDF or something like that.. Find it, then set it to 'name'.

Not to mention all the Priate VOIP companies whom are actually stealing form the telephone companies and raking in billions with offsohre scams

i heard that same theory a few years ago and it came from an AT&T Engineer.. But,, today with all these different Broadband providers, not incluidng the old POT companies, its prretty hard to establish a theft violeation because most ISP could care less, they're only interested in selling their serice. Personaly, because of this, i think the FCC needs to redo their deffination of Plain Old Telephone Companies..

Where is it written? Nowhere. No one is saying that. OP was asking for a Charleston area repeater and we were just saying that one out in the boonies on Clements Ferry Road isn't really going to help the "Charleston area."

Well, I thought about going RV but decided against it. What I considered a decent rig was just too expensive with the limited use I'd put to it. I was looking at all-around unit, diesel powered of at least 20 foot. To address your question though, I would do both. Ham radio can be fun even with just the V/UHF bands and many radios sold for either service can do both ham/GMRS.

If you ever (knew anyone who) used the toy whistle from a Captain Crunch cereal box to get free long distance calling, you might be of that age.

But if the argument for its "illegality" is because sending voice traffic through broadband is considered "theft of service," why would you allow the HAM community to do it? They have even more room to steal your service, so to speak. I am admittedly a neophyte in all this, but it seems to me far more likely that the FCC doesn't want "some people" talking too many fars. It's evident in the scalable nature of their licensing. FRS and MURS, no license, no fars. GMRS, license no test, some fars. HAM General, license and test, more fars. Ham technician, another test, even more fars. HAM Extra, one last test, most fars. Although to be fair, I think HF gets unlocked at level 2 HAM and that's about as far as you can talks. At least I think. No, I'm not sure it has anything to do with "theft of service." And if it does, I think one can easily make the case in 2025 that GMRS traffic is not taking money out of Verizon's pocket.

Good point!

Here’s another notification.

No, Buddy is in his 20s still. He’s Ky’s youngest and his actual name is Buddy Rocketman Michaelson.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for attending the get-together today! Also, thanks to all of our admins and repeater owners for coming out, and our friend Tim for helping coordinate! I had a great time seeing old friends and making new ones!

I grew up with his step son AJ. I used to hang out over at his house in MN all the time back in the 80's. Really nice guy. They had an indoor pool we would swim in all year.

Went on a road trip and my 6 year old rode with grandma. I gave him one of my radios and we kept the other. Thought it'd be a fun way to try to talk. In the 20-ish hours of driving: Kid turned off his radio "to save battery" Kid turned off his radio because he wanted to watch Minecraft videos on the iPad Kid dropped the radio and couldn't reach it Kid couldn't hear his radio over his headphones while watching a movie on the iPad Kid said "hi dad, I love you" and a construction worker on the same frequency responded "what?" and my kid went "what?" and the construction worker went "what?" and my kid panicked turned off the radio when he realized he wasn't talking to dad We talked about how big windmills actually are when we passed a blade being transported All in all, a fun experiment. He enjoyed using "dad's radios" and getting to use walkie-talkies somewhere other than the backyard (when it was turned on). Also, sorry, random Illinois DOT guy.

Yes. Try getting closer to the repeater and/or confirming that you have the correct code and that the repeater is actually online.

The average age of GMRS users in my household is 24.5. The average age of ham radio users in my household is 42. Your math checks out. I would like to get my 7 year old into amateur radio to bring that average age down.

Now I remember why you were on my ignore list …

With the exception of mounting hardware, steel is seldom used in antennas. Aluminum is lightweight and a very good conductor. For RF connectors brass is much more easily machined and a better conductor than steel. But brass is often plated to prevent oxidation which can affect performance (mechanical and electrical) and appearance.

Phrased they way you did, it likely wouldn't. However, in the reddit post, several people implied (or maybe I inferred) that the club/group/whatever has every repeater pair used on their network, making it almost impossible for anyone else to standup their own repeater anywhere in North Georgia due to capture effect on the mobiles in the area. Im sure the capture effect causes problems on simplex and same channel repeater inputs, too. Of course, I am summarizing an interpretation of what I read and sharing an opinion based on that interpretation, assuming it's true.

The Nagoya is 'Tri-Band'. If you want to get deep in the weeds and basic: Each transmit is trimmed as close as possible to the wavelength, and the ground plane is a 'virtual' (If I don't add that some pedant will comment, but you can gloss over it) mirror image of the same Tx from the top (I know all about null-fields, leave me alone; you had over a day) and, ideally, is also 'trimmed'. The different rods should combine for one of three bands and the trim 'matches' the trim of the wire (antenna you see) you picked to transmit on that antenna. If you, in fact, have a dual or tri-band antenna, both will equally perform but they are tri band and that seldom works well without friends, work and beer. But you don't want a tri-band bc I presume you do not have a HAM license or would know all this. In a perfect world you would calculate to a specific frequency, do some math, cut things and 'trim' to perfection but we use 'bands' of frequencies. The other one says UHF; that's a huge band. I'm going to say you will have more options with the Nagoya.

I would love to tell them that linking over a network is a rule violation, not a law violation, and linking repeaters via analog non-routed RF is assumed to not be a rule violation (legal), since its not explicitly denied in the rules. Now, linking repeaters across the northern part of the state and monopolizing every channel is a @$$h0l3 move... which should be the real topic.

I kid you not, I bought one of those little pond fishing, plastic, trolling motor boat thingies about two years ago. Store it in the side yard up against the house. Earlier this month my wife goes "Why is there a boat propped against the side of the house?"

Nicely done - a huge improvement in group run communications! I helped our club migrate to GMRS a couple years ago and it was very well received. It is now a requirement for all club sanctioned events. We've got a thread detailing the change and the pros of GMRS, along with a rundown of our favorite and suggested gear to get folks started. I joke the radio is so you can hear good dad jokes on a long trip but we do a lot of training and guiding, so it really aids with instruction, direction, and safety. I can also run a separate channel on dual watch with the group and my tailgunner so we can talk logistics if need be.

According to the FCCs, if you are using a GMRS radio, no matter what channel you are on, the answer is YES.. In the real world, and knowing that nobody listening cares, the FCCs dont care, and nobody will know what kind of radio you are using, the answer is NO.