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Just stack them up on a random wall in your house.. Its the best way to find out if your wife really loves you or not.

No frs is what makes gmrs so good, you get more power and more options than frs, but you can still fully talk with frs which covers every easily available walmart or big box store radio sold. Gmrs benefits from numbers, seperating them just takes away most of the advantage of gmrs.

There are a lot of reasons. Some of them are family-oriented: GMRS radios are compatible with FRS, so a GMRS user can have a solution that also works with non-licensed users. The GMRS license also covers family members. The GMRS license doesn't require study/test, so others who aren't interested in radio can also obtain a license and communicate. This is a direction we see with offroading clubs, for example; club members pay their $35, get their license, good to go; they can communicate with other offroading club members at events. Similar to "club use", it's also convenient for other outdoors activities. I can keep in touch with anyone I'm skiing with if they either have a GMRS license, OR have an FRS radio and are within the slightly shorter FRS range. Experimentation. Yes, that's supposed to be the domain of Amateur radio. But some people start with GMRS, get familiar with radio communications, and *then* move on to amateur. I'm in this category, too. I started with GMRS out of need of keeping in touch with my kids while skiing, and more broadly, with the others in our ski groups. But it became interesting enough to me to work toward my Amateur Tech. ...I'd love to get my General but haven't had time. However, even with a Tech license, I still use GMRS more than anything because it's the license that applies to my family as we do family sorts of things. And it's still the license that supports non-licensed friends with an FRS radio. I know that compatibility with FRS is, in many ways, an annoyance. But it's also part of what makes GMRS compelling.

I am alright with FRS and GMRS in the same radio......but do wish MURS was integrated into many "blister pack" radios as well. My first Cheap Chinese Radio was an Anytone 878 variant, and the VHF/UHF bands as well as Promiscuous Mode has helped a lot. After 2017, when the rules changed, I saw GMRS as being the best bang for the buck for many users......no test, just pay the fee and you are legal for ten years. Need to talk to others on FRS that lack a license, you can do it. Cost of hardware is cheap and abundant....I see allof this as a good thing. Many people think radio is "dying" with encryption, cost of fire and law enforcement radios, and yet getting more people to use them is taking place before our eyes with the proliferation of FRS and GMRS. I know people that buy FRS, then want more range, so they pay the fee for a GMRS license and then get into GMRS,often from watching certain personalities on YouTube (NotaRubicon comes to mind - I know he reads these [good info to the newbies]).

Here's the occasional reminder that 70cm is used to reach the ISS 263 miles up in the sky, and often at orbits that place it 1000 miles away, while still within line of sight. And the radios people are using? 5w handhelds with a Yagi antenna, often, as that is the easiest to deal with out in the field. 2w to go 80 miles is totally sufficient if there's line of sight, no obstructions, just like 5w is sufficient for hitting the ISS repeater 250-1000 miles away. <edit, adding to my post> ....in fact, Voyager 1, the most distant man-made object in space, nearly a full light-day away, transmits at 23 watts:

I have often wondered this myself - especially after seeing/hearing all the "licensed ham operators" bash GMRS and GMRS users and preach to us how horrible GMRS is and how much better life would be if we would just "get our ticket" and use a "real radio".. Of course, when we try to point out that GMRS does exactly what we need, they respond with something along the lines of "oh, you're just too stupid to take the test"... Then we have to listen to them tell us the stories of how they got their H.A.M.s license when they were only 9 years old and didnt even have to study. OTOH, I have also heard and read about "licensed ham operators" slumming on GMRS just so they could quote regulations, complain about spurious RF emissions, and failure to use GMRS callsigns - as if they are some kind of self appointed radio-police.. Basically, it seems that many (of course not all) are just sad, broken, sociallyretarded losers, trying their best to try and let everyone know how smart and powerful they think they are.

My family went on a cruise 20 years ago. Several families went together. My friend and I were both HAMs at the time. We both took an HT with us. Mine was in a carry on which was searched when we boarded. My friend, who's more of a nerd than me, had his hanging on his belt. The security people who had just searched my bag half an hour earlier and saw my radio and even asked what it was had my friend take his radio back to his car which was a true pain. I never asked why I could keep mine and he couldn't. I even used my radio up on the deck. I theorized that since the chicks really dig the HAM operator with a radio on his belt that security wanted to give all the other guys on board the ship a chance. I haven't been on a cruise since then. My wife didn't really care for it and I spent enough time at sea when I was a member of Uncle Sam's canoe club.

MURS would also be a good unlicensed option for a church.

I'm currently negotiating to put an antenna on the roof of an 800' AGL building here (and the ground it's on is the highest elevation for miles). Right now I am using a stick antenna on my house roof for my rather basic 50W repeater. Between recurring roof rights, tower installer, DB-420B antenna, Motorola repeater with network control, duplexer, and various remote control equipment this is likely going to be a minimum of $10,000 to start and $2K+/year to continue. At that point I'll be requesting optional donations to help defray expenses, either as a one-time thing or recurring, depending on the donor's wishes. Everybody will have equal access to the repeater, donation or not. If the roof deal goes through, on the new repeater each user will get a unique code for access, just to keep random people off it. I haven't ever denied an access request and doubt I will. The only reason it's by request is so I have a list of users I can notify when major changes happen (like the above roof deal). Based on other experience with fundraising for various other non-profit projects, I expect I'll be lucky to end up with $1000. It's more moral support, knowing that some people value something I do enough to contribute what they can, even if it's just a one-time $10.

You’re correct in one regard; new technology does replace old. Spark gap transmitters went the way of the rotary dial phone once vacuum tubes were developed. But in a more important way, you have completely missed the point. Many (perhaps most) of us who adopt analog radios for communication do so because of the desire to be as independent of commercial or government provided infrastructure as possible. History has taught us that such infrastructure, as complex as it is and as reliant as it is on commercial interests, trade agreements, and the peaceful coexistence of nations, is vulnerable to disruption by overload, hacking, space weather, or the overnight whims of one unstable politician or another. The features might change and more and more digital modes may be developed, but the basic physics never will and those physics allow a person to build a very simple radio transmitter and receiver, in spite of how far technology has staggered forward. I just need to stock up on transistors.

I think this is key. When GMRS is used like ham radio, where talking on the radio is the primary activity, such as social networking organized around a repeater, it will be attractive only to people who are primarily looking to talk on the radio. When it’s used as a communication tool while involved in an activity, everyone involved in that activity will use GMRS. If it’s a family activity, the entire family will be involved. So I think the way to get more people involved in GMRS cannot be centered primarily around talking on the radio, but rather around activities that are attractive to more people. However, I also interested in finding ways to get more people interested in talking on the radio because that’s key to growing ham radio as well as GMRS.

I got my GMRS license, in addition to the Ham one, just for fun. It's just another tool in the tool box. Plus there are nice people to talk to on GMRS that have no interest in getting a Ham license.

There is absolutely no group of people that doesn’t have its scofflaws. It’s inevitable. Everyone has a level of compliance that they set for themselves based on whether they think specific rules are necessary. For some compliance is very unimportant, for others it’s very important. Most of us occupy a spot along the spectrum between those two endpoints.

It is possible to get poor quality components in almost any country, regardless of nationality, but you only need to look at your smartphone to see that it’s also possible get very high quality components if a manufacturer is willing to pay for them. I suspect that the radios you classify as more expensive use many Chinese made components. Stereotyping like this is wrong and typically results in underestimating our adversaries.

And.... Turns out it's not that big of a thing. Used 12 Gauge copper solid wire. Used the following formula: Used a drill and a vice to straighten the wire. Ran into one problem, I don't have a hot enough soldering iron/gun for that large copper. Have one on order but I did manage to get a solid solder connection although not pretty. Left both legs of the antenna long and trimmed each by 1/8" increments. Hit 1:1.03 at one point and should have left it alone. It is now at 1:1.2 which is fine for my first build. Used micrometers to measure spacing and feed points. Still have a little work to do on it. Want to re-melt the solder joints when the hotter gun get's here. Want to make some "standoffs" out of plexiglass for between the elements for consistency. Will pick up a chunk of PVC to wrap it in. Used RGB 8X for pigtail which is fine with me as it is only 6" long with less than 1% loss. Transceiver is putting out 9.9 out of 10 watts. Not sure what I will do with the thing but I just wanted to see if I could make one. Measurements provided by above plan were very accurate with final build. My bench is a mess right now but I will take some pictures when I clean up the antenna a little and get closer to finishing the build.

2 is 1 and 1 is none.

here's an idea: Get a Garmin InReach and a Starlink Mini.. GMRS is not made for, nor intended to, contact law enforcement or search and rescue. You might cross through a few small slivers of area where Search & Rescue monitor a specific GMRS frequency, but those are in the vast, VAST minority of the area you will be covering. And even whilst in those few, specific, small areas, you must have line-of-sight to them to be able to communicate.

I would argue that MURS would probably be a better choice because there's less potential for interference as fewer people are on it. Unless, of course, the church is near a Walmart.

There's nothing stopping you from using FRS radios. They should work just as well for the purpose and likely cost less, simple operation, etc If using GMRS, everyone on the security team using a GMRS radio would need to be licensed. The only exception would be for those (if any) of you that are blood related... Father, son, brother, sister, etc.

There’s no such exception in the current rules. Church members may not operate under a non-relative’s license, unless the church has a grandfathered license.

The noise floor will vary depending on your location and what is around you. A lot of things produce RF noise, from the electric lines to LED lights, to everyone's phone chargers. There is no way to get away from it short of going out to the middle of nowhere without any electrical lines or electrical devices. Plus we have just had a bunch of solar flairs which will also cause RF noise. This is part of how the HF bands are.

In event of emergencies people with FRS radio's can call out for help or receive my call out for help. One way to stop it is put privacy codes for receive so your radio will not pick up problem channels.

I agree with @beerftw. Interoperability with unlicensed FRS is one of the things that is very handy during community events etc. While your GMRS license covers your immediate family it does not cover your friends or other people you may need to communicate with. The ability hand someone a cheap no license required FRS radio and talk with them is IMHO a real plus! And IF I don't want to hear miscellaneous FRS traffic, that is where CTCSS and DCS comes in...

I completely understand where you're coming from but please understand that there is nothing "legal" going on...or "illegal" for that matter. You can listen to any frequency or channel you want to. Regardless of where it resides within the bands. You only get in trouble when you begin transmitting...and even then, "trouble" is a bit of a big word. If the FCC isn't worried about the Kilowatt Cowboys that are DXing from coast to coast on CB, I hardly think that you or I have anything to worry about it if we accidentally TX where we shouldn't. By all means, follow your conscience and do what you feel is right. I'm simply letting you know that buying a radio that listens where you can't transmit isn't a big deal at all.

My wife uses GMRS on all our jeep events. Ever think many dont really care and use the radio as a tool ? My parent have GMRS and use our family repeater. Contrary to popular belif GMRS is not ham lite even though more and more want it to be.

All back together, zero RFI. Glory be!

i do a lot of RV Camping and carry a portable 40W Repeater.. My go to Antenna is a home brew J Pole attached to a 25' Harbor Freight telescoping flag pole which is fastened to my rear RV ladder. Having a repeater on the go is must and makes a night and day difference using GMRS Comms out in the wilderness. Amazing how well this setup works at the higher elevations. My best distance is approx. 90 miles Lake Crawley - Tonopah

I do the same setting up a Retevis repeater for camp. Started with the roll up, but had better luck with a copper J-Pole.. Here I had it on a camera tripod that worked great on top of the hill, but have since went with a telescoping flag pole.. On the top of the hill though the tripod was all I needed.. The benefit of the tripod was the short length coax with little loss.. Probably a wash with what you gain going up, then lose it in coax loss.. One thing we got here is plenty of hill tops and ridges.. LOL

As a kid I had a CB walkie talkie with an ungodly long collapsible antenna. It had 2 channels a volume and squelch knob. And we didn't run around with them, we used them on bikes. You know, one hand on the handlbar and the other holding the HT while going down dirt hills.

It has only been 17 hours since you came here looking for help and most of that time the rest of us were sleeping. If you’re truly giving up, don’t start a new thread to announce it unless you also post it in the thread where you asked for ideas. People here will do everything they can to help but not if you give up.

I've noticed that two identical radios can have different preferences for antennas. That's why it's so hard to answer "Which antenna is best?" questions.

This is accurate. I have a 5w handheld that - on low - can TX @ 1.5w. I'm able to hit a repeater 60 miles away on that setting.

It would be a better test to use the same exact radio for the tests and just change the bandwidth and power between GMRS and FRS. The results could be heavily influenced by the quality of the radio's transmitter and receiver if using two different models. I once checked a cheap Motorola FRS radio on my bench frequency counter. I was shocked to see it was off frequency by about 2KHz plus! Considering the bandwidth is only 12.5KHz on FRS that's a huge error. Most of my commercial radios, TK-3170 for example, is spec'd at +/-2.5PPM from -22F to +140F, so at 462MHz that's an error of 1.155KHz over that temperature range. The digital radios are even tighter. The NX-1300DUK5 is spec'd at +/-0.5PPM from -30C to +60C.

I keep my radio locked the majority of the time and I know how to use it. My fingers do fumble occasionally.

Must be 18 or older. OP said he is under 18. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-95/subpart-E/section-95.1705

The choice between GMRS and/or Ham and/or CB comes down to, what is it that you and your dad hope to accomplish via your use of the radio? Different radio bands/services often serve different purposes in terms of practical range, unwanted interference from distant stations, etc. There is a whole host of considerations, not the least of which may be the need for you and perhaps other family members to pass an exam to be licensed. I suggest you first start by identifying what you want out of radio, then decide on which avenue makes the most sense.

Those are the parts of the country i try and stay away from..... hence why i am living on a mountainside in eastern TN.... i can walk out my back door and sight in the scope on my (redacted for forum rules, dont want to get in trouble) and no one cares...

Millions of neighborhoods with no "covenants or restrictions" and also no "ghettoesque" appearance. Living around other responsible adults worked for thousands of years just fine. HOA's been around what, maybe 50? To each their own but as long as Im shelling out the dough for the land and structure I live in NOONE is gonna tell me what I cant or can have on MY property.

This is a great thread. I have had my ham license (General class) for almost 26 years and am on my 2nd GMRS license (my first expired a long time ago). No one in my family is remotely interested in amateur radio so it provides a great capability we all can use. I have found in my own experience (others may have different perspectives) that the more formal GMRS clubs and repeaters have much more traffic on them than the ham repeaters do. From my own perspective, if I needed to make a contact with someone locally for help, for example, I would call on the big GMRS club repeater here in the Phoenix area before I would call on any of the ham repeaters. For as much as some hams like to bash GMRS, I think GMRS is overtaking the niche that 2m/70 used to fill. When it comes to my amateur license, its all about HF. I am not really interested in the 2m/70cm repeaters. For what they provide, I'll use GMRS instead. The only exception to that is APRS, which I use a lot. Great thread, thank you! Mike WRUD238 (KC8OWL)

I've been getting 32 to 35 on the General Practice Tests on HamStudy.org so I signed up to take the test on February 18th with a local HAM Club. I'll keep studying until then so it shouldn't be too hard to get at least 26 right so I'll pass. I can hardly wait. 73

I ended up on his channel last year. It's pretty cool to hear yourself online.

Just hunted a guy in AZ with my EFHW strung up off my deck. No comments about RF in mic. Looks like I'm back in business!

Most clubs that were planning on participating have canceled due to the weather. Current temps are 1 degree and it's suppose to snow all day and night here in Missouri. For those venturing out today, stay safe and warm.

Approx. 70 of my portable radios are Motorola of various models. Out of approx. 21 mobiles, I have 4 Kenwoods; 1 Midland, 1 Wouxun, and the rest of them are Motorola of various models and operating bands. I acquired the Wouxun from a person that wanted me to program it and he never came back to pick it up. I may have one CCR now by default.

I got a text from my daughter early one morning last week telling me to turn on my radio. My granddaughter wished me Happy Birthday via her new radio before she went to school. It doesn't get any better than that. I saw her Saturday night and she told me she took her radio when she and her family went down the mountain to the city. She asked me if we could talk that far which led to a conversation about radio stuff. She is pretty smart for an 8 year old.

Fox hunting is a good way to train for emergency situations like amass described.

This was a Civil Air Patrol exercise, simulating looking for a downed airplane with its Emergency Locator Transmitter going off (that's what you're hearing in the video), coordinating air and ground assets, and attending to a cold / injured pilot, and getting them off the mountain.

One thing the regulations do require, that I agree with, is that the pool of questions is ten times as many questions as the test. A person who memorizes the entire pool of questions is bound to learn something, and hopefully some of it will stick with them.

I have a AT-779UV and really do like it... Only thing I did have to with it it is widen the microphone hole in the handset and adjust the mic gain. the way it came the modulation was pretty low. and yes you can configure it to cover GMRS frequencies if you want.

I have the Alinco DJ-MD5 which is basically the 778 inside. Like the 778 it’s certified for Part 90, for commercial frequencies. It is very easily configured to be used on frequencies that include GMRS.