cateyetech

Well, today I passed my Technician and General exams for Ham license. When they told me I passed the General also, my mouth dropped open and all I could say was "WOW!"   LoL
 
I knew a few weeks ago I wanted to at least get my Technician license. And, I did order the book and got started studying for it. Along the way, I heard some folks on Facebook saying they wished they'd gone for the General too. Others said they hadn't studied for it, but were given the opportunity to take the test, and only missed by 2 or 3 questions. So, given the much increased communication privileges of the General, I decided to try to go for both of them. What a glutton for punishment! I was about 1/2 through my Technician book when I stumbled onto Ham Radio Prep and HamStudy.org. I signed up for the  Technician/General package at Ham Radio Prep and started in. I found that liked working that way through the material better than the book. Also, I found the review tools at HamStudy were very good. Very helpful. It wasn't long before I was passing my Technician practice exams in the 80-90% ranges. At that point I moved on to the General studies via Ham Radio Prep. Gotta say, I was studying about as hard as I did back in my college days for a Final exam. I was even turning off the TV to really dig in!!   LoL Even so, I sure didn't have the same confidence in the General material. Oh that math was messing me up. Never was that good in it, and this stuff, and their combining formulas, was making my head spin. On my first General practice exam I think I just got a 45%. Ugh! A few days later I tried again and happened to just squeeze out a 75%. "Okay, maybe this is doable." Mostly, the last couple days, I just finished the Ham Radio Prep material, and then I used the HamStudy tool to just keep reviewing, capturing my wrong answers to review the correct ones, and repeat. Actually, some of it was even making more sense to me!   So, this morning when exam day came, I felt better, but I was still quite unsure of the General. Boy! I didn't figure on the stress of having 3 people watching me taking my exams!   As I worked though the Technician exam I could hear myself thinking, "Take it easy. Don't mess this up. Relax. Go back and check." Ha! I passed the Technician, and it was on to the General. I knew it all depended on what group of questions I got from the pool. It could go either way. I was less sure on the General, that's certain. But, as I reviewed my answers, I thought perhaps I had a chance. I clicked that Submit button and held my breath. Shortly afterward I heard the moderator saying, "Well, you passed your General."     I mean, my mouth literally dropped open, my eyes opened wide with amazement, and all I could say was "Wow! Wow! Wow!"
 
So, looks like I'm a Ham now. My sister said, "A ham for a Ham!" LoL Oh, I just ordered a better HT too. ;-)

I must tell you all that while you may get a tad more range (perhaps 5% or so in my case) when using the longer antenna, I have found the added length to be more of an annoyance than real benefit. So I have reverted back to use of the stock antenna and the shorter 701. In my everyday carry use of my radios I found that the extra inches if range distance mattered so little in practice that the hassle of the longer antenna was not warranted. I will certainly keep it in my tool box, and I will use it on special occasions, but its days of everyday carry use are over.
 
 
Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

Through our partnership with BuyTwoWayRadios, we are offering these on our store. Stock is very limited!
 
https://shop.mygmrs.com/products/wouxun-kg-905g-repeater-capable-gmrs-radio-5w

this is gonna depend on the situation.  But BOTH is the ideal situation.  GMRS lends simplicity to any situation since any family member can be given a radio, so basic direction of radio operation on air and turned loose with it to use.  Ham is not that way, they would need to be licensed.  Ham is going to have more people on it,  but that is a double edged sword depending on the situation.  Don't think just because someone has a ham radio they fall into the prepper category and aren't looking for someone else's stuff because they have none.  And that applies to GMRS as well and why you tell family members to NOT EVER communicate their location to ANYONE on the air in an emergency unless they are in a life and death situation calling for help.  But again, the situation is going to dictate what you need, and how to communicate.
 
Examples
Storm takes down power for more than 12 hours.  Combination of GMRS. ham and a broadcast receiver possibly a CB radio.  Discussions will typically range from where to get ice and find charging stations. 
Situation is minor.  A police scanner is a valuable tool for situational awareness.
 
Major power outage,, one week.
Here's were op-sec (operational security) comes into play.  GMRS is useful to maintain comms with non ham family members and trusted friends.  HAM is for listening now.  The number of unprepared folks out there are now looking for supplies.  Situation is not dire but the unprepared will be freaking out.  All discussions of actual location should cease at this level.  DO NOT discuss over the radio where you are, where you have left or what time you are going to return.  CB radio for listening, but only by people that understand replying to calls for help could create a situation.  A police scanner may or may not be a valuable tool here for situational awareness. 
 
Significant situation, extended power failure, mud slide or other situation that will exist for more than a week, extending to new normal or SHTF situations were government is no longer standing or willing or able to assist.
Encrypted communications ONLY.  Listening to multiple radios for situational awareness is important at this point.  Obviously communications are inner circle ONLY as you have only entrusted encryption keys to very close friends, and multi-key has become valuable as some communications should ONLY be had with direct family members.  CB radio is now useless.  There will be road pirates and roving gangs looking for ANYTHING they feel is valuable at this point.  Women will be task with telling horrible stories over the radio of their dire situations to gain your sympathy and trust to either get your location information or draw you into an ambush.  The lowest common denominator of people will be all that's left on the open airwaves.  Transmitting much of anything on CB will be a very bad idea.  Listening to CB and ham will wear you down as the tails of others situations will put your humanity in question.  And while some stories will be true, just as many will be to get you to break op-sec and give up information on where you are.  Mind you this is where you are one step from a Walking Dead type situation where it's known that things will never return to "normal".  But this level is where government is not coming to 'help'.  Police scanners are useless.  Public safety folks all went home days ago.  Any activity is going to be communications from stolen police vehicles and radios. 
 
Point is this,, prepare NOW.  And that goes far beyond the type and number of radios you have.  If COVID has proven anything, it's shown that yes, the unthinkable is possible.  Look at the situation with the toilet paper.  Get stuff put away so you can live in relative comfort for an extended period of time.  Get your house in order and prepare for at least some level of situation lasting for a minimum of two weeks.  Cans of soup and vegetables may not sound appetizing,  but once you are hungry, they will taste wonderful.   
No I don't have tons of stuff hoarded away, I can go two weeks without any problems, but not much further. And the time of year will dictate my personal situation, winter vs summer.  But I am out far enough out and have a circle of friends that can butcher one of the local cows, or a deer for protein and I eat vegetables that others refuse like brussel sprouts.  Those will always be on the shelves in an otherwise empty store. 

Here in NW Indiana District 1, we are in the process of integrating GMRS repeaters and operators into the revived ARES program. Training is being given, and periodic exercises are being conducted. The goal is to have trained and efficient coms in case of emergencies.

Oh I was part of the 90$ club too.  Seems like every change goes into effect shortly after I renew.  next time to renew Ill be 72... so  this may be my last one  Ill go rogue then...

As of today it is still 70$. Now to see if they accept it.  I started my renewal on the 15th. But never could get to the pay for it page till today.  Microsoft edge won’t work...  expired the 17th. But they had the application on file for the 15th....  guess I will wait and see what they do

I also get how many might not like some kind of membership fee for use....but as the sole financier of my own solar site @8800 ft in a remote area of New Mexico to help some 100+ families who have no cell service or other means of communication I didn't feel bad at all about asking for an annual donation that worked out about 9-12$\month....I have some $13K of my own in this site & must maintain batteries & all site maint on my own....Most who ask for some fee I will say are most likely just trying to cover their installation\operational costs....for the few who might be doing it for a profit motive...well I will leave judgment on that to others although I personally do not agree with trying to operate as a for-profit enterprise...so I practice what I preach..& "donations" to me for my site use are optional, not mandatory. And even like this nearly all who use it have tried to donate something to help so I still have some faith in human nature

Hey folks!  I know I said I was going to wait a few days... possibly a week... before my GMRS-50X1 features review, but I spent hours using this radio today and I had a great time.  I figured I would just go ahead and get it out there.
 
For the features review, I am going to start with the Cons this time.  Since the quasi-tech review ended with the focus on the negatives, I would like to end this review with a positive vibe.  Please keep in mind, this is purely opinion based after using the radio.
 
There are tons of features... I am only going to cover what I believe would be the most common/popular to use among most people.
 
 
Cons -
1.) While talking simplex to a station that is closer than 2 miles, I had to use low power, NFM and turn the mic gain down to 1.  If not, the person I was talking to complained about audio clipping and audible popping sounds.  After 2 miles, I could turn the mic gain back up and use WB FM.
 
2.) The display is going to be both in the Pros and Cons section.  As some are aware, I daily drive a Jeep Wrangler.  For at least 50% of the year, my Jeep has no roof and no doors.  That fact brought out a big drawback for me.
 
The display has no means of adjusting the brightness.  Regardless of what I did, while the sun was out and the roof and doors were off, the display was 100% washed out.  I literally could not tell the radio was on by looking at the display.  At first, I put the soft top on, and the display was still heavily washed out, but was usable.  I had to put on my top and my doors with 20% light transmission tint on the windows, before the display was good to use.
 
Another drawback for the display is, there is a lot of very useful information in a tiny little spot.  It takes a bit of focus to look at the display and get a feel for exactly what is going on.  This is not good if you are driving and want to make a quick change.  I found that I had to pull over to be safe while making minor adjustments.
 
2.) They advertise that it has NOAA radio built-in, but it really doesn't.  The VFO covers a frequency spectrum that includes those frequencies.  Not a big deal, but it is up to you to manually tune to those channels and save them to memory. 
 
3.) You can't add new GMRS saved channels that are capable of transmitting.  On my iCom, I have multiple saved channels for channel 15, for example.  One with no DPL, one with tone coding and one with digital coding.  Depending on who I am with or the group I am talking with, I need to use different values.  With the BTech radio, I will have to manually change it every time.  I am assuming this is so they could get FCC type approval.
 
4.) You can't transmit in VFO mode, at all, not even on GMRS frequencies.  This was probably needed for FCC type approval.  Still a drag that you can't manually dial to a GMRS frequency and use it.
 
5.) There are a lot of unneeded features and unusable functions that are locked out.  Seems pointless to even have them because they will likely add a lot of confusion to new operators.  Examples are Remote Stun which remotely disables transmitting and Remote Kill remotely disables transmit and receive.  These are typically repeater management features that a typical GMRS mobile user just doesn't need. 
 
While the aforementioned features are present and function, there are a ton of other repeater related functions that are still in the menu, but you can't change them.  It almost seems like they took a shortcut and used UV-50Xx software and just tweaked it for this radio. 
 
 
Pros -
1.) Range....  My son and I ran a field test today; both simplex and repeater use.  Anyone who has read my quasi-technical opinion review, knows I was less than impress with what I saw.  That said, going from my BTech mobile to my son's HT inside his car, we easily talked 5.5 miles in rough terrain and while I was on the blind side of a hill, 100 feet+ below the top of a hill and there were lots of trees, buildings, etc. between us.
 
I was pretty impressed that we got that range with my son's radio "inside" his car, while driving, and he was using an HT that has a maximum power of 8 watts.  That was more than twice as far as the results we had with another brand mobile I own... using the same HT.
 
Once we were out of simplex range, we switched to a local repeater.  I am 22 miles from the repeater as the crow flies.  I was using low power (2.5w) WB FM.  My son was 19 miles away from the repeater using the HT, on full power and WB FM.  My son gave me the the same signal report as others.  He said there was some noise on low power, but when I switched to medium power (18w) I was full quite and great audio quality.  Given the RF signal quality I observed with analyzing tools, I am seriously shocked.
 
2.) While the display washed out very easily by the sun light, the display colors are extremely flexible, allowing the user to adjust the color contrast, making it easier to read as well as using font color to further segment the many items displayed on the screen.
 
3.) The owners manual states that the device has a 50% duty cycle.  There is no power level specified, but I assume in low power.  My son and I talked for more than 30 minutes, with most of my transmit time being at medium power and at about 35-40% duty cycle.  During our conversation my son reported that there was no noticeable deviation of carrier or modulation.  My receive quality stayed great the whole time as well.
 
4.) The radio only draws 3.5 amps while using the radio at full power, with the cooling fan running.  The radio came with large gauge power wires.  They are not labeled, but they measure about 2mm.  They are likely 14 gauge, rated for 15 amps.  That's a plus, as you are less likely to have voltage drop over the length of the wire and the fuse will pop long before the wires become a fire risk.
 
5.) While its not very useful for most cars/trucks, it does receive commercial FM Radio.  This is great feature for vehicles that don't have a radio, such as ATV's, older work trucks, construction equipment, etc.
 
6.) You are able to monitor up to 4 frequencies and/or channels at once.  The ability to mix monitoring VFO and Memory channels can be pretty handy.
 
7.) A cool feature that this radio has is, you can sync the displays in pairs of two.  This can be a pretty neat feature.  I set display A (top left) and display B (bottom left) to be in sync.  This means when I change the channel on Channel A, channel B changes as well.  The inverse also occurs.  This allows a user to do things like have the channel Name displayed and the frequency displayed at the same time. You don't have to guess where you are if you are using channel names.
 
8.) This unit displays the DPL code and method on the screen.  This is awesome, because you don't have to guess if your DPL is set or to what value.  Its right there to read.
 
9.) This unit has a feature that is getting more popular; DPL scanning.  If there is a group that is using DPL and you want to be part of the conversation, you can have the radio scan tone squelch and DCS values while the other station is transmitting and the radio will detect the value that the group is using.
 
 
Indifferent -
Something that is not really a pro or con... since we can only transmit on the hard-coded GMRS channels, 225 additional memory channels does not make a lot of sense to me.  I'm sure some will love it.  With the exception of programming the WX channels, I likely wont use any more than that.
 
 
Summary -
Quasi-tech review aside, if you are willing to tolerate some of the technology shortcomings I noticed in my radio (noted in another thread), for a low cost radio, this can be a lot of fun to play with.  Sadly, the display washout is a deal-breaker for me, personally.  However, I think I am in the minority there.
 
In short, I am not going to recommend or condemn the radio.  It's not for me, even with all the cool features.  That said, I leave it to you to use my two threads as a tool to make an informed decision.  I'm just 1 guy with one radio... but there it is.
 
Thanks,
Spaz

If anyone has verifiable official documentation that ANY GMRS licensee has ever been given an FCC citation for using a Part 90 Type Certified "transmitter" in Part 95 service, please add that documentation to this thread.  

I sent the following e-mail to the Bridgecom Systems sales department:
 
To Whom it may concern:
Regarding the BCM-440 70cm: Too bad you do not have a GMRS (Part 95E Compliant) version of this radio, they would probably sell like hot cakes. Midland USA ( https://midlandusa.com/micromobile/ ) has entered into the GMRS market with a consumer GMRS radio product line, but has managed to overlook things like independent control of PL/DCS encode/decode on a memory channel. When PL/DCS is turned on, it's active on both transmit and receive, on some GMRS repeater networks you do not want to use PL/DCS on receive because multiple encode tones can access the repeater system.
In my opinion Midland is showing how inexperienced they are at producing anything more than CB's and Radar Detectors. Bridgecom Systems could produce a much nicer GMRS radio(s) with some commercial features that would add real value to the product line for the end user.
You may wish to contact the site owner of mygmrs.com for some additional feedback. Also, it is my understanding that some of the GMRS Community is already using the Bridgecom UHF Repeater product and its accessories.
Best Regards,
Russ Brill
KN6SD / WRCW554
 
Other members of the mygmrs.com website may wish to do the same..

Note: More power out the antenna equals more drain on the battery. So, even though a radio like the GMRS-V1 might only output 3 watts, if that is all you need for your uses then it is fine. Bigger is not necessarily better. In particular, if you are using a local repeater, less power is often a plus.

I have the BTECH  GMRS-V1. It is FCC Part 95 compliant. Mine do not put out the 5 watt limit for handheld radios. The put out around 3 watts on high (on my MFJ cross-needle SWR meter). They can be "programmed" from the front panel or with a  special USB interface cord (same one as for the Baofeng UV-5R and BF-888S). 
 
Motorola, Kenwood,Vertex, ICOM ( and a few others) make radios that can be programmed to operate on GMRS,and that are also Part 95 certified, however, programming can be tricky, and might be best left to a radio shop. I am sure some others  on the forum will let you know if they have done this. I know that these "name brand"radios are going to be more rugged than the GMRS-V1, and they will probably put out 4-5 watts.
 
I am very satisfied with the GMRS-V1,especially  with the price.

Hey rockhound
If anyone finds an adapter please let me know.
https://www.amazon.com/Antenna-Adapter-Connector-Converter-Coaxial/dp/B076HHDTFT/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1520088848&sr=8-16&keywords=bnc+to+sma+adaptor
I think this is the antenna adaptor you need 
 
Are these radios capable of tone scan? 
 
Scanning for CTCSS Tone 
1. Press the [MENU] key to enter the menu.
2. Enter [11]  on your numeric keypad to come to Menu 11: R-CTCS 
3. Press the [MENU] key to select. Insure you have a tone activated (and it is not off)
4.Press the [*SCAN]to begin CTCSS scanning
A flashing "CT" will be in the left status display to indicate the radio is in CTCSS scanning mode.
In this mode, whenever the radio is receiving an RF signal on the selected MR channel or VFO frequency,
the lower display will cycle through the CTCSS tones as they are being tested. Once the frequency of the received CTCSS tone is determined, the "CT" indicator will stop flashing.  
 
Press the [MENU] key to save the scanned tone into memory then press the  key to exit the menu. 
 
We have one and ordered another last night for our grandson.
I am very pleased with this radio.

Yes we do and yes we do   
I bought a lightly used one a few weeks ago and we installed it in my son's pick-up truck,
with a Browning WSPBR10353 magnet mount and a BR-176-S 450-470mhz 5/8 wave 3Dbd gain antenna.
He runs on Medium power and makes a great connection with our base/repeater.
It has a good clear Rx & Tx (even with our 5yr old granddaughter with the mic) and has a easy to use menu.
They only use the radio for talking to our family group, so it is kept keys locked on one freq set.
Hits our station like a hammer!!! anywhere around town and  it's hilly around here   
 
It provides clear and uninterrupted (12v truck power) conversations with my son on his way to work and evening conversations with my granddaughter 
after school (pre-K) on her ride home.   
 
So yes I love it!!!
And it is a great GMRS radio, but like all of the rebranded to 95 conformity GMRS only units it is very basic compared to unrestricted units.
 
I would recommend this as a good mobile unit.
 
How about you?   

A friend of the family, who lives near Paso Robles just off Highway 101, mentioned something on this topic about 3 or 4 years ago -  She said, the best way to prepare for a disaster situation in California is to move to Arkansas.  She may have something there... 

Just purchased the BTech gmrs V1 and the Nagoya 701 antenna.  Great radio, seems to be getting better range than my Midland GXT 1000vp4. 

How can you just leave us all hanging, what was the outcome?

This is an old post, but we solved our problem like this:
It took days using Kenwood TM-V71a radios on reverse but we finally caught our offender. Looking in his car he had an old Maxtrac. We obtained his name from a neighbor. After that, anytime the crap would start, we would reply something nice and thank John Doe at 123 Cedar Street and say nothing more. He was furious and went into cuss fits, but after only 2 days we never heard him again.

Yes we do and yes we do   
I bought a lightly used one a few weeks ago and we installed it in my son's pick-up truck,
with a Browning WSPBR10353 magnet mount and a BR-176-S 450-470mhz 5/8 wave 3Dbd gain antenna.
He runs on Medium power and makes a great connection with our base/repeater.
It has a good clear Rx & Tx (even with our 5yr old granddaughter with the mic) and has a easy to use menu.
They only use the radio for talking to our family group, so it is kept keys locked on one freq set.
Hits our station like a hammer!!! anywhere around town and  it's hilly around here   
 
It provides clear and uninterrupted (12v truck power) conversations with my son on his way to work and evening conversations with my granddaughter 
after school (pre-K) on her ride home.   
 
So yes I love it!!!
And it is a great GMRS radio, but like all of the rebranded to 95 conformity GMRS only units it is very basic compared to unrestricted units.
 
I would recommend this as a good mobile unit.
 
How about you?   

So if I was in this hobby before, I really am now.
A few days ago I realized I could hear a repeater I didnt think I would be able to since its quite a ways away. It was on the 725 frequency I had the travel tone programmed in. To satisfy my curiosity I keyed up on my Motorola and broadcast my callsign. To my amazement the repeater keyed up and I came though clear enough for others on it to understand me and quickly inform me I was using the wrong tone. The owner happened to be on the air and gave me his phone number. One phone call later and I learned the correct tone so I fixed that issue and I learned where it was physically located. On a Mountain at 5500 feet ASL with 50 watts. Im approx 1100 feet ASL.
But heres the kicker.
I went on Google Earth and found the decommissioned microwave tower they have the antenna hung on. I measured it as about 56 miles from my house. I still can barely believe it. Im inside my house, with a 4 watt handheld and while its not the best signal for sure I can still hold a conversation with others on the repeater no problem. I actually have worse reception with two local repeaters just a few miles away.
Its been just plain fun getting on the repeater and getting to know the group using it and chatting with them.

Well the GMRS radio was another "layer" of comms for my prepping gear. I may add yet another, as I am a huge fan of redundancy. Besides so far I think I like the GMRS aspect...... I don't understand all there is to GMRS, but I didn't know everything about custom high-end CB's either 30 years ago. I like it, I'm having fun. 
 
I'm not at this time interested in getting my ham ticket for reasons I mentioned in another thread (yes I know ham is popular in the prepping community) I did quite a bit of research on which way to go...GMRS, FRS or MURS. I decided on GMRS.  

I just noticed this was my first post on this forum.
 
So Hello Fellow GMRS operators & enthusiast
 
WRAN 763  Charlie Mc here in NW Arkansas
 
Been 11m for a while, FRS for 3 or so years with the grandkids :)
Sold ALL! my 11m equipment and went GMRS this year.
 
I'm a very slow keyboard operator, so I won't post much.
But I read a lot. 
Really it better that way.
 
Thank Ya'll for all the great GMRS info!!!
 
Charlie

If I'm reading the FCC certification correctly, the UV-5R is Part 90 approved and has been since 2012.  I'm basing this on the FCC OET's Equipment Authorization Search website, grantee ID ZP5. 
 
Of course, Part 90 isn't Part 95.  Since the GMRS-V1 is so cheap I don't know why folks don't just get that and avoid the worry.

Yes we do and yes we do   
I bought a lightly used one a few weeks ago and we installed it in my son's pick-up truck,
with a Browning WSPBR10353 magnet mount and a BR-176-S 450-470mhz 5/8 wave 3Dbd gain antenna.
He runs on Medium power and makes a great connection with our base/repeater.
It has a good clear Rx & Tx (even with our 5yr old granddaughter with the mic) and has a easy to use menu.
They only use the radio for talking to our family group, so it is kept keys locked on one freq set.
Hits our station like a hammer!!! anywhere around town and  it's hilly around here   
 
It provides clear and uninterrupted (12v truck power) conversations with my son on his way to work and evening conversations with my granddaughter 
after school (pre-K) on her ride home.   
 
So yes I love it!!!
And it is a great GMRS radio, but like all of the rebranded to 95 conformity GMRS only units it is very basic compared to unrestricted units.
 
I would recommend this as a good mobile unit.
 
How about you?