808Beachbum

As if it would be read...

Gee, I would assume a licensed HAM would assume radio traffic, while a CB'er or GMRS'er would assume highway traffic. You know, because CB'ers and GMRS'ers aren't even "Amateur" yet...

Why would you think a general license is required? Many clubs, and I dare say most "emergency teams" for a specific local area likely have, or have access to, a repeater system. Often this is a State or County owned or subsidized system. UHF/VHF is predominant use. Certainly, HF is used in more remote locations, but Red Cross, ARES, RACES, and local Emergency Management heavily utilize UHF/VHF in many urban areas. SOME of these are adding GMRS capability, just not as a primary.

It just seems backwards to me...why bother? It will work, sure, but to very little, if any, advantage. I started out exactly opposite, with an HT connected to a fender mounted "No Radial" mobile antenna on my plastic bodied smartcar. The HT was belt clipped onto a standard drawer pull mounted to my glove box door, and the HT had an optional speaker/mike hung from my mirror as well as a DC power cord connected to the lighter port. Worked fantastic whether parked or moving, great range throughout my usual urban area statewide repeater system and with very minimal "fenceposting". Years later the addition of an OpenSpot 3, allowed for international conversations while commuting...and all the while, the radio was never a potential target for local lowlifes. Unplug the DC cord, twist off the antenna coax, pop on the rubber duckie, and off you go! Just mount a proper mobile antenna and ditch the magmount if you can't keep it on.

Your best bet is to find a local radio club (amateur or GMRS, regardless of what type of radio you THINK you want), then attend a meeting or two, meet some active members, ask questions, ask for demos, ask for advice specific to your area with regard to what bands/freqs are most used in the region; available repeaters and amount of "traffic" (radio comms). Most clubs allow non-members to attend, and are more than happy to share their knowledge. These same clubs are usually involved with coordinated EMCOMMS with local agencies, providing simulated exercises and practice of their protocols so those that participate know what the heck to do when actual SHTF. Once you learn more about local reality, THEN you can decide what you want to pursue, and what you want to spend money on. Having said all that, "line of sight" is not as, ahem, clear cut as you might think. I'm dealing with highrise buildings in an urban area with mountains (actually little more than pointy hills) and difficult terrain, yet with some actual testing with a buddy, I have pretty decent capabilities out to about 2.5 - 3 miles in general. GMRS is NOT a "social gathering place" in a lot of areas, so a lot of people get discouraged when no one responds. GMRS is also NOT for hobbyists/experimenters that want to try new methods, as it has severe restrictions of band usage and types of transmissions. The Amateur (ham) bands are where there is a lot of contesting, long distance random contacts, multiple modes (including multiple digital modes which simplify long distance contact by combining RF with internet linking of repeaters/reflectors), and lots of regular "nets" where you can check in, test your equipment, and interact with others on a more or less regular basis. There are FAR more bands and unlimited freqs within those bands (based on actual local band plans), vs maximum of 30 specific channels on GMRS which are shared among all within range.

Top this, my former portable HAM shack !

Probably a more practical idea would be to actually go out and test your rig, perhaps with someone on a second radio, stationary at your home location, then drop pins in googleearth so you can clearly determine line of sight distances and elevations, as well as obstructions that may affect your actual range. This has the added benefit of providing actual experience communicating and learning that sometimes you only need to move 50 feet in one direction or another to have acceptable comms.

Doesn't much matter...there's only 8 repeater channels for everyone, and in addition, they are outputting to FRS channels. It is a very limited service, and if you do not participate with a local group, or practice basic emcomms long before SHTF, you are not likely to get much value (from repeater channels) during SHTF. On simplex, if you have done your homework, you should be able to stay in contact with your (properly equipped) inner circle.

You would likely avoid a lot of unnecessary confusion by initially purchasing either a GMRS radio, which has all the channels set up other than adjusting potential repeater channels to local tones; or a HAM HT. Both types of radios can be found with the ability to monitor outside of their allowable TX freqs, although "modifying" or "unlocking" either type of radio simply creates more confusion and potential problems (outside of licensing issues) for newbs. If you want to modify and experiment, the HAM route is the only route...GMRS simply is far too limited, and not offered with hobbyist radio in mind. With HAM on the other hand, you have tremendous ability and in fact encouragement to modify and experiment almost to your heart's content, within the assigned bandplan. The radios are also generally much more complex, and therefore more difficult to "learn" and utilize all available features. In general, they are also better built electronically and physically. You should also seriously consider meeting up with a local radio club (or multiple if there are choices) before purchasing anything, to learn more about what works well and what is useless in your particular region, based on your expectations. They will generally be your best and most current source for info on any local repeaters.

I have the same exact radio and antenna, which I have tested in my local urban environment with some so-called mountains in several directions. I did some testing with a buddy, and found the combo to be perfectly acceptable. Pretty consistently, in different directions, we could communicate just fine out to about two miles. To be fair, this was not with both of us at street level among buildings, but we picked our less obstructed areas, and sometimes it required just moving one radio 20 feet. We dropped pins on googleearth from each location so we could accurately review the facts. By doing so, we could see the change of elevation at some locations, as well as how much of the mountains were between our locations. In other words, you splurged $50 on a pair of radios, so take Pops out, drop him off at the shack, then take a hike/drive to do your own testing from various locations you expect to traverse. THEN, if results suck, you have a reference point and can decide on the possible value of additional expenditures, as well as provide clear data for discussion here.

There are plenty volunteer groups and radio clubs, of course depending on your location, that have relationships with the government agencies. They practice message handling protocols, and yes, some require or recommend some level of training in the FEMA National Incident Management System, however groups like the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Church groups, and others also make use of at least some basic protocols and standardized forms to ensure message accuracy, proper handling and routing, and to minimize wasting time communicating to the larger command centers. Without a working plan and solid procedures, chaos will reign. Emergency Management Agencies could not operate effectively if a bunch of random, untrained, chatty good 'ol boys are tying up the comms freq or critical cell phones. Yes, it is arguable that they are effective without the additional burden, but all you really need to do to get an idea of what it is like, check with your local HAM or GMRS clubs to see when their next Simulation exercise is scheduled, and get the details necessary to participate. Some are closed to just their specific org, but many are Statewide coordinated events, some that last for several days. If you are licensed and equipped for the bands they use, there is no other cost. The FEMA Incident Command courses are free and online too.

As with many aspects of life, you will be most satisfied by acquiring the proper tools, and proper knowledge, for the task at hand. Amateur Radio is actually for real hobbyists, providing a variety of modes, bands, equipment, power, antennas, and much more. GMRS is for self organized groups. There is very little ability with GMRS to modify or experiment due to it's very, very, narrow specs.

What gives makes you think he read the manual after writing the first part of the single post describing what was "on the screen"? Too much effort to backspace over the erroneous statements before completing the post after his epiphany? Or he read the manual and thought he changed to "channels", but failed to actually do so and therefore DID have the dual watch vfo freqs displayed?

Well, if 136.05 and 400.05 are showing on your display when you think you are on a GMRS "channel", you are very mistaken. Not only are you NOT on GMRS channels, you are also attempting to transmit out of the entire GMRS frequency band, and also outside of any HAM bands.

Just to add, "standby power" varies from one locale to another, and one organization to another. Any competent govt agency (is that an oxy moron?) has backup power for critical, and especially their "plan B and C" backup plans. We have repeaters totally off the grid 34/7/365, and others have solar/battery long term auto switching. Sure, there are many without too, but generally not those used by EM.