Linus

Thank you for sharing. This is a good article.

The btech headset that I ordered is garbage. On receive, there is a loud pop. One of my headsets has a defective PTT. Junk. Stay away from the headset. I am still waiting for the radios. I tested the headset on an amateur radio. Uv-82.

For me, FRS radios and GMRS radios were useful before I got a cell phone in 2001. I am licensed for GMRS, and amateur radio. I also have a license for operating radios aboard ships and aircraft. My first license was GMRS. I like GMRS because it can be used for communications amongst family members and friends with their own licenses. The conversations on the radio service tend to be more communicative rather than hobby related. I head over to the amateur frequencies to hear technical discussions regarding antennas and radios. GMRS is useful when hiking biking sailing and driving. In emergencies, I hand out FRS radios to my neighbors. This lets them keep in touch. I have had to use my Winlink radio service to help neighbors to communicate with family members during a severe ice storm years ago. A similar land based HF service (not CB) like GMRS would be nice to have.

Thanks. I will let you know the results. We plan to use them for bike to bike communications, hiking and skiing. Repeater use may be part of our fun if we get separated by too much distance on the bikes. I had to ride back to my car a few weeks ago and pick her up. The distance may have needed a repeater. In that case the cell phone works. Part of the search was finding a good finger ptt. We looked at throat mics, but we decided against them. We felt like we were choking. I bought a finger ptt that works with our existing headphones. BTECH 2 Pin (K1 Connector) to 3.5MM Adapter with Push-to-Talk Button (Compatible with 2 Pin BaoFeng, Kenwood, BTECH Radios to 3.5mm Headsets with in-line Mics) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019YJMRZS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_gyoiFbDZSK90H My girlfriend asked me about the amateur license as well. I am a VEC, and I look forward to her taking the test. I might excuse myself from that exam session.

I bought two of them for use with bicycle riding. When I receive them I will let you know what I think. My girlfriend just got her GMRS license yesterday.

The email thing is a pretty good idea for GMRS. GMRS is different than the norm for the amature radio bands in terms of repeater use. I got permission for the repeater in Seattle. I can key it up from a hilltop in my location. In the time that I have been licensed, I have not spoken to another licensed user outside of my own family until I keyed up the Seattle repeater. I had a brief conversation with one of the users. The repeater owners have the Seattle downtown covered for ecomm, but there is very little use of the system other than an occasional radio net.

I know that Motorola makes a FCC Certified radio. MRS350R is the model. The price is MUCH higher than a Baofeng radio, but it has the FCC sticker which is important. GMRS repeaters will give you coverage similar to a 70 cm repeater. The wavelength is such that it will permit your signal to exit a building better. Dead spots are smaller (just move a little bit and you can get out of a dead spot). The distance that you can transmit is not as far as VHF. VHF can get go over the horizon a bit more than UHF. The power output is limited to 50 watts for a GMRS repeater. You need permission to use GMRS repeaters (I would ask even if it is listed as an open repeater). Your family would have access under your GMRS license. Depending on terrain, line of site is what you need to make the repeater. Linus

It is worth mentioning that knowing the frequencies of the park you are visiting may be useful. There have been cases where people have come out alive because they programmed a park and SAR frequencies into their radio before visiting. One notable case was on Mt Hood. (http://www.traditionalmountaineering.org/Trip_VHF.htm)

I have a Yaesu ft-897 that will transmit SSB on 70 cm band. I have spoken to people about 500 km away on 2 m band using ssb at 50 watts. This is a very unreliable way to communicate over long distances. I have never received a call back on 70 cm ssb or cw.

I have a radio that will transmit SSB on all amateur bands. I have never found anyone to test SSB on the 70 cm amateur band. The same mode on GMRS would be similar. One could modify a 70 cm amateur radio that transmits SSB for GMRS, however that radio would lack FCC certification making it illegal to operate.

Can security be maintained? With a login challenge would indexing be prevented?

I bought two of them for Amateur use a few months ago. I use the software that Baofeng provides. I also use CHIRP. The radios work well. I find that people have issues with the mic volume. They cannot hear me as well as other radios. I have heard the hole for the mic is too small. The charging stands are a little bit odd at first. You have to seat the radio in the stand just right for it to provide a charge. Once you get the hang of the fit, all is well. For the price and performance, the UV-82 is fine. CHIRP is nice because it is like the Rosetta Stone. You can read from these radios and write to other radios such as Yeasu. This gives you the ability to call out a channel number to your buddy so that others listening are not hearing an actual frequency. Let's move to channel XX is better than 145.9 MHz, etc.. As long as the other radios are using the same channel line up, all is good. If you buy a cable, make sure you get the Baofeng cable. The others are most likely counterfeit garbage. I had lots of issues with the off brand cables. I bought two of them and had to send them back. One of them made the radio transmit anytime the cable was plugged into the radio. As soon as I got the Baofeng cable those issues went away. Make sure you use the correct driver with the cable. Here is a link about the driver set up: http://www.miklor.com/COM/UV_Drivers.php These radios have less features than other brands. This makes them easier to use for everyday radio activity. I am finding that my Yeasu is a pain because there are way too many features. I use other radios when I need the extra features.

Thanks. I know of several linked systems on the amateur side. There is an internet linked system called WINS out here on the west coast. We also have something called the Evergreen Intertie. This system is amazing because the repeater linking is RF only and it has a network covering a large geographical area. The system looks like a gamma symbol overlaying a map of the west coast. It starts in Northern California up to Seattle. From Seattle it makes a right turn and extends to Western Montana. The repeaters can be connected using DTMF codes. This allows the user to tun on segments of the system when needed. It would be nice to see the same sort of linking in GMRS.

Very cool. I like the idea.

I was looking at the map of repeaters and I noticed a blue line on the map running from WI through line A and into NJ. It appears to link a few repeaters. What is the line? Does anyone else see it?

PG, I have a friend who is a fireman. They switched over to 800 MHz systems. Everything goes through a trunked repeater. They have no simplex capabilities. This change makes it very difficult for them when they are trying to communicate to each other in the same burning building. Some changes are worse than the issue they are solving.

There is no narrow band legal requirement yet for the GMRS channels. If you program for additional FRS channels (not the shared gmrs / frs ones), they must be narrow band and 500 mw or less to be compliant with FCC regulations. I have one of those bubble pack radios from a while ago and the manual shows the GMRS channels as wide and the FRS only as narrow. For MURS look here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-Use_Radio_Service) for the narrow band and wide band requirements. Some channels are wide and some are narrow. The bandwidth is not the usual version that we are used to seeing on other services. GMRS will escape a building pretty well. MURS will propagate further in an open area. MURS is limited to 2 watts.

Wow. HIPAA information over an unencrypted radio channel. That is crazy. They are asking for some serious fines for that type of data breach.

I wonder what people do out here when they encounter the unlicensed. Assuming it is an adult on the other end, do you ever just have a chat -- say hello? I am not talking about unlicensed users on a repeater. Those people do not have permission from the owner. My question revolves around the simplex users who transmit on the GMRS only frequencies and not he shared GMRS/FRS channels. I know that they also do not have permission from the FCC to talk simplex either, but I wonder what people here do when the unlicensed start a conversation with you. I do not have much of a history with this. Please note, I am not stating here that we should encourage unlicensed users to continue without a proper license. We paid for our licenses and follow the rules, other people should also abide by the same rules too. In the amateur world, the only unlicensed users (abusers) that I have come across have been caused harmful and intentional disruption. I have ignored them, and in severe cases just turn off the radio. Fortune has it, those cases are very rare. In the GMRS arena I once let a business know they were accidentally on a GMRS frequency. The business manager was reasonable and thankful for the information and moved to FRS. Since I have had my license, I have never actually carried on a conversation (except a briefly with business unknowingly on the wrong channel) who is unlicensed on a GMRS only channel. I have my scanner on all day and the GMRS/FRS channels are almost completely clear and unused here. Occasionally I hear someone on FRS. It might be once a week if I am really lucky. The last GMRS call sign I heard over the air was in 2001 while riding in the car with someone in Wisconsin. My use of the spectrum is pretty much me and my family. I have occasionally loaned out some older FRS radios to others and spoken to them on my GMRS radio. Very few people I know out here in the Seattle suburbs has ever heard of GMRS. Personally I tend to ignore unlicensed users because there are many other channels that sit unused here. Other than a lack of a call sign identification, I can usually tell they are not licensed because they use that really annoying roger beep and the equally dreadful call button. I do not sit around for 10 minutes waiting for the other user to ID. For others, I am certain there is a really serious issue of unlicensed users. It must be worse in a larger city especially if a repeater is involved. Most users who are not licensed probably never realized they need a license in the first place because they do not read the manual. I draw from an analogy. They are like people who have overstayed their visa or not bothered to get one in the first place. They are around, but not legally.

Wow. I thought LM400 was thick. That cable looks like it would be hard to bend, but great for higher frequencies.

The first thing I did today was call my father and thanked him for serving. For everyone else who is a Veteran...Thank you.

This makes you wonder why these people intentionally interrupt things. Someone has to be psychologically messed up to interfere with ecomm messages. I never understood it myself. I do not think I want to know what goes on in their minds. LPS

I often wondered what is done after said idiot "keyer" is located. I guess recording and documenting might help, but what would be next? Ordinary citizens start to enter a dangerous area.

FCC enforcement is lax on GMRS and the Ham bands. Every now and then a serious offender is hit with a fine. This is sad, but it is reality. It is best to ignore those unlicensed users who play on the bands (unless they become a very serious problem). Business are different, they stand a better chance of being fined. They tend to be more reasonable when educated about the risk of operating unlicensed. Presentation of the facts is important. As suggested, a polite education goes a long way. If they ignore the advice and continue and it is confirmed that they are not operating on a grandfathered business license, well, it probably makes sense to involve the FCC. Now if some joker gets on a public safety bands there is quite a rapid response in locating the offender. It makes sense. Enforcing the law to prevent someone from interfering with a fire department or police response is more important than the general public bands. There are exceptions. Interfering with E-communications during a disaster on any band should be swiftly taken care of. The funny thing is, I would not have known about the Sonic opening if I had not heard the transmissions.

I heard Sonic over the radio across town years ago. They really had a good signal. I could not believe how well their bubble pack radios signal traveled. They had a grand opening and they were using GMRS to direct cars. I drove over and ordered a hamburger. While eating I explained to the manager that what was going on was not a good idea. FCC rules, etc. He was also unaware of the ramifications. They had just purchased the radios for the opening, I suggested that he have his staff change over to one of the FRS only channels. I showed him how and explained that 0.5 watts would work well in the parking lot. There was no need to paint the entire city with parking lot activity. It worked out well. I never heard them on the air again. I visited often for a meal every now and then. LPS