[So what's the point?]

1 hour ago, Socalgmrs said:

Well gmrs is meant for family’s and friends while doing an activity like hiking, hunting,  off roading, road trips, farming, ranching  ect….   After that people starting using repeaters to extend range, have nets, emergency preparedness ect.  Gmrs works great for many many people for many different needs.   But for some, maybe like your self, it just won’t cut it.  Maybe you live in a hole with too many trees hill mountains buildings ect and it really just won’t work.  Maybe your area has no repeaters and you literally can’t talk more than 1/3 of a mile.  It does happen.   But maybe in some of these cases a better antenna, a base or mobile unit with more power and more antenna height might help out.  Or maybe not. Maybe you just need to move down the street 100 yards or go around a corner or fan a few feet in height.    You may need to put up a local repeater with some friends if you can find a hill, mountain or tower. 
 

if your one of the few where gmrs just will not work for you in your area ham may work better.   
 

 

Yep, I'm in Texas hill country and wedged inside the coverage gap between two local repeaters.  

[So what's the point?]

Hey all, I'll preface this by saying other than tuning in a music station I know diddly squat about radios.

I have a nagging question.  If GMRS radio is truly 'line of sight' and I have a tough time talking to someone 1/2 mile away due to trees, geography, buildings then what's the point of this all?  I know there is a point but I'm just not getting it.  If I need to 'see' the other person why wouldn't I just walk up to them and chat rather than using radios?

I want to be ready in the event I need to use my GMRS radios for an emergency but I'm getting the sense I know nothing of the power I yield in my hand.

Thanks!

 

[Repeater Access (simple question)]

got it!  Thank you!

[Repeater Access (simple question)]

Hi all,

Just got my GMRS license and fairly new at this so forgive this silly question:  if a repeater is indicated as a TYPE "Open Source", do I still need to request access?

 

Thanks,

RobP (WSFR422)