RickMT

@JoCoBrian I'm doing the face palm. @Sshannon Thanks for keeping me strait. 😉

I'll say that someone should go for General regardless, since it is not that much harder than Technician and grants plenty of extra privileges.

Hi radio folks. 
I'm not a Ham yet, but considering it.  I'm a geek partially and I think I would enjoy the hobby, plus Iw ant to be able too talk on the VHF frequencies that an HT would entail.  That said, I'm also wondering about the HF frequencies.  I saw a chart about HF and it looked like it was mostly to do with Morse code or using a piece of hardware and computer software to talk on HF frequencies.  Can you just buy a radio and antenna and talk on some HF frequencies? Hope that's not a dumb question.  I am thinking that I'm a disaster it would be nice to talk at distance to receive and give information.. I would be interested in joining for instance a search and rescue group or something to that effect..
Thanks in advance
Tim.. 

I'll PM you I have experience with these radios so I can take a look and see if I can find something.

Gotta remember to put a label on my mic with the right callsign...   

I saw these a while back on a ham FB page: 146.52 window decals:

 
https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/101642588_4471831492842613_4985971591977369600_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&_nc_sid=07e735&_nc_ohc=OrRkGRoqFrQAX_KleFe&_nc_ht=scontent-sea1-1.xx&oh=0c52b7e09bb53bed70b8518a62d10c2a&oe=5F698766
 
It was on  the SW Montana Ham Radio Group page..  https://www.facebook.com/groups/118325085671211/

Just want to give a thumbs up to the radio and to the seller. I bought an Icom F221 for GMRS from Used-Radios.com about ten days ago. I bought the F221 because I have had the VHF version F121 for over ten years and it's built like a tank. No surprise, the F221 is also a solid rig. Easy to program if you have the cable and software. The radio is pretty tightly enclosed to I think it should stand up to a dusty environment, i.e., SxS's and open vehicles. My F121 lives in my Jeep and works great. This F221 is temp-mounted in my pickup and looking for a home, either in the Jeep or go-box... 
 
Anyway, the people at Used-radios.com were good to buy from. The radio arrived with a brand new factory bracket still in the plastic sleeve with the OEM sticker listing the radios it mates with. Unfortunately the F221 wasn't one of them. I emailed Used-radios and they replied right away and sent the correct bracket immediately. It arrived today and all is well. Good company and good (really good) prices for commercial radios. These are used but come with a 90-day warranty. Fleet trade-ins, etc. You could hardly tell this one was used. Very satisfied.
 
That's it from here. 73.
 
Rick
 
 

While the information you posted is correct, without any further explanation it might not explain the whole issue of using Certified GMRS equipment. This is especially true for those new to GMRS. So, for their benefit... a quick search of the MyGMRS forum will show that this is a regular, and oft debated topic. I think the major points come down to:
The FCC specifically mandates the use of certified GMRS equipment on the service. Part90 certified equipment exceeds the technical requirements for GMRS, but does allow the user to operate outside the GMRS band, which is not allowed.  BTW, The ICOM F221 is Part90 certified. There is some evidence, though not explicit, that the FCC turns a blind eye to the use of Part90 equipment on GMRS. There is no way anyone can tell if a given signal comes from a certified GMRS radio. (Though, you can tell if it comes from a poor quality transmitter.) There are no recorded cases of anyone ever being cited for operating a non-certified radio on GMRS. Most GMRS repeaters on the air today are not certified. There is some question as to whether older certified GMRS Part95A equipment (I.e. from before the end of combined GMRS/FRS radios in 2017) is still certified for use under the new Part95E.  The FCC has never addressed the question, so, it is assumed it is still certified. But, the certification standards are not the same. Now, I am not going to tell anyone they should not concern themselves with the FCC rules. What I will say, and this just echoes an opinion commonly expressed on this forum, is each person has to decide for themselves what they should do as far as their choice of radio equipment.

I've had my ham call for 37 years and my GMRS for only 6 years. I still pick up the wrong mic occasionally and put out the wrong bloody call sign... <oops>

I know I have posted this before, but I can't seem to find it. So, here it is again.
 
GMRS is a radio service designed for a specific purpose: family communication.
A mobile two-way voice communication service, with limited data applications, for facilitating activities of individual licensees and their family members, including, but not limited to, voluntary provision of assistance to the public during emergencies and natural disasters.
 
​Contrast that with Amateur radio
a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.
Continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art.
c) Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through rules which provide for advancing skills in both the communication and technical phases of the art.
d) Expansion of the existing reservoir within the amateur radio service of trained operators, technicians, and electronics experts.
e) Continuation and extension of the amateur's unique ability to enhance international goodwill.
 
It sounds like some of what @krvw and others here expect from GMRS is actually found in HAM (Amateur) radio. If you want to try and make GMRS into another HAM like service, you are doomed to failure.  My suggestion is, take advantage of GMRS for what it is and don't fret what it is not. If you are looking for a broader hobbyist community, try amateur radio. You will find repeaters everywhere with all-kind of communities (some of which you will love, others which you will hate). An Amateur tech license is not only not hard to get, but in the process of getting the license you will learn a lot about radio in general that will help you with GMRS as well. And, if you become interested and go for your amateur general license, then there is the world of low-band, short-wave...
 

True.  And the higher gain they are, the more narrow the bandwidth will be, and more difficult to tune.  There are no antennas that have enough bandwidth to be used from 420 MHz to 470 MHz without tuning, but the most bandwidth coverage is from quarter-wave antennas, which are about 6 inches long.  A quarter wave can cover from 433 to 468 with good results and fairly low SWR.  ...and watch out at ham fests and flea markets for quarter wave UHF antennas that seem too cheap.  I saw a guy once selling UHF quarter-wave NMO antennas for $1 each.  I measured one, and it was only 5-1/4 inches long.  Those are to cover 470-512MHz, and won't work for GMRS or ham.  If they are too long, you can grind them down. If they are too short,         .  .  .    _  _  _    .  _  .  .
 
Guys, if you are looking for a super high gain antenna for both Ham and GMRS use, just give it up.  There will be a compromise on one end, or the other.  If you must use just one antenna for both UHF ham and GMRS, then use a quarter wave tuned to 450.

I have to disagree with you entirely on this.
 
The phonetic alphabet is used in many service, such as law enforcement, emergency medical, DOD, etc.
 
Additionally, its not useless. Even under the best of audio clarity and strongest signal strength, many letters sound the same, such as c and d, y and I, m and n, and so on. When you have a critical message and/accuracy of spoken letters matter, the phonetic alphabet is an extremely useful tool.
 
Taking those letters that sound the same and trying to distinguish them when the signal to noise ratio is 0.2:1, and it becomes even more useful.

Keep in mind that many, maybe even most, people get into GMRS specifically to talk to family and close friends and have no interest in general chatting on the air. If you are truly looking for finding people to chat with over the air, you probably should at least take a look at amateur radio.