TDM827

Not a silly question. As long as we follow FCC rules and licensing rules, GMRS users are pretty wide open to use the band as they see fit. Whether it's communicating while doing activates, talking to immediate family members or treating it like a hobby and experimenting with equipment as the rules allow the FCC doesn't care how you use it. As long as they get their 35 bucks. Now, if you break the rules through experimentation, start advocating to turn GMRS into HAM or try to dictate how other licensees use GMRS, expect immediate and less than positive feedback. And, rightfully so, will be directed to HAM radio where tons of people make it a hobby. Enjoy!

Agreed, But to me, seriously debating which one of the cheapest budget radios is far superior to others is like trying to figure out which is better between the Ford Pinto or the Chevy Vega. LoL. You are going to get what you pay for. But when it comes down to it, inexpensive radios allowed many people get into GMRS who otherwise could never afford it and help build the user base. As long as people understand the possible limitations in quality, and how to return them, in my opinion they remain a great jumping off point into GMRS.

Just the opposite. Naked women cause Spurious Emissions.

Oh Boy. I think I know where this thread is headed.........

Believe it or not, I am 100% onboard with you on this! Especially the part about no one having to agree with your opinions. All of us operate radio in a unique and massively geographically diverse country and naturally want to promote ideas best serving our individual needs, wants and experiences. No wonder there is plenty of room for healthy debate. I always strongly encourage people to debate their opinions in a public forum and amongst their representative law makers then let the best ideas win.

Glad to see so many people offering strong opinions on how many repeaters people own, if they are public and how they run them. Public debates a great thing. Adding the would "should" to this opinion kind of makes it sound like people want to control repeaters they don't own and the greater GMRS service itself. Thankfully everyone is entitled to an opinion and should voice it. I know no one in the GMRS community would ever attempt to dictate how license holders be allowed to use the GMRS service, especially when engaged in activities allowable by the FCC. I just know it in my heart this would never happen. I was really worried there for a minute that some GMRS users were going to start telling others what to do.

Plenty of threads here about a budget radio not working out of the box, or quickly failing. My impression is it kind of goes with the territory in sub $40 value models. As others noted, if you have everything set correct I would just send it back for a replacement and not waste anymore time with it.

Despite coming from this site it looks like some of this information is inaccurate. As noted by gortex2 there are people who operate multiple repeaters for their own reasons. If its a public repeater, instead of looking at multiple repeaters as cluttering an area. I remain happy that some owners fund and operate public repeaters and make them available to license holders. In the case of public repeaters I think multiple repeater owners actually promote and expand the availability of GMRS. If traffic and frequency crowding are peoples concern, there is always.... WAIT for IT, WAIT for IT,...... HAM

Depends on how "portable" you want it to be. If camping means RV or car camping and packability or storage is not a huge consideration there are any number of sizes and styles available , (J-Pole, fiber covered mast etc...). Same for a reasonable mast. If you need it packable and light weight, you are hoofing it, a 19" roll up slim jim chucked over a tree branch or held up by a telescoping fiber glass rod might be just what you need.

All depends what you want to do with it. And only you can answer that. If you are looking for an occasional, highly portable repeater with limited coverage this might be fine. Need something with more capability and coverage it probably won't work fine and it's time to build. These little units are sometimes looked down upon. But they have their place. I wish these things were available back in the day when my recreation meant outdoor activities based at a "camp" or farmhouse in the north woods. Deer camp communications would have been awesome. This would have really solved most of the problems and frustrations when dealing with FRS, which in our circumstance was often next to useless.

Good question, with plenty of good answers. Like others you might be looking for a "unicorn" radio that does exactly what you want on various bands. It probably does not exist, without at least getting a small stable of antennas. Everything is a compromise. For when I occasionally want to listen to HAM it got really simple when I broke down and bought a dedicated ham radio solely for monitoring some of the HAM bands. Cost a little bit of money but solved the issue. Between that and an SDR I can easily monitor what ever HAM bands I choose without worrying about it. If you want to be mobile an SDR on a good tablet works.

Kind of depends on the crime in your area. Obviously locking your doors is a basic start. If you have a garage it can provide another layer of security. If you want to keep your radios permanently mounted in your vehicle look for less conspicuous to mount your gear, under the dash etc..... If you have a remote head they can blend in with your interior equipment easily while the radio body is mounted out of sight. Of course, nothing beats removing your radio and antenna from your vehicle when not in use.

For a lot of money you can highly customize a Pelican Case for your needs. But, for much cheaper you can get a similar case from Harbor Freight. Want to get really inexpensive the old surplus ammo cans are pretty cool.

You have a link to the case so we can check it out? If you want something more robust, another good option is checking out Army / Navy surplus stores. They often have great multi use bags and cases etc....

So they can issue "upgraded" models (Pro, Pro+) every 18 months. Lets add USB programing, dual scan, dual press to talk USB chargeable bigger screen, more buttons etc.... Besides increasing your radio inventor, how else are they going to convince you to continue spending your radio money on a pretty simple radio platform?