WQBI410
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Posts posted by WQBI410
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On 7/19/2021 at 6:20 AM, kb2ztx said:
Where on your license does it say GMRS 20. No where does it list frequencies any longer (As reference my old one did)
It specifies - "Effective 2/16/99 the GMRS rules have been amended and you may operate on any of the primary or interstitial channels shown in section 95.1763. Exception: Licensees who operate North of Line A and East of Line C may not operate on channels 462.650 MHZ,467.650 MHZ, 462.700 MHZ and 467.700 MHZ unless your previous license authorized such operations."
Additionally going to the FCC site for this section does list frequencies. No numbers.
https://www.fcc.gov/general-mobile-radio-service-gmrs
As for radios I realize a lot of the new stuff does go by a certain scheme but I have quite a few old Uniden GMRS radios. They have channel 1-8 with RPT/TA. That's all we had for years and many of the older GMRS radios were like this. When I started SAR channel 1 in our radios was 462.675 as that was the local channel they used. Took us many years to go to the national standard of VHF and real licenses.
In the end we are talking about something that is not needed nor will ever come to be. We seem to keep looking for solutions for problems that there is not. If your traveling down the highway and want to talk to someone leave the radio in scan. I have radios in all my vehicles including my motorhome. While I don't hear a ton anymore if i need real info im looking to turn up my CB and not my GMRS radio. Normally I I'm stuck in a backup that's where info is. If there is chatter on GMRS its normally FRS users talking to the car in front of them.
Agreed about the “channels” as my Icom IC-F21GM has the channels laid out more logically: 1-8 are the repeater pairs, & 9-15 are the interstitials (there are no FRS 467MHz frequencies). I would people would go back to saying frequency instead of the illogical channel numbers.
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I would go with 462.6375 as it is exactly middle of the band.
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On 5/3/2021 at 12:13 PM, OffRoaderX said:
We hear the same thing on the roads.. A lot of nothing and people that dont respond (probably using privacy codes)..
When offroading, the official GMRS channel is 16.. This a scientific fact because is "offroading" = "4 X 4" and 4 x 4 = 16 .. so this is the scientific answer to the question - it is explained in more detail in this video made by some Youtube clown:
As it turns out, my friend’s wide-area private repeater sits on 462.575! I’m thinking we’ll have to use it more on weekends!
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First: an Icom IC-F21GM.
Now: Icom IC-F4021 & 4161D.
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I think Ritron is made in the U.S.A.. Their website is ritron.com
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I think any experimental licenses would show up in the ERS/Part 5 database.
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On 5/3/2021 at 9:04 AM, railfandanny said:
On several recent road trips, I scanned all GMRS channels looking for other drivers. My radio mostly hit what sounded like couples traveling in two vehicles and they were predominately on channels 1 or 2 discussing routes, other drivers or where they were getting off for gas. I reached out to them. some would come back, most wouldn't. Unless we were traveling in the same direction the talk window was always a minute or two at most as they were on handhelds and I was on my Kenwood TK mobile.
This has been asked before on this forum, but after searching the responses I've not found an answer to the road channel question. I know it's cultural thing and not an official one, but I still wonder if there is any group, online or elsewhere that is advocating for GMRS use on the road. I believe this is one of the best potentials for GMRS. A lot of folks are in it for the hobby aspects, like Hams, but the traveling aspect seems to be overlooked right now. I know that off-roaders and Jeep people have made the switch to GMRS. I recently used it with several friends on a railfanning trip. We chase and photograph trains. We're kinda like birders but our hobby is much noisier.
As I said earlier, I run a Kenwood TK8180 mobile and my friends all have Midland or Motorola blister pack handhelds. While we all have VHF scanners for listening to railroads, MURS is not an option for non-radio folks unless they use Bao-Fengs, Wouxuns or that ilk.
Thanks,
Danny Harmon
Tampa
Years ago the PRSG recommended FRS Channel 1 at 462.5625. I would rather see 462.6375 become it as it is the exact center of the 462 band (462.55-462.725).
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I would suggest 462.6375MHz, as like CB Channel 19 at 27.185MHz, it is the midway point of the band ranging from 462.55-462.725MHz.
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Anyway getting back to the topic of this thread about call signs. I wish radios in general had a way to program in your call sign and have it transmitted per the FCC rules. This would be purely for convenience of the operator and a feature that could be enabled/disabled as desired.
I've looked at the various builtin tone signaling options in the various commercial radios I have collected. The goal was to get a Morse Code transmission of a call sign with some "creative" setup of the signaling options. The only tone signaling options seem to be 2-tone, 5-tone and DTMF on my radios. There are also options for a PTT ID on Key-Up or Key-Off too. So far I don't see a way to do it.
I think using your call sign encourages others to act responsibly on the air. If one can justify not using it then its not a stretch to justify ignoring other rules. To see where that leads a simple monitoring tour of the spectrum between 26.965 MHz to 27.405 MHz AM should prove educational.
I've seen that on a GMRS repeater. The radio was my Icom IC-F4161DS. I'm not sure how to make it go for all radios, however.
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Unless the Chinese market some really cheap P25 radios the price of the commercial ones is rather high, not something I would look at buying just for hobby use.
There seems to be plenty of interest in DMR. Some decently performing Chinese DMR radios are available for a reasonable price. There is a good amount of activity on the HAM bands using DMR. I don’t expect the FCC to allow DMR on GMRS anytime soon.
So far NXDN hasn’t generated much interest. I understand there is some fair level of NXDN use in Florida. My self I picked up a used Kenwood NX-340U from eBay real cheap. I was also gifted a used Kenwood mobile radio, NX-820HG. Both are the “-K2” models operating from 400 MHz to 470 MHz. So far I haven’t really did anything with them.
eBay is where I’ve gotten my gear used for under $100, & it’s more rugged than new CCRs, so there is that route. I bought my latest radio, a P25 HT for 136-174 MHz, for $115 less tax. I love the audio quality & robustness of P25, and the frequency economy of NXDN!
I am not familiar with the Kenwood line (I’ve been buying Icom gear), but hopefully you can soon program up your 340 & 820 for GMRS & NXDN!
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I’ll have to try that on my P25 radios since they’re TDMA as well! Going back to the DMR on GMRS idea, I don’t think that would work leagally at present because of the rules. As far as I know, inputs have to be in the 467 range, at present. That being said, I’d have no problem with NXDN & P25 being authorized on GMRS!While that is true one thing you can do with DMR, and not with NXDN, is setup a SRF, Single Frequency Repeater, that doesn’t require an expensive set of tuned cavity filters. Several DMR radios have the functionality already builtin. This is due to DMR being TDMA verses NXDN’s FDMA mode.
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I agree about FRS being moved to a different portion of the spectrum, but not about DMR. I prefer NXDN because it is a true 6.25kHz signal, as opposed to being 12.5kHz wide. We can fit in 4x the frequencies into a 25kHz allocation whereas with DMR it would be only 2x.What the fcc really needs to do is work for real ! and do the right thing and separate the frequencies and give us a little more to work with plus some dmr channels family radio service needs to be separate from gmrs period
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My Icom IC-F21GM from 2004 has GMRS in what I think of as their natural channel assignments, whereas most radios now follow an FRS-centric numbering pattern. For instance, if your “17” is 462.6MHz, that shows up on 3 on my IC-F21GM. The high-powered GMRS frequencies are first, then come the 7 lower-powered (5w max) follow. So, if your “4” is 462.6375MHz (which, to me, should be akin to CB19 as it is the middle frequency on the band), that would show up as “12” on my ’GM. Plus, that radio has a button to switch the repeater channels to simplex mode whereas on a midland, the repeater channels come after the simplex channels (15 vs. 15RP, for example). This is why the frequency makes more sense to use, & I wish displays would give the frequency instead of the channel.not all gmrs radios have the same channels? That's new to me. I know repeater chanel 17 on my midland is the same frequency as the one in my btech. Considering they use the same frequency you would think the repeater channel using the simplex 17 frequency would be called repeater 17? Or does your radio have channels that mine doesnt?
I have another radio that is a commercial radio that has everything mixed together, so “600” (462.6 MHz) may precede a repeater on “550” (462.55 MHz). I’ll usually label it by city: “600” becomes “Kingston”, and “700” becomes “Plymouth”. Anyway, the FRS-centric channel numbering is confusing because it is non-intuitive, unless you’re using a strictly FRS radio.
IC-F21GM channeling:
1: 462.55+
2: 462.575+
3: 462.6+
4: 462.625+
5: 462.65+
6: 462.675+
7: 462.7+
8: 462.725+
9: 462.5625
10: 462.5875
11: 462.6125
12: 462.6375
13: 462.6625
14: 462.6875
15: 462.7125
16: scan.
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I use mine per FCC regulations. If others don’t, that’s on them. There are bad habits on GMRS (CB lingo, ham lingo, use of “channel” numbers instead of frequencies, not properly identifying) that should just go away. Use plain English (not cutesy “radio” vernacular); ID at the beginning & end of transmission, plus every 15 minutes therein; and make it as close to normal speech as possible. Not difficult!
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What is repeater 17? I didn’t know that they are numbered. Or, do you mean “channel” 17, which is pointless because not all radios follow the same pattern. What frequency are you talking about?!repeater 17
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Right, because that's what GMRS is: a scanner town crier! Seriously, I wish that the scanner fans would do what the PCFN has done & get Part 90 licenses & talk over there.
That would be the Kingston 600 repeater. That person is usually broadcasting what is said on the police scanner during various situations.
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What’s 17? Route 17? I don’t know of any Route 17 in R.I..Is that Stan? I think that's his name I hear him on 17 in the am starting in providence until I get to Attleboro then sometimes at night if I have the base scanning at home.
- Blackmar401 and WQQQ874
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Sporadic DMR activity.
in General Discussion
Posted
I'd like to see NXDN or P25 Phase 1 allowed. NXDN is 6.25kHz (which seems to be the way the FCC is heading anyway), and P25 sounds good. I don't see the attraction for DMR, so that, to me, is out.