wrci350

Understood. My personal philsophy is the opposite: I only program frequencies into a transceiver that I have a license to transmit on. Anything else goes into a scanner. You are correct about FCC regulations forbidding Part 95 E (GMRS) and Part 97 (Amateur Radio) in one device. Yes, there are plenty of Part 90 radios available to buy new that will do both, and using them for ham radio is perfectly fine, but they are not type-accepted for GMRS. (There are also older Part 90 devices that have a grandfathered GMRS type-acceptance that can be purchased used, but that's not a path I've gone down personally.) Just out of curiosity, what county are you in? I'm wondering if there is any analog public safety where you live and how much encryption is in use. Rail, air, and marine are all analog ... but air is AM, so if you want to listen with an HT you will need one that does AM. I think those exist, but they are the exception, not the rule. As @Lscott mentioned, there is a long-term plan to move rail traffic to NXDN. I have heard that some yard operations have moved to NXDN but I am unaware of any widespread adoption yet. NXDN is doable on a scanner too but you are looking at probably 4x the cost of a BC125AT unless you buy used.

From an FCC standpoint that is true. BUT ... there ARE states where listening to a scanner while mobile is not legal ... unless you have a ham radio license.

Based on the fact that you've told us that you have two GMRS HT and one dual-band HT, and that you aren't planning to transmit much (if at all) and if so it will be on GMRS, my advice would be: get another scanner. You mentioned rail. Is that the only thing you want to listen to? If so, then a Uniden BC125AT will be cheaper than any of those other HTs you list and work much better as a scanner than any of them. If you are interested in public safety, then depending on where you live a scanner may be your only option. None of those HTs will pick up P25 (for starters).

One notable exception is OP25 (which runs on Linux, not Windows). It acts like a scanner ... SDR sits on the control channel then tunes to the voice channel then goes back to the control channel. I believe in a P25 system there is limited channel grant information on the voice channels too, so it's possible to set different priority for talk groups and if there is traffic on a higher priority TG it will switch mid-stream. Some of the other programs only need two if the frequencies in use by the system cover more bandwidth than the SDR can "see". OP25 is great, BTW.

Another MURS option. I have one and it seems decent. https://www.amazon.com/Radioddity-License-Rechargeable-Industrial-Business/dp/B0B2CV7YMN/

The 1990s rules are no longer in effect, so not relevant. As far as the first paragraph, Part 95A defines a control station as: A station at a fixed location that communicates with mobile stations and other control stations through repeater stations, and may also be used to control the operation of repeater stations. "Fixed location". So no, a mobile or HT (which is defined as a sub-category of mobile) isn't a control station, since it's not at a fixed location. The definition also makes it clear that communicating through a repeater is enough to make it a "control station". Controlling the repeater is a "may", not a "must".

It's not the 1960's. ? The first statement above is flat-out wrong, at least as far as GMRS is concerned. A fixed station and a control station are two different things according to Part 95 E

Is it time for this debate again?? What you state is true, but what the OP is describing IS forbidden. No one seems to know what a "fixed station" is ... but we DO know what it is NOT. HTs, mobile radios in a vehicle, or mobile radios installed in a house (or sitting on a picnic table plugged into a battery and an antenna on a tripod) are NOT fixed stations. Apparently I should have said, "The GMRS regulations explicitly prohibit the use of the 467 inputs as simplex channels except in one situation which does not apply to you." Better?

That is not correct. The receive frequencies on 23-30 are the same as on 15-22. If a nearby FRS user is on 15-22 you will hear them. The difference between 15-22 and 23-30 is that on 23-30 you are transmitting 5MHz up from the receive frequency so you can go through a repeater. The GMRS regulations explicitly prohibit the use of the 467 inputs as simplex channels: 467 MHz main channels. Only mobile, hand-held portable, control and fixed stations may transmit on these 8 channels. Mobile, hand-held portable and control stations may transmit on these channels only when communicating through a repeater station or making brief test transmissions in accordance with § 95.319(c). The channel center frequencies are: 467.5500, 467.5750, 467.6000, 467.6250, 467.6500, 467.6750, 467.7000, and 467.7250 MHz.

467 MHz interstitial channels. Only hand-held portable units may transmit on these 7 channels. The channel center frequencies are: 467.5625, 467.5875, 467.6125, 467.6375, 467.6625, 467.6875, and 467.7125 MHz. These are the .5 watt FRS/GMRS channels (8-14). Note that GMRS mobiles are not allowed to use them at any power level. You can listen, of course, but not transmit. But as @Sshannon said, you can use 5 watts on channels 1-7 (and FRS can use 2 watts).

Don't hate on me folks for posting those pics! These were done with a NanoVNA, which is certainly not a precision instrument but is close enough for hobbyist use!

Larsen 150/450/800

Comet CA-2x4SR

I just posted the results of doing SWR sweeps on both the CA-2x4SR and a Larsen 150/450/800 on my truck yesterday in that other thread. I also have two triband base antennas on my house and I swept them as well. Here are the max SWR values on each band: Antenna 2m 1.25m 70cm GMRS MURS 6m Diamond V2000A 1.3 4.1 1.42 1.43 3.1 2.55 Comet CX-333 1.4 1.1 1.76 2.2 4.6 The CX-333 is a 2m/1.25m/70cm antenna and does well on all three of those bands. The SWR is above 2:1 at 151 MHz and well over 3:1 on 154 MHz, so not usable for MURS. SWR is between 2:1 and 2.2:1 at both 462 and 467 MHz so not great for GMRS but probably OK for limited use. The V2000A is 6m/2m/70cm. On 6m SWR starts at 2.55:1 at 50 MHz but is under 2:1 from about 50.65 through 54. I have mine tuned so the lowest SWR (1.12:1) is around 53 MHz. SWR is good on GMRS simplex and repeater inputs and is under 2:1 on 151 MHz but up around 3:1 on 154 so would be usable on some of the MURS frequencies. As others have stated, you are not going to find one antenna that will do "6m, 10m, 11m (CB), 2m (including MURS), 1.25m, 70m (including GMRS frequencies)". You also have to keep in mind that 2m doesnt "include MURS" nor does 70cm "include GMRS"; the frequencies are enough different that an antenna resonant for the ham bands may perform very poorly on MURS/GMRS. There are a number of local hams who use the IMAX-2000 (which is a CB antenna) for 10m so that would be an option for those. Diamond also makes a 6m/10m vertical. One unrelated comment ... you must not be using "LID" the way I understand it to mean. Hopefully you aren't one! ?

So I swept both of my mobile antennas yesterday. The SWR readings on the Larsen are actually better than on the Comet which doesn't really surprise me since it's designed to be a wide bandwidth antenna (you trade gain for bandwidth). Here are the max SWR readings on five different bands. Either one would be just fine for 2m/70cm ham, MURS, or GMRS. I found it very interesting that the Comet also had very low SWR on 220. Antenna 2m 1.25m 70cm GMRS MURS Larsen 150/450/800 1.35 4.1 1.8 1.6 1.25 Comet CA-2x4SR 1.15 1.23 2.15 1.68 1.46 On 70cm, the Comet SWR starts at just under 2.15 at 430 MHz, dips to 1.5 at 435, back up to 1.95 at 443 and down to 1.55 at 450. Not optimal, but under 2:1 from 431 to 450 MHz. I can post the graphs if anyone is interested.

Comet CA 2X4SR It's advertised as "140-160/435-465 MHz" but I just went out to my truck and swept mine and the SWR is about 1.75:1 on the 467 MHz repeater inputs, which is certainly acceptable. It's a gain antenna, but it's kind of ugly and 40" high, which pretty much rules out drive-thrus for sure! Larsen 150/450/800 I also sometimes use the Larsen 150/450/800 commercial antenna on my truck. I'm probably going to switch to it later this week so I'll sweep it if I get a chance, but it should be fine on 2m/70cm/GMRS too. It's unity gain but it's also only 16.5" high.

That's the programming cable. I believe there is a cover on the right side of the radio that must be removed (or loosened) for it to attach to the radio.

@Adamdajkeeps AGREEING with you, yet you continue to argue. Who's confused, @WRWR462? He says, "I really can see why parents don't want allow their children to have cell phones" and you turn around and explain to him why parents don't want their kids to have cell phones?? BTW ... your last statement is totally wrong. In perfect conditions, range expands with the square root of the increase in power. So going to 2 to 4 watts you *might* get 1.4 times the range, not double. In the real world, where there are things like trees and buildings and hills? You probably won't even notice the difference between 2 and 4 watts.

You're transmitting out of the designed frequency range yet you are complaining because it doesn't work as well?

LOL. No apology neccesary! I can see how I could have done the same thing very easily!! ?

And your point is what? That wasn't the question. The question was "are we limited to .5W if we are using both FRS and GMRS radios". And the answer is still NO. On channels 8-14? Yes. So pick a different channel.

Yes, you misunderstood my point. ? The OP asked Now that FRS devices are no longer limited to 0.5 watts on some channels, is it still correct that we must limit power to 0.5 watts when a conversation involves both licensed GMRS users and unlicensed FRS users? The answer is NO, you aren't limited to .5 watts. Didn't I say that?

I will give the representative the benefit of the doubt and go with "looking at old information". ? Here are the answers to your questions: 1) No. Nowhere in the CURRENT rules does it say that. FRS can use up to 2 watts (depending on the channel). GMRS can use 5 or 50, but in the situation you are describing you're probably better off sticking with 2 or 5 since it probably doesn't do you any good if the FRS users can hear the GMRS users but not talk to them! 2) No idea where "compatible" came from. Out of the box, GMRS radios and FRS radios have the same 22 channels programmed in them. Other than power levels and narrow vs wideband the only difference is that GMRS radios have the repeater channels programmed too (and FRS radios cannot do the offset needed to use a repeater). 3) This one is actually YES. ? Channels 8-14 are limited to .5 watt and in the GMRS world to HT (hand-held) radios only. So just use 1-7 or 15-22 instead. As far as IDing? The rules do seem to say that the licensed GMRS users need to ID. An easy solution? Grab an FRS radio and use that instead. I have never read any FRS rule that says you have to ID on FRS if you have a GMRS license!

Hahahahahahahahaha. Yeah, no.

Just curious ... what would you consider entry-level? I did a quick check and the FTM-6000R is on sale for $270 right now and there are a couple other options between $300 and $350 or so. If you are content to just have 2 meters, then there are at least four options for $200 or less. If someone is looking to spend less than that, you are correct, they aren't going to find a new "big 3" radio at that price point and your options are Anytone/TYT/Radioddity/Retevis/etc.