gblan

I started with GMRS, bought 2 Wouxun KG-805Gs with Nagoya 771G antennas and my son and I have enjoyed them immensely. I still studied for and recently passed my Tech cert and I can tell you why in one word....repeaters. I live on the Colorado Front Range, a place as wide open as the wide open gets. We have vast flat high tundra grasslands and the densest collection of 14,000 foot mountains in the country so you might think GMRS would be a big deal here right? Wrong. Repeaters are virtually non-existent. You ain't talking to anyone on GMRS around here. Ham repeaters on the other hand are the exact opposite. The entire region is linked by the Colorado Connection (www.colcon.org) and there are a great many independent and club repeaters available for use. I'd guess it's similar everywhere. People just aren't turned on to GMRS in general.

I didn't get GMRS for the social aspect. Repeaters are sparse to non-existent in my area anyway. I got a pair of KG-805Gs so we would have more power from the radio and replaceable antennas for better range. (Getting up to 4 miles with the Nagoyas.) Basically beefy walkie-talkies, which is really all GMRS is in reality. My son and his mom have zero intention of ever getting a Ham cert so the KG-805Gs serve us well for family outings when we want to split up.