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The more I learn about the FCC's General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS), the more I am fascinated by RF in general. It touches everyone's lives every second of every day, yet few people pay much attention. How cool is it that after 42 years and 14 billion miles away, the 22-Watt radio on Voyager 1 is still sending data back to earth every day (how important is that antenna?). So why aren't more people interested in GMRS or RF in general? There's no test to get a license like amateur (ham) radio. It's $70 for a 10-year license, and is really easy to get started. So here are some theories. People don't know: GMRS exists Why GMRS exists Why they'd want to use GMRS How to envision themselves participating in GMRS What it takes to get started with GMRS What it takes to continue and improve with GMRS Technical information they should know about GMRS Etiquette when transmitting (TX) on GMRS What a GMRS "Net" is and why Most people within the GMRS community are helpful once you're in, but the community is very inviting in a go-figure-it-out-yourself way, and no one has assembled everything you need to know about GMRS all in one place. We GMRS people are putting the onus on outsiders to sift through thousands of painfully esoteric webpages with a winnowing fork, separating useful info from useless, poorly written, or incomplete info. When I first heard about GMRS on a 4x4 trip, I arrived home and Googled around and settled on a Midland MXT-275 because it seemed perfect for mounting on my truck dashboard. At the time, I had no idea that Midland doesn't manufacture a GMRS radio capable of operating on split-tone repeaters (Dear Midland, I know you're reading this: why do you squander so much potential?). Edit 6/28/2021: Midland heard our cry! They just updated the MXT-275 to include split-tone programming on repeater channels. So for example, now this radio is able to reach a repeater that receives (RX) incoming transmissions on 467.550 with a PL tone of 103.5 and repeats the transmission (TX) at 462.550 with a PL tone of 88.5. I didn't even know what "split tone" was or even what "tone" meant, or carrier or squelch or hundreds of other little things you all take for granted. Since then, I realized that if the big, bad manufacturers like Midland, Kenwood, Motorola, and iCom can't even invite the public to learn more and provide useful content for each stage of the customer journey—Awareness, Consideration, Purchase, and Loyalty—the 2-way radio industry has much deeper problems and aren't there to help guys like me. As we get involved deeper into GMRS, there's little-to-no hand-holding going on at each level of knowledge. I ending up relying on the Ham community here and there and a guy who is basically a saint at a little radio shop in Phoenix, Arizona (hope Tim over at Procomm and the others at the nonprofit AZGMRS.org don't mind me giving them a shout-out). Edit 4/14/2020: By the way, AZGMRS made this awesome list of FCC-approved GMRS radios that they recommend. If you live anywhere near Arizona and are reading this, now would be a great time to become a member. Their repeater network covers some 100 miles around Phoenix with more and more repeaters joining the network (check out their sweet coverage map). But it's still frustrating. I wish a GMRS expert—presumably a manufacturer—would just come out and say exactly what a total newbie needs at each stage of their involvement or level of need. Two-way radio manufacturers should stop wasting time trying to sell, and start marketing and branding, which means educating the public about the 5 W's (Who, What, Where, When, Why [+how, +how much]) without trying to sell to them. Most new users don't know what they need because they don't know what's possible. For example, I wish I knew that manufacturers don't typically include the best antenna on their radios right out of the box. It took me over a year to realize that the best bang for the buck for a portable base antenna to include in my go bag is N9TAX's Slimjim and that Smiley Antenna makes the best bang for the buck antennas for hand-held radios (which by the way, everyone just assumes newbies are supposed to know that hand-held walkie-talkie radios are called "HT" for "Handy-talkie" and what a "QSO" is). How would a newbie know that the cheap Nagoya 771 "upgrade" antenna for Baofengs that everyone talks about actually isn't the best bang for the buck for the GMRS frequency band of 462–467? How would a newbie know that antennas work best when tuned exactly to what they call a "center" frequency that accommodates 5 Megahertz in each direction (+5 and -5 Megahertz) at the expense of hearing other frequencies? I learned the hard way that in order to properly install an NMO antenna mount on the roof of my truck, I would need a drill bit specifically made for drilling NMO antenna mount holes, and that yes, it is worth the money to do it right the first time. I'm still in the middle of learning how a "quarter-wave" or "5/8 wave" antenna works, the difference between dB gain vs. dBi gain, mic gain, antenna gain, because again, everyone seems to just assume I already know what all this means. I still don't understand what antenna "tuning" means and why you have to "cut" an antenna to "tune" it. Can I make my own antenna right now in a pinch with a copper wire in my garage? Ok, show me! How do I measure it or test it? What is SWR? Can I measure it myself? What do I need in order to measure it? Is one SWR meter better than another for my level as a newbie? Is there something I should learn to make it worth buying the better meter that opens up a whole new world of capability? Is it worth learning all that? This graphic did a great job beginning to explain what dBd gain means for those of us who know next to nothing about it, but now I need to go find out on my own and sift through a thousand webpages to find out if dBd is something new I need to know. Speaking of dB, I know that "dB" is a decibel, but is it the same as my stereo volume? Why do I see manufacturers saying that the microphone and cable have a dB rating? What is going on here? This is madness! We can Google things all day, but which info is true and correct and the most helpful? I think that the entire industry is sitting on a Gold Mine of consumers sitting at home for weeks on end who would love to buy GMRS equipment and communicate via GMRS to friends, family, neighbors, and other GMRS users. Whoever provides the most useful, relevant, and engaging content that stops making assumptions about what people know or don't know will win. STOP ASSUMING. START EDUCATING.

I have noticed that on GMRS it is less typical to state the alpha part of your callsign using the "International Radio-Telephony Spelling Alphabet" words. But I find it tricky to hear and remember (long enough to record) the alpha portion of a GMRS callsign. I seem to get the numeric part but forget or don't hear the alpha part. (of course I have trouble remembering a phone number long enough to write it down too) I think my brain's buffer must only be about 3 or four characters! Does anyone have any tricks or hints that help you, for newbies to more accurately hear and remember callsigns that are spoken quickly?

Just starting out & having a lot of problems understanding the GMRS lay out in CHIRP. I have MANY hours into this so far trying to find answers lol For instance, when a repeater gives you the input & output tones (either the DPL or Hz format so far), CHIRP does not make it easy to understand where to put these settings in their generic GMRS format. I'm also not sure if other defaults also need to be changed according to if it's Hz or DPL tones. It's VERY frustrating. I really don't mind putting in the time & effort for this but you when bang your head so much, you obviously want to stop...and my head is getting sore. I'm not a quitter though. Please, if you have time...some time...ANY time, this poor newbie needs help! ANY ADVICE! LOL Thank you in advance! bob@bpps.net

If somebody could delete this, that would be great. I believe I've fixed this. I'm trying to set up a local repeater on my new GM-30, but I'm not having any luck being able to transmit on it. I've tried looking at everything in the Radioddity software, and I'm certain I've got everything correct, but it's just not working at all. It appears as if I have the latest firmware, and it just does not want to work. Does anybody have any knowledge of this radio or insight on the issue? I've tried swapping the TX & RX tones, with no luck, I've tried changing the squelch, and no issues at all. I did notice that I cannot change the step in the settings on the radio or in the software though, not sure if this is part of the problem or not.

Hi Folks, By way of introduction, my name is JT (WRKZ907) from Great Neck, Long Island, N.Y. I'm a newbie to this hobby and just recently purchased a Radioddity GM-30 GMRS Radio, while awaiting delivery of my Wouxun KG-905G's to arrive. I figured I'd get my feet wet learning how to use the GM-30, which seems to have a rich set of features, one in particular I would have liked to have seen on the KG-905G, which is the NOAA monitoring. Anyway - as I stated, I'm totally new to this, and I'm doing my best to ramp up to speed on my own, but I find interacting with others has always been a great way for me to learn things, and in particular - trying to understand how to program the tones for repeaters with the Radioddity GM-30, both manually and/or via the software for the device. Don't know if anyone out there in myGMRS last would be willing to help mentor this newbie & provide some assistance in helping me come up to speed and understand how this repeater stuff works, and would be willing to spend a little time with me, ideally someone in the Queens/Nassau area would be great, so we could possibly communicate together on air, but I'm happy to accept any assistance from you fine folks if your available & willing. Thanks in advance for any input or resources you folks can point me to or provide. I've already received some kind assistance from the friendly folks on the forums, & look forward to one day being able to return the courtesy to new members as well. Kindly, `JTL WRKZ907

Hello all, I'm fairly new to the radio world even though you'd think my USMC Infantry background along with my current Firefighting gig would lead you to believe different. I should've paid closer attention obviously. I recently purchased a pair of Motorola MS350R GMRS/FRS radios. Wasn't even aware of the features or what the capabilities where until thumbing through the user manual. After some time on Google, I applied for and was granted a GMRS license from the FCC. I have spent the past couple of days trying to get these things to work on the repeater function with no luck. I'm a little ways from the nearest repeater but, I don't receive anything. Not even broken communication. I don't believe these things to be digital so I'm under the impression that I should still get garbage as a conformation. But to dive even deeper on the subject, I do not even know what I'm doing. I have no understanding of the freqs, or how to set the radio up in the first place. Everything I can find online is already a step above my understanding. Other than looking at what the channel freqs are and trying to match them (kinda), I have no idea of what's what. I DO know what channels are FRS, FRS/GMRS, and repeated GMRS. Also would like some clarity on the FRS/GMRS channels if you wouldn't mind. Any help will do. All I ask is that you assume I know nothing. Your wisecracks and jokes are encouraged as long as learning is achieved. Thanks in advance, K. Brown

Hi guys, I'm a newbie when it comes to 2 way radios in general, I've done a lot of reading educating myself and I have learned a lot, The first thing I did was to get my GMRS license, here is the deal... I have a pair of vertex 160u that I use to communicate with my daughters (too little for cellphone plus is more fun) when I go to the grocery store or to my uncle's house located about 1.50 miles away from my house, the radios work well. I just bought a Kenwood 805d to get a little more range but I need help choosing an antenna , power supply and any connector and cable I may need, if you guys could help me with some advice I would greatly appreciated. I know is not going to be easy, that is what makes it fun. Thank you. William.

Hello, I am new to GMRS (I do not even have a radio yet, not even FRS ) which is why I am posting this, I know some will ask why I have a LIcence when I do not even have radios and know so little. Basically its becasue I like to do things right and plan long term which is why my first step was to get a GMRS license. I am hoping I can get some friendly advice for the newbie. I am thinking of geting a couple Icom IC-F40GT for my wife and my use as there seems to be good things being said about them (at least in posts from 2009) and I have found a couple for about $100. I would also like to get relitivly inexpensive radios for my young children to use on family bike rides, so VOX capability is needed. I would like all the radios to be repeater capable so as ther kids get older they can take the (cheaper) radios when they go to DC or other areas without the blatant "target me" indicator of commercial looking radios such as the ICOMS Does anyone have any recomendations? -Laz