Long, Long Ago

[WRUE951]

1 hour ago, WRTC928 said:

GMRS doesn't get a lot of use in central Oklahoma, at least on repeaters. It's not completely abandoned, and there are several repeaters, but they're not usually too busy. One in Oklahoma City gets steady but not overwhelming usage during the workday because someone uses it for their business, but it's a brief conversation every 15 minutes or so. I occasionally hear someone on simplex in the more urban areas, and FRS gets a lot of use by construction crews and store staff, but the range is so short that it's hardly noticeable. I'm sure it's different in more heavily populated parts of the country, but at least here, GMRS is a good communication option for many of us.

it's kind of funny with GMRS compared to HAM Radio like WIN or PAPA. The later being busy every single day almost every min of the hour.. GMRS on the other hand, at least in my area and places i frequent while camping, has it's cycles.  Some days the spectrum is busy as heck and scanning will drive you nuts and other days it's so quite you begin to think your radio is broke. My repeater can go weeks with zero traffic then all of a sudden its a mad house, it sounds like grand central station.   There is even a young crowd that come and go on my repeater, every once in a while they get on and zabber having fun then their gone but they always seem to come back.   On the HAM side with PAPA and WIN, it's like wait your turn so can can speak.  I prefer using GMRS becasue i dont line the pressure of following the HAM zargin.  They like things done their way or you can't play, but i respect that.    

[Davichko5650]

17 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

 

I was making $625 a month when I first enlisted. I did go in as an E-2 though

E-1 pay in 74 was 397 per. ETS'd as an SP4 at the 505 per month. For those that care, my MOS was 98G2LAEK3/05H2LAEK3. But was also put on Temp as a 95B when I was guarding the SCIF as there weren't enough MP's with clearances to do the gig.

[WSCA238]

I think the biggest difference between CB licensing and GMRS licensing is that CB Licenses were on paper and the reply was on paper and had to be stored in filing cabinet$ and someone had to be paid to handle all that paper and deposit the check and follow-up on bounced checks and returned mail, etc.  My GMRS license was filed digitally, paid for digitally, and sent to me digitally.  All on a Sunday (i.e. no human beings involved).  Bits on a server are so cheap (not zero, but really cheap) that as long as people are willing to pay for a GMRS license, they'll take the money.

Edited Tuesday at 08:51 PM by WSCA238
added detail

[LeoG]

I would think the 5 watt HTs are used quite a bit unlicensed.  But the owners of the repeaters will want you to have a license to use their equipment.  At least if I wanted people using it I wouldn't want unlicensed persons on it.  Need to have some basic understanding of radio or at least know how to read, follow instructions so you can program it.  That would exclude my wife LOL

[RoadApple]

1 hour ago, LeoG said:

I would think the 5 watt HTs are used quite a bit unlicensed.  But the owners of the repeaters will want you to have a license to use their equipment.  At least if I wanted people using it I wouldn't want unlicensed persons on it.  Need to have some basic understanding of radio or at least know how to read, follow instructions so you can program it.  That would exclude my wife LOL

Your assumption about 5-watt HT's being used without a license is probably correct.  I hear farm workers on the radio (simplex) that I very much doubt, based on their conversation, are within FRS range.  They never ID themselves.  I'm not sure they know the difference between FRS and GMRS radios, and if they do, I doubt they care.  To them, it is just another radio that works a little better. 

[WRYZ926]

7 hours ago, RoadApple said:

Your assumption about 5-watt HT's being used without a license is probably correct.  I hear farm workers on the radio (simplex) that I very much doubt, based on their conversation, are within FRS range.  They never ID themselves.  I'm not sure they know the difference between FRS and GMRS radios, and if they do, I doubt they care.  To them, it is just another radio that works a little better. 

I hear the same here in mid Missouri all of the time. And some are even using GMRS mobile radios in their farm trucks. And like you, I never hear them use any call signs. 

That is part of the reason why we don't allow businesses and farms to use our GMRS repeater.

[RoadApple]

5 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

That is part of the reason why we don't allow businesses and farms to use our GMRS repeater.

I've often wondered about the practical reality of "we don't allow...to use our GMRS repeater" when all they need is the correct tone.  Notwithstanding the reality that many can't figure out the tone, for those that can and do, then what?

If they are locals and are doing it on a regular basis, as opposed to some unknown random person or group passing thru the area, it isn't difficult to figure out who they are.  Clearly that would be the first step in any sort of enforcement action.  But what a PITA.  Then what?  Report it to FCC and cross your fingers, I guess...

IDK, the whole thing is based on the honor system and as we see, or rather hear, with some degree of regularity, some folks just don't care about rules.

[LeoG]

Keep changing it and they'll likely get tired of pursuing it.  Most have a hard time programming the tone in with explicit instructions.

[WRUE951]

only one time in 7 years of using GMRS was i ever asked to register, or request t to use a GMRS repeater. It was in Auburn, Calif in 2020.   As i was travling through on I80 Ch 18 broke loose with someone asking for a radio check. This Ch happend to be programed with the same and PL codes of  a repeater here in the desert  After giving the other party a radio check and talking for 20'ish minutes.  The owner just popped in introduced his call sign told me it was his repeater and asked me to submit a request here to use.  It was no big deal, the guy was nice about everything.  I never did fill out a request to use cause i havent been through that area since..   Frankly, i can't even keep up with the ones have requested access too.  

[WRYZ926]

52 minutes ago, RoadApple said:

I've often wondered about the practical reality of "we don't allow...to use our GMRS repeater" when all they need is the correct tone.  Notwithstanding the reality that many can't figure out the tone, for those that can and do, then what?

If they are locals and are doing it on a regular basis, as opposed to some unknown random person or group passing thru the area, it isn't difficult to figure out who they are.  Clearly that would be the first step in any sort of enforcement action.  But what a PITA.  Then what?  Report it to FCC and cross your fingers, I guess...

IDK, the whole thing is based on the honor system and as we see, or rather hear, with some degree of regularity, some folks just don't care about rules.

Yes they can easily figure out the tones. Now if it is someone "passing through" then nothing much will come of it. But if it is a local then actions can be taken. There is no guarantee that any actions taken against the offending person will have much effect, but you have to start somewhere before lawyers and/or the FCC gets involved. I leave that to our club's executive board to deal with. So far we haven't had any problems and the couple of times framers/businesses tried to use the repeater, they were told not to do it and they quit.

[AdmiralCochrane]

A lot of new radios have automatic tone ID.  If both tones are the same, they only need to be within receiving range of the repeater.  If the tones are different (or only input), they would have to be within range of someone transmitting to the repeater, but it is automated these days.  No longer necessary to just quess.

[RoadApple]

3 hours ago, AdmiralCochrane said:

A lot of new radios have automatic tone ID.  If both tones are the same, they only need to be within receiving range of the repeater.  If the tones are different (or only input), they would have to be within range of someone transmitting to the repeater, but it is automated these days.  No longer necessary to just quess.

Sounds like that may just bring the unlicensed, non-radio folk, one step closer to getting onto local repeaters... welcome or not.  Modern GMRS radios in the hands of "FRS type" users will no doubt continue to blur the lines between the two services.