Utilizing GMRS vs Ham repeaters for a newbie!

[WRTC928]

5 minutes ago, nokones said:

Regardless, even if Channels 8-14 are factory default channels in a GMRS Part 95 Type-Accepted handheld radios and only transmit at a half-watt ERP, they are still FRS only channels and not GMRS channels, and by rule do not require a license to operate on those channels.

You are incorrect. The FCC rules list them as part of the allocated GMRS frequencies, although the power and bandwidth restrictions are the same as for FRS. I understand that to mean that if you are using a Part 95-accepted radio to transmit on those channels, a license is still required. 

[SteveShannon]

Just now, WRTC928 said:

You are incorrect. The FCC rules list them as part of the allocated GMRS frequencies, although the power and bandwidth restrictions are the same as for FRS. I understand that to mean that if you are using a Part 95-accepted radio to transmit on those channels, a license is still required. 

This is exactly correct.  It doesn’t matter which of the GMRS/FRS channels 1-22 you’re on; if you’re using a GMRS radio you’re required to be operating with a license. If you’re using an FRS radio you do not need a license. 

[WRUE951]

25 minutes ago, WRTC928 said:

I think most hams who also have GMRS licenses have amateur and GMRS frequencies on the same radio. It's so much more convenient than carrying two radios...I've heard...

Regardless of the radio used, I'm a proponent of sticking to the authorized power levels and bandwidths because I don't want to interfere with someone else's enjoyment of the airwaves.

I agree

[WRUE951]

9 hours ago, OffRoaderX said:

FRS and GMRS frequencies are the same.. If their radio is tuned into GMRS, it is tuned into FRS..

hey silly.   i think most people can figure out what i mean...   

[WRUE951]

59 minutes ago, UncleYoda said:

Nope.  If you have a GMRS radio, typically only HTs, that will do 1/2 watt, then it's allowed.  But I agree in a practical sense, it's better to not use those channels.

§ 95.563 FRS channels.
The FRS is allotted 22 channels, each having a channel bandwidth of 12.5 kHz. All of the FRS channels are
also allotted to the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) on a shared basis.

Some pople can't figure that out  

[WRUE951]

1 hour ago, nokones said:

Channels 1-7 and 15-22 are both FRS and GMRS. Channels 8-14 are FRS only. Most of the Hams I know will not play on Ham freqs anymore. Some of them have their General or Extra license.

They play on GMRS because that is where the Cool Radio Dorks play and hangout. I was told by my Ham friends that most of the Hams are very different, uppy up, snoobish, and cannot connect with other Hams very well, and getting into Ham was not what they expected and no longer will play on Amateur radio, and more than likely will just let their Ham license expire.

here in Califailure,  HAMS play on both and when they play on GMRS it's very easy to pick them out..    The Alpha freaks  

[WRKC935]

23 hours ago, nokones said:

Prior to moving from Northern California in 2019 where 99.2% of the public safety systems were analog conventional VHF& UHF systems, I would get several requests to program various vintage Mototola radios because no one had the capability any longer, with public safety and/or Ham freqs. Some of the people said they were either volunteers or reserves, but the radios were privately owned. I refused to program any public safety freqs.

As for the people that wanted Ham freqs, I also to turned them away for a couple reasons, one for not having the HAM channel information to be programmed and/or for the HAM freqs being out of the operating band range of their radio. 

One genuine Einstein even brought me, I think was a MTX9000, that operated in the 900 MHz band with a operating band range above the 900 MHz Amateur band, and he wanted both 2 Meter and 70 cm freqs programmed in the radio. And this guy also didn't have any programming channel information. I guess I was supposed to look that up for him.

After moving to Arizona in 2019, I only had one guy show up driving a Black Crown Vic with spot lights requesting a vintage Motorola radio programmed with both GMRS and a couple police UHF freqs. The radio was a VHF radio that I suspect was an old LAPD VHF radio.

I don't get too many real Einsteins wanting public safety freqs programmed in their privately owned radios since every agency in the Phoenix area operates on either Phase 1 or 2 Digital Trunk and encrypted 700 MHz systems.

Yeah, hams are fun when they end up with commercial radios.

It is technically legal to program ham stuff in a Part 90 radio since they can basically use anything for a radio that will work on the frequency band they are allocated. 

For a long time they wouldn't program anything ham into radios at my shop.  Then they figured they would have me do it since I was a ham.  I wrote a 1 page agreement and instruction sheet for getting a commercial radio programmed with ham stuff. 

It basically stated that the owner was required to provide a spreadsheet with the column's that were laid out for TX and RX frequencies, TX and RX PL/DPL tones, channel alias, a column for channels in the scan list for the zone, high and low power and a couple other things.  Then if they wanted anything commercial with transmit, they would need an MOU on letterhead from the person listed on the license or a chief or high ranking official with the agency or department that owned the frequency.  The MOU's and the channel lineup would be kept on file and if a programming discrepancy was noticed that the sheet would be checked against what was in the radio.  If it matched what was provided, they would need to pay to get it changed.  We weren't going to be researching PL /DPL, TX frequencies or any of that.  What was on the sheet was going in the radio.  IF the sheet was wrong, the radio would be wrong.  It set a price for a single zone with 16 to 20 channels.  If multiple zones were requested, and it explained how to create the spreadsheet for that, it would be done on an hourly rate with one hour minimum.  Which was at that time 130 an hour.  I had a copy of it laminated and put at the front desk for the greeter / customer service person to have them read when they came through the door. 

It also had the contact info for the state agency that was in control of the state radio system and that they would need to get a radio ID from them and an MOU for the talkgroups they wanted if they were requesting access to the state wide trunked system.  I already knew that they wouldn't issue ID's to private citizens directly and that some agency that was on the system would need to sponsor them to have a radio on the system, so that wasn't gonna happen.  But when you establish a policy, and put price tags to it. It stops them cold.  Oh, and we charged $500 for codeplug creation for a state wide system subscriber.  Which is what we charged everyone else.  Most of them would leave in a huff, a few would do it, and we were happy to have their money and their understanding of what they were going to get for it.

I finally decided we weren't going to do anything with the ham DMR stuff or it would be strictly hourly rate to program with a 2 hour minimum.  Because DMR on commercial radios when they want a bunch of group calls and crap takes a LOT of time to create.  And the codeplug was a one off.  What one guy wanted in his radio wasn't going to be in 100 radios, just his.  The next guy would want different stuff in different places and it was all a big PITA so they were going to pay for it.  And we didn't and don't program ham radios, if it didn't say Motorola on it, we weren't touching it.