How Will having gmrs help me

[Guest David]

Just curious what my advantage or uses woukd be for obtaining a license to create an account here and have a callsign for myself. I mean what do I benefit from.  I just like  to scan and listen to chat.  I doubt anyone would befriend and chat with me.  So how does having a lic for this benefit me as a scanner , rare talker

[RoadApple]

On 9/2/2025 at 12:04 PM, Guest David said:

Just curious what my advantage or uses woukd be for obtaining a license to create an account here and have a callsign for myself. I mean what do I benefit from.  I just like  to scan and listen to chat.  I doubt anyone would befriend and chat with me.  So how does having a lic for this benefit me as a scanner , rare talker

If all you plan on doing is using a radio or scanner to listen, you do not need a license and there would be no benefit.  If you want to talk, you need a license.

[SteveShannon]

On 9/2/2025 at 1:04 PM, Guest David said:

Just curious what my advantage or uses woukd be for obtaining a license to create an account here and have a callsign for myself. I mean what do I benefit from.  I just like  to scan and listen to chat.  I doubt anyone would befriend and chat with me.  So how does having a lic for this benefit me as a scanner , rare talker

Just get an FRS radio. No license is needed to talk and you can listen to all of the same channels.

[TerriKennedy]

On 9/2/2025 at 3:04 PM, Guest David said:

Just curious what my advantage or uses woukd be for obtaining a license to create an account here and have a callsign for myself. I mean what do I benefit from.  I just like  to scan and listen to chat.  I doubt anyone would befriend and chat with me.  So how does having a lic for this benefit me as a scanner , rare talker

Do you have family where it would be helpful to chat while one of you is outside the house? You can use it as an intercom, like the old Nextel iDEN phones. The advantages are that it works if the cell towers are down, radios can be purchased for far less money than cell phones, and one license covers your entire family. The disadvantages are that it doesn't have coverage as good as cellular if you have tall buildings or hilly, wooded terrain and there's no privacy.

They can also be used for some types of communications during some types of emergencies. I'm qualifying that because it isn't suited for the hardcore "prepper in a bunker" types, but as an example we had a water main break on a main road here earlier this week, and someone in an apartment building overlooking the new sinkhole and geyser was providing real-time updates, while the city just sent out a generic alert and ended the day with a boil water advisory. People were asking how congested various alternate routes were and getting answers.

There may also be repeaters in your area that you can use to increase your coverage. You can find candidates here, although you'll need an account to access the details.

You can also find people who are interested in chatting, though it may take some effort and since GMRS is for personal use, the first people you hear may not be interested in talking to you. Near me, I have two guys who seem to mostly debate the merits of Doritos and hamburgers.

OTOH, if it isn't for you, it isn't for you. No pressure to do anything you're not interested in. Lots of people just listen.

[WRUU653]

On 9/2/2025 at 12:04 PM, Guest David said:

Just curious what my advantage or uses woukd be for obtaining a license to create an account here and have a callsign for myself. I mean what do I benefit from. 

I just like  to scan and listen to chat.  I doubt anyone would befriend and chat with me.  So how does having a lic for this benefit me as a scanner , rare talker

By obtaining a license and creating an account here it gives you access to repeater information. You are given permission via the fcc to use more power when transmitting and use of radios with removable antennas to use better antennas, and the ability to transmit through repeaters.

If you just want to listen you can do so and none of those things matter and no license is needed. You can hear repeaters as the tones are only needed to transmit through them. You can buy good scanners or any radio and equipment you like. The license is just for transmitting and as @SteveShannon recommends no license needed for FRS and all channels are the same. Nothing wrong with enjoying radio as you choose. 

[LeoG]

If you have to ask it's not for you.  Have a nice day.

[Destro]

If you use the belt clip and walk around all day with the radio on your hip, it will help you get chicks!

[WRUE951]

you'll probably start listening, tune to some repeater and then get the urge to chat with someone..  Although you won't go to jail havine a friendly conversion with someone i think you would be more comfortable throwing  back a call sign to end your conversation..  I started on GMRS yacking with friends witout a license, then decided i wanted to join some repeaters but did'nt feel comfortable doing so without my $30 Lic...   Lic really not needed, but i recomend it    

[WRXB215]

1 hour ago, Destro said:

If you use the belt clip and walk around all day with the radio on your hip, it will help you get chicks!

Sshhhh! It's a secret.

[WRTC928]

If all you want to do is listen, having the license won't gain you anything. However, I'm pretty sure that after listening for a while, you'll want to join some conversations. The license is inexpensive and only takes a few days to obtain. At worst, you'll not use it and be out $25, but I'm so sure you'll use it that if you have it for a year and don't use it, I'll reimburse you the $25. You can't get a better deal than that.

[LeoG]

$35.00

 

Unless it's gone down.

[dosw]

There are far better scanners than the scan function of a 2 way GMRS radio. If you like listening, get a real scanner, or get an SDR (or both since neither is exactly a replacement for the other).

 

An FRS radio will get you two way communications without a license, on the same frequencies as a GMRS radio, except that a GMRS radio will also support repeater input frequencies, better antennas, and least importantly, a little more power.

If you don't care about repeaters but do want 2-way communications, get an FRS radio. If you care about repeaters get a GMRS license for $35 for ten years, and a GMRS radio. Using someone else's repeater is pretty much the only way you might get groused at for not being licensed. 

[WRYS709]

On 9/12/2025 at 5:48 PM, Destro said:

If you use the belt clip and walk around all day with the radio on your hip, it will help you get chicks!

 

[WRTC928]

18 hours ago, LeoG said:

$35.00

 

Unless it's gone down.

I think you're right. Either way, it's not much for a 10 year license that covers the whole family.

[SteveShannon]

18 hours ago, LeoG said:

$35.00

 

Unless it's gone down.

You’re right.  $35 is the price after it went down.  It was $70 when I got my license.  But my amateur license cost nothing and it now costs $35 so I can’t complain.

[WRUE951]

12 hours ago, WRYS709 said:

 

So much for getting laid  

[WSJW650]

On 9/13/2025 at 4:06 PM, dosw said:

There are far better scanners than the scan function of a 2 way GMRS radio. If you like listening, get a real scanner, or get an SDR (or both since neither is exactly a replacement for the other).

 

An FRS radio will get you two way communications without a license, on the same frequencies as a GMRS radio, except that a GMRS radio will also support repeater input frequencies, better antennas, and least importantly, a little more power.

If you don't care about repeaters but do want 2-way communications, get an FRS radio. If you care about repeaters get a GMRS license for $35 for ten years, and a GMRS radio. Using someone else's repeater is pretty much the only way you might get groused at for not being licensed. 

I’ve gone skiing/snowboarding almost every year since 1991….at busy ski areas, the FRS channels have gotten so clogged up with traffic; they are just about unusable……fifteen years ago, I switched to Marine VHF radios when skiing/snowboarding….much clearer communications on the lift and the channels are open on the mountain.
 

Only recently discovered GMRS; but I imagine the repeater channels have significantly less traffic/interference than the FRS shared channels. 

 

 

[WSEZ864]

6 hours ago, WRUE951 said:

So much for getting laid  

The baby chicks help far more than one might think.

[SteveShannon]

3 minutes ago, WSJW650 said:

Only recently discovered GMRS; but I imagine the repeater channels have significantly less traffic/interference than the FRS shared channels. 

 

Tune to FRS channels 15-22; they’re the exact same receive frequencies as the “GMRS repeater channels”. 

[LeoG]

10 minutes ago, WSJW650 said:

I’ve gone skiing/snowboarding almost every year since 1991….at busy ski areas, the FRS channels have gotten so clogged up with traffic; they are just about unusable……fifteen years ago, I switched to Marine VHF radios when skiing/snowboarding….much clearer communications on the lift and the channels are open on the mountain.
 

Only recently discovered GMRS; but I imagine the repeater channels have significantly less traffic/interference than the FRS shared channels. 

 

 

FRS and GMRS share all the same 22 channels.  FRS is limited in power and the antenna are required to be non removable.

[GreggInFL]

17 hours ago, WSJW650 said:

I’ve gone skiing/snowboarding almost every year since 1991….at busy ski areas, the FRS channels have gotten so clogged up with traffic; they are just about unusable……fifteen years ago, I switched to Marine VHF radios when skiing/snowboarding….much clearer communications on the lift and the channels are open on the mountain.
 

Only recently discovered GMRS; but I imagine the repeater channels have significantly less traffic/interference than the FRS shared channels.

 

Just put a tone on them to block a lot of other traffic. And don't tell the USCG that you're using Marine VHF inland. That's a technical no-no. They won't hear, so they won't care, but it's a heads up. You're welcome.

Edit: If you insist on being the black sheep with that VHS unit I recommend you stay on channel 72, one of the channels for recreational intership comms. Stay away from the primary USCG channels like 16 and 22A. Why? Because the Coast Guard is part of the Pentagon, and their enforcement protocols are different from those of the FCC.

[Northcutt114]

6 minutes ago, GreggInFL said:

Just put a tone on them to block a lot of other traffic.

Today I learned that you can use tones on FRS radios. I just looked at a pair of Motorola el cheapos that I have laying around and sure enough, there's an option. I never knew that. 

[LeoG]

Usually it's already preset to run a tone.

[HHD1]

22 hours ago, GreggInFL said:

If you insist on being the black sheep with that VHS unit

I prefer Betamax... 

[GreggInFL]

51 minutes ago, HHD1 said:

I prefer Betamax... 

LOL. Hey, who said I could type?