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.