New to 5W Handheld

[Guest Nate]

Hello…

I'm new to 5W handheld radios. I did get the GMRS license and I have read to basic rules… are there any other things I should know before using it? 
 

thanks in advance,

Nate

[WRYS709]

Welcome! 

Feel free to register here now that you are licensed 

[GreggInFL]

1 hour ago, Guest Nate said:

Hello…

I'm new to 5W handheld radios. I did get the GMRS license and I have read to basic rules… are there any other things I should know before using it? 
 

thanks in advance,

Nate

Welcome. You are in the right place. There is a ton of information and very helpful people here, so I recommend you join and look around.

First thing? Turn it on and hit the scan button. You may hear someone. If you do, push the PTT button and say hi.

[SteveShannon]

2 hours ago, Guest Nate said:

Hello…

I'm new to 5W handheld radios. I did get the GMRS license and I have read to basic rules… are there any other things I should know before using it? 
 

thanks in advance,

Nate

Welcome, Nate!

If I were you I would find some Notarubicon videos that address your interests. He has them on many different topics that relate to GMRS.  

Of course the regulations specific to GMRS are here: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-95/subpart-E

[RoadApple]

2 hours ago, Guest Nate said:

Hello…

I'm new to 5W handheld radios. I did get the GMRS license and I have read to basic rules… are there any other things I should know before using it? 
 

thanks in advance,

Nate

Welcome to the forum, Nate!  And welcome to GMRS radio. 

Are there other things you should know before using it?  Probably not.  Just have fun and be polite and everything will be fine.

[WRTC928]

GMRS channels/frequencies are shared with FRS and channels 8-14 are restricted to 0.5 watts. Make sure your radio doesn't have any "privacy" (they aren't private) tones set. If tones are set, you won't be able to hear anything that doesn't come from a radio using the same tone. You'll need to set tones to use repeaters, but first clear them all out and listen to see who's talking and what channel(s) they're using. 

[Guest Nate]

I just wanted to make sure I don’t end up on some restricted use channel on accident… or is that impossible with a 5W handheld? 

[RoadApple]

7 hours ago, Guest Nate said:

I just wanted to make sure I don’t end up on some restricted use channel on accident… or is that impossible with a 5W handheld? 

The only FCC rule restriction that comes to mind would be that you cannot use a 5W GMRS radio on channels 8 thru 14.  Those channels are restricted to 0.5W which is common for most FRS radios.  If you can set your radio to low power, you might be ok, but most 5W radios, even at low power, would probably still exceed the 0.5W power limit. 

That being said, if you were to transmit on those channels with more than the permitted 0.5W of power nobody would likely know or even care.

[WRUU653]

1 hour ago, RoadApple said:

The only FCC rule restriction that comes to mind would be that you cannot use a 5W GMRS radio on channels 8 thru 14.  Those channels are restricted to 0.5W which is common for most FRS radios.  If you can set your radio to low power, you might be ok, but most 5W radios, even at low power, would probably still exceed the 0.5W power limit. 

That being said, if you were to transmit on those channels with more than the permitted 0.5W of power nobody would likely know or even care.

I would add some clarification on this, if you are using a type accepted 5 watt hand held GMRS radio you won’t have any issue using channels 8-14. The radio will be programmed to reduce wattage on those channels from the factory. Type accepted GMRS mobile radios won’t transmit on those channels. 

[WRYZ926]

17 hours ago, Guest Nate said:

I just wanted to make sure I don’t end up on some restricted use channel on accident… or is that impossible with a 5W handheld? 

You won't have to worry about that if you are using a Part 95 certified GMRS radio as they are locked down so they only transmit on GMRS channels.

[WRTC928]

If your radio is a UV-5r or something similar (i.e., not a type-accepted Part 95 GMRS radio), you can disable the transmit function on channels 8-14. That way, you can still monitor them and if you really need to for some reason, it's not too hard to turn tx back on. It's very unlikely anyone would know if you're using one watt instead of 0.5, but I stay off 8-14 just to be sure I don't jam the frequency and interfere with someone else's enjoyment of the airwaves. 

[RoadApple]

13 hours ago, WRUU653 said:

I would add some clarification on this, if you are using a type accepted 5 watt hand held GMRS radio you won’t have any issue using channels 8-14. The radio will be programmed to reduce wattage on those channels from the factory. Type accepted GMRS mobile radios won’t transmit on those channels. 

Yeah, that's an important clarification.  THANK YOU for pointing that out!