East TN GMRS

[WRAP646]

I'm new to the GMRS world and I can honestly say I'm excited about the possibilities that I see. I've been monitoring here in the East TN area for a few weeks and there doesn't seem to be a lot of chatter. I have to imagine that it is the nature of GMRS. I suspect there are times when things pick up and get active, but that just isn't right now. For those that have been active for a while in the area, was GMRS able to be of use during the wild fires in Gatlinburg?

 

I'm also curious as to what radios people are using. I hope to get a few of the Midland 40w mobiles in the future, but one of the things I would like the ability to do, is save repeater settings instead of having to manually change the channel each time we venture into a new area (have them preloaded). That coupled with wanting something new, I simply haven't been able to find anything that fits the bill. I'd also like similar functionality from a handheld, those seem a little bit easier to find however. Bottle line, I'd love to know what you guys use, and why. Also, what are your main uses for GMRS? I work on technology and have seen major outages take large tolls on commercial communications methods. I see GMRS as a means to connect to my friends and family during those times as well as during times of duress, should ever have any.

 

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[Durake]

Hellooo, I've been using GMRS since about mid 2016. Absolutely love it. 

 

Radios I use for GMRS are as follow:

Motorola PM400 (mobile)
Motorola Maxtrac (base)

Icom F6021 (base)

Motorola XTS3000 (portable)

Motorola XPR3500e (portable)
Motorola HT1000 (portable)

Motorola CDR700 (repeater)

 

I've always been a fan of Motorola, just the strong build quality and how durable the radios are. I do have a couple Baofeng portables in my car and use them from time to time. 

 

I use GMRS to talk to mainly friends, occasionally family as well. 

[WRAF213]

I used GMRS rather extensively during the Thomas Fire to provide evacuation information during the overnight power outage; and collect power, traffic, and fire status from residents and motorists. Cell service was unavailable that entire night, and with no power or cell phones, some residents dusted off their FRS radios and hopped on channel 1 looking for information. Directional antennas aided in determining rough locations of operators. Presently, I use GMRS to communicate with a small group of primarily FRS users and a local repeater. Few people monitor simplex channels, and those who do aren't GMRS licensees, so virtually all GMRS-to-GMRS operation is repeated.

[Soladaddy]

I used GMRS rather extensively during the Thomas Fire to provide evacuation information during the overnight power outage; and collect power, traffic, and fire status from residents and motorists. Cell service was unavailable that entire night, and with no power or cell phones, some residents dusted off their FRS radios and hopped on channel 1 looking for information. Directional antennas aided in determining rough locations of operators. Presently, I use GMRS to communicate with a small group of primarily FRS users and a local repeater. Few people monitor simplex channels, and those who do aren't GMRS licensees, so virtually all GMRS-to-GMRS operation is repeated.

That is great......Finding them with directional antennas.

 

Back on topic.... I just received the Btech GMRS V1 and am chasing the same issue. I can add a tone to a set pre-programmed "channel." It appears that I cannot add a channel, but can add a memory. Have only messed with Chirp for one day and have just figured out the terms used for tone. Chirp terms are not a tic-for-tac duplication of the radio's front panel terminology. Has anyone been able to add into memory extra repeater settings for those with different tone requirements?

[GaDalek]

Unfortunately you can not add more channels to the GMRS V-1 as far as transmitting.  You can add channels to listen only.  Otherwise I love my V-1 and use it all the time.