Dazed, Confused, Disappointed (Question includes Range, Power, Repeaters, BaoFeng)

[WRFF874]

History: Purchased Baofeng to listen to police radio - can't as its encrypted and digital. Looked into getting HAM License, looks too hard and my family members worn't ever take the test - since I only want to converse with family members found GMRS. Paid for license and did range test with my son (he has another Baofeng) and only got half a mile. Live in Bluffton, SC with no GMRS Repeaters at all.

 

Questions: 1) Can Ham repeaters be set up to dually support a GMRS frequency if I ask nicely? Or can they only repeat one frequency at a time? 2) What needs to happen so I can talk to my family 10 miles away? 3) If I only use my 5 watt Baofeng to chat on GMRS channels and only listen to HAM channels is that OK legally?

 

Thanks all! I'm happy to be part of this forum! Nick WRFF874

 

[berkinet]

Questions: 1) Can Ham repeaters be set up to dually support a GMRS frequency if I ask nicely? Or can they only repeat one frequency at a time? 2) What needs to happen so I can talk to my family 10 miles away? 3) If I only use my 5 watt Baofeng to chat on GMRS channels and only listen to HAM channels is that OK legally?

 

Thanks all! I'm happy to be part of this forum! Nick WRFF874

 

Answers...

1) No. Your guess is right. A repeater repeats only one frequency at a time. (Well, there are exceptions, but not that would apply to GMRS.) Ham and GMRS are different radio services and cannot interoperate. However, it is quite possible any given piece of equipment could operate on either the ham 440 band or GMRS, but never simultaneously.  

 

2) It all depends. Fixed location, mobile, (car/truck, etc.), handheld? Terrain: line-of-sight, obstructed, vegetation, etc.  Post back with more details.

 

3) You can listen to whatever you can receive. It is only transmissions that the FCC regulates. Well, ok, there are exceptions like for mobile phones etc. and I believe there are, in some cases, rules about repeating what you hear to others.

 

Welcome to GMRS.

[gman1971]

1/2 mile is about right with those Baofengs on UHF. Reaching further distance will require to use a better antenna placed at a height higher than 20 feet AGL. That would be the cheapest option IMO, if you want to increase range. Going with higher end walkies will probably increase the range too, and depending on conditions it might almost double the range, but that could end up being very costly... and in the end a better antenna placed higher is always the better route.

 

Going mobile (instead of walkie) will give you 10dB more power (x10 power) but range might not increase much, as the higher placed antenna will be a far better solution.

 

I don't think repeaters can be made dual duty due to the hardware involved in making one, you need two different repeaters to do Ham and GMRS.

 

 

G.

 

 

History: Purchased Baofeng to listen to police radio - can't as its encrypted and digital. Looked into getting HAM License, looks too hard and my family members worn't ever take the test - since I only want to converse with family members found GMRS. Paid for license and did range test with my son (he has another Baofeng) and only got half a mile. Live in Bluffton, SC with no GMRS Repeaters at all.

 

Questions: 1) Can Ham repeaters be set up to dually support a GMRS frequency if I ask nicely? Or can they only repeat one frequency at a time? 2) What needs to happen so I can talk to my family 10 miles away? 3) If I only use my 5 watt Baofeng to chat on GMRS channels and only listen to HAM channels is that OK legally?

 

Thanks all! I'm happy to be part of this forum! Nick WRFF874

 

[Lscott]

At UHF, that's where GMRS operates, antenna height is the BIG issue. While more power may help if there are obstructions between the two stations using a better antenna and high enough to clear local roof tops will pay off.

 

To give you an idea of how far you may expect to communicate the site below will give you some idea. As you can see from the examples holding two radios by hand, 5 feet, you're lucky to get 6 miles. And that's with no obstructions! I have talked mobile to mobile and got reasonably clear communications using an external magnet mount antenna of around 5 miles at 5 watts on VHF while driving on an open highway. Past that the other station began dropping out. The other station was using a similar setup. I would expect on GMRS, UHF, about the same performance.

 

http://www.hamuniverse.com/lineofsightcalculator.html

 

I would also recommend you look into getting a better radio. You will find lots of suggestions here where most people recommend a good quality used commercial grade, Part 90, radio. Some are even FCC certified for Part 95 so there is no question about their legal use on GMRS. While many people buy the inexpensive Baofeng radios they don't have the best performance. I have several Chinese radios I play around with. For not a whole lot more money you can get a much better quality radio. I have several Kenwood TK-370G-1 radios that are FCC part 95 certified, 128 channels, narrow and wide band per memory channel, and 4 watts.

 

I have near me a DMR station that routinely breaks through on multiple frequencies on the cheap Chinese radios, but doesn't do it on my Kenwoods. That's the difference a good receiver makes.

[marcspaz]

History: Purchased Baofeng to listen to police radio - can't as its encrypted and digital. Looked into getting HAM License, looks too hard and my family members worn't ever take the test - since I only want to converse with family members found GMRS. Paid for license and did range test with my son (he has another Baofeng) and only got half a mile. Live in Bluffton, SC with no GMRS Repeaters at all.

 

I have a friend that lives not too far from you.  Truth is, radio is pretty tough over there.  Unless I am on a bridge, range is limited to a couple of miles.  I have only been there 4 times for a couple of days... so I never really looked for any repeaters.

 

 

 

Questions: 1) Can Ham repeaters be set up to dually support a GMRS frequency if I ask nicely?

 

 

Not legally.  Technically, its possible, but would be way too complex and expensive to make it work, if you somehow got around the legality of it.  Most repeaters are very limited in operation.  They (can) support a wide range of frequencies, but they are typically configured for a band segment pair, with one input and one output.

 

 

2) What needs to happen so I can talk to my family 10 miles away?

 

Height is might... so the saying goes.  You will need to do a topo eval of where you want to talk to and from, and then install antenna setups tall enough to get over the terrain.

 

GMRS lives in the 462MHz and 467MHz range of UHF.  GMRS (and UHF in general) are what's called a line-of-sight service.  The radio waves travel in a straight line to about 15% further than the visible horizon.  That is because generally speaking, with rare/limited exception, UHF Radio signals get absorbed by the ground or radiate out into space.

 

An example would be with my mobile radio and mobile antenna mounted on my Jeep, while in my driveway, I can only chat about 1.5 miles with 40 watts.  Same radio on 5 watts, with a high gain antenna mounted on a 40 foot mast in my driveway, I am talking 40 miles.

 

 

3) If I only use my 5 watt Baofeng to chat on GMRS channels and only listen to HAM channels is that OK legally?

 

 

What radio do you have?  Depending on the radio, you may only be able to legally listen on both and not transmit on either.

 

[berkinet]

...What radio do you have?  Depending on the radio, you may only be able to legally listen on both and not transmit on either.

 

 

And, of course, depending on the license(s) that you hold.

[WRFF874]

Thank you all for your inputs - I've learned a lot! I'll focus on antenna height as my solution as my eldest son has a Baofeng 5r, I have a Baofeng 5rX3 and I just bought my wife and other son two Midland Handheld GMRS radios. I'll check out this forum more for ideas on low cost but effective antennas. Thanks again! Nick aka WRFF874.