Introduction to GMRS for new users

[berkinet]

Recently learned about this site that has an excellent user guide to GMRS and FRS radio.

Thanks Christiaan.

 

https://www.k0tfu.org/reference/frs-gmrs-privacy-codes-demystified.html

[Linus]

Thank you for sharing. This is a good article.

[mcallahan]

"Most GMRS radios are designed for simplex operation and can't transmit on these frequencies. Which mostly doesn't matter because there are very few GMRS repeaters out there."

 

idk if I'd agree that there are very few GMRS repeaters out there when this site lists over 1700 repeaters. Even if only half of those listings are accurate and active repeaters, that's still not an insignificant number of GMRS repeaters.

[berkinet]

idk if I'd agree that there are very few GMRS repeaters out there when this site lists over 1700 repeaters. Even if only half of those listings are accurate and active repeaters, that's still not an insignificant number of GMRS repeaters.

 

Well, the continental US (lower 48 states) are around 3,119,890 square miles. If all the repeaters in the listing were active, that would still only be 1 repeater for every 1,853 square miles. And then, many repeaters serve  the same general area, especially in larger cities.

[mcallahan]

Either way, a GMRS beginner is probably seeking a GMRS license because they want to know about repeaters and how they work. It certainly does matter if a radio is repeater capable.

[DouglasLourey]

This article is a goldmine of information, and it includes links to GMRS radio manuals.  I bookmarked it.  Learning how GMRS radio's implement privacy codes, sub-codes, interference eliminator codes, all mfg slang for CTCSS or DCS is very helpful.  I appreciated how Baofeng implemented them in a similar fashion to HAM radio (example: DCS code 023 is Baofeng D023N).   

[mcallahan]

Yeah the table translating the tones and various manufacturer naming conventions is very helpful. I had a similar page bookmarked once but it has since gone offline. This is a great replacement.

[WRJA503]

Unless I missed it, the article is missing one important topic, which is using tones to open up the repeater receiver.
Some club repeaters can't be accessed or opened up without tx'ing the right DCS or CTCSS tone.

FWIW.

[berkinet]

Unless I missed it, the article is missing one important topic, which is using tones to open up the repeater receiver. ...

Yup, you missed it ;-)

 

Look for CTCSS (Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System)