I am beginner, got my call sign and radio; Now What?

[bwill]

I am really interested in getting started with GMRS.  I have received my FCC call sign (WRNW710)and I have purchased the KG UV-9R,  so I'm all in.  Now I just need to know how to get started talking to anyone, as well as how to best setup the settings on the radio.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Ben

[DownEastNC]

Is this a Wouxun or Baofeng and confirm the model number please.

[MichaelLAX]

WELCOME and enjoy! 

[WROA675]

4 hours ago, bwill said:

I have purchased the KG UV-9R,  so I'm all in

Welcome Ben, I'm new too and will say that it sounds like you're off to a good start. Be careful though, you might end up with two or three more radios before the end of the year. Just take your time and make sure to have fun.

Most people here are very helpful, even if it doesn't sound that way, sometimes (hope you have a good sense of humor). Plus, there are plenty of threads you can start reading to get yourself orientated to the world of GMRS.

Getting on the radio and talking with others is going to depend on your location. You can find the repeater(s) near you (see Repeaters up above), plug in the tone (if they have one) and start yappin away. You might even find someone local that is willing to meet up and show you the ropes a little. What is your region?

[bwill]

I have the Wouxun kg UV-9G

[bwill]

 

I have the Wouxun kg UV-9G Pro

 

[DownEastNC]

5 minutes ago, bwill said:

 

I have the Wouxun kg UV-9G Pro

 

• Ok, that makes sense You originally said KG UV-9R and had me scratching my head.  None the less I hope you enjoy your new radio. As a newbie myself I first setup a scan of all the GMRS channels to see who's out there. Depending upon your location you may find some chatter or if you're in the sticks it could be quiet as a church house mouse. The other thing I did was search repeater locations using the tools at MyGMRS. I contacted the owner of the nearest repeater for permission and found a willing soul to give me a radio check. I was proud to be able to hit the repeater at 29 miles away. After that you're on your own. It helps if you have friends, family or neighbors willing to participate on GMRS.

For the other features of your radio such as scanning emergency services and other "entertaining" frequencies a visit to https://www.radioreference.com/ will yield what's available in your area.

Using the software may benefit setup of some of these extra channels that you want to listen to.

Welcome and good luck with your familiarization of the radio.

 

[MichaelLAX]

2 hours ago, Papatree said:

What is your region?

His Callsign checks out as Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312

[WyoJoe]

3 hours ago, DownEastNC said:

Ok, that makes sense You originally said KG UV-9R and had me scratching my head. 

With the prefix "KG" this would indicate that it's a Wouxon radio. Baofeng has a UV-9R model (without the KG prefix).

The same is true for the two "9G" models: KG UV-9G from Wouxon and UV-9G from Baofeng. These radios are the GMRS versions of the 9R radios mentioned above.

[WyoJoe]

9 hours ago, bwill said:

I am really interested in getting started with GMRS.  I have received my FCC call sign (WRNW710)and I have purchased the KG UV-9R,  so I'm all in.  Now I just need to know how to get started talking to anyone, as well as how to best setup the settings on the radio.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Ben

Welcome aboard Ben,

Hopefully GMRS won't be disappointing for you. One thing you're likely to find is that there aren't a lot of people sitting around waiting to talk on GMRS. The way the service is licensed, many users have GMRS radios primarily for talking with family members either on simplex (radio to radio) or on private repeaters, and in many cases don't seem interested in talking with anyone outside their small group. This seems to be a fairly common experience shared by new GMRS users.

In some areas, however, there is a fairly active GMRS user base that tend to use mostly open (shared) repeaters, and will chat readily with others. The best way to find out if that's the case in your area is to monitor the repeater outputs in your area to "see" what you can hear. You might find that there is an active GMRS community using one or more repeaters in the area. If so, you should be able to get information on who to contact to use the repeater. Remember, permission to do so is granted by the repeater owner, except in the case of open repeaters.

[WRYE806]

I’m new myself to GMRS. Call sign WRYE806, and my name is Wayne. I’m in Fayette County,Tennessee. The closest repeaters I can find in the directory are in Memphis,the next county west of me, and are too far away for my Tidradio GM 5R handheld radio to hit. Can’t seem to find any other GMRS operators in my area. I’ve been scanning all channels and only hear distant static occasionally. Are there any suggestions for me. Thank you in advance.

[Guest]

Welcome !!!

Basically, GMRS is more of a ‘talk to friends’ than a ‘talk to strangers’ thing. 
With that said, the best option would be to get some friends to join you on GMRS airwaves.

In the meantime, keep scanning

Best of luck finding new friends!!!

 

[mrobisr]

6 hours ago, WRYE806 said:

I’m new myself to GMRS. Call sign WRYE806, and my name is Wayne. I’m in Fayette County,Tennessee. The closest repeaters I can find in the directory are in Memphis,the next county west of me, and are too far away for my Tidradio GM 5R handheld radio to hit. Can’t seem to find any other GMRS operators in my area. I’ve been scanning all channels and only hear distant static occasionally. Are there any suggestions for me. Thank you in advance.

You can try either a higher antenna or a yagi pointed in the repeaters direction or both. Have you looked up your county to see how many have a gmrs license?

Edited August 7, 2023 by mrobisr
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