Blink962

[ULTRA2]

Is it legal for businesses to use the simplex side of a GMRS frequency to conduct their business?

I hear a lost prevention department from a store using GMRS ch21 (467.700(?))not sure which store it's from e every time when I talk to someone on the repeater side I hear other traffic in there that I know is from simplex because I have another radio monitoring the same frequency but without the tones. And it interferes with the repeater traffic every time when I try to talk to someone I hear another station in there. And I do have my received tones on.

[DownEastNC]

Are they announcing their call sign? Could they be using an FRS radio? Reclassified FRS radios can be used for business.

[ULTRA2]

No callsign heard just conversation between manager and security staff.

[ULTRA2]

19 hours ago, DownEastNC said:

Are they announcing their call sign? Could they be using an FRS radio? Reclassified FRS radios can be used for business.

GMRS 21? a shared frequency? I don't think they are using FRS I don't normally pick up FRS traffic. But the station was heard while I was talking to someone on the repeater side. And like I said I had my received tone squelch on and I still heard their signal through the repeater.

[mbrun]

Is it legal for businesses to use the simplex side of a GMRS frequency to conduct their business?
I hear a lost prevention department from a store using GMRS ch21 (467.700(?))not sure which store it's from e every time when I talk to someone on the repeater side I hear other traffic in there that I know is from simplex because I have another radio monitoring the same frequency but without the tones. And it interferes with the repeater traffic every time when I try to talk to someone I hear another station in there. And I do have my received tones on.

A GMRS radio can only be used for business only if all parties have a license and therefor a callsign, or if the business holds a grandfathered/legacy license for using a particular GMRS frequency.

Current generation FRS radios however share 21 frequencies with GMRS. The 462.7000 frequency listed above is one of those frequencies. That frequency can be used by FRS radios for simplex communication at up to 2-watts transmit power. On GMRS that same frequency can be used for simplex or duplex (repeater) communication at up to 50watts.

Also, GMRS and FRS share many of the same CTCSS and DCS tones. This therefore makes it possible users of the two services to hear and/or communicate with one another even when codes are in use.

Hope this helps.


Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

[Radioguy7268]

Just a clarification. Un-related parties would need to have separate licenses, but a family business could certainly operate all under one License/Call Sign if all parties are close relatives - ie: Father/son business, family farm, etc.   I mention this because I know of a few relatives who operate a family farm and use GMRS for their operations. 100% legit with just one Licensed call sign.

As mbrun mentioned above, the loss prevention team is likely operating FRS radios at  2 watts, which probably works for them, and they don't have a clue that anyone operating on GMRS could step all over them. If that isn't happening, it's kind of like the proverbial tree falling in the forest.

[MichaelLAX]

3 hours ago, ULTRA2 said:

And like I said I had my received tone squelch on and I still heard their signal through the repeater.

There is a common misconception about the use of so-called privacy tones to restrict interference on your radio by others not using the same repeater.

These tones work best when no one is using the repeater and so your squelch keeps your radio silent while waiting to hear repeater traffic.

However, once someone is properly transmitting through the same repeater with the required tone, the repeater will "open" your squelch on your receiver because you have set your receiver to only open with the proper repeater tone.

But, once your squelch is opened by the repeater; open is open*: you will now hear any transmission on that channel within your reception zone, no matter what tone (or even the absence of a tone) is used by the interfering radio users. Chances are they are using that same frequency for simplex operation (same frequency for transmit and receive).

*In the United States, GMRS is analog only for voice communications; but if allowed by the FCC, a digital signal could share the channel with another digital signal without interference on modes such as D*Star, DMR and P-25.

Europe has an unlicensed digital service known as PMR.

[ULTRA2]

Thanks for the useful information it's greatly appreciated.