Un-official GMRS travel channel?

[dhardin53]

Is it passable for MyGMRS to sponsor a "Unofficial travel channel" campaign? Or am I out on a lamb?

Aid with the set up for a 3rd party to custom make widow decals with your personal Call sign and the channel your monitoring on the road and a small plug for MyGMRS.com site. This giving other travelers notice (1, your legal and licensed and how to identify yourself, 2, support the hobby. 3, aid and road assistance, safely, communication road and traffic conditions. Three basic goals. (not used by the driver as driving) don't forget the law agenst distracted driving. Or using VOX if driver is solo. Possible window decal and or magnetic decal one can only display when you desire. 

I can think of many good points and a few not so good point with this type of display. Ok MyGMRS tee-shirts are cool, but this could make a few buck for myGRMS.com 

I see a win-win situation here.

Ok I have talked myself into this, I take 3 for the first order! 

Lets kick this arond some, express the pross and cons. See if there is an interest within the GMRS community. But please keep it civil.

[gortex2]

This comes up often. there is not one and no need for one. This isn't ham radio. 

[MichaelLAX]

35 minutes ago, kb2ztx said:

This comes up often. there is not one and no need for one. This isn't ham radio. 

I don't believe Ham radio has a travel channel either. There are "simplex channels" there. 

Consider this thread about "travel channels" and Ham Radio.

Perhaps you are thinking of legacy Citizens Band Radio?!

[DownEastNC]

47 minutes ago, kb2ztx said:

This comes up often. there is not one and no need for one. This isn't ham radio. 

If it comes up often then it sure sounds like there might be a need for one.

DownEastNC sits back and waits on lecture about how GMRS is supposed to be for personal communications

 

[gortex2]

I guess just don't get it. 99% of the GMRS use for me is my friends and family. If someone calls me and I don't know them I most likely wont answer them. Its not that Im rude but that's what I have GMRS for. If i'm on 2M and some calls on 520 its my option to answer or not. A road channel implies a channel folks will listen to and monitor. When im on the highway my radio is in scan. With that said I have PL on all my channels because i don't want to listen to others. CB was the same for years. The only defined channel was 9 for emergencies back in the 70's. 19 was kinda the trucker channel and 4 was the jeep channel. 

What is the intended goal ? 

If I'm on a jeep ride they give us a channel to monitor. If I'm home I monitor my repeaters. 

To me some just feel GMRS needs more than it was intended for. While some are avid GMRS users with multiple repeaters, many are using it for a 1/4 mile to talk to a car behind them and most likely have no license anyway. 

[DownEastNC]

If there was a suggested or official GMRS travel channel, I would use it. I've also considered getting my own window decals that essentially say something like "GMRS - CH20" to let other's know what channel I'm monitoring, call sign optional.

I just recently made a two day turnaround, 350 miles each way, and had the radio on scan. I picked up some repeater chatter, a little car to car chatter, and in one city there was a road crew using a channel (I'm assuming on FRS) to direct traffic flow. Not one person chimed in and said "Break for that good looking guy in the pickup truck", so I was a bit disappointed in that respect. Perhaps if I had those decals the results would be different.

Jokes aside, I know that many aren't too keen on seeing GMRS go to the wild side like CB did back in the 70's. I wouldn't want that either but it would be nice to be able to reach out to get a traffic report or local information during the trip and hey, if you were really bored then just have a friendly chat on a side channel. Actually I don't believe two way radio will hit the frenzy like CB did years ago mainly because of mobile phones. Most folks are self absorbed with their phone and that's as far as they want to take it.

So if the GMRS community ever gets organized enough to have an official travel channel then I'll roll with it and if MyGMRS wants to crank out some decals then I'd be glad to pitch in on that too. My 2¢

 

[axorlov]

There is one already, 462.675 with tone 141.3, aka Travel Tone

 

 

[dhardin53]

Thaks Axorloc, very informative. 

[dhardin53]

DownEastNC, my thought exactly. A GMRS travle channel what ever it is and how it is set should not be a problem. we just need to make it a service know to others is all I am saying. A travle channel will not be for everyone i know that. some places i have traveled i could be a detrimental to display anything other than my License plate.  

Im sure Forum rule would prohibit anyone from advertising and making money from this site. I'm not talkng about that. The greater My GMRS.com community if organized could step up the game over a hand full of GMRS doing it themselves.

Here in Illinois we have two seasons, road construction months and to cold for road construction. Sitting in 4 or 6 lanes back up it would be nice to get the feel of what and how long this it is going to be. Cell phones or not, Now google maps have aided in this a lot, sometimes you can get a re-rout arond road closures. There is still time I wish I had my old CB to just lessen to truckers do just what i am saying. We all need to look-out for each other in this fast pace world. 

[mbrun]

If you’re looking for simplicity, familiarity, ease of remembering for the masses then what about FRS/GMRS ‘19’ (462.650) simplex, no tone. Those from the CB world can easily relate to it because 19 has been engrained in our culture for 50+ years. Simplex to keep the radio traffic mostly local to you and ensure greatest pubic participation (FRS and GRMS) and because it does not rely on repeaters you may need permission to access. No tone because the masses will struggle to remember it and how to set it while traveling and because a tone is also not set in most radios on their channels when purchased.

The downside to this frequency choice is that it is one of the high-power repeater frequencies and it will at times interfere with some folks being able to receive the repeater. A downside to not using a tone is that cheap legal radios will have no standard squelch control. As radio noise picks up, the users will be faced with more un-squelched audio they may find undesirable.

All-in-all, I would predict 19 could have the greatest chance of success for the reasons I gave paragraph one.

If some individuals repeater owners wish to specifically support travelers, they can either choose to support it on 650 (PL in, No PL out), or in the form of the alternate 675 with the 141.3 traveling tone as a quiet room for licensed traveling users to side-bar.

For me, in reality, I would likely not monitor the channel once radio traffic picked up substantially, and definitely not once the CB trash-talk emerges, except perhaps during extended traffic slow-down situations.


Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

[tweiss3]

19 is a terrible idea, as 462/7.65 is strictly prohibited above line A.

[BoxCar]

I haven't used CB since the early 80's but it maes no sense to me that a repeater chanel be selected as the "travel channel." Mobile to mobile communications would be impossible without an external installation (the repeater). A simplex channel would be useable just as the CB channels are used today. No reliance on there being a repeater being in range with the same codes as the traveler. The issue of codes still exists as CB does not have this capability and there is nothing preventing some stations having codes and others without them.

 

[DownEastNC]

Instead of telling everyone what you can't do, or what you shouldn't do, how about a suggestion on what we can do? Or is all this an exercise in futility?

[Blaise]

2 hours ago, tweiss3 said:

19 is a terrible idea, as 462/7.65 is strictly prohibited above line A.

Sorry, I'm new at this.  What does this mean?

[gortex2]

Line A is an imaginary line the FCC defined that you cannot operate GMRS above. Its stated on your license that certain channels cannot be used above it.

 

https://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/index.htm?job=line_a_c

The Line A and Line C Program determines whether an entered coordinate is SOUTH of Line A or WEST of Line C. Line A is an imaginary line within the US, approximately paralleling the US-Canadian border. To the north of Line A, FCC coordination with Canadian authorities is generally required in the assignment of frequencies.

[tweiss3]

42 minutes ago, Blaise said:

Sorry, I'm new at this.  What does this mean?

https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/maps/frequency-coordination-canada/

Channels 19 & 21 cannot be used above line A or east of line C.

[dhardin53]

This means channel 19 and 20 are not to be used within closes proximity of Canada boarder. for the most part upper parts of MI and the north east states that are rather populated would be effected. west of MI the line is straight and not as populated. 

Best see attachment  file.

Comparing CB past problem's are some what germane, I hope Legal licensed GMRS usurers would not use a busy travel channel and monitor if the activity that is germane to your geographic location and find info usable. To "chew the rag" keep it short or move to another channel. Licensed GMRs for common curtsy would announce there call sign a help keep the non Licensed users a bay some. Non-Licensed are free to lessen,  to those not giving a call sign one does not have to respond. I know there will alwyas be the "cowboy illegals"  upset the apple cart. If you want to worry about the few that don't play by any rules we will go on and on and NRVER advance the GMRS concept.  Remember the G in GMRS is general, Not just my close frinds or people that think like me. General invites ALL. A travle channel must first consider ALL in the picture. The majority of FCC rules are intended so ALL use the air-waves and get along. In time I see more GMRS getting licensed and seeing the benefits of  working togeter not dividing us. A GMRS travle channel should not be a repeater channel simplex only, no tones. as well as limited to a lower power in congested population high traffic locations. 

https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/maps/frequency-coordination-canada/

 

[gortex2]

"A GMRS travle channel should not be a repeater channel simplex only"

So what do you mean by this. We only have 8 repeater channels. Are you proposing to use channels 1-7 which are 5 watt low power ? 

For me I dont want someone camping on my repeater pair or using it as a  "road" channel. If your set on a designated channel I'd pick a 1-7 channel. 

[DownEastNC]

2 hours ago, kb2ztx said:

For me I dont want someone camping on my repeater pair or using it as a  "road" channel. If your set on a designated channel I'd pick a 1-7 channel. 

I need some help understanding this. If you are camped out on a repeater channel, with tones, then how will you hear a simplex conversation with no tones? Isn't it the other way around... the simplex guys having to listen to a repeater RX channel or is the concern that simplex is stepping on a weaker repeater receive channel?

[dhardin53]

My mistake. no repeater channel, should have left out the term simplex.

Yes kd2xtx it kind of narrows it down to 1-7 with lower power, this would disturb less by some limited coverage. I don't feel road channels need to span larger coverage. If you see a decal on a passing vehicle and have desire to correspond with it low power is much preferred. Travle channel has no need to disrupt any more communication than needed. 

Lets say this takes off. diving cross county how many repeaters will you cross path with is hard to tell. but would be foolish disturbing any repeated for a travelers passing this type of short communication. If one connect on a travle channel and wishes to tell someone there experence of someone great times at who knows what, go to another channel.

 

[mbrun]

19 is a terrible idea, as 462/7.65 is strictly prohibited above line A.

Excellent point my friend. It should be a frequency that works throughout the US. Since 19 is out for the state reason, then one of the 462 interstitials is the next logical place to look.


Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

[AdmiralCochrane]

5 hours ago, kb2ztx said:

"A GMRS travle channel should not be a repeater channel simplex only"

So what do you mean by this. We only have 8 repeater channels. Are you proposing to use channels 1-7 which are 5 watt low power ? 

For me I dont want someone camping on my repeater pair or using it as a  "road" channel. If your set on a designated channel I'd pick a 1-7 channel. 

Its not an option, you don't have any more rights to the use the frequency than any other licensed GMRS user. 

[wayoverthere]

On the flip side, with information out there indicating .675 (20) as a road channel....if I wanted to avoid interference from simplex users, I would probably avoid putting my repeater on .675 (20), if possible.  If there's no other option, due to the number of repeaters around, well, tones will have to do (other than 141.3, definitely).

Personally, I think it wasn't the best idea for FCC to overlap simplex and repeater output channels, and make those the only high power simplex channels, but it is what it is.

[DanW]

10 hours ago, kb2ztx said:

Line A is an imaginary line the FCC defined that you cannot operate GMRS above. Its stated on your license that certain channels cannot be used above it.

 

https://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/index.htm?job=line_a_c

The Line A and Line C Program determines whether an entered coordinate is SOUTH of Line A or WEST of Line C. Line A is an imaginary line within the US, approximately paralleling the US-Canadian border. To the north of Line A, FCC coordination with Canadian authorities is generally required in the assignment of frequencies.

Most Americans wouldn't be close enough to worry about that.  19 Simplex make sense.

[OffRoaderX]

1 hour ago, DanW said:

19 Simplex make sense.

This is the obvious answer.. Everyone knows that CB Ch19 is the unofficial official road channel so it makes sense that GMRS Ch19 would be the same..

Someone should go on Youtube and decree it, to make it official..