New to GMRS and have some questions

[wrov819]

Just a curious question and this may sound strange me asking. I just got my call sign and I know I have to announce my call sign every 10-15 minutes for longer transmissions or at the end if each transmissions. Which is cool, my question is my immediate family do they use my same call sign or how does that work. Is it just me using it and calling it out. Also can games get a vanity call sign just curious 

[wayoverthere]

9 hours ago, wrov819 said:

Just a curious question and this may sound strange me asking. I just got my call sign and I know I have to announce my call sign every 10-15 minutes for longer transmissions or at the end if each transmissions. Which is cool, my question is my immediate family do they use my same call sign or how does that work. Is it just me using it and calling it out. Also can games get a vanity call sign just curious 

If they're operating under your license, they'd use the same callsign, though you can append identifiers ("alpha", "mobile", etc) of your choice to differentiate between family members. 

On the 2nd question, no, they don't do vanity callsigns on GMRS; someone actually tried either earlier this year or late last year and FCC rejected it, stating they had no provisions allowing it.

[mbrun]

Just a curious question and this may sound strange me asking. I just got my call sign and I know I have to announce my call sign every 10-15 minutes for longer transmissions or at the end if each transmissions. Which is cool, my question is my immediate family do they use my same call sign or how does that work. Is it just me using it and calling it out. Also can games get a vanity call sign just curious 

Welcome to myGRMS.

Yes, they use the same callsign as you. As @wayoverthere has indicated, you can add a suffix to end to differentiate different parties.

Some ideas include.

If you have two radios, one is a mobile, one is an HT, then you can use your call sign followed by ‘mobile’ and ‘handheld’.

If you have a base and a mobile, you can use your callsign followed by ‘base’ and ‘mobile’.

If you have a number of radios, as many of us do, you can merely put a unique number or letter on each radio and use that value as your suffix (‘Unit 1‘, ‘Unit A’ or just ‘A’)

When I am communicating with my wife, we generally use a suffix (base, mobile, unit 1). But when I alone am on the radio communicating with others, I don’t use the suffix. The suffix gets used only during active communication with family.

Yesterday I heard the wife of a regular GMRSr on the radio for the very first time. She appended “B” to the end of her callsign so I was able to immediately associate her as a member his family.


Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

[WRQD721]

On 12/19/2021 at 8:10 AM, mbrun said:

Welcome to myGRMS.

Yes, they use the same callsign as you. As @wayoverthere has indicated, you can add a suffix to end to differentiate different parties.

Some ideas include.

If you have two radios, one is a mobile, one is an HT, then you can use your call sign followed by ‘mobile’ and ‘handheld’.

If you have a base and a mobile, you can use your callsign followed by ‘base’ and ‘mobile’.

If you have a number of radios, as many of us do, you can merely put a unique number or letter on each radio and use that value as your suffix (‘Unit 1‘, ‘Unit A’ or just ‘A’)

When I am communicating with my wife, we generally use a suffix (base, mobile, unit 1). But when I alone am on the radio communicating with others, I don’t use the suffix. The suffix gets used only during active communication with family.

Yesterday I heard the wife of a regular GMRSr on the radio for the very first time. She appended “B” to the end of her callsign so I was able to immediately associate her as a member his family.


Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

Though I would refer to the handhelds as "portable".