GMR2 and GRMS

[wrov819]

Just curious what is the difference in GMR2 and GMRS and do I need an upgrade or a second license to use a GMR2 with my current GMRS License below is an example of what I am talking about 

[WyoJoe]

9 hours ago, wrov819 said:

Just curious what is the difference in GMR2 and GMRS and do I need an upgrade or a second license to use a GMR2 with my current GMRS License below is an example of what I am talking about 

 

GMR2 is the model of the radio that Rugged Radios is selling. It is a GMRS radio, and from the looks of it, appears to be the same radio (cosmetic differences aside) as the Radioddity GM-30, Tidradio TD-H5, and Pofung P15UV, all of which can be found for, what I believe, is a better price. Rugged has a tendency to rebadge existing products with their name, then charge a lot more for them. This appears to be the case here, too. Granted, they offer customer support that is likely better than you'll find with other radio vendors. If you feel you need that type of support, it might make it worth your while to buy from them, but if you're comfortable setting up and programming your own radios, I'd advise buying elsewhere.

[MichaelLAX]

2 hours ago, WyoJoe said:

...appears to be the same radio (cosmetic differences aside) as the Radioddity GM-30, Tidradio TD-H5, and Pofung P15UV...

And interestingly enough, the TIDRadio Wireless Program Adapter, has yet to be upgraded to program the TIDRadio TD-H5 and its clones:

[PACNWComms]

Did not know this wireless programmer adapter existed until this thread. Nor the particular model of Rugged Radio as well. However, I have had dealings with Rugged Radio for UTV comms, and I now stay away from them after having several hundred radios purchased being deemed "illegal" by the FCC. I admit they have brought a lot of people into the radio fold, which is always a good thing. I only wish they picked their products, with some thought on long term legal issues in mind. 

[WyoJoe]

15 minutes ago, PACNWComms said:

Did not know this wireless programmer adapter existed until this thread. Nor the particular model of Rugged Radio as well. However, I have had dealings with Rugged Radio for UTV comms, and I now stay away from them after having several hundred radios purchased being deemed "illegal" by the FCC. I admit they have brought a lot of people into the radio fold, which is always a good thing. I only wish they picked their products, with some thought on long term legal issues in mind. 

I believe a lot of the issues brought about by Rugged had to do with licensing. It seems they sold a lot of radios that were pre-programmed to use commercial frequencies that were not licensed for this purpose. From what I understand, people buying the radios were not instructed that they needed to obtain licenses for the frequencies they used, and that is a large part of the reason Rugged was cited and their products deemed "illegal."

When I first heard of Rugged, they were selling their version of the UV-5R for something like $70. I suppose that to someone that is not familiar with Baofeng, that might look like a bargain, but it's 3 times the price of a regular UV-5R. Their GMR2 radio is listed for about twice the price of the other radios like it that it looks to be based on.

They do very much target the ATV/UTV/4x4 market for their radio sales. It looks like their newer offerings have moved to GMRS rather than the commercial frequencies they used in the past.

[MichaelLAX]

1 hour ago, PACNWComms said:

Did not know this wireless programmer adapter existed until this thread.

 

TIDRadio BL-1 Bluetooth Wireless Programmer

[Lscott]

10 hours ago, MichaelLAX said:

And interestingly enough, the TIDRadio Wireless Program Adapter, has yet to be upgraded to program the TIDRadio TD-H5 and its clones:

I asked a Ham Radio buddy about these. He has heard of them and what he heard wasn’t good and the one he got was garbage. I was warned not to waste my money buying one. These are seen for sale under different names on the Internet.

[MichaelLAX]

Rather than second hand misinformation, here is my review:

if you have one of the radios listed to be used with this device, it does exactly what it claims:

you can reprogram on the fly without a computer.

if will not cook you breakfast, or anything else your friend expected of a $22 device! 

[Craws907]

Mine doesn't work with my uv82hp it just says data failure all the time 

[MichaelLAX]

1 hour ago, Tyeandjeff1979 said:

Mine doesn't work with my uv82hp it just says data failure all the time 

I suspect that is because the UV82HP is not the UV82, the model listed as working with the BL-1

 

[Craws907]

I found if you put a rubber band around it to hold it tight to the radio,,,it works

[WROA675]

Don't know much about these radios and I won't repeat the secondhand criticism I heard about them, however I will say that during my last trip to the Arroyo Grande area (CA), over Thanksgiving, the Rugged Radio Repeater is awesome...covers many fars, crystal clear, and friendly contacts. 

[OffRoaderX]

45 minutes ago, Papatree said:

...covers many fars ...

I approve this message.

[PACNWComms]

Yes, the legal issues with Rugged Radios was about licensing and commercial frequencies. Unfortunately, this is a problem that will continue to take a long time to modify many licenses to become legal, ceasing their use by a large corporation with hundreds of UTV's being equipped with their radio packages in the meantime. 

Although, on this same note, some smaller radio shops have a problem with loading programmable radios with frequencies that may be in use with other licensed users as well, or selling time on repeaters they do not own. Commercial radio can be a little crazy at times, and marketing is a huge influence. Seeing second generation Chinese GMRS handhelds being sold tells me that there is a market, and it does bring more people into the radio hobby.