Official/Unofficial GMRS Road/Travel Channel

[DanW]

Ok, GMRS users, basement dwellers, truckers, GMRS lovers, and even Sad Hams!  Submit your votes!  

I'll cast mine after I take a 10-100. 

 

[marcspaz]

I'm voting for 19 instead of 20 because (this is really not going to influence the nation, but on the off chance I'm wrong) road traffic on 20 simplex, will be competing with repeaters on 20, especially with the travel tone enabled. In heavily populated areas with many repeaters and overlapping coverage on all pairs, it will get ugly. 

 

As it stands now, we're so congested here, that on some pairs, if you are running the travel tone you are bringing up 3 repeaters and being heard for 180-200 miles in every direction. I can't imagine the harmful interference that could potentially be added around here by using 20 simplex with the 4a tone.

[DanW]

2 minutes ago, marcspaz said:

I'm voting for 19 instead of 20 because (this is really not going to influence the nation, but on the off chance I'm wrong) road traffic on 20 simplex, will be competing with repeaters on 20, especially with the travel tone enabled. In heavily populated areas with many repeaters and overlapping coverage on all pairs, it will get ugly. 

 

As it stands now, we're so congested here, that on some pairs, if you are running the travel tone you are bringing up 3 repeaters and being heard for 180-200 miles in every direction. I can't imagine the harmful interference that could potentially be added around here by using 20 simplex with the 4a tone.

Good points, and consistent with the historical tech-based reasons you educated us about on the establishment of CB channel 19.  And most of all, yet another good reason for GMRS 19 to be selected.

I'd like your post but I'm all out of likes for the day.

[marcspaz]

Thanks @DanW! And yeah, kinda strange to have limits on likes. I forgot about that. 

[liahju]

Personally I prefer 20. I have a repeater on (19) #27 and it happens that another repeater on the same channel more than 25 miles away often overlap each other when they coincide in their duty cycle.

[DanW]

9 minutes ago, liahju said:

Personally I prefer 20. I have a repeater on (19) #27 and it happens that another repeater on the same channel more than 25 miles away often overlap each other when they coincide in their duty cycle.

Thanks for voting!

[axorlov]

3 hours ago, marcspaz said:

I can't imagine the harmful interference that could potentially be added around here by using 20 simplex with the 4a tone.

I'd hazard to guess, it'll be close to zero. Only these in a simplex range will be affected.

[Craws907]

As a commercial fisherman I have been monitoring 16 on marine vhf for 30years and like the idea of a gmrs channel to monitor for "hailing and distress " so 19 it is for me. WRFU 414 standing by on GMRS 19 in Alaska.  Although I'll still be scanning to.

[MichaelLAX]

3 minutes ago, Tyeandjeff1979 said:

…so 19 it is for me. 

Does that count as 2 votes for 19? 

[Craws907]

Just now, MichaelLAX said:

Does that count as 2 votes for 19? 

Crap I thought I was #1 who beat me

[MichaelLAX]

4 hours ago, Tyeandjeff1979 said:

Crap I thought I was #1 who beat me

Tye AND Jeff!! 

[Citizen]

16 hours ago, Tyeandjeff1979 said:

As a commercial fisherman I have been monitoring 16 on marine vhf for 30years and like the idea of a gmrs channel to monitor for "hailing and distress " so 19 it is for me. WRFU 414 standing by on GMRS 19 in Alaska.  Although I'll still be scanning to.

Marine channel 16 (156.80 mHz) is the USCG International Distress calling frequency, recognized by most civilized countries.  Although not required (I believe), the CG asks all boats/ships to monitor Ch 16, so good job there, Tye and Jeff.

Although not a mariner, I monitor marine ch. 16 on my scanner at home, as I’m close enough to the coast that I occasionally hear the CG broadcast calls for assistance when vessels are in peril around Galveston, or persons are reported missing or in the water.  Heard one just 2 days ago (capsized kayak in Galveston bay, person unaccounted for).

Additional useless notes:  Marine ch. 13 (156.65) is for ship bridge-to-bridge and ch. 9 (156.45) is the general boater calling frequency.  I also scan these, but have yet to hear anything.

…

[n4gix]

Honestly I don't think "we" will ever achieve a real concensus, but it's been a fun discussion! 

[Craws907]

10 hours ago, Citizen said:

 

Additional useless notes:  Marine ch. 13 (156.65) is for ship bridge-to-bridge and ch. 9 (156.45) is the general boater calling frequency.  I also scan these, but have yet to hear anything.

…

In alaska, fisherman and boaters hail and monitor on 16 and just keep it short. 13 and 9 are used mostly by harbor masters and are usually pretty quiet.  

[Ian]

Since the consensus appears to be 19 simplex,  I will be reprogramming my radios.

[Lscott]

With only 22 channels available for me I just scan them all. I even do that at home. If I hear something interesting I stop the scan.

It helps if the radio scans reasonably fast too. Some of the Chinese radios are really SLOW while scanning, if that matters to you.  That might be one thing to check before laying out your money.

[marcspaz]

1 hour ago, Lscott said:

With only 22 channels available for me I just scan them all. I even do that at home. If I hear something interesting I stop the scan.

 

Same here.  And the reality is if I really want to talk to someone and don't hear anyone, with only 8 high power channels, I can call for a contact on every channel in 2 minutes, and that's allowing 10 seconds or more per channel for someone to reply to me before I spin the dial.

 

Like I said, I'm not against the users agreeing to standardize among themselves... but I'm not holding my breath. Especially since ORI died off, and the was the closest to "coordination" I have seen on this service. 

[Over2U]

“Keep watching the skies”, no, I meant: “Keep scanning”

[WRYQ491]

I'm going to go with 19 also.

[WRVQ464]

Community decision, channel 19 it is.

[SteveShannon]

6 minutes ago, WRVQ464 said:

Community decision, channel 19 it is.

What’s the backup plan for people in Seattle, Detroit, etc?

[back4more70]

307 is close to pi, does this count?

https://hls.wyo.gov/307

[axorlov]

52 minutes ago, Sshannon said:

What’s the backup plan for people in Seattle, Detroit, etc?

NotaSingleclue troopers do not care.

[WRUU653]

16, already using it for off road and I can't be bothered to change the channel  

but seriously even though I'm no where near line "A" I would not choose to exclude them so if I had to choose I'd say 20 but does anyone really use a road channel for GMRS?  Add me to the scanning category. 

[SteveShannon]

27 minutes ago, WRUU653 said:

16, already using it for off road and I can't be bothered to change the channel  

but seriously even though I'm no where near line "A" I would not choose to exclude them so if I had to choose I'd say 20 but does anyone really use a road channel for GMRS?  Add me to the scanning category. 

I don’t. 
I will sometimes listen to ham radio though.