Lies told by GMRS know-it-alls.

[Lscott]

8 hours ago, gman1971 said:

@marcspaz100% agree with your statement... once you leave the internet and talk to people, directly, most people are actually real nice... I know, shocker...

G.

Yup. Talking face to face you get to read the other person's body language and not form your opinion on what just come out of the mouth or the fingers on the keyboard. Some people say things in jest, but you can't tell unless you read their body language. There is a lot of nonverbal communications that's lost when using messaging apps etc. Maybe that's why this county is going to crap. People don't talk to each other in person so much any more.

[WRQC626]

On 5/22/2022 at 8:24 PM, OffRoaderX said:

• If you transmit on a GMRS radio without a GMRS license you will be fined $250,000 and/or go to prison
• If you transmit on GMRS frequencies on a UV-5R you will be fined $250,000 and/or go to prison
• You can legally use a UV-5R on GMRS frequencies if you just lower the power level.. If you don't, you will be fined $250,000 and/or go to prison
• You don't need a GMRS license to use a GMRS radio if you put it on low-power and use the FRS only channels.
• If you talk a non-licensed person on GMRS "the FCC will come after you" (this one was JUST posed on this forum last week!)

Do ppl honestly believe any of that BS?  I mean let's be honest..  Without identifying yourself, which I'm sure anyone that'd be looking to play outside the boundaries of federal law would obviously do.. LOL..  They really think they can be tracked like that? 

Great channel BTW man.  Your reviews helped me in my decision making for equipment.  A couple Baofeng UV-9G's and a Wouxun KG-1000G for my FJ Cruiser.  Getting them all dialed in now.

[Lscott]

9 hours ago, WRQC626 said:

Do ppl honestly believe any of that BS?  I mean let's be honest..  Without identifying yourself, which I'm sure anyone that'd be looking to play outside the boundaries of federal law would obviously do.. LOL..  They really think they can be tracked like that? 

 

Having a license one should have a basic understanding of the rules. Where some ambiguous areas are found these forums are a resource to use to get some clarification.

What is a bit distressing is when people ask questions before actually reading the rules FIRST. That would eliminate a lot of the more obvious questions.

[marcspaz]

2 hours ago, Lscott said:

...

What is a bit distressing is when people ask questions before actually reading the rules FIRST. That would eliminate a lot of the more obvious questions.

 

Most men I know have a general philosophy of "when all else fails, read the directions."

[Lscott]

1 hour ago, marcspaz said:

 

Most men I know have a general philosophy of "when all else fails, read the directions."

Yeah, its right up there with the age old WTFM.

[Sshannon]

5 minutes ago, Lscott said:

Yeah, its right up there with the age old WTFM.

Someone has to WTFM before we can RTFM.

[Lscott]

2 hours ago, Sshannon said:

Someone has to WTFM before we can RTFM.

Oops, didn't proof read before hitting the send key.

[Blaise]

OK, I tried not to do it, but it's every day in groups of Facebook *and* reddit now:

• "GMRS is not a hobby"
• "GMRS is only for talking to your family and friends"
• "There are no GMRS groups to join.  You should just take the test and be a ham."

 

[axorlov]

2 hours ago, Blaise said:

OK, I tried not to do it, but it's every day in groups of Facebook *and* reddit now:

• "GMRS is not a hobby"
• "GMRS is only for talking to your family and friends"
• "There are no GMRS groups to join.  You should just take the test and be a ham."

 

Why anybody would need a justification from others to do what he/she wants to do? If GMRS is a hobby to you, great! It is not to me, but why would you care how I use the service? You only care about how YOU use it. Do whatever you want, while being a good neighbor to other users. It's a free country.

[gman1971]

@axorlov

Yes, "Its not a hobby" is certainly not the same as it "wasn't intended to be as a hobby". but then anyone can make a hobby out of anything, as its been stated countless times.

Exactly, you certainly don't need to be looking for anyone's approval, or be popular to do whatever you want/need to do, provided its all within the law.

Again, the same applies to "intended use". GMRS was intended to "talk to family, friends, or any other GMRS license holder" in the beginning, but nowadays, given the fact that FRS is open to anyone, you can talk to anyone. GMRS is, nowadays, CB on UHF... but that is a different story for another day.

G.

[quarterwave]

I always like the one where the guy is being an internet professor, and you later find out he's been licensed for 6 months and knew about radio for 7. 

I don't try to be a know it all, I rarely even give advice, but I will if I see some moron giving bad advice and misleading someone. I've been licensed since you had to give a lat/long and pick a frequency to have a repeater. 

[WRQC626]

On 6/14/2022 at 6:29 AM, Lscott said:

Having a license one should have a basic understanding of the rules. Where some ambiguous areas are found these forums are a resource to use to get some clarification.

What is a bit distressing is when people ask questions before actually reading the rules FIRST. That would eliminate a lot of the more obvious questions.

Agree 100%.  I'm a firm believer in the RTFM rule for anything and everything.

[WRKC935]

20 hours ago, Blaise said:

OK, I tried not to do it, but it's every day in groups of Facebook *and* reddit now:

• "GMRS is not a hobby"
• "GMRS is only for talking to your family and friends"
• "There are no GMRS groups to join.  You should just take the test and be a ham."

 

Well, geeze, if it's not a hobby, then there wouldn't be guys putting thousands of hours and tens of thousands of dollars into building sites and systems.  And I certainly would not have put up 3 repeaters on the same site if they were ONLY for my personal communication.  Of course, is my hobby building sites, or radio in general... I honestly can't answer that.  I enjoy the site building more than the talking.

 

[Sshannon]

20 hours ago, Blaise said:

OK, I tried not to do it, but it's every day in groups of Facebook *and* reddit now:

• "GMRS is not a hobby"
• "GMRS is only for talking to your family and friends"
• "There are no GMRS groups to join.  You should just take the test and be a ham."

 

One thing I have found is that it’s extremely easy to find groups on Facebook (I assume the same about Reddit) that support a particular point of view.  They exist solely to support and reinforce that point of view and they can’t be corrected.  Anyone who tries becomes a target.  A guy I know compares Facebook to the lead pipes of the Romans.

 It’s better to just avoid them.

i am a member of a couple of antenna building groups and one for the HF rig I own.  We don’t talk about GMRS and so far I haven’t seen any politics or negativity.  Of course there’s always the guy who feels obliged to respond to every question with “RTFM”, usually without having read the actual question.  Some people (sorry to steal your phrase @OffRoaderX) are just miserable and want to spread their misery. Every group has them.

Anyway, as I’m sure you already know, GMRS can be a very fun hobby. It certainly can be used for much more than talking to friends and family if that’s what you want. And obviously there are GMRS groups to join. If not, start one.  

Choosing to take the ham exams is a personal decision that has nothing to do with GMRS.  In my case I was interested in ham radio long before GMRS existed but never made the time to study or take the test.  I got into GMRS because I wanted a two way handheld to talk to others on the rocket range and GMRS was what they were using. I signed up for an FRN a long long time ago, intending to get “legal” but didn’t like the price and kept hearing rumors (at that time) that the fcc was going to get rid of the license fee for GMRS. I never got around to it until last November .  But I was far more interested in the radios and the technology behind them than just communicating on the range.  Notarubicon videos fed that interest, which then led me back to ham radio because it covers an even wider range of subjects that interest me.  For me, it all works together. I use and enjoy GMRS and learn something on this forum nearly every day.  At the same time I continue to expand my technical knowledge and operating experience using ham radio.  I don’t see it as needing to choose between them. Each has its enjoyable aspects.

TL;DR @OffRoaderXis responsible for me becoming a ham.

[WRPC505]

4 hours ago, Sshannon said:

One thing I have found is that it’s extremely easy to find groups on Facebook (I assume the same about Reddit) that support a particular point of view.  They exist solely to support and reinforce that point of view and they can’t be corrected.  Anyone who tries becomes a target.  A guy I know compares Facebook to the lead pipes of the Romans.

 It’s better to just avoid them.

i am a member of a couple of antenna building groups and one for the HF rig I own.  We don’t talk about GMRS and so far I haven’t seen any politics or negativity.  Of course there’s always the guy who feels obliged to respond to every question with “RTFM”, usually without having read the actual question.  Some people (sorry to steal your phrase @OffRoaderX) are just miserable and want to spread their misery. Every group has them.

Anyway, as I’m sure you already know, GMRS can be a very fun hobby. It certainly can be used for much more than talking to friends and family if that’s what you want. And obviously there are GMRS groups to join. If not, start one.  

Choosing to take the ham exams is a personal decision that has nothing to do with GMRS.  In my case I was interested in ham radio long before GMRS existed but never made the time to study or take the test.  I got into GMRS because I wanted a two way handheld to talk to others on the rocket range and GMRS was what they were using. I signed up for an FRN a long long time ago, intending to get “legal” but didn’t like the price and kept hearing rumors (at that time) that the fcc was going to get rid of the license fee for GMRS. I never got around to it until last November .  But I was far more interested in the radios and the technology behind them than just communicating on the range.  Notarubicon videos fed that interest, which then led me back to ham radio because it covers an even wider range of subjects that interest me.  For me, it all works together. I use and enjoy GMRS and learn something on this forum nearly every day.  At the same time I continue to expand my technical knowledge and operating experience using ham radio.  I don’t see it as needing to choose between them. Each has its enjoyable aspects.

TL;DR @OffRoaderXis responsible for me becoming a ham.

I share a somewhat story. I began in radio when I was 12 years old (I'm 58 now) when I got into the '70s CB radio craze. I took it a lot further though, for I got into scanners as well as SWLing; that taught me a bit about antennas. Eventually I got my ham license (in 1991) as a Tech Plus and slowly worked my way up. I'm an Extra now as well as having received my license earlier this year, but I'll never say that I know everything about radio; if I ever say that I might as well as turn in my licenses and become a hermit.

Radio communications has allowed me to experience things and meet interesting people that might not have happened otherwise. For me it's been a hobby but it has also been an expansion into lessons learned in life. Thanks to a life-long friend that now lives in the Houston, TX area (well, 46 years anyway), the enjoyment of radio has been a godsend for me personally. But as you basically said, it's a hobby for some and for others it's more than that. There's really no wrong answer to the question "Is radio a hobby?" Nor should there be.

GMRS is an extension of the radio hobby for me, and I'm glad I got into it since I have definitely learned a few things thanks to all of you here.

Warren, WRPC505 / WQ1C

[gman1971]

@SshannonI am hoping that "some people" isn't referring to me this time.

<....loads vitriol on the reservoir....> LOL.

[Sshannon]

25 minutes ago, gman1971 said:

@SshannonI am hoping that "some people" isn't referring to me this time.

<....loads vitriol on the reservoir....> LOL.

No.  Lately you’ve been doing a great job of making your points without the vitriol. I’m very impressed.