Quick ? from a newbie

[Guest Saynt]

Hi Everyone,

Quick question, I just received my GMRS License from the FCC.  I am currently using a Baofeng UV-82HP radio and have the U.S. FRS and GMRS Channels loaded.   Correct me if I am wrong, but I am able to transmit on all FRS channels as well as the GMRS and GMRS Repeater channels without being in violation correct?  Also, GMRS channels 55, 57, 60, 62, 65, 67, 70 and 72 are the GMRS repeater channels correct?

If you could confirm, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

[aa7jc]

Congrats on the license!

The GMRS channels 15-22 are shared simplex/repeater (input freq) service.  

You can program the UV82HP for correct wattage etc for FRS and GMRS ..  "violation" I think would be FCC type acceptance..

 I have the Wouxun KG-935G and I also have the UV82HP.. I use the UV82HP for ham and the KG-935G for GMRS  

[BoxCar]

Strickly speaking, with that radio you are not authorized for any FRS/GMRS frequencies as the radio is not type accepted for Part 95 use. FRS channels 8 - 14 are reserved for a half watt transmitter power and FRS radios have to have a fixed, non-removable antenna. GMRS users can have removeable antennas and can use FRS channels but usually can't meet the power restriction for channels 8 - 14.

[Guest Saynt]

Is the BAOFENG UV-9G a good GMRS radio for beginners?

[aa7jc]

1 hour ago, Guest Saynt said:

 

1 hour ago, Guest Saynt said:

Is the BAOFENG UV-9G a good GMRS radio for beginners?

There is a great Youtube channel called NotaRubicon Productions and he has more than one video about the UV9G .. Here is one:

 

 

[aa7jc]

Well somehow that post got screwed up.. 

There is a great Youtube channel called NotaRubicon Productions and he has more than one video about the UV9G .. Here is one:

 

 

[back4more70]

1 hour ago, Guest Saynt said:

Is the BAOFENG UV-9G a good GMRS radio for beginners?

Absolutely.  I bought two of those as our (me and my wife) first GMRS radios and we love them.  So I vote yes.  Mine both came with programming cables, and CHIRP is a free download, which really expands the radio.  The Baofeng software is not terrible either (but not as good as CHIRP).

 

I also purchased the Abbree shoulder mic, and when clipped to my fishing vest, this rig really helps us triangulate the biters!  haha

[KAF6045]

3 hours ago, Guest Saynt said:

Hi Everyone,

Quick question, I just received my GMRS License from the FCC.  I am currently using a Baofeng UV-82HP radio and have the U.S. FRS and GMRS Channels loaded.   Correct me if I am wrong, but I am able to transmit on all FRS channels as well as the GMRS and GMRS Repeater channels without being in violation correct?  Also, GMRS channels 55, 57, 60, 62, 65, 67, 70 and 72 are the GMRS repeater channels correct?

Bottom up... Those channel numbers are only meaningful for how the radio is programmed. In the 2017 FCC reorganization they tended to list the channels as

1-7 GMRS 462MHz interstitials -- limited to 5W max ERP, FM (20kHz bandwidth in 25kHz spacing) So a problem if you have a gain antenna unless you have Middle or Low power of, say 2 or 1W -- as a 3dBd antenna would double the ERP (4W/2W ERP), a 6dBd would quadruple the ERP (8W over limit/4W ERP)
8-14 FRS  467MHz interstitials -- limited to 0.5W max ERP, NFM (12.5kHz bandwidth in 25kHz spacing) -- NOW allowed to GMRS if they meet the ERP (which means any gain antenna will fail the power limit. 0.5W into a 3dBd antenna will have a 1W ERP; base rubber duck is likely safe being 0dBd)
15-22 GMRS 462 primary channels -- up to 50W max, FM, 25kHz spacing
23-30 GMRS 462/467 repeater channels -- up to 50W max, FM, 25kHz spacing

Some radios may allow 15-22 to be toggled from Simplex (462Tx/462Rx) to Duplex (467Tx/462Rx). These might be programmed as Duplex default and the toggle to simplex may be labeled "talk-around" (talk-around the repeater instead of to the repeater)

FRS radios are NFM (12.5kHz bandwidth) on all channels unless the FCC changed that regulation. The only reason to program them as a separate batch (since FRS is limited to channels 1-22 in the current scheme, but not repeater channels AND limited to 2W max for 1-7/15-22) is to match the audio quality of FRS radios -- they may sound week in a 20kHz GMRS bandwidth, and GMRS bandwidth may get clipped in an FRS radio.

Others have mentioned that the radio itself is not type-accepted for Part-95 E (GMRS) and definitely not for FRS (I don't have the relevant Part-95 <section> handy). Odds are good that you won't be caught out using the radio on GMRS -- especially if you manage to keep just below the ERP limits on the interstitials, and the bandwidth limits (not all radios have 20kHz, they may just have 12.5kHz NFM and 25kHz FM; check the radio specifications, a 16kxxxx mode may stay within the 20kHz bandwidth).