GMRS Type Accepted Radio List

[WRXY699]

It seems that it requires manual research to determine if a given radio is GMRS Type accepted (legal for GMRS use).  I think it would be nice if myGMRS.com had a "Radios" tab that contained a list of radios that are type accepted.  It could have a link back to the FCC for more information, and maybe comments about requiring proprietary software to program or not.  I understand this is a pretty large undertaking, but think if it was opened up for community contributions with a moderation review step, then it could turn out quite well and attract even more traffic to the website.

[OffRoaderX]

It does not really require much research - just follow this formula: 
IF radio is manufactured after 2017 AND IF radio says "GMRS" on the box THEN = FCC Type Accepted*

 

*99.9998% of the time

[Lscott]

29 minutes ago, WRXY699 said:

It seems that it requires manual research to determine if a given radio is GMRS Type accepted (legal for GMRS use).  I think it would be nice if myGMRS.com had a "Radios" tab that contained a list of radios that are type accepted.  It could have a link back to the FCC for more information, and maybe comments about requiring proprietary software to program or not.  I understand this is a pretty large undertaking, but think if it was opened up for community contributions with a moderation review step, then it could turn out quite well and attract even more traffic to the website.

Of course somebody will have to "volunteer" their time to maintain the list and weed out bad listings. This is were ideas like this usually fail nobody wants to put in the effort.

Also some just don't care if their radio is Part 95 certified or not. A lot of users are operating older, and new, Part 90 only gear. So far the FCC doesn't seem to be interested in busting them. I'm not recommending the practice, but so far that seems to be the case.  

[Socalgmrs]

I do believe this is one of those times when things are being made too complicated for no reason.  I’m personally very capable within 60seconds or less to find out if a radio is type accepted and what software it needs to program it.  Takes next to zero time to do.  Not to mention the liability this could open up if a mistake was made.   No thanks, I can manage my own life. 

[WRXY699]

1 hour ago, OffRoaderX said:

It does not really require much research - just follow this formula: 
IF radio is manufactured after 2017 AND IF radio says "GMRS" on the box THEN = FCC Type Accepted*

 

*99.9998% of the time

And I will certainly recommend this for new users on my repeaters that are looking for radios.  My personal interest is in older radios.  I have two local radio shops that regularly give me old radios that they were otherwise going to throw away.  If I find that they are GMRS approved and in good working order, then I program them and gift them to locals.  It can be a bit of a pain researching every model.

[WRXY699]

2 minutes ago, WRXP381 said:

I do believe this is one of those times when things are being made too complicated for no reason.  I’m personally very capable within 60seconds or less to find out if a radio is type accepted and what software it needs to program it.  Takes next to zero time to do.  Not to mention the liability this could open up if a mistake was made.   No thanks, I can manage my own life. 

Do this for a dozen different models and it gets old fast.  Also, your average new person to GMRS will not know how to find this information.

[WRXY699]

36 minutes ago, Lscott said:

Of course somebody will have to "volunteer" their time to maintain the list and weed out bad listings. This is were ideas like this usually fail nobody wants to put in the effort.

Also some just don't care if their radio is Part 95 certified or not. A lot of users are operating older, and new, Part 90 only gear. So far the FCC doesn't seem to be interested in busting them. I'm not recommending the practice, but so far that seems to be the case.  

Truth

[OffRoaderX]

38 minutes ago, Lscott said:

Of course somebody will have to "volunteer" their time to maintain the list and weed out bad listings. This is were ideas like this usually fail nobody wants to put in the effort.

I volunteer @WRXY699

[WRXY699]

Just now, OffRoaderX said:

I volunteer @WRXY699

I'm glad to contribute when I find something, but sorry my time is locked up with other endeavors.  Just thought I would propose this idea if the good people that run this website might have found it interesting.

[WRXB215]

32 minutes ago, WRXY699 said:

sorry my time is locked up with other endeavors

Same for everyone else.

[OffRoaderX]

33 minutes ago, WRXY699 said:

Just thought I would propose this idea if the good people that run this website might have found it interesting.

You thought wrong.

[WRXY699]

37 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:

You thought wrong.

Apparently

[marcspaz]

It's hard to find good help these days.

[gortex2]

Why would it matter if there was a list posted ? Majority of the topics on this forum are about uncertified radios over and over and how to modify, program or use said radios. @OffRoaderX is spot on. If it says GMRS its probably certified....not always but mostly. 

 

[Lscott]

12 hours ago, gortex2 said:

If it says GMRS its probably certified....not always but mostly. 

It’s easy enough to find out once a person does the lookup the first time.
 

The radio is required to have an FCC ID tag on the back to be legally imported/sold in the US. Then look up the ID on this site.

https://fccid.io
 

Type in the FCC ID and click the search button.

Example for my TK-3170 HT Type-1 with ID ALH34713110. Then look at what’s under the Rule Parts in the grant.

https://fccid.io/ALH34713110
 

Anything that shows Part 95 is certified for GMRS. In the example it’s Part 95A which is the pre 2017 rules, but still legal. The new rule part post 2017 in Part 95E.

I do this for ALL my radios and keep PDF copies of the grants on file as part of the documentation set for that radio. That’s it. 

 

[WSAA635]

I think a lot of us simply don't care if the FCCs approved the radio we're using. As long as it'll transmit on GMRS Frequencies(which I'm licensed for) and FRS/MURS Frequencies(which needs no license) then why should anyone (aside from some Sad HAMs in training)give a flip what we're using.

It's not like I'm going to transmit on HAM frequencies and clog up "Their" airwaves. 

[Lscott]

7 hours ago, WSAA635 said:

I think a lot of us simply don't care if the FCCs approved the radio we're using. As long as it'll transmit on GMRS Frequencies(which I'm licensed for) and FRS/MURS Frequencies(which needs no license) then why should anyone (aside from some Sad HAMs in training)give a flip what we're using.

You're entitled to your opinion, but public disregard for the FCC rules is discouraged on this forum.

[marcspaz]

10 hours ago, WSAA635 said:

I think a lot of us simply don't care if the FCCs approved the radio we're using. As long as it'll transmit on GMRS Frequencies(which I'm licensed for) and FRS/MURS Frequencies(which needs no license) then why should anyone (aside from some Sad HAMs in training)give a flip what we're using.

It's not like I'm going to transmit on HAM frequencies and clog up "Their" airwaves. 

 

 

You should care. It has nothing to do with Ham radio.  The main reason type accepting is even a thing is because there are emergency frequencies adjacent to GMRS, and at harmonic frequencies. Type approved radios have been tested and confirmed to not cause harmful interference on those emergency frequencies. Others have not.

 

I know I wouldn't want to be responsible for loss of life or property because I didn't buy an appropriate radio. 

 

Also, you don't have a GMRS Operator License. You have a GMRS Station License that is only valid while operating a type-approved station. If you are not using a GMRS radio certified for use by the FCC, you are in violation of rules and the license is not valid for those communications.  This opens you up to criminal liability if harmful interference does occur. 

[WSAA635]

50 minutes ago, marcspaz said:

 

 

You should care. It has nothing to do with Ham radio.  The main reason type accepting is even a thing is because there are emergency frequencies adjacent to GMRS, and at harmonic frequencies. Type approved radios have been tested and confirmed to not cause harmful interference on those emergency frequencies. Others have not.

I know, I scan and listen to my local DPS in the 460MHz range. So let me get this straight.  You're saying that a GMRS radio that's approved for Type 95e won't have "Spurious Emissions" that'll interfere with Emergency Services frequencies, aren't HAM radios also tested for spurious emissions or are they allowed to emit harmonics across the transmitted spectrum?  If anything I'd think a radio certified for HAM use would be even better quality (regarding spurious emissions) than a GMRS certified radio. 

Something like a Yaesu FT-65r shouldn't have very much if any spurious emissions regardless of the frequency it's transmitting on. Just because it's not Type 95e approved doesn't mean it's automatically a danger to Public Safety frequencies and to assume so without testing is just ludicrous.  

[WSAA635]

You all should give this video that was posted by Randy to his YouTubes channel(NotaRubicon Productions) a watch.https://youtu.be/d2LIaKU-wo0?si=9Qb1svzHDYUo4wX6

[marcspaz]

2 minutes ago, WSAA635 said:

You're saying that a GMRS radio that's approved for Type 95e won't have "Spurious Emissions" that'll interfere with Emergency Services frequencies,

 

Yes, that is the point behind the certification process.  Not that the transmitter is perfect, but any imperfections will not cause harm due to meeting level/performance requirements.

  

2 minutes ago, WSAA635 said:

aren't HAM radios also tested for spurious emissions or are they allowed to emit harmonics across the transmitted spectrum?  If anything I'd think a radio certified for HAM use would be even better quality (regarding spurious emissions) than a GMRS certified radio.

 

No.  Amateur Radio equipment does not require type acceptance.  It is an experimental classification and people build/create their own technologies, as well as some commercial OTC options.  The requirement of type acceptance would contradict the nature of the service.

 

Also, amateur radio licensees are tested and expected to know the rules, limits and guidelines to prevent interference with other services.  In fact, there are several parts of the spectrum that Hams use, where they are not even the primary users.  We share space with DOD and Emergency Services (as well as other commercial and gov space) and are expected to not only not cause interference, but yield to the primary when they are present.

  

2 minutes ago, WSAA635 said:

Something like a Yaesu FT-65r shouldn't have very much if any spurious emissions regardless of the frequency it's transmitting on. Just because it's not Type 95e approved doesn't mean it's automatically a danger to Public Safety frequencies and to assume so without testing is just ludicrous.  

 

After decades or running tests on radios for CB, GMRS and Amateur Radio, I can 100% say that amateur equipment is not as clean as many think.  Most of the GMRS equipment I have tested is far cleaner than most Amaeur equipment I have tested on the same frequencies.  And, while I am a huge fan of Yaesu, owning an FT65 as well as a FT3D and several mobiles, Yaesu is actually one of the worst offenders of dirty transmitters that I have seen.  Much worse than even the most inexpensive BTech type approved GMRS radios.

[WSAA635]

 

[marcspaz]

15 minutes ago, WSAA635 said:

You all should give this video that was posted by Randy to his YouTubes channel(NotaRubicon Productions) a watch.https://youtu.be/d2LIaKU-wo0?si=9Qb1svzHDYUo4wX6

 

I am acquainted.  I am one of the people that Randy consulted with on a video about Spurs, where he actually tested radios with an analyzer.

[back4more70]

I've had it.  WSAA635 is on my ignore list lol

[WSAA635]

Thanks back4more70.