Searching for help (not grinder)

[Guest CJC]

I'm and old school person trying to learn this technology crap.  Seriously, my question is how do I find other people/clubs near me?  I'm going to need someone to help me, a lot.  I mean, A LOT.  Basically all of it.  I hope one of you can help.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Guest CJC said:

I'm and old school person trying to learn this technology crap.  Seriously, my question is how do I find other people/clubs near me?  I'm going to need someone to help me, a lot.  I mean, A LOT.  Basically all of it.  I hope one of you can help.

Look online for gmrs or even ham clubs in your are.    Have a young person help you get your gmrs license from the fcc web page.  That things is a might mare.  Then you can register here.    I’d be glad to walk you through things after that.  What are city state do you live in?   

[BoxCar]

Are you licensed for GMRS? Use the FCC's ULS website and search for others having a ZA license in your county.

[WRUU653]

Where are you located? Are you good with the YouTubes? Lots of helpful information on there as well. 

[Guest CJC]

Thank you to all that replied!

I am in the devils' armpit, aka Louisiana.  I have typed a search for local clubs to no avail.  I have watched several youtube videos, however, they seem to gloss over some of the small detail questions that I have.  I'm a hands-on visual learner, which makes learning this a little difficult via videos without the elementary steps/how-to/why's.

[Guest CJC]

Sorry!  Forgot to add I am going to apply for the license next week.  I found the hamradioprep.com and the usagmrs.com sites, as well as the FCC site.  Now it's just getting enough basic knowledge to know what to touch and what not to touch haha.

[WRHS218]

I don't have facebook but I found several GMRS  facebook groups clubs just doing a search for Louisiana GMRS radio Clubs. I did the same with ham radio clubs and found multiple websites with contact information. Not know where in Louisiana you reside I can't narrow it down.

[Guest CJC]

I don't use any social media's.  Gave up on the vitriol years ago.  I'm in Baton Rouge area.  Does this mean I need to get back on the stupidbook to be able to connect with the groups?

[WRHS218]

There is a Baton Rouge Amateur Radio Club with a non-facebook website. You might contact them. brarc dot org

[WRUU653]

I know you mentioned watching some videos already but if you haven’t seen this one it’s a pretty good introduction to all things GMRS. Check out @marcspaz’s Intro to GMRS Video.

 

edit - if you use an iPad you may want to try the HamStudy app or their web site as well. 

Edited March 22 by WRUU653
Additional links

[TNWEB]

The Amateur Radio Relay League has a club finder.  ARRL find a club

The results will definitely be skewed to amateur radio but if that possibility exists in your future it might be worth a look.

 

[Guest CJC]

You guys are awesome. I now have somewhere to start with good links. I watched the video of Marcs. I gained a few things from it. Now I just need to get the to the point of connecting the info to application of the info. Seems daunting, to be honest. 

[Guest adagiogray]

I recommend checking out NotARubicon's channel on Youtube. He goes over a lot of the differences in GMRS and HAM and makes things easily understandable without relying on jargon, and has a lot of 'how do I use this thing' videos. I use the Baofeng UV-5G to listen to GMRS, and the Baofeng BF-F8HP(newest version of the UV-5R) for a couple of HAM bands. They're essentially the same radio geared to the right places, and they are limited to their respective bands for transmission, so they keep you from having an oopsie with the law. They're also very, very inexpensive and a great value to cost ratio. As other have mentioned, hamstudy.org is an excellent free online resource, and I paid for the full hamradioprep.com course through extra, although I'm still studying up for my upcoming Technician test. Referencing your original question, these folks may be in your area: ARRL Clubs - BATON ROUGE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB - hope that helps!