meaningless jibber jabber

[SteveShannon]

30 minutes ago, WRKW566 said:

Any idea of the total people count involved in GMRS?

Ok, I know that's a weird question but it leads into my next question.

Considering the number of people involved in the use of GMRS, why is this issue not resolved? Can no one provide a definitive answer? Why does this go on-and-on. </retorical>

One source on the internet says more than 321,000 GMRS people have GMRS licenses.

[WRUE951]

10 hours ago, CentralFloridaGMRS said:

Interesting that a few linking networks claim they're actually legal. Not sure how they could be, but I guess it's a wait and see if the FCC does anything to them. 

you talking about the 3 dummy out-laws back east.. The FCC is watching each one of them very closely..   YUP

[WRUE951]

On 10/19/2024 at 3:04 PM, SteveShannon said:

I briefly heard a very angry ham on 40 meters a few nights ago. Angry, threatening great violence, and very obscene. No ID so of course he’s not totally stupid. 

No ID???   And you called him a Ham??      Common Shannon, you know better than that...   

[WRUE951]

8 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

One source on the internet says more than 321,000 GMRS people have GMRS licenses.

Last January the ARRL reported 336,513 GMRS issued licenses, and 386,122 Technician issued licenses.  Looks like there is slightly more Sad Hams out there.   

[LeeBo]

Did linking ever really "go away"?

I mean, there's a large GMRS group in the southeast US and all of their repeaters are linked.

[UncleYoda]

53 minutes ago, LeeBo said:

Did linking ever really "go away"?

I mean, there's a large GMRS group in the southeast US and all of their repeaters are linked.

In my area it did, for a while.  The mygmrs page of the owner of one of them says that the official answer is it is not linked.  I can't and don't want to listen 24/7 but it was linked when I started this thread.  Another member here in my area says the other linked members-only system I can monitor was linked backed up temporarily due to the hurricane.  The nationally linked one certainly cannot fly under the radar.  That's why I posted about it here.  If FCC allows that, then they have no basis for blocking any of them.

[WRUE951]

34 minutes ago, UncleYoda said:

.  If FCC allows that, then they have no basis for blocking any of them.

Report it..  (them)..   

[LeeBo]

1 hour ago, UncleYoda said:

In my area it did, for a while.  The mygmrs page of the owner of one of them says that the official answer is it is not linked.  I can't and don't want to listen 24/7 but it was linked when I started this thread.  Another member here in my area says the other linked members-only system I can monitor was linked backed up temporarily due to the hurricane.  The nationally linked one certainly cannot fly under the radar.  That's why I posted about it here.  If FCC allows that, then they have no basis for blocking any of them.

Well, the group I mentioned is a "pay-to-play" group.  Maybe that's why?

[WRUE951]

55 minutes ago, LeeBo said:

Well, the group I mentioned is a "pay-to-play" group.  Maybe that's why?

And hiding under 'REACT' by any chance?   

[Davichko5650]

3 hours ago, WRUE951 said:

Last January the ARRL reported 336,513 GMRS issued licenses, and 386,122 Technician issued licenses.  Looks like there is slightly more Sad Hams out there.   

These mirror what a buddy of mine posted in a FB group where he was talking up GMRS as a "Gateway" to Amateur Radio.  I don't have solid stats on it, but I'm told the total number of Amateur Licensees is around 750k.

The question I posed to him was, how many of these licensees in either service are active on the air with any regularity?  As for the gateway, I got into GMRS 25 years after getting my amateur license; needed something to overcome a lack of Cell coverage up north so wifeypoo, who doesn't care at all for any radio hobbies, could call me out on the boat when out fishing. 

[amaff]

4 minutes ago, Davichko5650 said:

These mirror what a buddy of mine posted in a FB group where he was talking up GMRS as a "Gateway" to Amateur Radio.  I don't have solid stats on it, but I'm told the total number of Amateur Licensees is around 750k.

The question I posed to him was, how many of these licensees in either service are active on the air with any regularity?  As for the gateway, I got into GMRS 25 years after getting my amateur license; needed something to overcome a lack of Cell coverage up north so wifeypoo, who doesn't care at all for any radio hobbies, could call me out on the boat when out fishing. 

You're kind of countering your 1st point with the 2nd. I think *most* GMRS licensees aren't looking for a hobby. They're looking for decent radios to fill a communications need better than blister pack radios will. If I've got family coming with me to the race track for the weekend, they don't need to go and sit for a test for a ham license for me to throw them a radio and headset to spot for me.

[WRUE951]

19 minutes ago, Davichko5650 said:

 

The question I posed to him was, how many of these licensees in either service are active on the air with any regularity?  . 

When i got my Tech Lic some 20 years ago,,  the VE told me that 25% of licensed Ham actually participate in using the service..  So i would imagine that number is about the same for Ham use.  IMO i think licensed users in GMRS is a little more active.. I monitor both bands and i hear quite a bit more activity in the GMRS side than i do on the Hanm side..   would guess GMRS around 30%..   

[Davichko5650]

2 hours ago, amaff said:

You're kind of countering your 1st point with the 2nd. 

Pretty much what I pointed out to my friend on FB.  Most amateurs I know into gmrs are like me, got it going after they got their amatuer tickets to use with family out and about. Most people I know that use gmrs only, got into it for the same reason and had no other radio interests.

He's involved in pretty much all 2 way radios as a hobbiest, Fireman/EMT, volunteer trail guy, etc. He also bugs me in many of his posts as he almost always calls it "Amateur (Ham) Radio".  We kinda fell out a little when I replied to a post where he talked up that we should all monitor amateur/gmrs/murs when out and about in the woods hiking, biking, whatever.  I explained while I sometimes have an HT with me, I mostly like hearing the sounds of nature out doing these things, not a bunch of squawking kids on bubble packs. Pretty much any where I'm out and about has cell service, so no real need to really bring the Boofwang along. He took umbrage at this.

[amaff]

17 minutes ago, Davichko5650 said:

Pretty much what I pointed out to my friend on FB.

Ah, I misunderstood then. I thought you were also of the position that GMRS was a gateway for amateur radio in more than a minority of cases.

[Davichko5650]

1 minute ago, amaff said:

Ah, I misunderstood then. I thought you were also of the position that GMRS was a gateway for amateur radio in more than a minority of cases.

In his defense, at least my buddy did not use the "Ham LIte" phrase in his gateway postings....

[CentralFloridaGMRS]

8 hours ago, WRUE951 said:

you talking about the 3 dummy out-laws back east.. The FCC is watching each one of them very closely..   YUP

So will they get a warning letter or a fine? I say they won't do a thing about them 

[WRUE951]

23 minutes ago, CentralFloridaGMRS said:

So will they get a warning letter or a fine? I say they won't do a thing about them 

Well, lets just wait and see.  

[WRXL702]

Equipment Confiscation Can Get Ugly When Executed With A Federal Warrant.

Wouldn't Want To Be On The "Wait & See Receiving End" On This Cartoon To See How It Plays Out With Some Folks.......

 

[WRUE951]

2 minutes ago, WRXL702 said:

Equipment Confiscation Can Get Ugly When Executed With A Federal Warrant.

Wouldn't Want To Be On The "Wait & See Receiving End" On This Cartoon To See How It Plays Out With Some Folks.......

 

I don't think the FCC is gonna be 'nice'..   As they already have..  Typically their 'grace period' is 90 days..   So Hmmmm,,  are we getting close yet?   

[WRUU653]

2 hours ago, amaff said:

Ah, I misunderstood then. I thought you were also of the position that GMRS was a gateway for amateur radio in more than a minority of cases.

I got my GMRS lic. first and then my amateur lic. as did a few of my friends. Of the people I know with both it's about 50/50 of what they got first. I can't say if that translates out beyond my world or not or how or why it matters. That's just my experience thus far. 

[SteveShannon]

5 hours ago, WRUU653 said:

I got my GMRS lic. first and then my amateur lic. as did a few of my friends. Of the people I know with both it's about 50/50 of what they got first. I can't say if that translates out beyond my world or not or how or why it matters. That's just my experience thus far. 

Mine too. Part of it is the fact that most (by far) of the people I know who use GMRS don’t bother getting a license. I think the people who eventually get a license have an interest in doing things right which is an attitude many people interested in ham radio have. 

[Jaay]

On 10/21/2024 at 10:19 PM, WRKW566 said:

Any idea of the total people count involved in GMRS?

Ok, I know that's a weird question but it leads into my next question.

Considering the number of people involved in the use of GMRS, why is this issue not resolved? Can no one provide a definitive answer? Why does this go on-and-on. </retorical>

Some operators are Simply Not content with Following the Rules, and are intent on pushing the envelope! If you like the Linking aspect of repeaters, then simply take the test, receive your Amateur Radio License and have fun ! There are Only 8 Pairs available, hence Not enough bandwidth to support Linking and Disrespectful to users on other pairs. I hold licenses in Both services, and see the Benefits of Both.

[WRKW566]

4 hours ago, Jaay said:

Some operators are Simply Not content with Following the Rules, and are intent on pushing the envelope! If you like the Linking aspect of repeaters, then simply take the test, receive your Amateur Radio License and have fun ! There are Only 8 Pairs available, hence Not enough bandwidth to support Linking and Disrespectful to users on other pairs. I hold licenses in Both services, and see the Benefits of Both.

My too-late night post was more about the helpless banter between people on a dead subject than about the actual repeater linking. I'm not a fan of linking repeaters in GMRS. As to the dual license status, my only and continuing issue with the "ham" license is the peer group method of qualifying for a license. I'm too old to bother being judged for my enthusiasm and too hardened against marketing in general to go through the qualification process. Besides, after years of commercial exposure to radio equipment, there is not much "out there" for me to explore (exception; meshtastic). For me, GMRS was a possible alternative communication method that has proven to be not-so-usable in my area.

[WRUE951]

11 minutes ago, WRKW566 said:

My too-late night post was more about the helpless banter between people on a dead subject than about the actual repeater linking. I'm not a fan of linking repeaters in GMRS. As to the dual license status, my only and continuing issue with the "ham" license is the peer group method of qualifying for a license. I'm too old to bother being judged for my enthusiasm and too hardened against marketing in general to go through the qualification process. Besides, after years of commercial exposure to radio equipment, there is not much "out there" for me to explore (exception; meshtastic). For me, GMRS was a possible alternative communication method that has proven to be not-so-usable in my area.

Hell, i'm probably as old as you and 'had' the same mindset.  I've been in communications my whole life, Retired from it..  20 years ago when i decided i wanted to get into some UHF Radio stuff took the Tech test and passed with a breeze..  At the same time, the VM's talked me into taking the General and Extra, i passed both of those, (barely).  I only studied for the Tech..  OK..  Now i had a year to pass 5 words a minute in mores code. Had no interest,  never studied, never took the test.  Last week Steve Shannon posted a Ham study site here. https://hamstudy.org/.    I tried the General and Extra for the hell of it.  Scored the General at 78% and Extra at 80% first stab..  So i decided,  (i still have a little left in me) to study a lil bit more and go take both test and hopefully pass at 100%..  What the hell.  

[SteveShannon]

8 minutes ago, WRKW566 said:

my only and continuing issue with the "ham" license is the peer group method of qualifying for a license.

I’m genuinely interested in why or how the “peer group method of qualifying for a license” bothers you.  FYI, I’m a Volunteer Examiner, and I would be happy to help explain how the process has no character judging and no political influence.