So who here uses GMRS properly?

[HHD1]

9 minutes ago, WSHH887 said:

even without repeaters a message could be handed of from users to user and passed a long way

I like that idea.  There doesn't seem to be that many people around me that are into GMRS.  Which I find strange considering how much outdoor recreation there is around here.  Washburn County, Wisconsin.

[WSHH887]

1 hour ago, HHD1 said:

I like that idea.  There doesn't seem to be that many people around me that are into GMRS.  Which I find strange considering how much outdoor recreation there is around here.  Washburn County, Wisconsin.

Surprised it's not a thing.  Since I'm new I'm wondering, are there groups like the old REACT that use GMRS?

[WRTC928]

4 hours ago, WSHH887 said:

Surprised it's not a thing.  Since I'm new I'm wondering, are there groups like the old REACT that use GMRS?

Amateur radio has ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) but I'm not aware of anything comparable on GMRS. It seems like a good idea, though.

[SteveShannon]

8 hours ago, CaptainSarcastic said:

I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing that searching for the PL so you can notify the workers at Tidal Wave Car Wash that the vacuum is out of order (when in reality it probably isn't) is not proper use of GMRS...

It’s actually fine according to the rules.

[CaptainSarcastic]

14 hours ago, WSHH887 said:

Surprised it's not a thing.  Since I'm new I'm wondering, are there groups like the old REACT that use GMRS?

I don't know about a national organization like REACT, but just lurking on here I see various references to locally organized community/neighborhood watch groups that use GMRS/FRS and I think that's a great idea. 

[Sonicgott]

I've been using my GMRS radio for work, and helping others set up their stuff and giving signal feedback. It's also fun to play with the kids in the neighborhood.

Other than that, I leave the extensive ragchew to my ham radio, but leaving the GMRS open just in case. My mother will use the GMRS radio as well (she can share my call sign, thanks FCC) just to keep in touch with me when I'm out and about at the nearby nature trail.

[Hoppyjr]

[WSFF627]

I normally don't respond to posts or spend a bunch of time on forums. I found this interesting with lots of differing opinions and some good points. My thoughts on radio and its use are shaped by a carrier in public safety, emergency management, and my personal use of Marine VHF, GMRS and HAM, within licensure guidelines.

The FCC states "95.1703 Definitions, GMRS. General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS).   A mobile two-way voice communication service, with limited data applications, for facilitating activities of individual licensees and their family members, including, but not limited to, voluntary provision of assistance to the public during emergencies and natural disasters."

As mentioned, I have both GMRS and HAM licenses. I also own a local GMRS repeater that has a large footprint, and am involved in HAM repeater systems that are part of the SKYWARN network. No, GMRS was never meant to be HAM. But all things evolve over time, it will not become HAM (nothing will become HAM, it is literally an experimental license that allows HAMs to do many, many things), but its use has and will evolve (grandfathered licenses for example) just like CB radio did.

In my opinion, GMRS has some distinct advantages over HAM. The biggest being that once license covers a family. Repeater linking is not allowed in GMRS, so that keeps comms more local. A big benefit to GMRS and GMRS repeaters in particular, is the ability to provide alternate and emergency comms for families and friends. Most of the people who want access to my repeater specify they want it for emergency use to communicate with family and friends.

Something a lot of people don't realize about cell phone service. Cell providers, and really all of telecom, are not required to provide long term emergency power for their sites or nodes. Most only have battery backup that doesn't last very long. My area gets hit with some severe weather once a year that causes widespread outages due to power and telecom lines being down. The first thing that happens is the cell towers get loaded up and bandwidth drops. If you have a cell provider that is not a big company that owns its own network, you are the first to get dropped from the network / site. Most people also don't realize that most "landline" phones are now VIOP. When the node goes down because its batteries are dead, so is you phone and internet (assuming you have power). As soon as the cell site without a generator looses it battery backup, its off the air and your cell is out. This can last for days. In contrast, the "big" repeater sites, both HAM and GMRS, are on UPS and gen power. My GMRS repeater can run a minimum of 24 hours with moderate use before I need to plug it into the generator. All the HAM sites I'm familiar with are the same way and are usually on commercial towers with gen backup.

In order to use radio for emergency comms, you need to be familiar with radio and be fluent in its use.  You need to know your radios work, you need to know the repeaters you programmed a year ago are on the air, and you need to know where you can use them from and who you can communicate with on them. You also need to have a plan for using radio to communicate when cells and landlines are down. Radio checks, general conversation, and rag chewing on repeaters helps ensure this.

[SteveShannon]

2 hours ago, WSFF627 said:

I normally don't respond to posts or spend a bunch of time on forums. I found this interesting with lots of differing opinions and some good points. My thoughts on radio and its use are shaped by a carrier in public safety, emergency management, and my personal use of Marine VHF, GMRS and HAM, within licensure guidelines.

The FCC states "95.1703 Definitions, GMRS. General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS).   A mobile two-way voice communication service, with limited data applications, for facilitating activities of individual licensees and their family members, including, but not limited to, voluntary provision of assistance to the public during emergencies and natural disasters."

As mentioned, I have both GMRS and HAM licenses. I also own a local GMRS repeater that has a large footprint, and am involved in HAM repeater systems that are part of the SKYWARN network. No, GMRS was never meant to be HAM. But all things evolve over time, it will not become HAM (nothing will become HAM, it is literally an experimental license that allows HAMs to do many, many things), but its use has and will evolve (grandfathered licenses for example) just like CB radio did.

In my opinion, GMRS has some distinct advantages over HAM. The biggest being that once license covers a family. Repeater linking is not allowed in GMRS, so that keeps comms more local. A big benefit to GMRS and GMRS repeaters in particular, is the ability to provide alternate and emergency comms for families and friends. Most of the people who want access to my repeater specify they want it for emergency use to communicate with family and friends.

Something a lot of people don't realize about cell phone service. Cell providers, and really all of telecom, are not required to provide long term emergency power for their sites or nodes. Most only have battery backup that doesn't last very long. My area gets hit with some severe weather once a year that causes widespread outages due to power and telecom lines being down. The first thing that happens is the cell towers get loaded up and bandwidth drops. If you have a cell provider that is not a big company that owns its own network, you are the first to get dropped from the network / site. Most people also don't realize that most "landline" phones are now VIOP. When the node goes down because its batteries are dead, so is you phone and internet (assuming you have power). As soon as the cell site without a generator looses it battery backup, its off the air and your cell is out. This can last for days. In contrast, the "big" repeater sites, both HAM and GMRS, are on UPS and gen power. My GMRS repeater can run a minimum of 24 hours with moderate use before I need to plug it into the generator. All the HAM sites I'm familiar with are the same way and are usually on commercial towers with gen backup.

In order to use radio for emergency comms, you need to be familiar with radio and be fluent in its use.  You need to know your radios work, you need to know the repeaters you programmed a year ago are on the air, and you need to know where you can use them from and who you can communicate with on them. You also need to have a plan for using radio to communicate when cells and landlines are down. Radio checks, general conversation, and rag chewing on repeaters helps ensure this.

 

Excellent post!!! Maybe the best first post by a new member!  Welcome to the forums!