GMRS 2021

[theshadow]

More radio Karen's I see.

Jesus fucking christ this world is going to hell.

All because of ego and greed.

What you call "Radio Karens", I call keeping people informed and out of trouble. preventing interference in public safety (to whit Search and Rescue). Would you call someone who said having no backstop shooting toward a road a "backstop Karen? Just because you can't be bothered to learn much less follow the rules does not make those people who ARE impacted by the rules "Karens". I really thought the forum frowned on promoting unlawful advice. BTW, has nothing to do with my ego and I have no money to be made or lost in the advice, just protection of life.

[theshadow]

At one point, I believe they were shipping some models that were marked with Part 95 acceptance marks, but there was scuttlebutt that it was bogus markings, as I believe Part 95 has strict power limits and permanent antenna requirements that the Baofengs obviously do not meet.

Having said all that, I have yet to hear about anyone being prosecuted for using CCRs on the FRS/GMRS bands.

You are correct on all points, these were the ones the FCC put out a notification on, banned from import and sale as well as essentially closing the company that was marketing them.

[free]

Keep in mind that most Baofengs and other ham band capable radios are only part 97 legal. This means that even if you have a GMRS license, you are not permitted to use the Baofengs on GMRS frequencies. To be totally legal, radios transmitting on FRS/GMRS frequencies must be FCC Part 95 approved.

Only Karen cares.

[Royinmontco]

Only Karen cares.

Hey man, I don't care who uses baofengs or what frequencies they use them on. My baofengs are programed with the FRS/GMRS frequencies.... for monitoring only, of course....... *cough*cough*

[Roland45]

My baofeng 888s are programed with the FRS/GMRS frequencies, local police and fire dispatch, and national weather service, along with county emergency freqs.
they are programed so that they recieve on 1 freq and transmit on another just in case some one picks one up and pushes the transmit button. I also use them for monitoring only of course

[Walleye Hunter]

I don't know about the 888's but with mine I can turn off the transmit option when programming them with CHIRP.

[Gripsafety]

Thanks for all the input folks.

I wanted to keep it simple, almost clicked buy it now on one of the cheaper bubble pack Midlands. I have a handheld CB from Midland I'm happy with it, for a hand held anyway.

So I went a bit more expensive than I had planned on and ordered two of these. Wouxun KG-805G.

https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-kg-805g.html

Wow, this thread turned to shit without much useful information.

You done good by buying decent FRS/GMRS handhelds. For handhelds, they're about the best you're going to do. GMRS allows you 50 watts, but you're not going to see more than 5 or 8 watts in a handheld. There are some 40 watt and maybe 50 watt vehicle tethered radios available, and that is enough more power to make a difference, plus your antenna choices get better. There may be a couple that you can untether from the vehicle power and run on internal batteries, but the power drops to... can you guess it?.... maybe 5 watts at best.

If you have 5 watts, doubling it to 10 watts buys you 3 db, or half an "S" unit on the other end. Doubling it again to 20 watts gets you 3 more db. Doubling it again to 40 watts still just buys you 3 more db. Going from 5 to 40 watts buys you 1.5 "S" units.

At GMRS frequencies, it's possible to get significant gain from a good antenna, but it's sometimes hard to understand the advertised numbers.. If you get an antenna with 6db of real gain (entirely possible) it's like quadrupling your power, and it also gives you a similar receiving improvement, but you also have to understand the antenna's pattern in which the gain is realized.

The big advantage of GMRS is repeaters. There are probably 2 or 3 that you can open and use from your home location with a handheld (outside). You also have the option of connecting you handheld to a decent outside antenna at your home. When you go somewhere else, you can look for repeaters there. Some of these are private, but there are open ones in a lot of places. There are others that are "permission required", and you may be able to get access to these by talking to the owner. Look here: https://mygmrs.com/browse

If you need help with any of this, feel free to PM me. I'm not far away in Chester County near Rt 1. I don't really know the GMRS repeaters, but AFAICS they are the same machines we use on the nearby amateur frequencies. I'm certain we can sort it out.

[free]

Hey man, I don't care who uses baofengs or what frequencies they use them on. My baofengs are programed with the FRS/GMRS frequencies.... for monitoring only, of course....... *cough*cough*

I've had four of them since March 2020. I haven't gotten around to programming them yet. They are sitting in my desk drawer.

[soberbyker]

Thanks Gripsafety for that info and offer.

Thanks to all for replying. I am brand new to GMRS so real world experience/info is greatly appreciated.

[icp4life162005]

What you call "Radio Karens", I call keeping people informed and out of trouble. preventing interference in public safety (to whit Search and Rescue). Would you call someone who said having no backstop shooting toward a road a "backstop Karen? Just because you can't be bothered to learn much less follow the rules does not make those people who ARE impacted by the rules "Karens". I really thought the forum frowned on promoting unlawful advice. BTW, has nothing to do with my ego and I have no money to be made or lost in the advice, just protection of life.

Naked appeal to authority eh?