GMRS: Much more capable for communications than most people think.

[WQOH952]

Hello All,

I been watching posts on this website for quite some time and as far as information goes, I do not think it gets any better than this site.

One inconsistency I see regularly though is in this section and more particularly concerning the usage of the GMRS frequencies, their capabilities and their value for a post SHTF/TEOTWAWKI environment.

Me and my wife communicate daily across 30 miles inside a heavily populated city. (Where we work, not live) I communicate with another prepper who is 60 miles away. He is on a very high spot using full 50 watts and a good antenna set-up.

We both get off work at the same time and will begin "talking" about our day approximately 30 miles away using one repeater channel. We will use this channel until we are about 5 miles away from each other at which time we switch to a simplex channel. This is using 20 watt mobiles with $40 tuned antennas on standard NMO roof mounts.

At our BOL I have mounted a solar powered, 2 watt repeater on the highest point on the land, 462 feet to be exact. We can reliably communicate using HT's over 4-5 miles and further if you intentionally gain high ground. I will add, this is west Texas hill country and difficult for communications.

Just about any commercially available radio in the UHF high band can be programmed to use on GMRS. You DO NOT need to use the "blister pack" toys from wal-mart or Bass Pro.

With the narrow-banding requirement now in effect these radios can be easily found on Ebay for dirt cheap. One of my favorite and most reliable radios is the Motorola XTS 3000 which can now be found readily available on Ebay for around $150 and up. I have won one for $89 on an auction a few months ago. If Motorola is not your flavor or you want a smaller radio than just check out any of the vast amount of HT's, Mobiles, Bases and repeaters out there.

I am not a "comm geek" so to speak but I have learned from my years of Military and Law Enforcement experience that reliable communication is an extremely important part of preparation.

I am not relying solely on GMRS and I do not intend this post to sound like GMRS is the "end all, be all" of SHTF comms, but I do feel it is highly overlooked as far as performance, price and reliability goes.

I am attempting to break in to the "HAM" world so I can extend my range and "intelligence" coming in.

Well, thanks for your ya'lls time, I hope I may have inspired at least one prepper to explore the under rated world of GMRS!!!

[alienb1212]

FCC Honeypot post.

See the comms thread stickied.

Not even going to start preaching about the legality of this stuff but if what you've found works for you, more power to you my friend.

[WQOH952]

FCC Honeypot post.

See the comms thread stickied.

Not even going to start preaching about the legality of this stuff but if what you've found works for you, more power to you my friend.

What exactly do you mean by, "Legality?"

GMRS requires a license from the FCC which is very easy to obtain.

It costs approximately $80 and does not require a test.

Care to elaborate????

[alienb1212]

Please review transmit power limitations, as well as radio type acceptance regulations.

I'm sure you've heard it before, (and you would have if you'd read the comms thread stickied at the top of the page..) but if you're willing to spend $80 on a license with crazy restrictions that allows you to only operate on the UHF band, why not spend $26 on the ARRL Tech book and $15 on a test a month later, and that will open up a whole other world of comms for you and your friend/wife.


Good luck, I'm really not trying to be a debbie downer here but you really should read through the comms thread from start to finish and I think you will have a more through understanding on where you should probably be standing in your communications skills if you consider yourself a prepper.

[TacCommE21]

I don't think GMRS is under-rated. It fills a very small niche. As alien so aptly put it, why depend on what amounts to a glorified FRS network when you could have much broader communications abilities with amateur?

Take alien's advice, get a tech class manual, drop GMRS, and be cautious in posting about activities of questionable legality here on the forum.

PM me your address and I'll send you my tech manual, free of charge. It is a 1st edition (2nd is now out). I doubt much has changed. Coupled with online question pools, you should be able to pass the test with minimal effort.

Good luck!

[WQOH952]

I don't think GMRS is under-rated. It fills a very small niche. As alien so aptly put it, why depend on what amounts to a glorified FRS network when you could have much broader communications abilities with amateur?

Take alien's advice, get a tech class manual, drop GMRS, and be cautious in posting about activities of questionable legality here on the forum.

PM me your address and I'll send you my tech manual, free of charge. It is a 1st edition (2nd is now out). I doubt much has changed. Coupled with online question pools, you should be able to pass the test with minimal effort.

Good luck!

Thanks, but I do have a tech manual. Like I stated its something I do intend to get. Time is the only issue I am facing now

As far as "questionable legalities" I assure you nothing I posted, or currently use in my current GMRS setup is illegal.

Mobile stations are regulated to 50 watts, I only use half. Antenna height is limited to 20 feet which I am not even close too.

As far as the equipment goes the FCC is fine with any commercial radio originally programmed within the GMRS bandwidth that does not exceed the wattage. And with any modern programming software I have seen it will not let you program outside the 4 watt limit on HT's.

I agree with you fella's whole hardheartedly on getting an amateur license, which I plan to do. But I do think that GMRS is the way to go for comm's among the personnel at the BOL. It seems much more private to me. Not that it is that private, but it seems more private than the busier HAM bands. With a PL tone on the repeater channel I never hear any other traffic on "my" channel. Is there a way to do that on some HAM bands??? If so please let me know as that would definitely make me rethink my choice.

Thanks....

[alienb1212]

Thanks, but I do have a tech manual. Like I stated its something I do intend to get. Time is the only issue I am facing now

As far as "questionable legalities" I assure you nothing I posted, or currently use in my current GMRS setup is illegal.

Mobile stations are regulated to 50 watts, I only use half. Antenna height is limited to 20 feet which I am not even close too.

As far as the equipment goes the FCC is fine with any commercial radio originally programmed within the GMRS bandwidth that does not exceed the wattage. And with any modern programming software I have seen it will not let you program outside the 4 watt limit on HT's.

I agree with you fella's whole hardheartedly on getting an amateur license, which I plan to do. But I do think that GMRS is the way to go for comm's among the personnel at the BOL. It seems much more private to me. Not that it is that private, but it seems more private than the busier HAM bands. With a PL tone on the repeater channel I never hear any other traffic on "my" channel. Is there a way to do that on some HAM bands??? If so please let me know as that would definitely make me rethink my choice.

Thanks....

How do you figure it's more private? FRS/GMRS are the most popular radio receivers out there other than FM/SW, almost everyone has a few of these kicking around.

I would really strongly encourage you to learn more about the technology you are so confident in. Just because you are using a tone for privacy and cannot hear anyone else does not mean they are not transmitting on your freq/channel or can't hear YOU. 440mhz also works reasonably well in cities and penetrates buildings pretty decently, but 2m is really where it's at for open terrain.

It's kind of like having a .22 AR. Will it work for a bunch of situations that you may need it to? Probably, yeah. But as with many other things, you just don't know what you don't know. There is a whole wide world of technology, bands, equipment and transmission methods and antenna designs, digital modes, you name it.

I probably came off as a bit abrasive in my first post here, and sorry if I did. It's great that you've started to take the first steps to learn and equip your group with the most frequently forgotten prep tool; Comms, but please try to keep an open mind and willingness to learn, and don't immediately latch on to the first piece of technology that worked for you, and convince yourself that it's the best thing since bacon.

Get your license, a 2m/440 HT/Mobile setup, and start using those. After that work on your General license and save for a HF radio.

Good luck and if anyone here can help, I'm sure they will.

[Beachboy]

I'm watching, reading and learning........

[TacCommE21]

Not that it is that private, but it seems more private than the busier HAM bands. With a PL tone on the repeater channel I never hear any other traffic on "my" channel. Is there a way to do that on some HAM bands??? If so please let me know as that would definitely make me rethink my choice.

Thanks....

Alien nailed it. Not private. And yes, you can use several types of tones on amateur.

Please do not get us wrong, we weren't accusing you of illegal activity. These threads tend to head that way quickly, with folks using using radios to transmit OOB.

Anyway, once you get into amateur, you will realize the vast resource that it is and how it is far superior to FRS/GMRS.

Only trying to get you headed in the right direction!

Good luck and if you need help, ask!