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General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS)
The General Mobile Radio
Service (GMRS) is a personal radio service available to an individual (one
man or one woman). It is a two-way voice communication service to facilitate
the activities of the individual's immediate family members. Expect a
communications range of five to twenty-five miles.
The History. Where did
GMRS come from?
The General Mobile Radio Service spectrum was once the old Class A Citizens
Band Radio Service. There are folks still utilizing GMRS and have been
utilizing this radio spectrum for many years.
How do GMRS and FRS
radios/walkie-talkies compare to CB radios? Which would be better for
house-to-house communication, say, 1-2 miles? CB or GMRS/FRS? Which is
better for backup communication while driving on the road (assuming cell
phone is dead) CB or GMRS/FRS?
CB
radio is a shortwave frequency around 26-27 MHz. These radio waves propagate
differently. You can find yourself talking to someone in another country on
the CB band. The skip, as it is called, can occasionally render CB channels
useless for communication beyond five miles or so. (That's one big reason CB
went to SSB.) The CB band also became a polluted wasteland of nonsense,
silliness, and foul language. It quickly became a hobby band when that was
not the original intent. GMRS/FRS, on the other hand, will NOT skip.
GMRS/FRS is limited to local communication, and it tends to be quite
reliable depending on the terrain and surrounding obstructions. UHF radio
waves at 462 MHz behaves a bit differently. You can now have the same
benefit police and business has always had by using a UHF radio. The quality
of communication is terrific. Your family will enjoy using these devices!
The most important point about UHF radios is that ANTENNA HEIGHT is more
important than the output power of the device. Therefore, if you can see the
house you want to talk to then, there is a very good chance GMRS/FRS radios
will work quite nicely in your application. As an example, I can talk to the
grounds keeper at the local golf course over two miles away from inside my
house. The grounds keeper can see my home from the hill he is on overlooking
my town. Using a GMRS/FRS hand held radio, I can also speak to someone on
the 3800 foot peak some 14 miles away.
If you are talking within a few miles or less of another vehicle and all you
want to do is talk to that vehicle, GMRS/FRS is superb. CB will improve
distance locally, but then you have to cope with skip, AND you must have an
outside antenna to get reliable distance. If you want access to emergency
services get a cellular phone. Few people monitor channel 9 any longer and
no one listens to any GMRS/FRS channel for emergency calls. The great thing
about GMRS/FRS is that it is the first really good utility two-way radio for
families ever. It beats carrying big CB radio portable radios, and it is far
more reliable than the older low power CB or 49 MHz walkie-talkies. GMRS/FRS
radios are not really toys. The radios are quite good and there are few
poorly made GMRS/FRS radios on the market. The radios are truly superb if
you are trying to remain in contact with a person with whom you might become
separated.
Why would I want to buy
GMRS or FRS radios? What good are they?
The major benefit is the
savings over time from not using pagers and cellular phones. Cellular can be
expensive and you might be paying for pager frills you really don't really
need. Stop and think whether your family communication is really facilitated
with your cell phone or your pager. Can you afford to equip everyone in the
family with a cellular phone just to keep track of them on a family outing?
Hint: Are there situations where a two-way radio would benefit you more?
The convenience and
simplicity of two-way push-to-talk communication demonstrates how
complicated a cellular phone really is. When you are in radio range of your
partner you can use two-way radio communication rather than a telephone
system. There is nothing in the way except the distance between you and the
other radio in your family or group. There is no cell site, no telephone
operator and no roaming charges. Two-way radio communication is practical
and fun. The new GMRS/FRS radios are TRULY very
practical. As a matter of fact, I believe these radios to be the first truly practical short range
communication devices made available to the general public. You
don't have the noise and skip of the CB band, and you can communicate within
a reasonable distance.
GMRS Licensing:
Individuals using GMRS radios in the United States are required to obtain
a license from the Federal Communications commission. There are few
qualification requirements to obtain this license, and most applications are
approved without problems. You can call 888-CALLFCC (888-225-5322) if
you need assistance.
The easiest way to apply for a license is to mail your application to the
FCC after obtaining
Main Form 605 - Quick-Form Application for Authorization. While this form carries the typical reference to the "Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995," only two of its 11 pages contain the actual
application. This multi-purpose form is used for licenising of other radio
services. Don't be confused by references to other schedules, you can ignore
them. This is the only form you will need.
You will need an FCC Regitration Number (FRN) to complete your
application. This can be obtained on-line using the
Universal Licensing Service.
Choose the REGISTER (CORES/CALL SIGN) button on that page. I recommend only
registering to obtain the FRN on-line, and then preparing a mail-in
application. (The FCC provides an on-line application service. I have found
this to be confusing, and not fully functional, so I don't recommend using
it at this time.)
License fees are published in
Form 1070Y,
and they may be changed at any time. The current 5-year fee is $85 per
individual. All members of the applicant's family are automatically covered
by a single fee for the 5-year license period.
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