Walkie Talkie Thread

[DogHauler]

Asking for a friend, why would you pay $35 to the .gov for a permission slip to use a walkie talkie in the woods?

Is there a big risk of getting pulled over by a forest ranger demanding to see your credentials? Do you have to carry around a piece of paper? If it's a family plan does your 10 Y/O have to carry the permission slip around as well?

It keeps the Sad Hams happy, you don't want to wake up the Sad Hams!

Sponsored

 

[R.A.N.M.J.]

Asking for a friend, why would you pay $35 to the .gov for a permission slip to use a walkie talkie in the woods?

Is there a big risk of getting pulled over by a forest ranger demanding to see your credentials? Do you have to carry around a piece of paper? If it's a family plan does your 10 Y/O have to carry the permission slip around as well?

Practically? No, you don't have to worry about it at all.

If you're using an FRS/GMRS handheld you don't really need a license at all on channels 8-14. Those low power channels are set aside by the FCC for general use/FRS and do NOT require a license. Channels 1-7 don't require a license if you're using them on low power frequency.

Now, if you have a Midland receiver and start broadcasting over channels 1-7 on high power anyone with a receiver in range will pick up your conversation. Same goes for 15-22, those are high power frequency only channels, anyone in range can hear you. Even if you have privacy codes on they can still hear you, they just can't talk to you. You're supposed to have a license for 1-7 on High Power and 15-22.

Also, if you're using the Midland models with "extra" frequencies you can use channels 34-37 without a license.

I made a handy-dandy reference table if you own a Midland with 42 channels.

Channel	Type	Requirement
1-7	Shared FRS - GMRS	License required for HP Transmission/ Not Required for LP Transmission
8-14	FRS only	License Not Required for Transmission
15-22	GMRS only	License Required for Transmission
23-33	GMRS only	License Required for Transmission
34-37	FRS only	License Not Required for Transmission
38-42	GMRS only	License Required for Transmission

Jeez, I was bored this morning... Typed this up watching the sunrise and forgot to post until just now.





Edit: You should know, that in an emergency situation, you can broadcast on ANY channel without a license, but you better be damned sure it's an actual emergency.

 

[ksdon]

One of the best reasons to pay the (now) $35 10 year GMRS license fee is to help keep this part of the radio frequency open for GMRS radio use. The radio frequency is limited and business use does lobby hard for more and more space for their needs. It would be sad to lose some of this valuable and fun radio space due to lack of support......your money talks.

Bad Andy has some very good info posted.

 

[ksdon]

For GMRS Radio:
If I was just starting out and wanted to talk with a group I travel with, I'd get a Motorola FRS/GMRS.

If I thought I needed to reach out to some else not in my group and not trying to keep up with me and not expecting my call, I'd look long and hard at the Wouxun KG 905G GMRS headheld.

This model is a superhetrodyne, wide band, 5 watt, removable antenna model. You can take off the regular antenna and use a longer better antenna if you want to. If your gas tank falls off and you are stuck at 9,000 ft on a late October Rocky Mountain evening this set up has a better chance to reach much farther than a frs/gmrs Motorola or Midland. It is 1/2 at much as a dashmount unit and 2x as much as a bubble pack handheld.

Superhetrodyne and wideband are things that make a good difference. And are why the Wouxun cost more.

 

[Dan66]

Question for radio geeks… Why not a handheld marine VHF set? Asking because I’ve got a couple in my boat and they’re really nice radios.

Marine Radios Are for Marine Use Only (on Water) you are not allowed use on land
each group Ham, Industry, Aircraft, Marine have there own channels to avoid congestion on the band, there are not interchangeable
Public Use are Below
General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) and the Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS). The FRS is authorized 22 channels in the 462 MHz and 467 MHz range, all of which are shared with GMRS

 

[Tilzbow]

Marine Radios Are for Marine Use Only (on Water) you are not allowed use on land
each group Ham, Industry, Aircraft, Marine have there own channels to avoid congestion on the band, there are not interchangeable
Public Use are Below
General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) and the Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS). The FRS is authorized 22 channels in the 462 MHz and 467 MHz range, all of which are shared with GMRS

Thanks! I assumed it was something like that. Time to dust off my Midland handhelds.

 

[Hkak45]

Asking for a friend, why would you pay $35 to the .gov for a permission slip to use a walkie talkie in the woods?

Is there a big risk of getting pulled over by a forest ranger demanding to see your credentials? Do you have to carry around a piece of paper? If it's a family plan does your 10 Y/O have to carry the permission slip around as well?

I bought my radio's in 2012 and literally had NO idea you needed any sort of permission slip from the government to use them until reading this thread.

It seems as though they've figured out a way to get $35 from the populace, at least the good news is it's down from $75. I can honestly say I've not seen too many instances of the government actually lowering a tax.

There's no test so it's not about training, it's good for the whole family so I'm assuming your children can use it, but yet it's only good for 10 years, wonder why not a lifetime?

I tried to figure out the FCC website and I'm not even sure after looking around there for a few minutes how you would actually pay them anyway.

When I used to fly I know sometimes there would be random transmissions from people on the ground with hand held radios that had their frequencies out of whack. They would accidentally completely block the frequency so the planes can't talk to air traffic controllers. This causes a huge issue for pilots. I know of instances where the FCC would track down and find who was using the radios and that would be a reason for registering. If you are registered and it was an accident I bet there are no issues. If they find you and find a bad radio that is not registered and you are using it illegally, that means big fines for you. This is what I can think of why it would be smart to register if you use it. But the chances of this case happening is slim.

 

[Hkak45]

For GMRS Radio:
If I was just starting out and wanted to talk with a group I travel with, I'd get a Motorola FRS/GMRS.

If I thought I needed to reach out to some else not in my group and not trying to keep up with me and not expecting my call, I'd look long and hard at the Wouxun KG 905G GMRS headheld.

This model is a superhetrodyne, wide band, 5 watt, removable antenna model. You can take off the regular antenna and use a longer better antenna if you want to. If your gas tank falls off and you are stuck at 9,000 ft on a late October Rocky Mountain evening this set up has a better chance to reach much farther than a frs/gmrs Motorola or Midland. It is 1/2 at much as a dashmount unit and 2x as much as a bubble pack handheld.

Superhetrodyne and wideband are things that make a good difference. And are why the Wouxun cost more.

Is the Wouxun KG 905G a handheld that you have personally used? Any reason to go this one over one of the Midland handheld units?

 

[ZipZit]

I ended up with two Radioditty GM-30 GMRS radios. I picked up a package that included a computer USB interface cable.
Here’s the radio.

Why two radios? To practice and understand how things work. The repeater concept is not immediately intuitive.

The USB cable makes it much easier to update things, particularly channel names where different local repeaters may be involved. I really hate the default channel names. Keep it simple make it easy.

 

[2ata]

Can anyone Recommend a handheld with the best max range. Thanks.

 

[ksdon]

GMRS radio frequencies are line of sight. They don't follow the curve of earth or bounce off the ionosphere. At sea level on a beach my line of sight is about 4.5 miles. That is about the expected range of any GMRS handheld when used at the beach. If I climb a 12ft ladder I can double that range. If I stand on a 3 story building I can talk very far. Ham radio operators can speak with the Space Shuttle using 1 watt of power. Elevation of the radio......handheld or on a tower as a repeator will always win in a distance competition.

Move off the beach you add various soils, trees, buildings, rolling terrain all of which will absorb radio signals. With elevation being whatever it is, the distance your radio can be used will be influenced by the watts and the type of antenna you use. 5 watts does better than 2 watts in getting through the mess. . Having a removable antenna will allow you to select and use a superior antenna. That by itself will contribute to getting maximum range.

 

[Hkak45]

GMRS radio frequencies are line of sight. They don't follow the curve of earth or bounce off the ionosphere. At sea level on a beach my line of sight is about 4.5 miles. That is about the expected range of any GMRS handheld when used at the beach. If I climb a 12ft ladder I can double that range. If I stand on a 3 story building I can talk very far. Ham radio operators can speak with the Space Shuttle using 1 watt of power. Elevation of the radio......handheld or on a tower as a repeator will always win in a distance competition.

Move off the beach you add various soils, trees, buildings, rolling terrain all of which will absorb radio signals. With elevation being whatever it is, the distance your radio can be used will be influenced by the watts and the type of antenna you use. 5 watts does better than 2 watts in getting through the mess. . Having a removable antenna will allow you to select and use a superior antenna. That by itself will contribute to getting maximum range.

This is great information! Do you have any GMRS replacement antenna recommendations for trying to get the furthest range possible?

 

[ksdon]

My GMRS is mainly from a vehicle with a handheld attached to a mobile antenna:

This is hard to explain so hang with me. I am not an expert but my dim head has gathered this basic info. The higher the decibel dB gain your antenna has the greater the chances of reaching greater distances. But, you need to consider where you use the antenna. The higher dB gain antennas tends to radiate in a pancake shape pattern. This is wonderful for wide open plains and highways. But in a mountain valley the pattern may radiate mostly into the side of a mountain. Go lower in dB gain and the antenna begins to radiate in a pattern more like a giant beachball. This would work pretty good in a mountain area where a repeater tower was up high on a mountain, but does not reach as far out as the higher gain variety. I like the 2-3 dB range with about 30 inch height for my Bronco. https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-...tennas/3234-laird-connectivity-b4505cn-detail

One more painful bit of info. Antenna ground plain is important. Most antennas are able to be mounted on a metal surface. Bronco's and Jeeps find this harder to do so we mount on a corner, spare tire, or accessory point. Under these conditions a No Ground Plane Antenna will work best. The link below has an assortment of various no ground plane antennas in the GMRS frequency range. https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-...nnas/300-512-mhz-uhf/no-ground-plane-antennas

For a handheld radio the Nagoya NA771G is very good.
https://www.miklor.com/COM/Review_771G.php

 

[Ironiguana]

Looking at GMRS radios. I am trying to decide as to whether or not the "repeater capable" has good enough range for emergencies.

I plan on doing back country stuff in National parks but nothing too far off a main road. For example, I have a trip planned to Big Bend this spring and will be looking to camp on the river road campsites. It is a dirt road that requires 4WD and is pretty remote. I originally was thinking that I might need a satellite communicator for emergencies. I did a little research and Big Bend actually has repeaters in the park. Would a repeater capable GMRS get the job done in most national parks or is a satellite communicator the way to go?

Either way I need a GMRS, but I would prefer not to spend big bucks on a satellite communicator (with monthly fees) if I don't need it.

 

[Murraydog11]

I got this guy. I found a deal: 2 radios plus accessories, for $52 on Amazon.

Sponsored