A survey of all members.

Kerry & Kathy

Kerry & Kathy

Member #007
Location
Fredericktown, Farmington and Viburnum MO
First Name
Kerry
Last Name
Owen
How many members are HAM radio licensed?
(successfully passing a minimum of one…of three levels of testing and $35/10-year license required for each user)

For cruises and club activities…
How many members own and use one or more of the following radio types?

FRS radios?
(14 to 22 channels of 0.5 to 2.0 watt output. Short range inexpensive Walmart style walkie talkies with no license required)

MURS radios?
(5 channels of 0.5 to 2.0 watt output. Short range hand held radios for personal, commercial and industrial use with no license required.

GMRS radios?
(30 channels of 2.0 to 50 watt higher output. Longer-range hand-held or mobile radios that require a $35 / 10-year license which covers use by all family members with no test required.)

I am curious as recent FCC changes going into effect later this year, are making the GMRS radios much more attractive, as they offer greater range, a larger number of channels, no testing requirement and a reasonable $3.50 / year license cost that covers use by all members of your family.

Currently the cost of new GMRS handheld radio models remain reasonable @ $40-$90 ea. Mobile GMRS high output radios are in the $210-$320 range. Older imported handheld radios originally programmed with HAM frequencies can be easily reprogrammed to current GMRS frequencies while such radios are currently available new for very low cost of $7-$30 ea. (However, the cheapest $7 models will have only 16 of the available 30 GMRS channels.)

The growth of the GMRS radio bands have been growing dramatically these past few years and are threatening even well established CB radios for traveling communication, as they offer longer range and the ability to use repeaters for even further range in areas where GMRS repeaters are located. This is a growing and substantial improvement in technology that will have a positive effect on future mobile communications.

Are any of these radio choices of any interest to members for club activities?
 
Only did the CB thing in 70-80’s - not ham operator licensed however... iPhone is the best it gets for me... had a neighbor that was one, HUGE ANTENNA ...other neighbors were not happy... that’s my two cents....
 
My Father in Law Art Nagle was big into HAM radio about 25-30 years ago. Had a huge antenna in their backyard like Ian mentions.
 
The question regarding HAM was to see who in the club has prior experience with amateur communications.
HAM would not be a consideration for club activities as it would require formal testing and licensing of all users while being inappropriate for mobile group activities.
It is better suited for emergencies and worldwide communications.

The remaining questions were to see which club members were using or had considered using hand held or mobile radios for personal / family / communications during cruises or club events.

My own opinion is that GMRS fills that need very well with very limited downsides...

FRS offers a very cheap entry level cost and is in common use with many families but is very limited on range and terrain with limited options for expansion.

MURS is mostly limited to commercial use with limited range and a very limited number of channels which are already filled with comms from Walmart, Sam's, Home Depot, Menards, Lowes employees and MANY similar private companies.

CB radios are still more common on the road but have limited channels with limited range that are too often overloaded with trucking and personal chatter.

GMRS is the only growing service which offers extended ranges and the possibility of repeaters and is growing quickly in urban areas. It would seem to be the best choice for the future with many new feature laden radios becoming available at very reasonable costs. It also shares all of the FRS frequencies which allows communication with other members having only FRS radios.
However in rural areas GMRS using repeaters is currently not yet as common, as repeaters are being added slowly to fill existing repeater voids.Yet even without the benefit of repeaters...having output of up to 50 watts and sharing frequencies with current FRS radios... allows GMRS to offer the broadest coverage, greatest range and best long term potential. Particularly if cell service is limited or unavailable.

This thread was offered as food for thought and to spur future discussion.
 
Cobras aren't antenna friendly and handhelds are typically 5watt that equates to lower range. But with that said, if we had a 3-5 mile range, I would think that would be sufficient. Some of the inexpensive Chinese radios (Boafeng) will work on the GMRS frequencies. The challenge is to come up with a signalling system that works. I would guess you'd have to wear a small headset or earphone and set the squelch so it only activates with the correct signal.

I doubt it would be a plug and play system, a lot of challenges along the way
 
PaulProe said:
Cobras aren't antenna friendly and handhelds are typically 5watt that equates to lower range. But with that said, if we had a 3-5 mile range, I would think that would be sufficient. Some of the inexpensive Chinese radios (Boafeng) will work on the GMRS frequencies. The challenge is to come up with a signalling system that works. I would guess you'd have to wear a small headset or earphone and set the squelch so it only activates with the correct signal.
Click to expand...

The Jeep Clubs out West are using the GMRS for communicating on their off-road trail systems over considerable distances in rural environments.
The attached link is to a range test using Chinese BaoFeng BTECH mobile radios in simplex (radio to radio only ) operation.
The antennas were chassis mounted...not handheld... yet at 50 watts they were able to communicate to over 30 miles with a strong signal.
Surprising...at 5 watts... typical of a handheld...but again with a chassis mounted antenna... they still had usable range slightly over 25 miles...!
For any mobile simplex operation, that seems very impressive.
Even with a less efficient hand held antenna... the potential range should be well within the 3-5 miles you would consider to be effective.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A_CNhfmcS4

There are also some new stubby low profile GMRS antennas now being offered specifically in the GMRS frequencies that are only 3.5" tall that would be chassis mounted... but much easier to mount and hide on a Cobra. (roll bar...transmission tunnel...rear bulkhead?) The manufacturer claims a range of 5 miles using these stubby antennas.

https://utvcom.com/product/gmrs-shadow-antenna/

I would think that these would also be very useful radios for club track operation when used with a helmet mounted mic and headset....similar to typical motorcycle helmet headsets.
 
Kerry & Kathy said:
There are also some new stubby low profile GMRS antennas now being offered specifically in the GMRS frequencies that are only 3.5" tall that would be chassis mounted... but much easier to mount and hide on a Cobra. (roll bar...transmission tunnel...rear bulkhead?) The manufacturer claims a range of 5 miles using these stubby antennas.

https://utvcom.com/product/gmrs-shadow-antenna/

I would think that these would also be very useful radios for club track operation when used with a helmet mounted mic and headset....similar to typical motorcycle helmet headsets.
Click to expand...

this looks interesting for track ops, especially if you can talk to pit folks. This would be a great option for club trackdays during lead-follow sessions (track markers, point out corner workers, racing line, track surface changes, etc).
 
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