Tag: radio

My Road to my Ham License is through GMRS

Several weeks ago, I decided to get into GMRS radios. It’s a cheaper entry to radio and eventually Amateur (Ham) Radio. No, you don’t have to go that route, but with a budget in mind, I thought I’d take some time to listen and learn about these radio communications. My long-term goal is to get on HF and talk to the world with my Ham license.  I found a group dedicated to GMRS, the North Georgia GMRS.  It’s a network of repeaters around Atlanta (see graphic) that connects to the Chattanooga area and even has a repeater in Ocala, Florida.  I’ve spent a lot of time listening to the past few weeks. After getting my GMRS license, my first transmission was a call when I heard traffic on channel 20 and checked in as a new user.  I got an immediate response from someone in Chattanooga who said I must have set my radio up correctly because I came in loud and clear.  Funny, I unpacked it, turned it on, and got lucky.  Since then, not so much.  I’m 21 miles from my house to the Columbus repeater. It’s in Phoenix City.  I’ve experimented with my Baofeng UV-5G Plus and my Radioddity DB20-G.  I can get to the repeater after purchasing several antennas for the truck, but it’s not great yet.   After some research, I realized I needed more power, so I’ll replace the truck mobile unit with a 50-watt GMRS transceiver. It’s recommended that I wire the power directly to the battery since the cigarette lighter port probably won’t power the unit; I’ll have a friend who does those types of installs help with the project.  Stay tuned; I’ll update you in a few days!

Those Walkie Talkies on TikTok

If you are a fan of Tic Tok, you may have seen someone in your feed talking the advantages of handheld Walkie Talkies that you can talk to people all over the world. They push the Flash sale in their online store on several model radios, which are good prices, but I think they might be overselling just a bit.

Additionally, they use the recent communication outages in North Carolian’s hurricane as an example of why you should have the radios. On, this they are correct. But follow along for a few. If you are thinking about getting a radio,

Let’s begin with two entry level services.

Family Radio Service (FRS) No License Required

The Family Radio Service (FRS) is a private, two-way, short-distance voice and data communications service for facilitating family and group activities. The most common use for FRS channels is short-distance, two-way voice communications using small hand-held radios that are similar to walkie-talkies. (Source: FCC) Read More Here: https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/family-radio-service-frs This is like CB radio, Goood Buddy, but more (I guess)!

General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) License Raquired, No Test

The General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) is a licensed radio service that uses channels around 462 MHz and 467 MHz. The most common use of GMRS channels is for short-distance, two-way voice communications using hand-held radios, mobile radios and repeater systems. Repeater systems allow you to expand the area you can reach. (Source: FCC)  Read More Here: https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/general-mobile-radio-service-gmrs Most of the radios you are seeing on TikToc are Tig or Baofeng Radios and require at least a GMRS license ($35 from the FCC) and a Ham License on others. I’ll discuss GMRS more with an overview of groups and area networks setup by those groups

Ham Radio – We’re going to save this for another post. More complicated, several levels of licenses and each is testable.