The Road Home

The Road Home
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Friday, July 5, 2013

Radio - GMRS, FRS & MURS

Hello, Frank here.

Today we're going to talk about Subpart A, Subpart B and Subpart J. Okay, do you wonder if this guy has been out in the sun too long? Well, no ......... maybe. This is what we're going to talk about today.

Subpart A is GMRS, General Mobile Radio Service. Subpart B is FRS, Family Radio Service. Subpart J is MURS, Multi-Use Radio Service. All of this comes from CFR, Code of Federal Regulations, Title 47, Telecommunications, Part 95, Personal Radio Services. This is a little review of where Federal Regulations come from. Subpart A & B we are going to talk about together - that's GMRS and FRS.

These little walkie-talkie type two way radios that guys use during hunting season, and their kids play with out in the yard, are actually GMRS/FRS radios. Okay, what's the difference? 

GMRS has 23 channels that operate between 462 - 467 MHz (megahertz). For future reference, when we get into ham radios this is UHF (ultra high frequency) and the ham people call hand held radios HT's (handy talky). But for our purposes, we will call them two way radios. 

FRS shares GMRS channels one through seven. Channels eight through fourteen are only FRS. Channels fifteen through twenty-three are only GMRS. FRS has a maximum output of 500 milliwatts, or 1/2 watt. GMRS has an output of up to 5 watts.

Now here is the big difference. To operate on GMRS you are required to have an FCC license. Not a ham license, but an FCC license. For FRS there is no license required. So, channels 8 - 14 do not require a license. Channels 1 - 7 do not require a license if you operate on low power. Do most people have a license that operate on GMRS? Do most people drive 56 MPH in a 55 MPH zone? I have never met a person that actually has a GMRS FCC license. But if you do apply for one and receive it, then legally anyone in your family or circle of friends at your house can use your radios. 

So much for legal. From here on out, I am just going to refer to these radios as GMRS.

Cobra, Midland, Uniden and others all make two-way radios. All make claims of transmitting 10 miles, 20 miles or 36 miles, but remember this is under perfect conditions. An example: mountain top to mountain top, you can do much farther than 36 miles away. So, take 36 miles distance with a grain of salt. These are line of sight communication devices. If they are putting out four or five watts, the one that advertises 10 miles will go as far as the one advertising 36 miles. What's the difference? Features. Some have duck calls and coyote calls. Some have weather ability. Some have clocks. But if you want a basic radio and you don't care about duck calls, then just about any of these radios will meet your needs.

Most of these two-way radios have rechargeable batteries that can be recharged from the provided cradle and AC and DC power connections. Surprisingly, not all radios come with a charging system. Some only operate off of AA batteries. I would avoid these. Most of the radios come with a battery packet insert that can be easily removed and replaced with AA or AAA batteries, or rechargeable batteries. Some will recharge rechargeable batteries while they are in the charging cradle, but most won't. Here's my point. If you buy a certain type of radio, you can put rechargeable batteries in it, and you can recharge them in the cradle that came with the radio. Rechargeable batteries will last much longer than the battery packet that came with  the radio. Some manufacturers make radios that look almost identical and some will recharge rechargeable batteries in the cradle, but most will not. I learned this from simple trial and error. It's a lot more handy to come in at the end of the day, take off the radio, put it in the recharging cradle and the next morning you are ready to go. Or you can take off the radio, take the back off of the radio, take the batteries out, recharge the batteries, then put the batteries back in the radio and replace the cover. It's your choice.

I'm going to make a recommendation here. I use a Midland GXT 1050. The GXT 1000 is the exact same radio, one is black, one is camo and the black one costs about $10 - $20 less. When you buy this package, it comes with 
two radios, two battery packets, a charging cradle, AC and DC power supplies, and two earphone/microphone type headsets. I have never used the earphone/microphone accessory. I use a 12 volt system to charge all of my radios, which means that you can charge your radios in your car if you have the charging cradle with you. The reason I recommend this radio is you can remove the battery pack and insert four rechargeable AA batteries and they will charge in the charging cradle. They are advertised up to 36 miles if you live on top of a mountain. Just kidding. I have used this particular radio for a number of years. I have also bought some of the other Midland radios that look identical, but will not charge the rechargeable batteries while inside the radio. Prices vary greatly from dealer to dealer, some folks are a lot more proud of their stuff than others. 

Now I am going to switch over to MURS, Mult-Use Radio Service, for a minute. MURS operates from 151 - 154 MHz, which is in the VHF (very high frequency) range. MURS is also line-of-sight communication. Maximum output power is 2 watts. It does not require a license to operate. There are five channels. In the rural areas few to none use the MURS frequencies. I'm sure over time things will change, but things change slowly in rural areas. I became aware of MURS about five years ago when reading one of James Wesley, Rawles books. He is the author of SurvivalBlog.com. There is not much traffic on channels one through three. Channels 4 and 5 are old business channels, so around some larger cities there are businesses that still use these channels because they have not been phased out yet. 

I do not know of any manufacturers that produce an exclusive MURS radio. Most guys that use the MURS frequencies use a commercial radio. I will give you more information about MURS and how to operate on the five channels in the next post. Most of the people that operate on MURS frequencies use modified ham radios or commercial radios. Both of these techniques are questionable. Remember, driving 56 MPH in a 55 MPH zone is illegal. But if you are not bothering anyone else, then you will not attract attention. As always, it's your choice.

If you would like to start looking at hand held commercial radios, try this site. Some of their radios are strictly ham radios and some are commercial. It is legal to operate a commercial radio on ham frequencies if you are a licensed ham, but it is not legal to operate a ham radio on anything but ham frequencies. While at this site, check out their power pole connectors. They have tons of information and easy to understand diagrams and pictures. I have bought from these people and in the future I will buy from them again.

Next time I'll talk more about commercial radios and modified ham radios. This will introduce us into the first part of the ham radio series.  

We'll talk more later. 73, Frank


14 comments:

  1. Sir,
    I enjoy reading your articles. Could you post them a little more often? I also like your subtle humor. Thanks.

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  2. Thank you for reading. I struggle to get one post a week out, but I'll try harder. Thanks for noticing the humor. Remember, humor is the essence of survival.

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  3. An interesting alternative OPSEC-wise is to use Marine Band handhelds, especially if you're not too close to any major navigateable waterways. Low probability of being overheard, accidently or otherwise.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the comment and you are correct. I will address this in a future post along with other types of TX/RX radios.

      Let me share an experience with you. A friend and I were in remote Alaska using handheld Marine band radios for staying in touch. We were at least 150 miles from the nearest military facility and we received a call from the Coast Guard to switch to another frequency. I don't have a clue how they heard us unless it was through a satellite.

      Remember, all navigable waterways in the United States are under Coast Guard authority. So make sure you stay off of channels 22, 16, 10 and probably others.

      A boat mounted Marine band radio has much more wattage and is an excellent radio. By the way, I listened to the Coast Guard broadcasts from the Arkansas and Mississippi River Coast Guard stations in southeast Oklahoma.

      Thanks again.

      Frank

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  4. I notice on your site you have a very nice communications set up, I am working on setting up something to stay in touch.

    Can you give me a play by play on the picture as to what you have set up?

    Are you powering from Grid or Solar?

    Thanks and God Bless

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    Replies
    1. Stand by. In a few days my plans are to do just that. I am in between family radios and ham radios and I'm in between the grid and solar. All of my radios are powered by 12 volt.

      What type of setup are you looking to have? And what are your long-term goals?

      73, Frank

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    2. Frank,

      Long Term is Com Center at main location, Short Wave/Ham set-up.

      I am completely new to all of this, only having experience with CB radio's, Scanners, Linear Amps, antennas and related wiring.

      I would really like a around the clock accounting for what you have set up in that picture and the reasoning.
      I get the Clock, Picture, Weather Radio, (2) Eyeglass cases, tape Measure, batteries and external speakers,
      the rest is what I would like to know, the different radios, power strip block, SWR/Wave meter, etc...

      I have a very good background in basic electronics, been wiring up stuff since I was a kid, CB's since I was 9 yrs old.

      Just looking to advance to the next stage, any help would be great.

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    3. Thank you for your concerns and questions. This week, if the creek don't rise, I plan on posting the same picture going clockwise explaining what each item is, why I have it and what I use it for.

      I like simple. Simple works for me. I'll explain that also.

      73, Frank

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  5. Frank,

    Just read your radio article regarding FRS, GMRS, and MURS. You might want to check out www.dakotaalert.com, look under their MURS tab on the left of their main page. This outfit sells a handheld MURS unit amongst other things, I've been using their products for a number of years(motion detectors and my own MURS handhelds), and it is a nifty setup.

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    1. I went to the Dakota Alert site and it was familiar to me so I must have been there at some time or another. I wish their site provided more information about the sensor and it's range. Do you have any more information about the sensitivity of the sensor?

      Something you might want to consider is a commercial radio. They are easily programmable to the MURS VHF frequencies and GMRS UHF frequencies. These radios also work on Ham frequencies VHF/UHF.
      Remember to look at the commercial radios only for MURS purposes.
      Thank you for the information.

      73, Frank

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    2. Frank,

      Thanks for your response. Please see the DakotaAlert owner's manual, page 5 for info on the range. I've used these for a number of years and they perform as intended.

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    3. Thank you very much for the information. I have been looking for a good, reliable type of alert system. Someone in my area has a Dakota Alert because on occasion I hear the 'Alert, Zone One'.

      I use mostly rechargeable batteries, but due to the slight difference in voltages, some pieces of equipment cannot use them. Do you know if rechargeable batteries will work in this system? I assume they will.

      Again, thank you and thank you for the comment.

      Frank

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    4. Frank,

      For some reason I think rechargeables will not work but give DakotaAlert a call, they have been helpful with my questions. With good quality AAs I can go almost a year without changing although I live out in the country and my units are probably not activated as much as would be normal in a more suburban environment. Also, I house mine in a birdhouse which I built specifically for this unit. I would recommend buying a single unit and using it in your specific locations then expand from there. Also, something that was not initially obvious to me is that you can make each zone as large as you need. Even though the units have only four different alert messages, alert zones one thru four, you can group as many units as needed to cover a particular zone. For example, Zone 1(north) consists of five units, Zone 2(east) consists of 3 units, etc. I would cover critical zones with at least two units at different angles and spacings. Lastly, in the cooler months a cold vehicle may not be detected. I have not experimented with detecting people in thick coats, headcover, etc. which may be an issue for you in your location.

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    5. I like rechargeables but agree the common AA/AAA are crappy. Better are the standards, the A and F cells. I recommend all radio manufacturez build to the standard and that us consumers do not buy unless the unit takes at least an A cell.

      moose.

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