Amateur Radio and GMRS
Amateur radio is not the only radio service available to private citizens. Other services include FRS, MURS, CB, and also, the topic of today's post, GMRS. Amateur radio (aka ham radio) and GMRS are both wonderful services, but they are vastly different in scope and purpose. Let's talk about their differences and similarities.
GMRS is a service that requires a license from the FCC. There is no testing requirement. A $35 fee is all that is required to obtain a GMRS callsign. Mine is WSKF780. The purpose of GMRS is to meet the communication needs of families. This is why a GMRS license covers all individuals who reside within your household. My family includes my wife, son, daughter, and myself. All four of us can use WSKF780 within the GMRS allocation equally and fully.
GMRS is a channelized service as defined by the FCC. Simplex channels 1-22 plus repeater channels 15-22. It shares channels with the FRS service. It is UHF and operates within the 462-467 MHz range.
Compared to amateur radio, GMRS is extremely limited. The only mode available is FM and you must only use transceivers that are Part 95 certified. But GMRS is more flexible than FRS and MURS. GMRS allows up to 50 watts of power, allows repeaters, and allows removable antennas. This opens up a lot of opportunity not found with FRS or MURS. CB is a whole other beast. I'm going to mostly ignore it in this post.
One of my family's most favorite ways to use GMRS is when we are on a trip with multiple vehicles. Each vehicle will have its own mobile transceiver with an antenna mounted on the exterior of the vehicle. This makes communication between the vehicles fast, convenient, and fun. It is especially advantageous in areas where cell phone reception is poor.
Another way my family uses GMRS is at our ranch in the west Texas desert. We use a repeater to get widespread coverage across the ranch. The ranch is a couple thousand acres in size and the repeater helps a lot. Handheld and mobile transceivers are used. Cell phone coverage is poor so GMRS provides a very effective alternative, on-site communication solution.
Despite its positive traits, GMRS is limited though. It is really meant to provide good communication for families. Any uses beyond this intent start to fall short in my opinion when GMRS is compared to ham radio.
Ham radio has widespread, non-channelized allocations (except within the 60m band) covering LF, MF, HF, VHF, UHF, and microwave bands. Power is limited at 1500 watts. Internet-linked repeaters are allowed. CW, FM, AM, SSB, and digital modes are all allowed. You can use a wide array of transceivers and other equipment and it does not have to be FCC certified - that is your job as a ham. You can build your own equipment from kits or scratch. The service is diverse enough to even allow images and SSTV to be transmitted. The International Space Station uses ham radio and hams can operate so that signals can be bounced off of the Moon and even Venus. This is paradise for a radio enthusiast! If you want to interact with other individuals passionate about radio and its uses, then ham radio is for you. Anything GMRS can do, ham radio can do and then way more.
The one big drawback of ham radio is it requires testing to be granted a FCC license. Although, the reality is that the technician exam is very achievable by almost everyone. This requirement is not overly burdensome and helps ensure the airwaves are used responsibly.
So which service is right for you? GMRS? Amateur radio? If you are like me the answer is clear: both!
73 de AI5ZI
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