One of the first questions you will find yourself asking after getting your GMRS license is "What radio should I buy?" Although there is no single answer, this article will attempt to help you answer that question. What types of radios (stations) are there?What type of station do I need?Base / MobilePortableWhat are the requirements … Continue reading What Radio Should I Buy?
The General Mobile Radio Service is a radio service that favors mobile radios. Almost every users first GMRS radio is of the handheld or "portable" variety. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this! Handheld radios can be extremely affordable, easy to use, and just make sense for a lot of GMRS licensees - but there … Continue reading Handheld Radios (kinda) Suck
GMRS operates in the Ultra-High Frequency Band, otherwise known as UHF. GMRS is allotted 30 channels—16 main channels and 14 interstitial channels. credit: https://midlandusa.com/why-gmrs-for-two-way-radio-communication/ (a) 462 MHz main channels. Only mobile, hand-held portable, repeater, base and fixed stations may transmit on these 8 channels. The channel center frequencies are: 462.5500 462.5750 462.6000 462.6250 462.6500 462.6750 … Continue reading GMRS Channels / Frequencies
Okay, I Have A Radio! Now What! Here are a couple of pointers to help you get started, including some FCC and local "rules"... To use a repeater, your radio needs to be capable of something called semi-duplex. Repeaters requires a separate input frequency, output frequency, and usually a Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System (CTCSS) … Continue reading Let’s Operate!
Ok now, hang on - before you roll your eyes - maybe there are some people that really aren't sure how to use a repeater. I can assure you that at first, I didn't know how, and it kept me from ever really using my radios. Therefore, I provide this quick and dirty scenario-based "article" … Continue reading How to Talk on a Repeater
You can have the best radio in the world, but it doesn't mean anything if it doesn't have a useful antenna on it. Let's say you are new to GMRS and all you have is a handheld (HT) radio. Immediately what most do is to try to figure out the range of their signal. They … Continue reading Antennas for All – An introduction to Antennas
It is often said that being a GMRS licensee doesn't take any skill or knowledge. Well, that's not quite true. What is true is that one can dive as deep as they want to-technically speaking-and those that make the dive are far more successful with their communications. On of the most basic things you'll need … Continue reading Technically Speaking….SWR
CTCSS - Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System 141.3Hz - An example of a CTCSS tone CDCSS - Continuous Digital Coded Squelch System D023N - An example of a "normal" CDCSS code D023I - An example of an "inverted" CDCSS code DCS - Digital Coded Squelch (another term for CDCSS) PL/DPL - Motorola's terms for CTCSS/CDCSS … Continue reading What is CTCSS/CDCSS?
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