@Stallion thats a great idea. Saw some people with them on a recent cruise and was shocked at what a great idea it was. Really wished i had brought a set.
@Stallion I know a lot of people use these with their family in places like Disney World. Don't think they've changed their rules about allowing them there.
@Stallion my family used similar for vacations when I was growing up. When I made the move to NY, we used similar for the cross country drive - and they're awesome for when you're in BFE with no cell coverage and need to communicate.
@pholvey we used an older (pre-all-these-fancy bands) set of Motorola's on a cruise ship. They worked amazingly well - even thru several decks of steel superstructure.
Totally surprised us how handy they were for keeping our divergent party in communication.
And we were surprised we found no policy against them... none of the staff seemed to mind. Of course we were discrete in using them. Ear prices recommended in quiet areas.
@Stallion They require a license to use (in the US) at higher power settings (lifetime license, one-time fee). And they may not be legal in all your foreign ports of call, so use with care. (You could unwittingly interfere with other services.) Canada is OK though (and no license required there at all).
@Stallion that don't-care-if-stolen is a nice feature we've leveraged on the beach. (vs taking our smart phones.... and cell coverage is non-existent on some of the beaches we go to anyway.)
@pholvey The other benefit when on the road and driving is that you don't have to worry about fumbling with dialing, waiting for the other person to pick up, distraction with the phone, etc. Just push the button and talk.
These are actually tempting to use while skiing but I carry enough crap in my pockets. Plus that mileage drops to almost nothing when you're blocked by a huge mountain.
@cinoclav the 'mileage' is improved by that big mountain if you and your other party are on the same side of that mountain. (Like top of a run and at the bottom in the lodge.)
Also handy for cross country skiing or snowmobiling if you're in a remote area with crappy cell coverage.
@calbear Nope, the curvature of the Earth would come into play at that distance.
Realistically, with the limits that the FCC imposes on FRS/GMRS radios, you're likely to get a couple of miles, maximum, with nothing in the way. Real world, maybe a mile, probably less.
@OutbackJon I'm no geologist or astronomer or whatever specialist it would require, but the following rule of thumb stuck in my head... (In theory also applying to a radio wave that did not bounce off other things like clouds.)
If you're standing at the edge of the water on the beach, the curvature of the earth would limit your line of sight (ideal atmospheric conditions) to about 2 miles out from a height of 6 feet off the water surface.
Of course an object out in the water that stood proud of the water like a boat or ship would extend that distance. As would you standing higher up from the water back on the beach.
@madmaxmedia Yeah. That's pretty much it. FRS is limited to 500mW output by the FCC. GMRS can go up to 50W, but you aren't going to get that out of a handheld - and you need a license for the GMRS frequencies anyway. With a repeater, the GMRS claim of 37 miles is about right, but there aren't a lot of GMRS repeaters around. And these radios don't support repeater use, anyway.
@heartny I have a dream that these three little radios will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their case, but by the content of their circuitry.
you mean like this person that found them useless for deer hunting?
I got this for my hunting trips and since its always open fields the 40 mile range works just great, I also like the fact that it comes with headsets! Update: I finally used these on my recent hunting trip and theyre great. We spent most of our time in areas of a lot of small bushes, tall but spread out trees and a few rocky small hills other than that it was mostly open fields and the reception and clarity of these is great, if it got static we just changed the channel and we were back on. Battery life was good, I didnt have to recharge until the end of my day and we got to our site at 7am, finished at 7p so it lasted a good 11 hours (off when we ate), the waterproof feature is a must since I dropped mine at a small brook we came across but it had zero effect on them, all in all I would recommend these to anyone who hunts.
Anyone who purchases these, be sure to do your homework on GMRS. AFAIK, FRS is the only unlicensed band here. In order to (legally) use GMRS, one would need whatever the bottom-of-the-barrel amateur radio operator's license is these days. I could very well be wrong on this (been a while, but not a great while since I last looked into this), and even if I'm right the chance you'll get caught is pretty dang slim. But FCC fines are no fun, so do some research just in case. The FRS bands are definitely fine (but, lower power).
@brhfl The GMRS is available to an individual (one man or one woman) for short-distance two-way communications to facilitate the activities of licensees and their immediate family members. Each licensee manages a system consisting of one or more transmitting units (stations.) The rules for GMRS limit eligibility for new GMRS system licenses to individuals in order to make the service available to personal users. (Some previously licensed non-individual systems are allowed to continue using GMRS.)
In 2010, the FCC proposed to remove the individual licensing requirement for GMRS and instead license GMRS “by rule” (meaning that an individual license would not be required to operate a GMRS radio). This proposal is still pending.
Licensing
An FCC license is required to operate GMRS system. Licenses are issued for a five-year term and can be renewed between 90 days prior to the expiration date and up to the actual expiration date of the license. After a license expires, an individual must request a new GMRS license.
@jzmacdaddy So does that mean you can use these on channels 9-13 without a license...or...without breaking the law? Definitely not worth buying if you factor in license cost vs some other band set.
EDIT: These also have 7 FRS channels too, don't they? So cant you just use that band instead and forget all about GMRS and licenses and all that nonsense?
@brhfl The GMRS and ham licenses are entirely separate; neither conveys the operating privileges of the other. The Technician amateur license covers a ridiculous amount of spectrum, and quite a bit near the FRS/GMRS channels in the 462MHz range, but it doesn't actually cover the 462 band.
@Stallion et al, You can indeed use the FRS frequencies without a license. They are limited to 1/4W into a fixed antenna with (in practice) negative gain; effective range is two miles or less. There are some FRS channels shared with GMRS, and the only difference between the usage is that GMRS requires a license - no test, just a flat fee - and enables 5W power into a modest gain antenna on the same channels. Note that unless this radio is specifically instructed to use FRS only mode (if it has one), it will illegally use the higher power GMRS output on the shared GMRS/FRS channels - making you liable for a $10,000 fine. The fines are designed for commercial operations, but the FCC doesn't have a separate fine schedule for consumers. Many of these cheap GMRS radios hide the lower power legal mode way down in menus because it drastically reduces the radio's utility to the average user.
5W on a moderately non-sucky antenna can go a good distance over most terrain; expect very solid comms within three miles unless there's a lot of metal sheeting, and quite reliable comms out to ten miles. In forests and such, fifteen miles is not unreasonable. A 5W handheld transceiver is what most ham radio operators start with, and these are typical simplex ranges for those radios as well. GMRS also allows using car-mounted "mobile" units and external antennas, greatly extending your range. These particular radios probably don't support anything but the fixed antennas.
If you want a two-way radio but don't want to study for the (really quite simple) ham radio exam, GMRS is a good way to get reasonable range for a fairly low fee. The ham test only costs $15 and enables a great deal more than GMRS, but paying the $85 for GMRS beats the $10,000 fine if these radios will solve your problems.
Oh, one more thing: if you are getting reports that your transmissions are fading, weak, scratchy, or garbled, try moving a few inches to one side. I'm serious about the just a few inches; it's usually just enough to scoot around the interfering objects. Moving a foot or three puts you right back into the interference as often as not. Also, if you receive some really funky sounding static, two people were talking at the same time. Tell them they doubled and pick one to try again first.
@jsfs thanks for that explanation - I think I've read bits of it hear and there but it is handy to see in one place.
Out of curiosity - is it just more silly govt bureaucracy - or is there some logic behind making the basic, no test, GMRS license almost 6 times more expensive than the ham license?(It also seems silly to require a ham operator to get a separate GMRS license.)
@jsfs ... and while I realize the FCC (?) has the ability and does police airwave abuse in metro areas, if they have that same ability to nail someone using GMRS infrequently/unpredictably out in the woods or on a rural (great) lake, might we have a problem with an over-staffed FCC?
Perhaps they equip and deputize the Coast Guard, BLM, NPS, etc...?
@RedOak@jsfs The logic behind charging a fee for GMRS was supposedly to prevent it from turning into the wild west that CB did but it is kind of meaningless now from unlicensed usage of licensed devices. Also, the amateur exam itself is free (the FCC sees none of that money) but it allowed the volunteer test administrators to charge for costs. This was why I could take the Extra exam at the same time that I sat for the Technician license. KD2GZG (I realize I've never signed with my call before.)
@RedOak The FCC has Official Observers scattered all over; I don't think they get paid. They also scatter some direction-finding antennas around to hunt down offenders. A few transmissions now and again probably won't catch the ear of an Official Observer - but you never know. Any law enforcement or similar can also ask to see your license if they see you using radios; in practice, most don't, but the game wardens might make more of a point of it. The Coast Guard mostly cares about the marine VHF frequencies, from what I hear.
As to why the charge, @atannir is right. They wanted a more civilized CB for handheld use; the prevalence of piracy has made that a pipe dream. They were looking at dropping the fee entirely so that at least a few people would read the rules when getting their free licenses(essentially: no cursing, share, and play nice), but ultimately decided not to.
BTW, @atannir, are you a fellow zero-to-Extra? Congrats!
@jsfs Well, thanks! I'm only a technician, though. That I could sit for more than one exam was a surprise to me, so I hadn't studied and didn't pass the Extra, but I may do it this summer. Full congratulations to you!
@atannir I've been hearing that the new question pool taking effect at the end of June will add over 100 rather harder questions to the already large pool. If you're planning an upgrade, the advice of a lot of folks is to do it before July.
@trod1952 I know, and while I get that it's a net positive for the hobby, weakening that barrier to entry, I was still kind of bummed to see the art of morse dying…
Wow, I can't believe meh.com would stoop this low. They are selling a three-pack for TWO-way radios. They expect you to buy an even number (more than one) to compensate that the third one will be inoperable otherwise. MEHHH!
@Thumperchick exactly correct. We use up to 4 together in our family. Of course only one person at a time can talk but in theory you could (and might) have infinite listeners.
Unless you've got a lot of gabbers. The issue is more one of people management than the technology itself.
It looks like you can only charge 2 out of the 3 at the same time. Anyway, my 2 teens looked at these funny when I got two for 10 bucks last year. They were good but ewwww, push a button? Roger beep? How primitive!
@eforum Lithiums like to be recharged even when partially discharged. NiMH like to be nearly fully discharged before recharging. Drain your NiMHs and then recharge them, at least most of the time, and they'll last longer.
In addition to the cruise ship scenario discussed above, we've found these types of radios to be handy in recreational situations where friends or family members where in two nearby but not convenient to each other locations - where one of those locations would not be friendly to your precious smart phone.
Like the cottage & the sandy, wet beach or the cottage & the ski boat.
A disclaimer, however... using these radios in congested areas like a heavily boat-populated area on a busy weekend can render the radios useless due or others stomping on the frequencies.
@RedOak The answer there is to get your amateur radio callsign (in the US, the Technician license will suffice) - and a cheap $30-100 Chinese handheld that supports the 70cm and 2m bands.
@RedOak The licensing is not that difficult. Check it out. It's multiple choice and you can get the question bank to study from. ARRL and other organizations publish study manuals, and exams are written in most decent-sized communities in the US. That cheap Baofeng will do shockingly well - putting a better antenna on it (not allowed with GMRS/FRS handhelds) will make a huge difference.
@PhotoJim a neighbor is a ham operator. (Handle on license plate, big whip on his car, and more wire/metal in the air above his yard than most folks have inside their homes!)
It was a pleasant surprise to learn morse code knowledge is no longer required for the test.
I recall as a kid in the '60's going to a neighbor ham operator's home to talk with my uncle who was leading a scientific expedition on the other side of the planet in Antarctica. Lots of static but it worked. He even has a mountain named after him down there.
@Tadlem43 You probably could, if you're good at desoldering SMT gear, but you'd be much better served with an SDR receiver like the little rtl-sdr dongles. Even if it has to be mobile, the SDR will be better; there's an Android app that supports using them. These GMRS radios won't be built to support any real modding, and may not even have a real scan feature.
@Tadlem43 Electronically-tuned radios don't have changeable crystals. Crystal-based tuning started disappearing in the 1980s. (Still used in some amateur radio stuff, but only in simple home-built kits.)
I used a pair of cobra micro talk 2-way rechargeable 2-ways when I moved from MN to CO very recently. I have to say, some of the best $ spent. It's completely worth the $25 bucks I spent on the way out of MN to have that instant communication with the others that were driving my car (I was in the cube van). Get these ones or not, having them for multiple vehicle road trips are a must have. 1 it makes having to pick up a cell phone and stare at your phone to make that call, non existent. Not having to worry about cell coverage n what not... But also it's an instant connection. Having to stop right away, or a quick heads up of ass fucks on the road. Seriously, everyone should have a set of 2-ways the set I got has rechargeable batteries and I just put a piece of plastic on one of the terminals so the batteries don't go bad from underused timeframes. Plenty of reasons to have them. Car rides, conventions, fairs, theme parks, ball games... You name it.
@bigbo2003 We used a similar set on a road trip as well. One thing to note: when talking about an idiot trucker that almost took one of the cars out by swerving into your lane, they may have a scanner that can pick up your conversation. LOL, he apologized for "scaring the little car" and he and my dad chatted about their service in the military for 5 or so minutes.
@tagbiker LOL reminds me of the movie "Joy Ride".... "Candy Cane" haha. Very true. On the way out here there was, what had to be, a very drunk driver that passed me in the truck and coming up on my buddy in my car. 2 lane road (on each side, with a very large grass median in between) in the hills of Colorado. Going from dirt shoulder to dirt shoulder. He would have totally hit my buddy in my car had I not got on the 2-way n let him know in that second. There would have been no time at all to pick up the phone, grab his number n call him. Not to mention a sketchy cell signal. We were shocked... Like really shocked that we didnt come up on him in the ditch. So in the least, they saved a car accident. They're really nice to notify the other car in your road trip that you're going to overtake another vehicle...especially when in a truck that nobody wants to let in. Gives the trailing car to get over n let you in.
The last radios you guys talked me into buying were 16-mile and had the most piss-poor range I could possibly imagine. They only made it about a quarter mile from my house, and that was it. So based on the math, these should reach a hair over half a mile.
@TBoneZeOriginal These are UHF radios. The UHF bands are line of sight. Get on a high mountain and you could probably do a lot more than 16 miles. That's why using miles as a measure of range is so ridiculous; it's like selling gasoline by the distance instead of the gallon.
Sweet - In for the pack... Kid keeps getting cell phone taken away, these will be useful if we are ever out and need to be able to communicate (i.e. at a theme park etc.)
@jmonge2016 I didn't push the final button since we already have a drawer full of these type radios, but the initial order page came up fine for me a minute ago.
Was your issue on the final confirmation button stage?
It's great to see a legacy of Woot surfacing...their offerings were always such fun. I kind of remember flying monkeys... So, license needed for GMRS - OK, the family are all radio amateurs, anyhow, so what's one more license...
@ghamma It's ironic that the FCC's web site is so lousy. I mean Communication is part of their name. But yeah, 10 minutes (not counting the FRN application and the fcc.gov site downtime) and $65 for a license that should take 1 minute and $5 really makes me want to participate in this activity legally.
We bought some 2 way radios for the neighbor kid as a birthday present. We also bought our son one. They wore them out for about a week and now they are vastly unused.
It was totally worth the price of admission though -- Getting to see my kid use that radio took me back about 25 years. Great stuff!
Used to use the Motorola FRS ones quite a lot back in the day. Vacations, skiing. Wanted to get the higher power GRMS ones but you needed to get a license for those.
Anyhow, it's tempting to get these for the nephews.
Specs
Condition: New
Warranty: 1 Year Uniden
Estimated Delivery: 1/26 - 1/28
Shipping: $5 or free with VMP
What’s in the Box?
1x Red 2-way radio
1x Blue 2-way radio
1x Black 2-way radio
1x Dual charging cradle
1x AC adapter
Pictures
Three colors
Colors with charger
Detail of unit
Charging
Retail packaging
Price Comparison
$149.99 List, $43.97 at Amazon
Find a relevant price comparison? Please share it in a comment in this thread
Estimated Delivery
Monday, January 28th - Monday, February 4th
Calling Major Tom
Roger That!
Earth calling Fuku!
You'll get a charge out of these radios..well maybe you should charge them instead..or pay cash :)
Can you hear me now?
[sorry. not sorry.]
Are these any good? I was thinking of getting a pair of walkie talkie's for an upcoming vacation.
@Stallion thats a great idea. Saw some people with them on a recent cruise and was shocked at what a great idea it was. Really wished i had brought a set.
@Stallion Use a cell phone.
@BarryParker Cell phones require cell towers, not all ships have them, and the ones that do will charge you a pretty penny to use it.
@Stallion I know a lot of people use these with their family in places like Disney World. Don't think they've changed their rules about allowing them there.
@Stallion my family used similar for vacations when I was growing up. When I made the move to NY, we used similar for the cross country drive - and they're awesome for when you're in BFE with no cell coverage and need to communicate.
@pholvey we used an older (pre-all-these-fancy bands) set of Motorola's on a cruise ship. They worked amazingly well - even thru several decks of steel superstructure.
Totally surprised us how handy they were for keeping our divergent party in communication.
And we were surprised we found no policy against them... none of the staff seemed to mind. Of course we were discrete in using them. Ear prices recommended in quiet areas.
@BarryParker Going international, cell phones would cost money. Walkie Talkie's are easy to carry, throw in a bag, and can care less if get stolen.
@Stallion They require a license to use (in the US) at higher power settings (lifetime license, one-time fee). And they may not be legal in all your foreign ports of call, so use with care. (You could unwittingly interfere with other services.) Canada is OK though (and no license required there at all).
@Stallion that don't-care-if-stolen is a nice feature we've leveraged on the beach. (vs taking our smart phones.... and cell coverage is non-existent on some of the beaches we go to anyway.)
@pholvey The other benefit when on the road and driving is that you don't have to worry about fumbling with dialing, waiting for the other person to pick up, distraction with the phone, etc. Just push the button and talk.
@RedOak Divergents can read minds, and would not need a 2-way walkie-talkie.
@ThrowingChicken A lot of people carry them on ships. You'll be getting crossover signals on your receivers.
@mrimdman Sounds like a way to make new friends on vacation.
These are actually tempting to use while skiing but I carry enough crap in my pockets. Plus that mileage drops to almost nothing when you're blocked by a huge mountain.
@cinoclav the 'mileage' is improved by that big mountain if you and your other party are on the same side of that mountain. (Like top of a run and at the bottom in the lodge.)
Also handy for cross country skiing or snowmobiling if you're in a remote area with crappy cell coverage.
What would the actual range be if you were on the Bonneville Flats? In this scenario, could it possibly be 37 mi?
@calbear - That's when it reverts to 37 Rutledges. Even measured end-to-end, that's not very far.
@calbear Nope, the curvature of the Earth would come into play at that distance.
Realistically, with the limits that the FCC imposes on FRS/GMRS radios, you're likely to get a couple of miles, maximum, with nothing in the way. Real world, maybe a mile, probably less.
@OutbackJon I'm no geologist or astronomer or whatever specialist it would require, but the following rule of thumb stuck in my head... (In theory also applying to a radio wave that did not bounce off other things like clouds.)
If you're standing at the edge of the water on the beach, the curvature of the earth would limit your line of sight (ideal atmospheric conditions) to about 2 miles out from a height of 6 feet off the water surface.
Of course an object out in the water that stood proud of the water like a boat or ship would extend that distance. As would you standing higher up from the water back on the beach.
@OutbackJon So...the 37 miles only applies to 2 astronauts in space with clear line of sight between the 2??
@madmaxmedia Yeah. That's pretty much it. FRS is limited to 500mW output by the FCC. GMRS can go up to 50W, but you aren't going to get that out of a handheld - and you need a license for the GMRS frequencies anyway. With a repeater, the GMRS claim of 37 miles is about right, but there aren't a lot of GMRS repeaters around. And these radios don't support repeater use, anyway.
No purple? :-(
@heartny I have a dream that these three little radios will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their case, but by the content of their circuitry.
@heartny I love purple.
@nadroj As long as their circuitry is purple :-)
@heartny I just ordered some circuit boards, and was VERY tempted to choose the purple resist.
I couldn't though, due to technical jargon-y stuff.
Finally I can throw out my cans and string!
a pack of three? why not just two, or even four? i don't understand.
@busheygirl one each for me, myself, and I.
Person on Amazon says these are useless for deer hunting. Duh. I'd go with some kind of, you know, rifle or something.
@gertiestn
you mean like this person that found them useless for deer hunting?
uninvited-neglectful-curry
Anyone who purchases these, be sure to do your homework on GMRS. AFAIK, FRS is the only unlicensed band here. In order to (legally) use GMRS, one would need whatever the bottom-of-the-barrel amateur radio operator's license is these days. I could very well be wrong on this (been a while, but not a great while since I last looked into this), and even if I'm right the chance you'll get caught is pretty dang slim. But FCC fines are no fun, so do some research just in case. The FRS bands are definitely fine (but, lower power).
@brhfl https://www.fcc.gov/general/general-mobile-radio-service-gmrs
@brhfl The GMRS is available to an individual (one man or one woman) for short-distance two-way communications to facilitate the activities of licensees and their immediate family members. Each licensee manages a system consisting of one or more transmitting units (stations.) The rules for GMRS limit eligibility for new GMRS system licenses to individuals in order to make the service available to personal users. (Some previously licensed non-individual systems are allowed to continue using GMRS.)
In 2010, the FCC proposed to remove the individual licensing requirement for GMRS and instead license GMRS “by rule” (meaning that an individual license would not be required to operate a GMRS radio). This proposal is still pending.
Licensing
An FCC license is required to operate GMRS system. Licenses are issued for a five-year term and can be renewed between 90 days prior to the expiration date and up to the actual expiration date of the license. After a license expires, an individual must request a new GMRS license.
@brhfl no. That's still the case. If you use the GMRS channels (anything below 8 and above 14) you are breaking the law.
@brhfl @jzmacdaddy
$85 dollar licenses?
Let's all sing along
\m/ >_< \m/
@nadroj @eeterrific @jzmacdaddy @RedOx I knew if I laid the groundwork, someone else would do the fifteen seconds worth of googling… ;)
All that said, it's a much easier license to acquire than when I last had a valid HAM license with a morse req…
@RedOx Well, they're really nice and laminated, so they're worth it.
@jzmacdaddy So does that mean you can use these on channels 9-13 without a license...or...without breaking the law? Definitely not worth buying if you factor in license cost vs some other band set.
EDIT: These also have 7 FRS channels too, don't they? So cant you just use that band instead and forget all about GMRS and licenses and all that nonsense?
@brhfl The GMRS and ham licenses are entirely separate; neither conveys the operating privileges of the other. The Technician amateur license covers a ridiculous amount of spectrum, and quite a bit near the FRS/GMRS channels in the 462MHz range, but it doesn't actually cover the 462 band.
@Stallion et al, You can indeed use the FRS frequencies without a license. They are limited to 1/4W into a fixed antenna with (in practice) negative gain; effective range is two miles or less. There are some FRS channels shared with GMRS, and the only difference between the usage is that GMRS requires a license - no test, just a flat fee - and enables 5W power into a modest gain antenna on the same channels. Note that unless this radio is specifically instructed to use FRS only mode (if it has one), it will illegally use the higher power GMRS output on the shared GMRS/FRS channels - making you liable for a $10,000 fine. The fines are designed for commercial operations, but the FCC doesn't have a separate fine schedule for consumers. Many of these cheap GMRS radios hide the lower power legal mode way down in menus because it drastically reduces the radio's utility to the average user.
5W on a moderately non-sucky antenna can go a good distance over most terrain; expect very solid comms within three miles unless there's a lot of metal sheeting, and quite reliable comms out to ten miles. In forests and such, fifteen miles is not unreasonable. A 5W handheld transceiver is what most ham radio operators start with, and these are typical simplex ranges for those radios as well. GMRS also allows using car-mounted "mobile" units and external antennas, greatly extending your range. These particular radios probably don't support anything but the fixed antennas.
If you want a two-way radio but don't want to study for the (really quite simple) ham radio exam, GMRS is a good way to get reasonable range for a fairly low fee. The ham test only costs $15 and enables a great deal more than GMRS, but paying the $85 for GMRS beats the $10,000 fine if these radios will solve your problems.
73 de AF5DF
Oh, one more thing: if you are getting reports that your transmissions are fading, weak, scratchy, or garbled, try moving a few inches to one side. I'm serious about the just a few inches; it's usually just enough to scoot around the interfering objects. Moving a foot or three puts you right back into the interference as often as not. Also, if you receive some really funky sounding static, two people were talking at the same time. Tell them they doubled and pick one to try again first.
@jsfs thanks for that explanation - I think I've read bits of it hear and there but it is handy to see in one place.
Out of curiosity - is it just more silly govt bureaucracy - or is there some logic behind making the basic, no test, GMRS license almost 6 times more expensive than the ham license? (It also seems silly to require a ham operator to get a separate GMRS license.)
@jsfs ... and while I realize the FCC (?) has the ability and does police airwave abuse in metro areas, if they have that same ability to nail someone using GMRS infrequently/unpredictably out in the woods or on a rural (great) lake, might we have a problem with an over-staffed FCC?
Perhaps they equip and deputize the Coast Guard, BLM, NPS, etc...?
@brhfl HAM licenses no longer have a Morse Code requirement.
@RedOak @jsfs The logic behind charging a fee for GMRS was supposedly to prevent it from turning into the wild west that CB did but it is kind of meaningless now from unlicensed usage of licensed devices. Also, the amateur exam itself is free (the FCC sees none of that money) but it allowed the volunteer test administrators to charge for costs. This was why I could take the Extra exam at the same time that I sat for the Technician license. KD2GZG (I realize I've never signed with my call before.)
@jsfs Just a note: FRS is limited to 1/2W, not 1/4W. But at that low a power, watts the difference?
Sorry, couldn't help myself. 73 de KC2BNE
@RedOak The FCC has Official Observers scattered all over; I don't think they get paid. They also scatter some direction-finding antennas around to hunt down offenders. A few transmissions now and again probably won't catch the ear of an Official Observer - but you never know. Any law enforcement or similar can also ask to see your license if they see you using radios; in practice, most don't, but the game wardens might make more of a point of it. The Coast Guard mostly cares about the marine VHF frequencies, from what I hear.
As to why the charge, @atannir is right. They wanted a more civilized CB for handheld use; the prevalence of piracy has made that a pipe dream. They were looking at dropping the fee entirely so that at least a few people would read the rules when getting their free licenses(essentially: no cursing, share, and play nice), but ultimately decided not to.
BTW, @atannir, are you a fellow zero-to-Extra? Congrats!
@jsfs Well, thanks! I'm only a technician, though. That I could sit for more than one exam was a surprise to me, so I hadn't studied and didn't pass the Extra, but I may do it this summer. Full congratulations to you!
@atannir I've been hearing that the new question pool taking effect at the end of June will add over 100 rather harder questions to the already large pool. If you're planning an upgrade, the advice of a lot of folks is to do it before July.
@trod1952 I know, and while I get that it's a net positive for the hobby, weakening that barrier to entry, I was still kind of bummed to see the art of morse dying…
Wow, I can't believe meh.com would stoop this low. They are selling a three-pack for TWO-way radios. They expect you to buy an even number (more than one) to compensate that the third one will be inoperable otherwise. MEHHH!
I'm in for 1, er 3. 1 3 2 way radios. Right. That's it. Crystal clear.
@KevinKevin Well.. no. You can tune the 3rd radio into the same channel and it would still be usable with the other two.
@KevinKevin That's bc they are meant for 3 ways.
But please spare us any details.
@Thumperchick exactly correct. We use up to 4 together in our family. Of course only one person at a time can talk but in theory you could (and might) have infinite listeners.
Unless you've got a lot of gabbers. The issue is more one of people management than the technology itself.
@ceagee 10-4
@KevinKevin Sorry, I should explain - the "2-way" part of a 2-way radio means it can transmit and receive.
I have a Ph.D. in radiology so I know what I am talking about.
@KevinKevin I can vouch for him. Seems legit.
Source: I understand irony, sometimes.
@KevinKevin I've been feeling a lump under the skin in my hand, can you recommend a reputable X-ray clinic? ;-)
@KevinKevin I have my measly BS in Radiological Sciences. I've known a few people in the field that are also two-way...
I bought something similar and used in Mexico. They were good up to about 2 miles.
i want to know if we can use them in apartments. does the range support flows across floors and walls ?
@wunnath we have 4 different models from Cobra and Motorola. They worked fine thru multiple steel decks of a cruise ship so I don't see why not.
@wunnath 37 miles, that is a big apartment.
It looks like you can only charge 2 out of the 3 at the same time. Anyway, my 2 teens looked at these funny when I got two for 10 bucks last year. They were good but ewwww, push a button? Roger beep? How primitive!
@halnwheels use these as a threatened replacement for when the kids push your family over the data plan limit.
These or keep some dumb phones handy for the same purpose.
Sweet, .2 mile radios!
So, I'd be getting 9 radios yes? ;)
@Achromatter It's not Tuesday yet, so sorry but no.
Says: $25 for 3, not one pack of 3. ;)
@Achromatter Then look at it as 3 packs of 1. :P
@Achromatter But then logic steps in and should whisper in your ear "You get one package with three radios"
A fun toy for kids. I bought these for my kids to play with when they were little. They loved them.
I like that these use regular AAA batteries which are easy to find. Might get a set for the kids for camping, Disney, foreign vacations, etc.
37 Irks, of course!
why do these still use NiMH batteries? why not lithium nowadays? NiMH always craps out on me after half a year...
@eforum Buy better NiMHs.
@brhfl exactly. Get some Panasonic eneloops. Preferably latest generation.
@RedOak Hell, my first-gen Eneloops are still pulling their weight. Showing their age? Yes. But thoroughly 'crapped-out,' no…
@eforum Lithiums like to be recharged even when partially discharged. NiMH like to be nearly fully discharged before recharging. Drain your NiMHs and then recharge them, at least most of the time, and they'll last longer.
In addition to the cruise ship scenario discussed above, we've found these types of radios to be handy in recreational situations where friends or family members where in two nearby but not convenient to each other locations - where one of those locations would not be friendly to your precious smart phone.
Like the cottage & the sandy, wet beach or the cottage & the ski boat.
A disclaimer, however... using these radios in congested areas like a heavily boat-populated area on a busy weekend can render the radios useless due or others stomping on the frequencies.
@RedOak The answer there is to get your amateur radio callsign (in the US, the Technician license will suffice) - and a cheap $30-100 Chinese handheld that supports the 70cm and 2m bands.
@PhotoJim yah, been thinking of picking up a couple of those $26 BaoFengs but didn't want to mess with the licensing issues.
@RedOak The licensing is not that difficult. Check it out. It's multiple choice and you can get the question bank to study from. ARRL and other organizations publish study manuals, and exams are written in most decent-sized communities in the US. That cheap Baofeng will do shockingly well - putting a better antenna on it (not allowed with GMRS/FRS handhelds) will make a huge difference.
@PhotoJim a neighbor is a ham operator. (Handle on license plate, big whip on his car, and more wire/metal in the air above his yard than most folks have inside their homes!)
It was a pleasant surprise to learn morse code knowledge is no longer required for the test.
I recall as a kid in the '60's going to a neighbor ham operator's home to talk with my uncle who was leading a scientific expedition on the other side of the planet in Antarctica. Lots of static but it worked. He even has a mountain named after him down there.
Is this a Ménage à two-way
@thismyusername One half-portion.
For the prepper crowd - all bug out bags should have at least a pair of this type of radio or better.
Anyone know how these compare to the pair's sold on Amazon in the $25-$30 range, like these?
http://www.amazon.com/Uniden-16-Mile-Channel-Battery-Two-Way/dp/B004RG0YMM
http://www.amazon.com/FLOUREON-Channel-Talkies-UHF462-467MHz-Interphone/dp/B0144MZ6VC/
Decided to just go for it, for $25 with rechargeable batteries and 3 handsets, i'm sure they will be worth the price. golden-springy-tarantula
Can you change the crystals in these to use as a scanner, too?
@Tadlem43 You probably could, if you're good at desoldering SMT gear, but you'd be much better served with an SDR receiver like the little rtl-sdr dongles. Even if it has to be mobile, the SDR will be better; there's an Android app that supports using them. These GMRS radios won't be built to support any real modding, and may not even have a real scan feature.
@jsfs Thank you! I'll check into it.
@Tadlem43 Electronically-tuned radios don't have changeable crystals. Crystal-based tuning started disappearing in the 1980s. (Still used in some amateur radio stuff, but only in simple home-built kits.)
I used a pair of cobra micro talk 2-way rechargeable 2-ways when I moved from MN to CO very recently. I have to say, some of the best $ spent. It's completely worth the $25 bucks I spent on the way out of MN to have that instant communication with the others that were driving my car (I was in the cube van). Get these ones or not, having them for multiple vehicle road trips are a must have. 1 it makes having to pick up a cell phone and stare at your phone to make that call, non existent. Not having to worry about cell coverage n what not... But also it's an instant connection. Having to stop right away, or a quick heads up of ass fucks on the road. Seriously, everyone should have a set of 2-ways the set I got has rechargeable batteries and I just put a piece of plastic on one of the terminals so the batteries don't go bad from underused timeframes. Plenty of reasons to have them. Car rides, conventions, fairs, theme parks, ball games... You name it.
@bigbo2003 We used a similar set on a road trip as well. One thing to note: when talking about an idiot trucker that almost took one of the cars out by swerving into your lane, they may have a scanner that can pick up your conversation. LOL, he apologized for "scaring the little car" and he and my dad chatted about their service in the military for 5 or so minutes.
@tagbiker LOL reminds me of the movie "Joy Ride".... "Candy Cane" haha. Very true. On the way out here there was, what had to be, a very drunk driver that passed me in the truck and coming up on my buddy in my car. 2 lane road (on each side, with a very large grass median in between) in the hills of Colorado. Going from dirt shoulder to dirt shoulder. He would have totally hit my buddy in my car had I not got on the 2-way n let him know in that second. There would have been no time at all to pick up the phone, grab his number n call him. Not to mention a sketchy cell signal. We were shocked... Like really shocked that we didnt come up on him in the ditch. So in the least, they saved a car accident. They're really nice to notify the other car in your road trip that you're going to overtake another vehicle...especially when in a truck that nobody wants to let in. Gives the trailing car to get over n let you in.
37 portzebie! (Mad #12)
@soxnabox How many is that in smoots?
The last radios you guys talked me into buying were 16-mile and had the most piss-poor range I could possibly imagine. They only made it about a quarter mile from my house, and that was it. So based on the math, these should reach a hair over half a mile.
Not this time, Meh. Not this time.
@TBoneZeOriginal These are UHF radios. The UHF bands are line of sight. Get on a high mountain and you could probably do a lot more than 16 miles. That's why using miles as a measure of range is so ridiculous; it's like selling gasoline by the distance instead of the gallon.
Sweet - In for the pack... Kid keeps getting cell phone taken away, these will be useful if we are ever out and need to be able to communicate (i.e. at a theme park etc.)
I had trouble in placing this order. I just want to be sure I am buying 1 : three pack of two way radios not 2
@ssteranchak Just think, is it Tuesday?
@ssteranchak meh.com/orders, and if something looks terribly wrong meh.com/support.
Wont let me order them??
@jmonge2016 I didn't push the final button since we already have a drawer full of these type radios, but the initial order page came up fine for me a minute ago.
Was your issue on the final confirmation button stage?
@Shawn.
@jmonge2016 Check your order status here - meh.com/orders - to see if maybe it went through anyway?
I hope my order went well no membership right now and only 1 set Larry Hamblin
@justphone to check your order status - meh.com/orders
Hope me order went through okay I want these
@EdWilkerson to check your order status - meh.com/orders
It's great to see a legacy of Woot surfacing...their offerings were always such fun. I kind of remember flying monkeys...
So, license needed for GMRS - OK, the family are all radio amateurs, anyhow, so what's one more license...
@ghamma about $85, but who's counting?
@jsfs OK...10 minutes and $65 later I'm licensed and good to go!
@ghamma It's ironic that the FCC's web site is so lousy. I mean Communication is part of their name. But yeah, 10 minutes (not counting the FRN application and the fcc.gov site downtime) and $65 for a license that should take 1 minute and $5 really makes me want to participate in this activity legally.
Looking forward to getting these for my two boys who love to play outside . Now I can know where they are and they can play commando.
I hope my 11 year old and our 8 year old neighbor don't go to jail over these
@Arlington Just keep them on FRS channels 8 through 14 and they will be a-ok.
We bought some 2 way radios for the neighbor kid as a birthday present. We also bought our son one. They wore them out for about a week and now they are vastly unused.
It was totally worth the price of admission though -- Getting to see my kid use that radio took me back about 25 years. Great stuff!
Used to use the Motorola FRS ones quite a lot back in the day. Vacations, skiing. Wanted to get the higher power GRMS ones but you needed to get a license for those.
Anyhow, it's tempting to get these for the nephews.
@KenC GMRS license was easy-peasy, and one license covers the whole family.
Do you mean meters?a
My boys are loving these. I would totally buy another set if they show up again.