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Does a private repeater have to be licensed through the FCC?

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Josh380

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I already posses a GMRS license. I'm a little unclear on the rules regarding repeaters on GMRS, especially when it comes to a private repeater. I'm sure I'm not the first to be confused by FCC regs.

Anyway, my house is situated on rather large hill in an urban area, seems to be a good spot for a repeater. I wonder though, already being licensed, can I just setup a private repeater and go or do I have to license that as well? If I have to license it, what are the costs associated with that? Forget about equipment costs.
 

KB7MIB

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If your tower is going to exceed 200' above the ground (measured from the base of the tower, not including the hill you're on), you will have to notify the FAA and register it with the FCC, but most people don't have to worry about that.

If you're within a certain distance of an active airport or heliport, there are height restrictions.

Be sure to check your local zoning ordinances, and any CC&R's (Conditions, Covenants & Restrictions) that the original home builder or an HOA may have in place. You don't want to put something up, only to be fined and/or forced to take it down after the fact.

John
WPXJ-598
Peoria, AZ
 
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Jaxco

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I thought gmrs antennas could not be mounted on towers. I thought 20' over existing building or 20' above the top of the tree it was mounted in was it.... If it is allowed, I would move my gmrs repeater antenna to my ham tower.
 

mmckenna

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Small base stations are limited to 20 feet.
Everything else is OK. Rules apply regarding registration if over 200 feet or near airport.

§95.51 Antenna height.
(a) Certain antenna structures used in a GMRS system and that are more than 60.96 m (200 ft) in height, or are located near or at a public-use airport must be notified to the FAA and registered with the Commission as required by part 17 of this chapter.

(b) The antenna for a small base station or for a small control station must not be more than 6.1 meters (20 feet) above the ground or above the building or tree on which it is mounted.

[63 FR 68975, Dec. 14, 1998]
 

Jaxco

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Awesome! Because I hold a HAM (AE), & GMRS license and wanted to play it ultra safe. Now, even though I am on a 350-375' hill, I'll move it to the Rohn 60' tower with the ham stuff.
 

Jaxco

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Yeah, there ya go.

The small base station stuff gets confusing, I wish the FCC would better clarify that.

the government loves regulations that can be twisted to fit their needs at any given time.
 

mmckenna

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Yeah, except I think it's left over from decades ago when GMRS rules were different.

Heck, they still enforce the line A/C thing with Canada, and Canada has long since adopted a version of GMRS that pretty much makes it pointless.
 

KB7MIB

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A GMRS small base station that operates on the 7 shared channels with the FRS (462.5625, 462.5875, etc) has the height restriction, along with the 5 watt ERP limit.

If your base station *only* operates on the 8 GMRS-only channels (462.5500/467.5500, 462.5750/467.5750, etc) you don't have that height restriction, and you can use up to 50 watts TPO, with no ERP limit.

John
WPXJ-598
Peoria, AZ
 

Jaxco

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I never mess with the FRS frequencies for that reason. I am getting my tower climbing buddy out here as soon as the new feed line comes in though.
 

KB7MIB

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Personally, I think it'd be nice to have the dual capability. Either run one radio with an antenna switch to the two antennas, or run two seperate radios with two seperate antennas.

The new Midland MTX100 that was recently introduced at CES 2015 may be a good choice for a small base station radio for use on the 7 shared channels.

http://forums.radioreference.com/gm...mrs-mobile-introduced-midland-ces-2015-a.html

John
WPXJ-598
Peoria, AZ
 

Jaxco

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Personally, I think it'd be nice to have the dual capability. Either run one radio with an antenna switch to the two antennas, or run two seperate radios with two seperate antennas.

The new Midland MTX100 that was recently introduced at CES 2015 may be a good choice for a small base station radio for use on the 7 shared channels.

http://forums.radioreference.com/gm...mrs-mobile-introduced-midland-ces-2015-a.html

John
WPXJ-598
Peoria, AZ

Oh yeah, for a simple base station that capability would be great, I was referring to the topic of the thread, a repeater. You cannot run a repeater on shared frequencies. plus that radio, while pretty cool, has no repeater input capability.
 

KB7MIB

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Right, which is why I specified using it for the shared channels. Use it alongside a full power radio capable of working through repeaters, or even alongside a home-based repeater, especially if your home is in an advantageous location, such as on a hill. You could have the best of both worlds.

And we have strayed off topic a bit. Hopefully, the OP has gotten some useful info out of it anyway lol

John
WPXJ-598
Peoria, AZ
 

Jaxco

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You know you aren't supposed to use repeaters from a base station on GMRS, only mobiles and portables may use those.
 

mmckenna

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No. Base radios can use repeaters. When a base is transmitting through a repeater, they are usually referred to as "Control Stations"

§95.29 Channels available.
......
(b) For a mobile station, control station, or fixed station operated in the duplex mode, the following 467 MHz channels may be used only to transmit communications through a repeater station and for remotely controlling a repeater station. The licensee of the GMRS system must select the transmitting channels or channel pairs (see §95.7(a) of this part) for the stations operated in the duplex mode, from the following 467 MHz channels:

467.5500, 467.5750, 467.6000, 467.6250, 467.6500, 467.6750, 467.7000 and 467.7250.
 

Jaxco

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The regs are contradictory with other sections.... they really need to be rewritten in unambiguous terms.

SMH no wonder those of us that don't qualify for a 1040EZ have to hire someone to do the taxes every quarter.
 
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