Marine Radio w/GMRS selling it like GMRS Radios/ Whats your thoughts?

[KE0SKN]

Selling like Hot Cakes... Boy will the Coast Guard Have fun with this one.
=================================================
Product Features

* From our expanded online assortment; not available in all Best Buy stores
* Dual-band receive and transmit feature allows you to talk to GMRS users ashore and then switch to the VHF Band for routine or emergency vessel-to-vessel or vessel-to-shore communications
* 15 GMRS channels; memory programming for between 0 and 99 channels; 121 privacy codes on each channel
* 10 NOAA/weather channels provide instant access to 24-hour hazard and weather information; audible tone and visual alarm alerts for nearby threatening weather; S.A.M.E. provides filtering out warnings from further away, so you only receive those nearby
* Instant channel 16/9 access for emergency situations; Tri-Watch
* Rewind-Say-Again feature plays back up to the last 20 seconds of audio to help eliminate missed calls
* VOX, including 5 VOX sensitivity levels, allows for hands-free transmission by detecting the user's voice
* 10 selectable call tones; VibrAlert provides a silent alert for incoming calls; selectable Roger beep tone confirms the completion of the user's transmission
* Advanced GMRS scan searches all channels in Band to find conversations in progress; memory scan with Cross-Band-Scanning searches programmed channels on both VHF and GMRS channels
* Keypad lock prevents accidental use
* Large illuminated LCD display with illuminated function keys allow for easy visibility even in dim light
* Signal strength indicator shows the strength of incoming or outgoing calls
* Submersible for up to 30 minutes in up to 1 meter of deep water
* Includes AA Alkaline battery tray, lithium-ion battery pack, rapid-charge locking desktop charger, swiveling spring-loaded belt clip, wrist strap, AC adapter and DC adapter
* FCC license required to operate on GMRS channels
SOURCECobra - Marine VHF/GMRS Handheld Radio - Black - MR HH425LIVP )

 

[redbeard]

That's a surprising combo. They are marketing this to all of 5 people who are GMRS licensees who also happen to be boaters. I'm exaggerating of course, but seriously this is not a huge demographic. This may make a little more sense if the NPRM goes through and they drop the GMRS license requirement. I wonder how those of us who refuse to pay for a license after they allowed the FRS trash in will be required/choose to identify ourselves when it finally happens. Will I need to break out my 'handle' from back in the CB days again?

 

[KE0SKN]

I saw this at best buy, and a hunter bought two for hunting because of the rang it gets. I asked the sale rep how many the sold and he told me there selling.

 

[canav844]

Been on sale or at lest 3 years now in some variety of packaging. They stick out like a sore thumb when the marine channels get active 600miles from a body of water (and double up with public safety frequencies well away from the water), I do believe the FCC has issued several fines for the radio's misuse by hunters. As long as they keep enforcing the proper use, then let the boaters use the radios. If they get lazy then it's slippery slope to the rarely licensed GMRS state.

 

[KE0SKN]

I know. But The FCC is under man, under funded, and theirs too many chief and no Indians. They can't even barley enforce the GMRS radio service. At first they did, then well here we are now.

 

[n5ims]

The FCC is also worried about the combination GMRS and Marine radios and has issued a request for comments (discussed in this thread http://forums.radioreference.com/cb...ule-changes-part-95-includes-gmrs-frs-cb.html) to rewrite their Part-95 rules. One item was one that indicated a desire to prevent the type certification of radios that combined both services into a single radio. The period for comments has passed so it will be interesting to see what future regulations are made based on this request and the comments that were submitted to them.

 

[kb0nly]

Nothing new there.. I can scan the marine channels here too and any given day of the week you will hear people chatting on there about anything, its just another VHF CB around these parts. FRS is useless for anything, with all the kids running around playing with them, you should hear them playing with the radio call alert all the time, its like night and day there is always people messing around on there. MURS used to be quiet, but then a local Rat Shack started selling cheap HT's for it, and now thats pretty much useless also. Tone or not its hard to use when three people are trying to talk over each other on the same channel. 151.820 is the busiest around here as it was the main channel in the single channel radios that were being sold last year.

 

[PHOENIX_SCANNER]

Bump....just saw this and did a service scan on the marine band yesterday while driving through town and heard all sorts of businesses using marine radios....in the middle of the desert

 

[rescue161]

Hunters are using marine radios here as a supplement to their already illegal "Hunting Club" frequencies on 10/11 meters... They bleed all over my scanners as they drive by my house.

It's funny to see the white "no-ground plane" boat antennas on 4-wheel drive trucks, always accompanied by either the 102" whip or some other CB antenna.

 

[ecps92]

On which Freq/Channels. ?

There are Marine Channels that are allocated to other services away from the Ocean, as well as International Channels allocated to Public Safety even along the coast

Bump....just saw this and did a service scan on the marine band yesterday while driving through town and heard all sorts of businesses using marine radios....in the middle of the desert

 

[PHOENIX_SCANNER]

On which Freq/Channels. ?

There are Marine Channels that are allocated to other services away from the Ocean, as well as International Channels allocated to Public Safety even along the coast

Didn't log which ones, but it was a service search on my Pro-106 for marine band. I know at least five or six frequencies had people conducting what sounded like every day business stuff, nothing really exciting.

My suspicion is that it makes for an apparently convenient alternative to the GMRS wasteland where there is fairly heavy business use in industrial park areas along with far too many kids play with alert tones.

Marine frequencies would leave you with a frequency with relatively little interference.

Ebay has them pretty cheap too.

I'll note which ones on the way across town today.

 

[bryan_herbert]

For those that believe the FCC is underfunded and not enforcing I encourage you to visit their Field Notices page

EB - Field Issued Citations, Notices of Apparent Liability (NAL) and Notices of Violation (NOV)

 

[PHOENIX_SCANNER]

For those that believe the FCC is underfunded and not enforcing I encourage you to visit their Field Notices page

EB - Field Issued Citations, Notices of Apparent Liability (NAL) and Notices of Violation (NOV)

Relatively speaking, these are token efforts since I would suspect that less than 1% of violators are ever dealt with, sort of like speed enforcement.

When I first got a GMRS license I actually tried to help them shut down a few BLATANT pirates. These were large businesses running dozens of GMRS radios for business purposes only. I gave them recordings, the address of the facility, names, times, frequencies, the whole nine yards. NOTHING was ever done.

The Arizona Cardinals were conducting facilities operations on a very powerful GMRS repeater with an antenna mounted atop the new stadium. The traffic could be heard for many miles. I complained to FCC and nothing was done. Eventually, I contacted the Cardinals, and they realized the error and got legal, sending a letter of thanks to me for pointing out the mistake. THe FCC sat on the sidelines doing nothing the whole time. The FCC has to make token efforts now and then just to "make things look good", but that's all they do, unless you are interfering with public safety, or ham operators who are quick to raise a collective stink.

Anyone who thinks they are going to make any concerted effort to stop marine band piracy in the middle of a desert (away from interference with real marine traffic) is kidding themselves.

**************Edit: Forgot to add....observed substantial business traffic yesterday on 156.45, 156.8. and 157.1. The guys on 156.8 were even cracking racial jokes for a few minutes, to add insult to injury.

 

[rescue161]

I should point out that I am not in the desert and very close to the coast. I'm within 8 miles of the coast and hear Coast Guard traffic regularly. I'm shocked that the hunters have the nerve to use marine frequencies here.

 

[elk2370bruce]

Hunters only want beer and bullets and don't give a rancid rat's rectum about law, anyone elses rights, primary users (USCG) , or rules unless it affects either of the b items above. GMRS has become the new CB since blister pack radios started including GMRS along with FRS. Most people don't have a clue what the differences are and just hit the PTT button. They assume that marine (with higher power) is just cool with them and no dfferent then GMRS/FRS.

 

[KC0FZZ]

Hunters only want beer and bullets and don't give a rancid rat's rectum about law, anyone elses rights, primary users (USCG) , or rules unless it affects either of the b items above...

That's some nice broad brush generalizing there. Just like saying "all people with two way radios are drunk, incestuous CBers who scramble their neighbors TVs and don't give a d**n about anyone else."

Whatever, dude.

 

[DaveNF2G]

Ignorant users are only the voice of the problem, not the source. Manufacturers who make multiband transceivers and retailers who market them are the problem. The FCC is also part of the problem if they are certifying these devices for sale in the USA. If they are not certifying them, then they are failing to enforce their regulations, which is really not news to anyone.

 

[SmitHans]

I've always wondered why it is legal to sell a radio that works on licensed radio services to someone without a license for that service. Seems to me that is a sure fire way to guarantee a large influx of unlicensed users.

IMO, one ought to have to produce a valid license for the radio service that one intends to buy equipment for.