Emergency communication

[KB0VWG]

Gmrs

Thanks for all the help you all have given. I think for now I will just stick with the CBs and let my family members learn how to use them. The good thing with the CB is that I know several other people in my area that use them so I can also communicate with them in emergencies. Thanks for all the help. You all on RadioReference never lead me wrong.

If you went with Gmrs then that would give you better range and if there is a repeater on gmrs then that will give you better range if you might need it. If you want to talk on a gmrs repeater those bubble pack radios wont work you would need better radios that can do offsets which is plus or minus freq for input and output of the repeater.

Look on eBay there is a lot of gmrs radios or UHF radios that can do gmrs for a very reasonable price.
Or look at goodwill I found 2 Motorola mobile uhf m1225 radios for 4 dollars at the salvation army and they work great.
kb0vwg
wqoi992
Michael

 

[robertmac]

And even GMRS/FRS is more reliable than Crappy Band. And radios and antennas are a lot easier to use on GMRS/FRS .

 

[SCPD]

I say try and have another family member try for the GMRS license or look in to Amateur Radio for emergency use during the bad weather around your area and surrounding counties like Davidson and so on.

You do not "try" for a GMRS license there is no test,all you do is apply and pay for the license which covers your whole family.As far as ham license each person has to test and each obtain their own separate license.

 

[KB7MIB]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; U; en-US) Gecko/20081217 Vision-Browser/8.1 301x200 LG VN530)

KB0VWG/WQOI992, some of the Motorola TalkAbout bubblepack radios will work repeaters. I don't recall the exact model numbers, however.

WPXJ598

 

[Logan005]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; U; en-US) Gecko/20081217 Vision-Browser/8.1 301x200 LG VN530)

KB0VWG/WQOI992, some of the Motorola TalkAbout bubblepack radios will work repeaters. I don't recall the exact model numbers, however.

WPXJ598

yes some Motorola TalkAbout bubble pack radios will work repeaters however not very well and at half the range of a CCR "cheap Chinese radio" and with a fixed antenna that makes it unsafe to use inside an automobile or other metal building or enclosure. I have tested several models of GMRS repeater capable radios and they are super easy to setup, but whereas our community repeater has a 10 mile range on a CCR in my experience the bubble pak radios only operate half or that or worse.

 

[KR7CQ]

Do some of you actually have open GMRS repeaters in your area? Here in Phoenix there is one repeater, that is private. Simplex is non-existent except for businesses illegally operating. And while I no longer have a use for CB, it's a LOT more active in Phoenix than GMRS, since the truckers are at least on it.

It's a shame that the GMRS band is not utilized more here. Around here the best bet is getting your family members / friends to get their amateur license, though of course many, especially women, won't do it easily.

 

[rapidcharger]

Look at the date people. This is over a year old now.

Do some of you actually have open GMRS repeaters in your area? Here in Phoenix there is one repeater, that is private. Simplex is non-existent except for businesses illegally operating. And while I no longer have a use for CB, it's a LOT more active in Phoenix than GMRS, since the truckers are at least on it.

It's a shame that the GMRS band is not utilized more here. Around here the best bet is getting your family members / friends to get their amateur license, though of course many, especially women, won't do it easily.

GMRS is dead everywhere in the country that I've been. I often scan while on road trips and it's very little activity. There are however a lot of open repeaters in the atlanta area. I think most of them are owned by the same guy though and they are more for ham-like communications although that's not really what the radio service was intended for. If you want to talk to other radio enthusiasts, that's what the amateur radio service is for or CB. If you want to talk to your family or private group that's what gmrs is for. Not saying that it isn't legal..... just that if you're looking for other people to talk to, it's not the right band. The ham bands are also pretty dead by the way. As you pointed out, CB must be where it's at.

 

[Darth_vader]

GMRS is sort of active around here, but not very much. There's more activity in Portland than there is on this side of the river (go figure.) Nevertheless, there is a repeater on 17 in Portland somewhere (don't know where, specifically) that I can sometimes hit if I'm on the southeast side of town. I monitor it sometimes when I'm driving theough that part of the city, although I rarely hear anybody on it and it's usually the "HAM-like stuff" described above. Don't know if it's a business repeater that other people just use because it's there, or what, but that's the story.

"As you pointed out, CB must be where it's at."

Just don't even bother with 17 and 19 if you happen to end up out here, since that's where all the cranks and wackos tend to congregate and rarely shy away from. The "superbowl" can sometimes be entertaining to listen to, though. (Yes, I do have a linear but I don't use it, specifically because I don't have a suitable aerial that'll fit on a mountain bike. That, and between it and the transceiver, it can help to drain a fully charged SLA battery within about an hour of really good skipshooting.)

The advantage to having all the weirdoes and guys with linears on the same channels at the same time is that it pretty much frees up the other 38 (or 37) for those of us who actually want to talk and who do operate within the limits. Although in recent times I've started warming up to MURS and the others, mostly because it's FM and on bands that aren't as affected by skip.

 

[KB7MIB]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; U; en-US) Gecko/20081217 Vision-Browser/8.1 301x200 LG VN530)

Do some of you actually have open GMRS repeaters in your area? Here in Phoenix there is one repeater, that is private. Simplex is non-existent except for businesses illegally operating. And while I no longer have a use for CB, it's a LOT more active in Phoenix than GMRS, since the truckers are at least on it.

It's a shame that the GMRS band is not utilized more here. Around here the best bet is getting your family members / friends to get their amateur license, though of course many, especially women, won't do it easily.

At least several years ago, there were 3 GMRS repeaters in the Valley. I was even offered access to them at one point. But, my Icom IC-U16 needs a new battery pack, and no one in my family has any interest, so I never took the offer.

 

[DaveNF2G]

The capital area of New York has one functioning GMRS repeater, and it is actually located in Wells, NY, at the moment (not exactly in the Capital District for those unfamiliar with the region).

 

[dksac2]

If you are going to stick with CB, be sure to get the best antennas and good coax.
Buy a good base antenna and put it up as high as is legal and get quality mobile antennas also.

You will find that the antenna and coax will make a huge difference in the distance that you can transmit, more than anything else legal. SSB CB radios will talk even further, but cost about $150.00 each if you don't already have them.
Try to keep the coax run as short as possible. The further it goes, the more signal is lost. Power your radios with a good power supply that puts out enough amperage for the radio at 13.8 volts for maximum power output from your radio.

John