Come on gentleman....this ain't rocket science as they say..... (Sorry to be rude, not intended, been up all night with server & repeater problems)
1: Linking of GMRS repeaters by use of VOIP, (AKA ROIP) is legal....stop beating a dead horse further into the ground. This topic has been covered numerous times on this site as well as ten other sites and when all said and done it all comes to the same final answer..... IT IS LEGAL... FCC gave me the right to do it with the writing of their rules and regulations.....
Read the rules, and read them again and again till you become cross eyed... especially you ham radio guys that seem to want to interpret the rules the way you want to, read and reread again till you get it down and understood...... the rules only state that no connection thru the telephone switched network....IOW, no phone patches, no dial-up, and no DSL connections. BROADBAND & FIBER ARE NOT SWITCHED TELEPHONE LINES....
2: Interference with other repeaters..... I'll explain it like I did to a local GMRS/HAM repeater owner and radio operator here close to me that didn't like even the suggestion of linking..... Told me that if I wanted to do linking and get FCC to approve DMR on GMRS that I need to go play in the ham radio games and leave GMRS alone..... There are eight pairs of GMRS repeater frequencies... The likelihood that all eight pairs are in use in any one given area every where in this country, with the exception of major cities (Dallas, Houston, Chicago, NY, Miami, etc) are slim to never..... Even in the City of Dallas that is 45 miles away from me there are only three GMRS repeaters in operation. IMHO only an idiot would go and install a repeater on the same frequency as one that is already in operation. Now I will say this, when I look to install a repeater in a new location, I try to select a frequency that is not in use within a 50 mile radius so as to prevent the possibility of interference. If I can't obtain a repeater frequency that is not in use, and I can't work with an existing repeater owner to do some networking with, then I won't be placing a repeater in the area... Why would anyone want to open and eat a bag of worms like that is beyond me....
3: Hacking.... NO system anywhere is beyond the reach of hackers this day and time. I don't care what system you talk about if it's home computers, office computers, databases, CC's, Banking Accounts, etc...and it is connected to the Internet, even with the best security and laws preventing such, it will eventually get broken into. All I can do, just like anyone else that does networking and has the programming and security knowledge that I do, is to do the best I can to prevent such from happening. Your bank can't give you a 100% guarantee that your bank account or credit card won't be hacked any more than I can give you a 100% guarantee that some punk hasn't already hacked a local network or won't try to hack the GMRS network I'm putting together. and with that being said,
4: Proprietary system. "GMRS is limited in the types of signalling permitted. I am not asking for the launch codes, but if the radios are somehow proprietary, my interest in supporting such a system will wane." No they are not proprietary... All I can do (at first) is use the current technology tools available and provide a system that most all radios that can be used to obtain access to the network. Until such time that new technologies are allowed (like DMR's) we are stuck with what we have now available to use. Will the system be perfect? Probably not, especially in the beginning, but as time goes along bugs will be worked out, new formats will be developed and the future of GMRS networking will progress and it will do so with the future technologies even if the majority of us don't want it.... That is just the way technology works. Right now, the system design is simple (at least to me)....what isn't simple is the abusers that will try to do what they can to disrupt it in the beginning. That is why I have stated over and over that no ability to connect to Allstar and/or EchoLink will ever be allowed. Until such time that the GMRS networking system is in wide use, proven to be beneficial and accepted by all I/we will have to deal with what problems are dished out as they occur.
5: Commercial - noncommercial..... "GMRS is under subtle attack by manufacturers, so to keep in the spirit of being the only non commercial , high performance communications option available, we should be vigilant of how the spectrum is used." I disagree.... Manufactures, if anything, have always tried to advance technologies and bring to market radios full of those technologies. It's always been the greedy individual sectioned users like Cellular Phone Companies, Private Wireless WiFi Providers, Public Safety, and Amateur Radio Operators that have tried to control the use of spectrum. Cellular Phone & Wireless WiFi providers that are claiming all the time they don't have enough spectrum as does the Public Safety (even after they were given the additional freqs they received from narrow-banding) and Amateur radio operators that have more spectrum at their finger tips than any other single user of spectrum have. It's a known fact that Amateur operators have tried to have their fingers in the rule making and control of GMRS since the beginning. I get emails all the time where hams are trying to convince me I can't do networking on GMRS, I can't place a repeater in operation without first getting permission from the local club and (the best one yet) is that GMRS is a stepping stone to all infamous Amateur Radio Licensing... So you can see why I disagree with the manufactures trying to control spectrum. Without us radio users of spectrum the mfg's would be out of business. To prove my point, several mfg's are now communicating with me to see how the USGMRS Association and them together can further the use of GMRS and offer better quality radios and offer them to us at pricing discounts to our membership base.
Do I have all the answers....NO... But at least I am making the attempt to further the use of GMRS and my use thereof. I'm always open to good constructive suggestion. Leave the criticism at the door....not needed.... lets work together to better our communication abilities on GMRS and not hinder it. No one says you have to be part of the GMRS linking/networking. No one is forcing you to change or modify your repeater so others can be part of the network. GMRS networking is not for everyone everywhere....
Thanks,
William R Howell, WQYX489
USGRMS Repeater & Users Group Association, CEO
Thanks William;
Based on your responses above, I think WE are pretty much in agreement.
Some clarification on my part. In my opinion the GMRS spectrum IS under attack by the manufacturers and potentially the FCC.
1) The "bubble pack" problem. Manufacturers are incorporating GMRS into FRS radios solely to have bragging rights of more channels and more "miles". The GMRS features on none of these radios are sufficient to ensure quality HIGH PERFORMANCE communications. Few radios have a repeater mode, and none comply with the BENEFICIAL ("wide band") +/- 5 KHz deviation GMRS employs. Kudos to Midland for making some GMRS repeater radios, but shame on them for forcing narrow band only radios on the market.
2) Uniden and others would like to see license by rule and power restrictions. This would be a death knoll for high performance GMRS operations. GMRS is high performance communications, the bandwidth and power levels are key to the distinction between GMRS and FRS.
3) Whether GMRS operators want to believe it or not, the tiny sliver of GMRS spectrum is smack in the middle of coveted UHF spectrum. The FCC has already acquiesced to Part 90 operator MRA by permitting encroachment on the band edges. This should be a sign of things to come. Think of the old woman whose home is in the middle of a parking lot of a casino in New Jersey. If the FCC sees licensed GMRS interest diminishing either by increased unlicensed users, or spectrum occupancy falling, they will be inclined to pave ways to auction the spectrum. That will result in the loss of the only low cost high performance personal communications option that is not controlled by corporate interests.
Your construction of a repeater network is to be commended. More is needed to bolster the success of GMRS.
There is an NPRM several years old that the FCC has shelved because it received an unanticipated level of response from the GMRS user community. Among the things proposed by the FCC were the license by rule and severe power restrictions that would cripple the performance of GMRS and relegate it to the "bubble pack" world.
The GMRS community needs to seize the opportunity to clarify the Part 95A rules;
1) To reinforce that GMRS is a High Performance Personal (Family) radio service. It is not a replacement or competition for Amateur Radio, nor is either a stepping stone for the other. And it is not an extension of FRS.
2) Clarify that GMRS uses a wide band +/- 5 KHz analog FM as its primary modulation scheme, and that power levels of up to 50 watts (output) are essential to its continued success.
3) Amend the rules permitting use of Part 90 radios meeting the technical requirements of GMRS. (This would legitimize the use of surplus Part 90 wide band radios). Many decades ago, GMRS first got it initial growth from availability of surplus radios.
4) Clarify the interconnection rules to dispel any notion that RoIP linking is banned.
5) Force FCC to block certification of any mixed FRS/GMRS radios. For example, certified radios should employ a minimum 4 watts of power, have wide band deviation capability and repeater access mode.
6) Retain and enforce the existing individual family licensing and not entertain "license by rule" proposals. Without licenses, repeater operators cannot control the access of their systems. There will be no accountability for abuse and interference.
7) Reintroduce the concept of licensing by site. This should be optional, but will provide a mechanism for repeater operators to protect their repeaters from interference. The encroachment by MRA on the band edges is a big reason this is needed. If there is interference between Part 90 or GMRS on the band edge channels, there is no legal argument as to who was the incumbent.
8) Pave the way to future migration to digital technology. I suggest that the GMRS digital migration retains analog FM as the primary mode of communications. Any digital modes would be secondary to existing analog operations for the foreseeable future. I also suggest that DMR be the digital mode of the future. I am sure this will be debated, but there are some clear operational advantages. Personally I hate the sound of digital, but it is the best way to increase capacity and provide effective networking.