Is a GMRS license worth the money?

[K0ATC]

Thoughts on GMRS for you guys down in the city. Just wondering if company's that use GMRS have trouble considering all the GMRS equipment being sold at local stores like Walmart. I know they do not TX on the repeater input freq's but they still have to have a ton of people bugging them on those things, anyone ever listen in? Same with MURS I would think, In Enid there is so much business use, they step all over each other, but don't know it because they all have a different PL. They are constantly repeating them selfs because the business right next to them is on the same frequency, there seems to be no shortage of people unwilling to pay for a license. I know some of the hams also get into GMRS, I don't, and do not have a license, but don't kids with the Walmart radios consistently bug you? Just a thought that came to mind, I figure some people in a larger city would have some insight into this.

Scott

 

[SkipSanders]

Bear in mind that, aside from a relative few 'grandfathered' old business users, a Business cannot now be licensed for GMRS. It's a 'Personal Radio Service', now. Only individuals can be licensed, and the license covers all members of their family.

Individuals may use GMRS for personal business of any kind, but for a regular 'business' to operate on GMRS, ALL the employees would have to be individually licensed. So, GMRS is not suitable for 'businesses' to use, no.

Businesses can and do legally use FRS radios for anything they choose, and they also use the GMRS bubble pack radios to operate illegally on GMRS, at times.

 

[K0ATC]

When I lived in IL, there was a lot of business traffic on GMRS. How long ago was it that they changed the requirements for business use on GMRS? MURS is very busy now, I assume they have a lot of trouble with overlapping coverage areas. GMRS really went down hill when they started offering them in the stores with a little piece of paper that says you need to get a license, I really wish they would not have done that and kept it to FRS, now you can buy them with a 5 watt output "on GMRS" and you have little kids all over the place making noise on licensed frequencies. I was going to get my GMRS license until I heard all the crap on there. Though it does work out well for fox hunting practice.

Their was a kid near my home who would hold down the call button for an hour or more on a daily basis, I liked to scan the GMRS/FRS band for activity so this got pretty annoying when it would lock up my scanner. One day I asked if he would please stop, and he responded with things I had never heard from a child's mouth. So I built a 4 element beam with a folded dipole driver and set out to learn how to DF. Being my first time I think I could have found him without an antenna faster, but I eventually came across him, from across the street I told him "I asked you to please stop that" His eyes got as big as his mouth and he ran off behind some houses, I never heard him do it again.

 

[SkipSanders]

Eligibility rules for GMRS were changed to individual licensees only in 1989.

Businesses already licensed could keep their licenses, though, but could not make any 'significant' changes (like changes in frequency or power or location of the transmitters). Any change, and the FCC voids the license.

Grandfathered business/group licenses have the format KAC-2345, while newer licenses are like WQGJ-903. There are a fair number of REACT teams still operating GMRS repeaters under grandfathered licenses that let 'any member of the team' operate on them.

 

[K0ATC]

OK, so it was some time ago, when I lived near St. Louis, there was quite a few GMRS repeaters owned by hams, they used them just as if they were Ham repeaters but I did not really see the advantage. When you own your own piece of the spectrum why go to a part where just about anyone can buy a 5 dollar radio and be on the air. Thanks again for the info, I see your licensed in CA, do you guys come across the same problems with crowding out there? Is jamming a problem on GMRS, or I should say more so then the ham bands?

Scott