Long Range Emergency Communications Set

Mashurst

Adventurer
Mashurst, i'll get that info on the crossband device.

Most HF radios such as ft817, ft857 and similar will do the CB band. The device would need to be midified, similar to get extended comms on a 7900.. But you are looking at 800 or more for a ft857.
That sounds like a cool device for sure. I am running a 7900 with an 857 so cross banding between those two would be very very cool.
I do have cb 9, 17 and 19 programmed into the 857 and if I were on a trail run where they were using another cb channel I'm sure I could tune around and find it. Both radios will also monitor GMRS/FRS as well as MURS. I have them in the 7900.
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Ham is being pushed heavily here by offroaders. Don't think gmrs would gain traction here no matter who pushed it.
http://rubicontrail.org/rtf-hamradios.htm
GMRS I have often thought makes the most sense of all services for OHV use. It's got the key stuff that makes ham attractive, VHF, FM, 50W, repeaters but without all the stuff that people don't seem to care for, tests, VFOs, HF, call signs, etc. I wouldn't mind pressing an old commercial radio into service for GMRS if that was the way things went. I have a feeling, though, that at this point you can't really convince people to re-buy a whole bunch of gear so ham will remain. Which is also fine with me since I was and remain a dedicate and fairly active ham regardless of the OHV status.
 

RangeBrover

Explorer
Yeah that investment is pretty steep.... let's see $28 for Baofeng handheld HAM and $15 for the test fee (30 questions). I can see why folks would avoid that :)

Sarcasm aside CB has been the standard because of almost no barrier to entry but today that's just being uninformed. Call me what you will but I wont roll on the trail unless the the other rigs have something better than CB - I'll take GMRS, FRS or smoke signals before CB.

I don't think it's the cost, it's the laziness of not willing to take the exam. It's amazing how such a minor hurdle stops the masses.
 

VegasUnderworld

Adventurer
I know quite a few people with ham mobiles who do not have a ham license. It's not illegal to purchase or own a ham radio without a license, but it is illegal to transmit without a license. The exception to that being in an emergency situation when no other operational forms of communication are available. They all monitor ham, but only transmit GMRS.

Have a look at MyGMRS .com. See if there are GMRS repeaters in your area. There are three open GMRS repeaters in my area and a few more private ones that just require permission. With just two of the GMRS repeaters, all of Las Vegas and well past the city limits are covered.

Now, when someone has a birthday, I just get them a handheld GMRS radio. It helps them and everyone else in need of longer range communications.
 

craig333

Expedition Leader
You're so right Rangebrover. I put it off and put off. Once I got my license though I was like, that was so easy why the heck did I wait so long?
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
You can't legally modify a ham radio for GMRS. If the radio is type approved for Part 95 then you can use it for GMRS and ham, but ham radios don't carry the correct FCC blessing to be used there legally.
 

VegasUnderworld

Adventurer
Not supposed to mod, but ham's are constantly modifying their gear. Part of the fun of amateur radio is seeing how much you can get out of your gear.
 

RangeBrover

Explorer
You're so right Rangebrover. I put it off and put off. Once I got my license though I was like, that was so easy why the heck did I wait so long?

It's why I'm scheduled to take the test next week. Now that I'm learning about GMRS also though I might have to rig the truck for all 3.
 

4x4junkie

Explorer
Call me what you will but I wont roll on the trail unless the the other rigs have something better than CB - I'll take GMRS, FRS or smoke signals before CB.

I'm reading through this thread (nice setup VU, BTW), and it never ceases to amaze the animosity there is here toward CB radios (to the point one would actually lower himself to refusing to participate in this great hobby we call 4-wheeling simply because someone's CB setup doesn't work well :snorkel: ). People only need to quit buying the cheapest crappy radios with muffled microphones and tiny little short antennas, and CB units would be FAR more effective than any FRS, and most likely the Baofeng too (used simplex anyway). Instead we have elitist comments that don't do anything to help people better communicate with each other.


GMRS is ~462mhz & 467mhz, which is actually UHF

462.550-462.725 MHz (shared with FRS), and 467.550-467.725 MHz (repeater input use only), to be exact. It's a pretty small sliver of spectrum for $85 for 5 years IMO.

What I find curious is the lack of adoption of the VHF MURS frequencies. Like CB, there are no hurdles that an average joe has to jump over to use it (other than legal MURS radio gear is not real widely available, but it does exist), and shares many of the same attributes of 2M ham that CB-haters always rave about (the lesser noise level, clarity of FM, has a higher legal power limit than FRS, ability to attach an external antenna of any type, etc.). Why not encourage people over to MURS if CB is so bad and people don't want to get licenses?
 

VegasUnderworld

Adventurer
I completely agree with you that you don't get much for your money with GMRS licensing, but there appears to be a push to remove the GMRS licensing requirement. Because that legal ball is in play and, other than being legal I found no benefit of the license, I won't be renewing my GMRS license. The only reason why I promote it at all is because the equipment is readily available in lower watt handhelds. More so available than CB in almost every city.

I am in deep valleys often and the CB couldn't get from one valley to the next. Sure, amplification could be used, but I didn't want to bleed and interfere with other equipment. At the time, I used a cheap set of Midland half watt GMRS radios and found that it had about the same range as my CB. It had a portability that my CB didn't and I started using the handhelds almost exclusively.

I don't have anything personal against CB. I'd have one now if I didn't drop and break it while transfering it from my old Jeep to my new. It was only after I broke it that I looked into long range upgrade options.

My mobile can Rx and Tx MURS, but honestly, I haven't looked into it and have no idea of the advantages or disadvantages.
 

4x4junkie

Explorer
My mobile can Rx and Tx MURS, but honestly, I haven't looked into it and have no idea of the advantages or disadvantages.
Like I mentioned, it's a lot like 2M (after all, it's only separated 3-4% by frequency, you can easily modify most 2M antennas to work well on MURS).

It does have some of the same limitations as the regular CB band (no repeaters allowed for example), but transmission clarity is usually more consistent since background noise on VHF tends to be much lower than on 27MHz. Typical average range is around 50-80% of the average possible on CB (or about 5-15 miles) using good antennas while staying within legal power limits. Max range under line-of-sight conditions of course can be 100 miles or more.
It's a very under-used band.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-Use_Radio_Service

Thats interesting about removing the GMRS licensing. I do have to wonder if they might ban repeaters at the same time though (I can see full-on mayhem occurring on that little slice of spectrum if they don't lol... In some areas around LA, the mayhem is already occurring).
 
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VegasUnderworld

Adventurer
Not sure if removing the GMRS license requirement would be good or bad. I know it would annoy me that I wasted some money, but a little more GMRS traffic would help. Because the GMRS handhelds are readily available at most stores like Walmart, Best Buy and Home Depot I've noticed some abuse, but since those radios only have half a watt they're easy to squelch out even when close.

As far as removing GMRS repeaters, that probably won't happen, but as people get obnoxious over the air the open repeaters will probably go private.
 

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