Theres been a child and the parents chatting on Ch8 pmr within about 2 miles from me, its probably a good comms to have but more people needs to make the purchase of pmr radios and cb radios, its literally dead on the cb in my area.
The Americans have got it down with GMRS, Think its 10 watts and can use repeaters. $35 for 7 years? We have to be a business for the ‘Business light PMR licence’ at £75 for 5 years. Most of the ‘Ofcom non type approved’ PMR radios in the UK are of the Baofeng type 5 watts and changeable antenna. Fortunately it is not illegal to use these in an emergency. It is illegal to use a non-licensed PMR repeater in the UK. Ofcom needs to introduce the same rules as the States GMRS in the UK. But that won't happen!! So we are left to our own judgement and common sense. Unfortunately due to the lack of public PMR446 awareness, you would be hard pushed to get a contact with PMR in an emergency! The Radio Ham community need to lobby the government for changes. It might also bring in more new Radio Ham operates too.
Very interesting video Damien and that had me thinking. Regarding the "Toy" PMR radios I think a lot of them when bought in a twin pack would have tones set to only allow those 2 radios to communicate, That's not an issue for people like us who know how to get those tones and tune them in but that could be the difference between joe Bloggs getting resources or not if there was no one in the area who could scan the tone and respond. Regarding the repeater as you know there is an issue with mic keying on PMR and when people like my self who go up on the hills with our " Non detachable antennas" we hear far and wide, if you had a repeater on a hill top that was permanent but for emergency use only that could work or as you say if like minded people like us took them up there that could be another option. With the PMR being so readily I think there should be a small pot that would fund the use of building repeaters and cover the costs of battery's and solar panels to keep it running in the event of an emergency. I think with the right planning it could be a fantastic idea and would allow people some peace of mind knowing that if all did fail there spiderman walkie talkie just might save them LOL. 73 for now and ill catch you on the band again soon as the snow in West Yorkshire finally melts (Y)
That's interesting about the twin packs. I'm going to have to purchase a pair and try them out. Yes I'll be listening out for you at the weekend, 73 for now.
PMR 446 would only be useful for very local comms, due to the low power and compromised antennas and the regulation surrounding their use. Best usage would be for working one end of a street to the next. As a low cost emergency communication system, we would need something along the lines of GMRS which allows higher power and the use of repeaters.
Thanks for your comment. Yes PMR446 would only be local which is the point. PMR is being used more and more by a lot of people as a serious band for communication and is surprisingly effective. If your interested you can look at some of my past videos on PMR and you can search Facebook for PMR446. Its all quite interesting.
@@G6PNH Having used PMR446 for the last decade or more, it's capabilities under ideal conditions, are well known .... as are its limitations. Ideal for very short range comms, as we said. Without greater band allocation to incorporate some form of repeater, I can't see it being effective in a SHTF scenario, unfortunately. Not convinced that CB would bridge the gap, either, which is why I'd like to see a GMRS type allocation in UK. Interesting topic for discussion, though. The biggest requirement, I feel, would be for a system that your average person could just pick up a handset, press the PTT and be heard. Either that or all UK citizens are required to hold at least a Foundation Level Amateur Radio Licence and have suitable equipment available! 🤣😂😂
@@snaggitfishing2827 Yes ' a system that your average person could just pick up a handset, press the PTT and be heard' would be fantastic. Thanks very much for your comment.
As a SDR SWL I get no PMR or CB here in my area of the UK. The regs need to be improved to allow for better power and coverage in the event of a disaster, rather than Ofcom/UK Government potentially threatening users with fines for misuse of Band Plans or using a HAM radio during a disaster.
Thanks for your comment. yes the PMR446 band needs updating. Ofcom have recently updated the a ham bands. There aren't any threats of fines etc. for the misuse of PMR446. watch the following video ruclips.net/video/T6iJzCug8Vk/видео.html Ofcom would rather help stop interference. Thing have been changing so you never know what might happen with PMR446.
The key is to have a local, ward or village plan based around say a fire district and get as many people equipped as possible. Also, equipping every fire truck, police car and such even if it lives in the glove box is plan B when cells go down. True PMR and FRS don't go far but if you have many radios in an area you can relay into the fire brigade. Even in a warning situation you can pass along very local information, like the watchmen and wardens once did. A high power ham rig nearby could broadcast it? Wholesale, by the crate, their probably cheap enough to give away at the senior centre, school and such.
All I hear on PMR are kids in the summer and Driving instructors with crash helmets on. Having said that you do get the occasional exceptional load going through town. I think PMR repeaters are a non starter because they are not in the spirit of locality due to the low power output restrictions. A repeater would just evade this locality of operation. Having said that Boafengs are cheap enough for use in emergencies and You can set up your comms as you wish, just lock the keypad when used by non expert day to day folk who just want to press a button. You can actually make an emergency repeater out of two UV5R's utilising a special cable and VOX. To be honest I haven't managed that just yet, there is some stupid setting that I haven't found. You also need some folk to be on the same page as You, able to be deployed without a dummies guide being necessary. You'll probably be advised to use DCS codes for inter team communication without distraction, but keep a spare 'open' channel radio to pick up those calling for help. Use PMR to pick up requests and information but keep another layer of comms functioning in parallel so as to enable your team to be effective.
Thanks for your comment. You can get a repeater box to work on Boafengs that look quite interesting and maybe worth a try. your right about a second layer working in parallel.
@@G6PNH Here is a thing: PMR has such a limited reach it can be used for 'secret' communication. No one in London is going to intercept it. Just keep the chit chat silly nilly, no encryption, just what you all understand sounding like happy families :-) Jees that old witch has gone off on one etc! Mother in Law? Nope, code names. Her name was Thatcher btw. :-) The third layer.
@@G6PNHAs long as all your code names are humorous and are as unidentifiable as child's speak there should be no problem. GDPR is European? I don't agree with kids being on air, no right minded parent would let them be. Candy Cane and all. Ask the average British Ham who Z Victor One is. Not that I know of course, but I bet the answer comes in a flash to most. It's all a game :-)
Theres been a child and the parents chatting on Ch8 pmr within about 2 miles from me, its probably a good comms to have but more people needs to make the purchase of pmr radios and cb radios, its literally dead on the cb in my area.
I do wonder how many people have purchased PMRs as a toy and have then stuck in a cupboard somewhere. Thanks for your reply.
The Americans have got it down with GMRS, Think its 10 watts and can use repeaters. $35 for 7 years? We have to be a business for the ‘Business light PMR licence’ at £75 for 5 years. Most of the ‘Ofcom non type approved’ PMR radios in the UK are of the Baofeng type 5 watts and changeable antenna. Fortunately it is not illegal to use these in an emergency. It is illegal to use a non-licensed PMR repeater in the UK. Ofcom needs to introduce the same rules as the States GMRS in the UK. But that won't happen!! So we are left to our own judgement and common sense. Unfortunately due to the lack of public PMR446 awareness, you would be hard pushed to get a contact with PMR in an emergency! The Radio Ham community need to lobby the government for changes. It might also bring in more new Radio Ham operates too.
200th Subscriber wooo nice videos very helpful thanks.
Thank you and its nice to know.
Very interesting video Damien and that had me thinking. Regarding the "Toy" PMR radios I think a lot of them when bought in a twin pack would have tones set to only allow those 2 radios to communicate, That's not an issue for people like us who know how to get those tones and tune them in but that could be the difference between joe Bloggs getting resources or not if there was no one in the area who could scan the tone and respond. Regarding the repeater as you know there is an issue with mic keying on PMR and when people like my self who go up on the hills with our " Non detachable antennas" we hear far and wide, if you had a repeater on a hill top that was permanent but for emergency use only that could work or as you say if like minded people like us took them up there that could be another option. With the PMR being so readily I think there should be a small pot that would fund the use of building repeaters and cover the costs of battery's and solar panels to keep it running in the event of an emergency. I think with the right planning it could be a fantastic idea and would allow people some peace of mind knowing that if all did fail there spiderman walkie talkie just might save them LOL.
73 for now and ill catch you on the band again soon as the snow in West Yorkshire finally melts (Y)
That's interesting about the twin packs. I'm going to have to purchase a pair and try them out. Yes I'll be listening out for you at the weekend, 73 for now.
PMR 446 would only be useful for very local comms, due to the low power and compromised antennas and the regulation surrounding their use. Best usage would be for working one end of a street to the next. As a low cost emergency communication system, we would need something along the lines of GMRS which allows higher power and the use of repeaters.
Thanks for your comment. Yes PMR446 would only be local which is the point. PMR is being used more and more by a lot of people as a serious band for communication and is surprisingly effective. If your interested you can look at some of my past videos on PMR and you can search Facebook for PMR446. Its all quite interesting.
@@G6PNH Having used PMR446 for the last decade or more, it's capabilities under ideal conditions, are well known .... as are its limitations. Ideal for very short range comms, as we said. Without greater band allocation to incorporate some form of repeater, I can't see it being effective in a SHTF scenario, unfortunately. Not convinced that CB would bridge the gap, either, which is why I'd like to see a GMRS type allocation in UK.
Interesting topic for discussion, though. The biggest requirement, I feel, would be for a system that your average person could just pick up a handset, press the PTT and be heard. Either that or all UK citizens are required to hold at least a Foundation Level Amateur Radio Licence and have suitable equipment available! 🤣😂😂
@@snaggitfishing2827 Yes ' a system that your average person could just pick up a handset, press the PTT and be heard' would be fantastic. Thanks very much for your comment.
As a SDR SWL I get no PMR or CB here in my area of the UK. The regs need to be improved to allow for better power and coverage in the event of a disaster, rather than Ofcom/UK Government potentially threatening users with fines for misuse of Band Plans or using a HAM radio during a disaster.
Thanks for your comment. yes the PMR446 band needs updating. Ofcom have recently updated the a
ham bands. There aren't any threats of fines etc. for the misuse of PMR446. watch the following video ruclips.net/video/T6iJzCug8Vk/видео.html Ofcom would rather help stop interference. Thing have been changing so you never know what might happen with PMR446.
The key is to have a local, ward or village plan based around say a fire district and get as many people equipped as possible. Also, equipping every fire truck, police car and such even if it lives in the glove box is plan B when cells go down. True PMR and FRS don't go far but if you have many radios in an area you can relay into the fire brigade. Even in a warning situation you can pass along very local information, like the watchmen and wardens once did. A high power ham rig nearby could broadcast it? Wholesale, by the crate, their probably cheap enough to give away at the senior centre, school and such.
Absolutely, Thanks for a good comment
All I hear on PMR are kids in the summer and Driving instructors with crash helmets on. Having said that you do get the occasional exceptional load going through town. I think PMR repeaters are a non starter because they are not in the spirit of locality due to the low power output restrictions. A repeater would just evade this locality of operation. Having said that Boafengs are cheap enough for use in emergencies and You can set up your comms as you wish, just lock the keypad when used by non expert day to day folk who just want to press a button. You can actually make an emergency repeater out of two UV5R's utilising a special cable and VOX. To be honest I haven't managed that just yet, there is some stupid setting that I haven't found. You also need some folk to be on the same page as You, able to be deployed without a dummies guide being necessary. You'll probably be advised to use DCS codes for inter team communication without distraction, but keep a spare 'open' channel radio to pick up those calling for help. Use PMR to pick up requests and information but keep another layer of comms functioning in parallel so as to enable your team to be effective.
Thanks for your comment. You can get a repeater box to work on Boafengs that look quite interesting and maybe worth a try. your right about a second layer working in parallel.
@@G6PNH Here is a thing: PMR has such a limited reach it can be used for 'secret' communication. No one in London is going to intercept it. Just keep the chit chat silly nilly, no encryption, just what you all understand sounding like happy families :-) Jees that old witch has gone off on one etc! Mother in Law? Nope, code names. Her name was Thatcher btw. :-) The third layer.
@@DinsDale-tx4br Interesting 🙂, there is a thought that GDPR may be a problem with PMR.
@@G6PNHAs long as all your code names are humorous and are as unidentifiable as child's speak there should be no problem. GDPR is European? I don't agree with kids being on air, no right minded parent would let them be. Candy Cane and all. Ask the average British Ham who Z Victor One is. Not that I know of course, but I bet the answer comes in a flash to most. It's all a game :-)