I'm running into a little problem I'm trying to program an FRS to work with are stores frequencies. So my brother can have his own walkie-talkie. I used my gs-5b to find the frequencies and tones to make it work however according to radio reference some of the frequencies are not part of the FRS frequency list am I missing something. Chennal 1 Frequency: 467.85000 CTCSS Tone: 100.0 Chennal 2 Frequency: 467.87500 CTCSS Tone: 107.2 Chennal 3 Frequency: 467.90000 CTCSS Tone: 114.8 Chennal 4 Frequency: 467.92500 CTCSS Tone: 123.0
everyone does, this part of the law I find absurd. If you are transmitting on an unlicensed band, it shouldnt matter in my opinion you are not causing any problems as long as you set power output properly to the band.
@@jonathan6703 yeah your dad would probably give you the belt. Jokes aside probably not, it’s not like ham where it’s policed by everyone using it as a sort of responsibility of using the system. It still is technically illegal.
Yes, I agree. He is not a rule book thumper but knows all the rules. I am closing in on a general license for my entry. But I will not use a Baofeng radio for FRS/GMRS and MURS because I will die.
This channel and discord encouraged me to go general after almost 20 years sitting on a tech license I got my General shortly after and got my Extra about 2 months ago. Mad props and respect
@@stridermt2k Who knows, I may go extra soon after general. However, being of limited income, I may not get an extra license because it will not benefit me because I can not buy expensive equipment. But with a general, I can get access to 12m, 10m, 6m, 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, 23cm, really affordably by modifying existing equipment from other radio services. There are also smaller brand radios that are very cheap. I can make my own multiband J-poles and homemade power supplies. I do that now for others. But life below 12 meters gets very expensive. I may just keep general only. But I still will not use the amateur radios for 11meter CB, MURS, GMRS/FRS because I will still die.
I was one of them. I'm pretty sure that, at 23, I'm among (if not) the youngest HAM in the local clubs. I've met a few others, but not anyone significantly younger than myself, and not many below 30. There is definitely a new generation of HAMs that are entering the hobby.
@@indridcold8433 Extra license is an individual accomplishment of great personal satisfaction. At least that is how I felt at 25, when Extra license was not as easy (Advanced Test and 20 WPM CW). It was such a life changer that I changed my major from Chemistry to Electrical Engineering. Equipment that operate below 12m can be acquired for little $ (auctions, etc). The Extra exclusive spectrum are typically the least busy, for obvious reasons. Don't give up on Extra.
@@Dingbobber Not all old guys are like that. I an old Ham radio operator and I fully support your "right" to modify your radio. I also support your right to modify your car. I don't need a government bureaucrat's permission to lift my 4x4 and throw on some large diameter off-road tires. This is America! We need to start bossing our subordinate government bureaucrats around. They work for us!
@@theoriginaldashriprock As a 50+ year old timer, I've been told that before, by a bunch of guys who spend much of their time wining about government interference in their lives, about the 2nd Amendment, and about, what they think are, libertarian ideas. What they don't know, because, as @Dingbobber said, they are too busy using their radios just to key up over people to feel important, is that we old-timers understand the need for laws in a civil society and that most of the FCC rules are about respect for other people. Mostly, if people make the most basic attempt to stay in the law, and demonstrate just the most basic respect for other people, the FCC will never notice them. And that respect is what allows literally millions of users to coexist on ever-more-crowded radio bands from all of the services. Those old-timers, and probably most amateurs by the time they've been in the hobby a few years, support law and order and the Constitution and have far more knowledge about the history of the 2nd Amendment, probably own far more guns, and are far more prepared to defend the Constitution and liberty than these anti-ham whiners. These anti-ham whiners are the zombies we prepare to defend against. Those who complain about ham radio operators, and they especially like to blame old-timers because we did grow up in the hobby in a time of greater respect for others and more ethical behavior. They think their disrespect for law and for others is revolution, equating in their own minds and in their speech or social media posts, their refusal to comply with FCC regulations with the rebellion of the Founding Fathers. But their behavior is not at all like the Founding Fathers. They Founding Fathers were quite big on law and order and treating others with great respect. You see that in the tone of their writing and in their lives. No, these radio operators who love to attack hams for following the rules, and probably mostly following the rules of civil society in other parts of their lives, those other ratio operators don't act like the Founding Fathers, they act like two-year old children, screaming and crying and kicking every time they don't get their way.
Great video. As a licensed Extra, GMRS holder, and VE, I am one of the few who will admit to having over a dozen "Baofeng" radios (including 2 for GMRS and 2 for MURS) and they are the radios that got me back into wireless communications (I was a licensed CB radio operator in the 1970s). I also have an IC-7300, FT3D, FTM-100D, FTM-400D, and an FTdx-101MP. What cracks me up are the people that trash on "Baofengs" and yet don't even bat an eye at when, like me, do a MARS Mod on their other "quality" radios ... like my $5000 FTdx-101MP. Spurious emissions aside, it is just as illegal, and often more of an issue, since a MARS Mod can actually throw out over 1000 watts on to the wrong frequency (I also have an AL-80B amp), try doing that with a UV-5R. Point being, as was said, the FCC isn't cracking down on people who have FRS or GMRS frequencies in their "Baofengs" because it isn't a major issue ... 5 or 8 watts on those frequencies isn't going to be a major issue ... 1500 watts on a GigaParts MARS Mod radio is, but the FCC doesn't even bother with that, even though for $70 you can pay to have it done and it even maintains the warranty (how messed up is that?). So the next time anyone wants to trash "Baofeng" for being able to be transmit on unauthorized frequencies, consider getting off your high horse and remember that Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood, and others can ALSO be modified to do that as well ... and it isn't illegal to LISTEN to those frequencies, only transmit.
I, for one, appreciate your comments. The Baofengs have brought several people into a slowly dying hobby. I use them more for GMRS/FRS than for Ham radio & they work fine.
We used the baofeng at my office. Because it was easy to program lightweight easy to carry long-range communication..... We called the FCC and inquired about it..... They thought we could just do whatever we wanted to wasn't no big deal. We put in a signed law enforcement frequencies that are office used. We also put in what we refer to as car-to-car frequencies as well. I was a big CB guy back in the 70s I become a big CB guy back in the late 90s to about 2012..... Driving OTR commercial trucks. I had a connex radio with 100 in the finals....tuned and peaked to my high watt antennas....... and I had a back up Galaxy with a Texas Star 350 kicker.... I still have my baofeng radio I wish I could remember how to program it. In fact there's several guys in our area that are looking to get the same radios on the same channels to talk to each other for various things like hunting fishing and for civil defense I guess you could call in people's militia....any type of disaster or any situation that requires the safety of our families are friends and churches in our communities we all gather up to help out out each other. Thanks for the video.... love it And all the non legal advice... When you was just talking out loud about your inner thoughts ....lol God bless you 😇
Never seen an extra that didn't want to tell the entire world that he was one and then tell everyone all about his knowledge and equipment. Congrats, you fit the bill.
Somebody back in the "founding fathers" days said, when laws become so complicated that a lawyer is required to understand them, laws have gotten out of hand. This is a perfect example and, well, I personally don't care what the laws are.
When SHTF, ain't NO ONE ALIVE that's going to give a damn about the rules. So just cut the the chase and tell us "WHAT" GMRS is, and not "how/why" it is... thank you.
These are not laws: These are rules (technicaly oriented). It is not a real crime to use improper radios, but its is anti-social. When you drive on the right side of the road, you are helping to let everybody use the road orderly. It is respect for others on a set of rules.
@@jplacido9999 True: There Is Only 3 Actual Laws In America. All The Rest Are Rules And Statutes Govern By Contracts That People Willingly Consent To. 1. Injure Someone 2. Damage Someone's Personal Property 3. Breach A Contract
In some cases, I agree. For FRS, I can understand the restrictions. If the goal is to allow lots of people to share limited channels within a small area, you have to limit the effective transmission range, thus the power and antenna restrictions. But MURS' only meaningful restrictions are 2W xmit, proper bandwidth on the channels, and antenna under 60 feet. Practically every HT can meet those for channels 4 and 5, and most could do the other three. I don't see why a licensed amateur shouldn't be able to use their HT on MURS.
When it comes down to it though, it's not super easy to track down radios generating interference, malicious or accidental. The FCC would have to commit resources to straighten out the situation which would likely be mobile, transient, rare and random. From their perspective, it's cheaper, less aggravating and best when everyone just stays in their assigned lanes. However, I wholeheartedly agree, if you are a licensed operator, understand the law, and the technical issues and how to avoid them, it seems like much-ado-about-nothing to me.
jayo84 As he mentioned, its the power... if you really think its ok to do any damned thing you want ... when you want... you NEED a knock on the door & a free ride to their office. ALL need to be held accountable for their actions. Best way to lose our freedoms is to abuse the trusted privileges earned by and granted to us.
As a former cb license holder in the 70’s I find the performance and utility of my Motorola family radio walkies a real pleasure to use. Clean crisp sound, compact form factor, no skip waves or competing transmitters, and good range.
I listen to FRS/GMRS with my ham gear all the time. You hear interesting conversations, kids playing is the funniest. They are typically much further away than the FRS/GMRS radio can receive.
You can use your Baofeng to transmit on GMRS channels. Technically, I do not need to, as I have a HAM license. Most of the people I talk to, do not have a license. So, I am the law breaker. Unless you are doing something crazy or illegal, the FCC has better things to deal with.
And... don't forget, under emergency conditions, like responding to some hiker with a broken leg on a trail, using his FRS, you CAN & should respond on whatever equipment you have! And under those conditions, power limit do not apply either!
Not really practical if your radio is setup with transmit disabled in the programming to "keep it legal." This doesn't really matter anymore anyways, the FCC isn't going around looking for people transmitting on FRS bands with Baofengs to see if it's an emergency or not. It's not even fair to compare this to speeding in terms of breaking the law, because at least with speeding you'll probably get pulled over for it some day.
@@wavemakersdj Disabling the transmitter doesn't "keep it legal" if the rules require part 95 certification prior to marketing any radio "capable" of, i.e., manufactured with features to transmit in, FRS or GMRS. Yes, go ahead and use your ham transmitter to answer any FRS distress call, if necessary!
I feel like it's a good idea, and smart, that everyone have FRS/GMRS/MURS programmed into their amateur radios. It bothers me that many amateur radios have those frequencies hardware locked out. The FCC makes it very clear that... § 97.403 Safety of life and protection of property. "No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station of any means of radio communication at its disposal to provide essential communication needs in connection with the immediate safety of human life and immediate protection of property when normal communication systems are not available." I use to do a lot of hiking in remote areas. No cell service. I always had FRS/GMRS/MURS programmed in and would leave my radio scanning all those "channels". In the event someone was injured, pretty good odds they might be calling on those frequencies. Like wise, if I were to be injured, I am going to take FULL advantage of the "any means of radio communication at its disposal" the FCC states, to call for help. Be a shame to be injured somewhere, unable to raise anyone on the amateur frequencies when a group of backpackers with FRS radios might be walking by a few hundred yards away. lol
New Baofengs are actually LOCKED OUT of these frequencies. However, there's a work-around that's easy enough to do in the field in a legitimate emergency. If you hold ptt, moni, and vfo/mr buttons while turning the radio on, it will factory reset. This doesn't even wipe your memory channels, but some people report the radio no longer working with CHIRP afterwards. This will enable you to transmit on the locked out frequencies. I haven't tried it out but it's good to know it's possible for exactly the kinds of reasons you gave.
You make a good argument, but I would not limit the mod to emergency use only. If an individual is a licensed Ham and GMRS operator and their transmission fully complies with the radio service specifications, then the equipment used should not matter. Americans should be able to build or modify their own radios. Americans should not need a government bureaucrat's permission.
Yes, the Baofengs can transmit on a wide range of frequencies. I believe it can also work on the maritime band, as well. Like you said, we can program those frequencies into the radios, and disable the transmit capability and still be lawful. Thanks for getting the word out to the amateur community. 👍👍👍
@@HamRadioCrashCourse Yes, but perhaps not "lawful" to market or import any radio that "has the capability" of being used in a way outside of its FCC certification for that type of radio (e.g., a BF-F8HP has Part 15B as a "scanning receiver and dual-band FM amateur radio", but not Part 90 or 95 certifications, let alone Part 80 (maritime), as of 1.18.2018).
Thank you Josh. I am a NOVICE Ham operator. I got licensed when I joined a Community Emergency Response Team. The team uses HAM and FRS so I was curious about programming my BF-F8HP for FRS so I didn't have to manage multiple radios. You answered my question perfectly! Thank again.
You are the most postive amature radio personality i have watched. Most have a stick so far up thier butt that they almost deter me from pursing a license. If there are more like you out there then i might get it yet!
I gave my grandkids 16 channel GMRS radios that they use around the farm. I programed those channels into my Baofeng radios so I can listen to the grandkids, which is a lot of fun. I can also call them back into the house if the need arises ... it hasn't happened, but it might someday. I have also programed the weather radio frequencies into my Baofengs so I can get weather reports. That comes in handy when you live in Tornado Alley.
@@bigpappa642 for anyone else that sees this and wants to know, you can get them right from Chirp too, so you don't have to type them in manually. There's a catalog of just weather service channels on Chrip.
So my thoughts on this - if you are studying for your license you may not be aware of type acceptance and the requirements of other radio services. If you are a licensed ham you should already know that using your ham equipment on an alternate service is not "legal." Beyond that, because of your leadership standing in the radio field you really should not overlook the regulations by transmitting on other services / bands not alloted to ham radio with your ham equipment. So I'm really glad to see this segment educating the larger ham community.
Josh does a great coverage of this subject. possible uses as I am far from a prepper, but am a rescue diver and I have two of these, programmed for marine, frs, gmrs, and a couple fm air as well as police dispatch channels - make no mistake, absolutely illegal to transmit on these frequencies - I have it for an emergency use only. If I am doing a rescue on the water, I can use it as a backup to ships radio. If I happen to be assisting a mountain rescue, be nice to see if any frs/gmrs people out there. my point, this could be good for all the preppers out there. Also you could listen to these at will.
This information was so incredibly easy to follow, thanks for making it so anyone understand it. I started working at a shipping facility, I have loads of down time on the job. After looking into getting a portable cb radio I really want to get a ham radio as well
Josh, I appreciate the video. A lot of folks get a Baofeng and don't have a clue about band plans and legalities, even to the point of arrogance. It's good when you have people on RUclips clearing things up. I see too many prepper channels basically telling someone to get a Baofeng. (Btw, the TYT TH-UV88 is much better at around the same price from personal experience.) Then either give them little information or worse tell them to program them for FRS/GMRS and MURS frequencies with no explanation or regard as to the legalities. I am both amatuer and GMRS licensed. I have one community group running Part 95 (RT22s) radios programmed to be legal licensed free with proper bandwidth and power levels for the correct channels. It's kind of a pain to carry two HTs, one for ham on our local repeater and another for GMRS (operating with proper procedure). While claiming the fifth I will say "theoretically" it would be simpler to just have my TYT (UV-88 and UV8000E) programmed so I can monitor and transmit on both ham and GMRS instead of carrying two HTs all the time. ;) I just recently picked up a little Retevis RT 98 UHF mobile (freaking tiny little thing) to use in the shack. It is 5-10-15 watt. Again, "in theory" it is simpler to run it with our local UHF ham repeater programmed in and the GMRS channels while keeping the GMRS channels within power limits for each channel. That would make it a lot easier to put it in scan mode and keep track of both the ham repeater and the channels used by our little community group. Like many things, don't be jerk, keep the numbers in line as far as power and bandwidth, and use good radio procedure. I don't think there are a fleet of vans running around getting Barney Fife excited because someone who is GMRS licensed and operating with good procedure isn't using a Part 95 radio. I do have my HTs set to listen only to our local Fire/EMS dispatch. Had a call come through as I was typing this. I also have MURS programmed in and listen to the work chatter when I go to Walmart. However, I don't transmit on MURS. Though it is nice to have that option in an emergency.
The reason for the power and bandwidth limit is to prevent the FRS channels (1-14) from interfering with the GMRS channels (15-22). The “FRS” channels are actually in between the “GMRS” channels (12.5 khz away). This is why channels 9 to 14 are super low power. They are close to the repeater INPUTS.
Josh, love your videos man! So full of info. You’re podcast with FieldCraft Survival got me started down this rabbit hole of radios. I dipped my big toe in and now have a GMRS license for the family and videos like this just help people understand more by explaining things. Now a friend of mine has his and another is thinking about getting it. Awesome hobby and thanks for taking the time to help newbies understand things more. ✌️
@Ham Radio Crash Course - With regards to this video... THANK YOU. You are (in my opinion) reasonable and fact filled. Its refreshing to hear a person of your knowledge, who holds a license give some input that is not over the top ridiculous. SO MANY of your counterparts give the impression that the FCC is out here hunting down and handing out tickets at $10,000 a clip. So thanks for being reasonable.
MURS saves the day! I got my license (KI5DWL) but I used MURS to bring several of my classmates (KI5FLX, KI5FLW, W5BRJ and three in the works) and teachers (W3TFP and two more in the works) into radio (because they could use it), and we founded a radio club: W3SLA! 73s to KI6NAZ ! Your videos are really well done and informative!
I was literally googling this last night. My son has a FRS and I do have my Baofeng programmed to our FRS channel we use for emergencies. Pretty freaky you posted this today within 24 hours of my researching the subject.
It’s so freaky to think that you used google to do your searching on this topic and RUclips is owned by Google and perhaps cookies are the reason that RUclips’s algorithm fed you this video 😂
It would be nice for the FCC to allow those with both a HAM and GMRS license to use one device, especially with mobile and HTs - trust licensees to set the proper power levels, since we are already trusted to follow the other rules. How nice would it be to use an Anytone for both... my 2-cents
@@ik04 Not sure that logic holds water as there presently is no restriction for anyone to obtain a radio. There is implied trust that those without a license would listen only and not transmit...
@@ik04 Apply that restriction to almost any other product. I don't think you want to follow that chain of thought to its conclusion. I don't believe it's the responsibility of manufacturers of gov't to guarantee a product cannot be used illegally or maliciously.
@@kenrnet6706 The only major "restriction" is that anyone wanting to market, import or sell a radio commercially in the USA legally must get an FCC certification for it. Anyone violating at that level could face fines of $20,000 per day. So, maybe it's like saying "you can't sell cigarettes to minors", knowing that some of them may figure out a way to get them, but you probably don't want to be the one caught doing the sale.
Great explanation of the FCC rules as they apply to the different radios and frequencies. Thank you. There seems to be some competitive attitude between ham and GMRS. What I like about GMRS is that the license applies to my family. It won't stop me from hamming.
It will prevent FRS and HAM to communicate then in emergency or a wilderness area. That make it less efficient in situations then radio needed the most.
I applaud you and what you suggest to people! You simply tell the truth and feel you have an obligation to do so. What a change from so many of the irresponsible uTube content suppliers.
Great video Josh! I have also done the MARS CAP mod on many radios over the years. My reasons are for emergency preparedness. That way I have the option to communicate on any frequency possible during a life or death emergency. Which is completely legal. 73!
I do mars/cap modifications to allow use of MURS band. In wilderness use, licensed people "illegally" using properly bandwidth/power configured MURS frequencies to talk to unlicensed people is infinitely preferable to everyone jumping into amateur freqs. And when you're in areas with no cell service, it's unlikely this will cause problems for others.
honestly, as long as you set your radio to the allowed output power allocated by the FCC, they wont have probable cause to check you out for using these frequencies. go ham!
I have always looked at it like this. Don’t transmit on any inappropriate frequencies! However know how to do it for emergencies. If you have a genuine life or death situation I want to be able to transmit on the widest amount of available frequencies. So there it is understand an know it but don’t do it unless of emergency. The FCC will not destroy you to save a life.
How often do you have an emergency? How would a baofeng help? How much skill would an average non Ham have making use of the baofeng in an emergency? OK in an emergency.which means likely never. A cell phone is more likely to help. If you are really going into the wilderness a PLB (personal locator beacon) would be best to save ones bacon.
During an emergency, particularly localized, cell towers get overloaded. Yes, I've had it happen.Fortunately, at the time, the data side wasn't used as much as today, so I was able to communicate with the people I needed to on the data side of cellular. I try to always keep at least three independent means of communication along with a backup power system. Where a live a 5 watt vhf radio will get me to at least 3 repeaters with backup power, including those used for emergency management, so I would say it is a good thing to know. I also know what frequencies are used for simplex communication in my area. I'm not licensed, but I monitor local repeaters. I just don't use that ptt button.
@@rayh592 You are exactly correct I have my radio programmed for such scenarios in my home state. And they are a great way to make emergency coms happen in natural disaster scenarios. That was goods advice!
@@gmcjetpilot Those beacons are great however they cannot explain an exact situation the way verbal communications can and being two or three deep in options is not a bad idea.
If you DO use your HT on GMRS/FRS frequencies, make sure to RESPECT THE POWER LEVELS AND MODULATION!!! I take a practical approach. If they put you in a box with your radio, can they tell that you are doing something wrong just by using a spectrum analyzer and an antenna. If your signal has horrible harmonics (Baofeng), then you are doing something wrong. If your deviation (modulation level) is too high, you are doing something wrong. If you TX using too much power, you are doing something wrong. Otherwise, no victim, no crime. Your HT has power level adjustments. Keep the power levels to low for FRS frequencies, and medium for GMRS frequencies. Set the deviation to low.
@@indridcold8433 "Officially", you can use a BaoFeng legally in the USA on MURS if it has the 2AGND-MURS-V1 sticker, and on GMRS if it has 2AGND-GMRS-V1 sticker (2 watts, Part 95A, 2016), or the 2AGND50X1G sticker (43-watt GMRS mobile). You will not die.
@@UpnorthHere It is rather an exaggeration. Sort of how so many hypocrites will cry of a non type accepted radio on a frequency but will think nothing of speeding in their automobile. Speeding in your automobile is far more dangerous to everyone around you than using a Baofeng on 1 watt setting and using it on MURS. Regardless, I will not be getting any transceiver at all until I become licensed. But I still will not use a Radiooddity Baofeng, Pufung, TYT, QYT, Abbree, nor any other open transceiver on unauthorised frequencies, just in case I may die or cause nuclear armageddon ; ) Someone already used a Baofeng on MURS and caused Covid-19. I can not have that on my conscious.
If you're going to use a non-type-approved HT for a given service, at least make sure that your emissions follow what is allowed for the service. That is, if you're insistent on not following the letter of the law, at least follow the spirit -- and make sure your emissions don't affect other users of the public radio spectrum who *are* using type-approved radios. MURS for example: - Keep it at or below 2 watts. Don't blast out 5 or 8 or 50 watts on your unlocked radio. - Use narrowband for channels 1-3. Most amateur gear defaults to wideband, but can be changed with software / config. FRS and GMRS have their own ERP and bandwidth requirements also, which often vary channel-to-channel. IANAL and IANYL and I'm not advocating or condoning violations, but... you do that, and no one will care, except pedantically. "It's not a problem unless you're a problem". Or just have the discipline to not press the PTT when you're out-of-band for your service -- unless there's an immediate threat to life or property and it's your only option. Or get a dedicated radio for each service you want to use. They're not expensive these days, and many can share batteries and chargers and other accessories.
The best example of the whole part 90,95,97 argument I heard was 'part 97 says if I can get this computer mouse to transmit and it dosent produce spurious emissions I can'
I think this is a great video. I do feel like the majority of people who buy the Baofeng type radio are getting it so they can use FRS, GMRS, and MURS with a radio that has higher power output at a cheaper price, and also have the ability to program in stuff like weather channels, and some national simplex channels for emergencies. Is this legal? No. But I would imagine if you stuck to FRS 8-14 and MURS you would probably be ok. Just keep it smart.
These radios are incapable of exceeding the power limits of GMRS or MURS, only FRS. But your point is still valid for FRS. Worse, some mods allow the radio to transmit outside all of these radio services and that is a bigger problem. I have no issue with licensed operators modifying their personal radios and it is wrong for the FCC to make that illegal. What matters is whether the operator complies with the radio service band specifications.
This is the "going 10 over the speed limit on the highway" of the radio world. Are you going to get caught? Probably not. Are you going to get in serious trouble if you do get caught? Probably not. Is it still illegal? Yes.
There's absolutely nothing illegal about that.The FRS channels are the same as GMRS 8 - 14. Same power levels, same bandwidth, same everything. They're transmitting on equipment that's type accepted for FRS, and so long as you have a GMRS license you're legal to transmit using GMRS type accepted equipment.
@@portrasoft Oh right - wait ... it's channels 1 - 22, but the power / bandwidth across the two services on channels 1-7 and 15 - 22 are different between services - my bad! A GMRS licensee can talk to FRS people on ANY of those channels, but the GMRS radio can have more power and bandwidth except on 8-14 where they're the same...
Agreed Josh. I programmed the FRS/GMRS freqs into my UV5R and found that they don’t “sound” as good on FRS as an FRS radio. We have a pair of Motorola FRS HTs and one time I did an A-B comparison. The Motorola sounded better on FRS than the Baofeng. But, I leave the UV5R in my truck and, IF an emergency cropped up and I needed FRS/GMRS, THEN I would have it. That’s it. Great video as always. K2CJB
You really can't talk any father on your uv5r I seen two guys on these had only 3 miles and did not sound as good as getting a gmrs radio why get ham radio and licence when they really don't have no more range than gmrs radio moble gmrs has up to 50 watt out and they got good range sound great and don't have to take that stupid test just apply for licence and pay that's it no turning you down for licence
This was a great explanation. I bought a simple scanner to listen to railroad radio and found all the different bands in the scanner and had never even heard of GRMS or FRS. I wanted to get into GRMS and was very confused reading about different radios on Amazon with what the 90 and 95 etc was. New subscriber here!
If you want to use the FRS/GMRS bands, use type accepted radios. That being said, locking those frequencies to receive only just isn’t logical. In an emergency it is legal to use whatever means necessary to save life or property. If your radio is locked out, it is of no value.
great video explaining part certification. the question of Baofengs on GMRS comes up a lot. I can save a lot of time just pointing out that even though they can be programmed for GMRS they absolutely suck at it compared to a type certified radio. the idea is that family radios are simple to use with only 22 channels that you can pass out to anyone without a lengthy explanation and remembering what channels are associated with what frequencies to the 4th decimal place. even consumer grade Motorola FRS are good for 85% of my actual family communication needs plus they are waterproof and simple to use. Baofengs are cheap and fun to play with for amateurs (I really love the tri-band) and introduce people to radio without need to use them on those special services. this is a long post lol but my last humble opinion is that if you were going to program an amateur radio for gmrs, the old Kenwood TK-xxxx UHF radios that came out of ambulances and whatnot are available used for cheap and are very easy to program and use while also being tough as nails.
Great video, excellent orientation that I was seeking to get up to speed on with my cheap new "eBay/Prepper" UV-5R8W radios. I have no desire or intent to be disruptive on the airwaves and your video helps me understand how to accomplish that objective. As usual, technology is ahead of laws. I will be watching your other videos to learn more. Keep up the good work!
Just getting started , not sure yet. Did buy (4) BaoFeng BF-F8HP, purchased the $70 for 10 year license for family use. Now it sounds like not really licensed to use these radios. (Legally) So far we have been using them on FRS-GMRS Channels settings of L1w,M4w stock antenna rubber duck lol And we have been fortunate enough right now where we live to hear no one, I mean no one on these channels in the Poconos. Although I’m sure that will change on our road trips to various locations. Now I do have a RCI-2950 i’m considering on hooking back up from the old truck driver CB days, I think I still have some booster equipment to go along with it. Although dabbled with the ham without a license talking to Maine from Pennsylvania was pretty cool. No one busted me on it because they were happy to hear where they were getting out as well. But it just never stuck with me, now that I’m retired, looking for something to do so this may be it I don’t know yet? I will probably go ahead and get my technician license and go from there. In short, I wish I would’ve seen some of your videos sooner. But they help, The more I watch, the more I get interested Thanks
I don't think it's fair to say the range on the radios is short - they are 5W radios capable of communicating with radio towers dozens of miles away. They're only short range when you use them for simplex communication, which is when two or more people transmit/receive on the same frequency, as you're limited by the earth's terrain. The moment you cause enough interference for someone to report it, then you're gonna be in hot water. Read up on the FCC's Enforcement Bureau website, there are hundreds of enforcement actions on there ranging from forfeiture orders, monetary fines, and warning letters for some really small things, like failing to broadcast your callsign every 10 minutes. Not sure what's worse - getting a warning letter or fine from the FCC or having your name and the specific wrongdoings you did online in a public shame database. I'd be careful. Will using a BaoFeng radio on GMRS (with a license) get you in trouble? Probably not. Will screwing with people legally operating their radios (whether you have a license or not) get you in trouble? Absolutely - it happens way too often to ignore.
@@GIJew If you QRP down to 0.5 watts (or 2 watts, depending on channel) and use a tiny rubber ducky, it is nearly impossible to determine the difference in field strength pattern. Many licensed amateurs tend to forget that we're supposed to QRP whenever it does not present an inconvenience.
@@michaellin4553 Most Baofengs will not go down to 0.5W, but the minimum setting of 1W with a rubber ducky will quite probably cause no more interference than any other FRS/GMRS unless you are right on top of the device you're trying to interfere with. The ERP difference between 0,5W and 1W is only 3dB, which means being 30 feet further away, or with a tree between you and the receiver. If you set the radios to higher powers (5W or 8W) -- then it's a different story, so don't do it.
Henry Black I had one with a radio shack weather band scanner antenna, and I was able to key up repeats 60 to 70 miles away, took awhile to find me🤣, like months to find me. Bouncing around different repeaters on the link system. Took them to different cities to look for me🤣🤦
@@Stoney3K so if my buddies and I transmit within the same FRS frequencies and lower our w to 1 or less (Currently at 5w lol) we should be fine? We bought some BF-T1s to use as 2-ways for when we go driving, but want to make sure we're not overstepping our boundaries. 🥴
4 года назад
Great video. There are a few channels on RUclips staffed by the same group of people talking about trucks that use Baofeng for their truck testing communications. These folks are more than likely not licensed amateur radio operators. So it is openly being used in an illegal manner and broadcast on RUclips with their identity known for the world to see.
Do people still use high power amps on CB radio bands? They did for decades and I don't know if anyone was ever in trouble for it. Linear amps, I forgot the name.
You will get into trouble with the FCC freal fast for an illegal FM broadcast transmitter because at that piont you are encroaching on corporate media brainwashing machine outlet territory. The FCC is not going to enforce rules regarding FRS, GMRS, or MURS bands, that barely do anything for Ham anymore.. You will also get into trouble if you purposely interfere with public service, airlines, military, and railroads..
Yeah well I disagree because I've used all that kind of shit on the license-freeFrs/ Murs frequencies and so on nothing's ever happened a lot of prepper groups even have them already modified to transmit out of band
Great video, thinking about getting back into CB like in the 70s when this last batch of Tornadoes ripped through and I was in the shelter with 30 adults and a bunch of animals and no one has a NOAA radio?!? I quickly DL an app and then couldnt hear it in the shelter. Today I'm looking at NOAA radio and the Baofeng UV5R pops up and check off a ton of boxes for me. NOAA, FM rechargeable, GMRS, FRS, $20!!! Buy Now! Ok here I am with a few questions now that I've spent the money! I know what HAM is, but never even heard it IRL, and my only experience is with CB 40 years ago! Skip so bad you cant talk across town. I had a license then and likely will again. Thanks for trying to clear up the mud on this subject, great video. I think this would be perfect if it had a flashlight!! lol Seriously though, I wanted a NOAA with a flexible antenna mainly. All this other stuff might be really cool :) Thanks again for a great video.
A Baofeng for FR/GM/MURS is really not the right tool for the job. Some of these radios could potentially overlap frequencies. You could do a Part 2 of this video and explain bandwidth and why the radio service channels are spaced the way they are.
All the ones I've used can be programmed to use either wide or narrow FM per channel. You're still right that technically the "narrow" setting might still be too wide and overlap the channels. But when I'm using a 'Feng on FRS or MURS, it's because I have an emergency and I need to get someone's attention. In that scenario, spattering is the least of my concerns.
Thank you for doing these informational videos. I am studying for my Technician and maybe will take on the General license as well. I have looked at some radios, just to see what I would be interested in, but honestly, I am trying to pass the exam before buying one. Keep up your great work in keeping me and others informed about amateur radio.
not completely true as in SD a Ham there was outside of cellphone range (according to the article) and haad the Sherrif band programmed into his radio and called for help. He ended up paying a hefty fine and nearly lost his license, they confiscated his radio I believe.
Hello! Always wanted to have a cb radio, now that I can actually start learning about them no idea where to start. I found your channel and I will definitely take advantage of the info you are posting. Thank you!
You are really good at repeating yourself. Don't make the mistake of getting a GMRS license. I bought one on the FCC website. Never got it and it will not even let me log in with my FRN number or user name and password. I never ran legally on 11 meter, aka CB and I see no reason to why I should on GMRS or FRS.
If the FCC (hypothetically) wanted to crack down on people who illegally transmit on on FRS bands using non-certified devices, HOW would they do that? My understanding is: if someone sets their HT to low power mode, there's nothing in the FM signal that would inherently tell them (the FCC) about the device making the transmission. They would have to locate every transmitter and inspect them physically.
they can and do- check out the 5 small infractions they issued in the last 90 days after no enforcement for over a decade. it seems that they just send a strongly worded letter. I have also read something about fcc listening stations across the US that are fairly sophisticated and believed to be operated remotely and no longer manned.
@@grumpy_ken wow that's amazing. Thanks for the insight! Monitoring RF makes sense. But I'm also curious how much manpower it takes to locate and physically inspect devices prior to issuing these infractions.
@@jeffreydmillard the RUclips channel notarubicon has been keeping track of and reading the infractions. After years of inactivity they must have gotten some funding and personnel 🤷♂️
Excellent explanation of a complex & misunderstood situation. I'm 68 and have only ever been licensed on CB in the 60's. Always fascinated by radio comms, would rather have a broken arm then deal with FCC techno-jargon and anal retentive advice. Old enough to have some spare $ and not give a damn, so recently got two BaoFeng GT3TP MkIII and my GMRS cert (WRHS739), mainly to use while travelling in our RV. Was going to "wing it" and ran across this vid. You are the MAN! Will probably follow your vids and maybe even start eyeballing the ham tickets. Keep it up!!
Hey Josh great video with a lot of good information, I am a GMRS license holder and I have type excepted Midland radios both in mobile and handheld that I use. I can understand why some people have chosen to use or continue to use ham radios for these other radio services. Part of it comes down to the manufacturers if the manufactures aren't making what customers want, then people will turn to other sources. For example I only know two companies that make a type excepted MURS radio, MURS allows the use of a detachable and external antenna, but most of the manufacturers only make them with a fixed antenna and by doing so does not allow you to take full advantage of what the MURS service offers. Don't get me wrong I do believe we need to do everything we can to be legitimate, if you want to use a ham radio on those bands you need to have a license, the same applies for a GMRS radio and its license. I do think it is a little strange though that if you do have a ham radio and it is working on either GMRS or MURS and is within the legal power limit, bandwidth and not causing interference to others, why this radio would still be considered illegal for use considering it matches all of the technical requirements. So in the end it's a bit of a juggling act between manufacturers, consumer demand, and navigating the FCC's often complicated rules. Just out of curiosity I don't know if you know the answer to this question but GMRS has been around since the 60s and the 70s I tried to find what type of equipment they used back then for the service and I can't really find any information did they use ham radios? If they did use ham radios is the type excepted rule a a fairly recent invention.
Glad you can afford all the "Legal" equipment. Some of us can't afford it. One thing that got me out of Amateur Radio is the Hams with Little Peckers flaunting their 5000.00 Transceivers.
I’d say a lot of hams probably run GMRS on their HT or mobile radio if they’re into GMRS. There’s strict power and bandwidth limits depending on the channel. Some are 12.5KHz, some are 20KHz, some channels are 2W, some are 50. But it usually comes down to money. It’s not economical to have a $250 Midland GMRS 40W mobile when your $200 FTM7250 or something can do it too. Same reason we use BaoFeng in the first place. It’s cheap. As long as you strictly stick to the channel, bandwidth and power, it probably isn’t an issue. Most people that are new and know nothing about radios should only stick to FRS/GMRS only radios. What I don’t like about GMRS is that Walmart sells them and doesn’t remind people to get a license in the first place. I’ve rarely met another person out of my close friends circle on GMRS that even has a license.
You're probably right about hams knowing how to "do it right", but the FCC is still concerned about Joe "Selfish" Consumer buying a cheap radio that is NOT already programmed (and locked in) for FRS or GMRS and ignoring the regulations completely. I have ham and GMRS licenses but would "never" use a ham (non-certified) HT on GMRS other than "to provide essential communication needs in connection with the immediate safety of human life and immediate protection of property when normal communication systems are not available," as part of my "amateur station". 47 CFR 97.403.
Somebody has told you already that the EXACT test questions, with the EXACT correct and EXACT incorrect answers is online or in books, right? If you want a ham license don't try to understand it. All you need to do is recognize the answers when you see them. Easy peasy.
Great video Josh. I have the frs and GMRS frequencies programmed into my radios to listen. Being said if I were ever faced with a Pan or Mayday call and I had little alternative I could care less about the regulations and have certainty that I’d have the support of governing bodies in that case. I live in mountains terrain which plays havoc with RF cellular is often unreliable. Lots of repeater dead zones too.
I have a UV5RUU that I bought from Hong Kong in 2012 that has no part 90 cert sticker. I think the ones that came from a US site have the part 90 cert stickers.
The idea for the "features" is to prevent people with over-powered stations stepping all over each other on the air. You have limited channels on FRS and GMRS, so the limits there are some times good.
Thanks for straightening a few things out for me. Being totally new to this, and wanting to get my license, this all feels like trying to get into a Frat or something. Overly complicated rules, that feel like "those in the know" only really get it, and they look at all of us newby's as bothersome pond scum Baofeng-tards. Trust me, I get it..I'm a Master Plumber and I have to explain the same simplistic hydraonic theory to folks ad nausium, but to have to study for a test, and pay a silly tariff to be able to use emergency radio feels stone-age at best. Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to teach us! G.
Great subject ! I tell folks skin pack radio (FRS,CB, 900 ISM, MURS) is the legal option for a non licensed user. MURS is an bit of an exception as long as you follow the bandwidth and RF Pout guidelines with a part 90 radio IIRC. Its still amazes me that they were able to get these chinese radios part 90 acceptance. Thanks for sharing !
Remember kids, the FCC couldn’t give a rat’s ass about unlicensed FRS/GMRS/MURS. As long as you don’t interfere with legitimate operations (security, medical, etc.) you’ll be just fine.
in the case of a valid emergency or preparation for a real emergency using a part 90 radio is acceptable for part 95 and part 97 and generally any part 90 mid or high tier radio is ham radio type accepted due to the inherent nature of exceeding the actual requirements for that part
The term "type accepted" went away years ago. No testing is done to "acceptance." The devices are certified once they pass the required certification testing.
I programmed GMRS/FRS channels into my Anytone 878 radio as a learning exercise. I learned about bandwidth requirements and power limits for GMRS/FRS channels...and more. I’ll never need to transmit and that is great. I have real GMRS radios that are for that. However, my Anytone can scan the GMRS channels and listen to tests on my elderly GMRS radios. It turns out the GMRS all call channel (20) is used almost exclusively by truckers on the I35. I hear them as they drive by.
GMRS license fee is $70. Just got one for my family. I’m a Ham but wanted to have a couple of higher power HTs for talking with my spouse on our acreage and she won’t do the Ham license.
@@dylann4723 If you are licensed you may transmit from any FCC approved GMRS transceiver. I believe Baofong makes them. but you cannot modify your Ham radio to transmit on GMRS legally.
Good practical information. If you keep the power at .5 watts with a duck antenna, and not causing anyone a problem, swearing or fighting , you are not likely going to get in trouble here in Canada. Just don't run high power into a high gain base antenna and you will stay under the radar!
I’m really new. I’m curious to know if they can be used for line of sight radio without license. I don’t want to interrupt anyone speaking and I’m trying to get my license. Thank you for response.
I'm not sure what you mean bby "line of sight radio" or why you thing that would relieve you from the licensing requirement. These radios will only work "line of sight" because of the frequencies they operate on (VHF and UHF bands). Lower frequencies will reflect off the ionosphere or bend somewhat and so can be used for longer distance communciations. When you get to VHF and above, the frequencies are not reliably useful for longer distances (beyond "line of sight") unless you run into unusual propagation anamolys or you enjoy meteor scatter or moon bounce operations. This is really fascinating stuff -- study some of the RUclips videos and take the test to get licensed. You'll then know what you are doing and be less likely to interfere with others. i commend you for being concerned about unintentional interference but until you understand what "line of sight" and other issues are really about, you should EXPECT that you are interfering with someone who has the legal right to use the frequencies tht you are bootlegging.
I doubt FCC will chase anyone down using a 3-4 watt Baofeng on MURS or FRS. Now, if you transmit on154.6 or 154.57 (the two higher MURS channels) with a 100 watt base station, with Ringo 9db gain antenna set at 100’ and interrupt radio comms for every Walmart and Lowe’s in a 40 mile radius, don’t be surprised to see a White van come calling. 154.6 and 154.57 are often used by Walmart and Lowe’s, even a few drive thus. Walmart sometimes acts all territorial about “their” channel and may fuss at you. They have no standing if you have a legal radio and follow the law, but the managers can be belligerent. I have about 8 of the RadioShack 19-1210s which was an amazing fully legal mobile MURS radio that has been out of production nearly 20 years. I was also a dealer for Dakota Alert who made legal MURS handhelds, base stations and driveway alarms, but gave up after everyone started buying baofeng instead. I have a gmrs repeater and love the service where I live, but it’s nearly useless in town because of pirates. I just accept that it’s still a good service where I live. Now in town it’s awful and likely our band will go the way of CB and we will one day lose it (the repeater and high power that is). Occasionally I get folks passing through on hand helds....for the most part I am not bothered as they have no power. However, at times if they have the right ctcss, the FRS toys are built so crappy they emit spurious emissions enough to break the squelch on the repeater....sometimes the annoying rings punch through. At that point, I shut her down until they pass through
@@VoiceAlertTexas That is correct. However, before murs came to be, those were licensed business frequencies. The U.S. government "grandfathered" in whoever had a license there. Including Wally World. So they have priority to the frequency. Supposedly. The same thing happened to people on gmrs/frs frequencies.
Want to program a Baofeng FAST?? Check this out! ruclips.net/video/MEpBo5lixsw/видео.html
I'm running into a little problem I'm trying to program an FRS to work with are stores frequencies. So my brother can have his own walkie-talkie. I used my gs-5b to find the frequencies and tones to make it work however according to radio reference some of the frequencies are not part of the FRS frequency list am I missing something.
Chennal 1
Frequency: 467.85000
CTCSS Tone: 100.0
Chennal 2
Frequency: 467.87500
CTCSS Tone: 107.2
Chennal 3
Frequency: 467.90000
CTCSS Tone: 114.8
Chennal 4
Frequency: 467.92500 CTCSS Tone: 123.0
GMRS license are only $35.00 dollars
I ain't going to lie. I occasionally use my Baofeng over FRS freqs, and I don't feel bad about it.
everyone does, this part of the law I find absurd. If you are transmitting on an unlicensed band, it shouldnt matter in my opinion you are not causing any problems as long as you set power output properly to the band.
I do that also
@Anung Un Rama well there’s a difference between law and safety but that’s a whole other philosophical can of worms.
If I talked to my family like this, would I get in trouble?
@@jonathan6703 yeah your dad would probably give you the belt. Jokes aside probably not, it’s not like ham where it’s policed by everyone using it as a sort of responsibility of using the system. It still is technically illegal.
Josh you are singlehandedly bringing a whole new generation to amateur radio. Keep up the good work.
Yes, I agree. He is not a rule book thumper but knows all the rules. I am closing in on a general license for my entry. But I will not use a Baofeng radio for FRS/GMRS and MURS because I will die.
This channel and discord encouraged me to go general after almost 20 years sitting on a tech license I got my General shortly after and got my Extra about 2 months ago.
Mad props and respect
@@stridermt2k Who knows, I may go extra soon after general. However, being of limited income, I may not get an extra license because it will not benefit me because I can not buy expensive equipment. But with a general, I can get access to 12m, 10m, 6m, 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, 23cm, really affordably by modifying existing equipment from other radio services. There are also smaller brand radios that are very cheap. I can make my own multiband J-poles and homemade power supplies. I do that now for others. But life below 12 meters gets very expensive. I may just keep general only. But I still will not use the amateur radios for 11meter CB, MURS, GMRS/FRS because I will still die.
I was one of them. I'm pretty sure that, at 23, I'm among (if not) the youngest HAM in the local clubs. I've met a few others, but not anyone significantly younger than myself, and not many below 30. There is definitely a new generation of HAMs that are entering the hobby.
@@indridcold8433 Extra license is an individual accomplishment of great personal satisfaction. At least that is how I felt at 25, when Extra license was not as easy (Advanced Test and 20 WPM CW). It was such a life changer that I changed my major from Chemistry to Electrical Engineering. Equipment that operate below 12m can be acquired for little $ (auctions, etc). The Extra exclusive spectrum are typically the least busy, for obvious reasons. Don't give up on Extra.
This video could also be entitled "Why the FCC ruining things makes Baofeng radios so popular."
More like “Old guys who’s kids don’t call them harass people on HAM radios because they need to feel important”
@@Dingbobber True. Hammers are the worst.
@@Dingbobber Not all old guys are like that. I an old Ham radio operator and I fully support your "right" to modify your radio. I also support your right to modify your car. I don't need a government bureaucrat's permission to lift my 4x4 and throw on some large diameter off-road tires. This is America! We need to start bossing our subordinate government bureaucrats around. They work for us!
@@treelinehugger You’re damn right mister
@@theoriginaldashriprock As a 50+ year old timer, I've been told that before, by a bunch of guys who spend much of their time wining about government interference in their lives, about the 2nd Amendment, and about, what they think are, libertarian ideas. What they don't know, because, as @Dingbobber said, they are too busy using their radios just to key up over people to feel important, is that we old-timers understand the need for laws in a civil society and that most of the FCC rules are about respect for other people. Mostly, if people make the most basic attempt to stay in the law, and demonstrate just the most basic respect for other people, the FCC will never notice them. And that respect is what allows literally millions of users to coexist on ever-more-crowded radio bands from all of the services. Those old-timers, and probably most amateurs by the time they've been in the hobby a few years, support law and order and the Constitution and have far more knowledge about the history of the 2nd Amendment, probably own far more guns, and are far more prepared to defend the Constitution and liberty than these anti-ham whiners. These anti-ham whiners are the zombies we prepare to defend against.
Those who complain about ham radio operators, and they especially like to blame old-timers because we did grow up in the hobby in a time of greater respect for others and more ethical behavior. They think their disrespect for law and for others is revolution, equating in their own minds and in their speech or social media posts, their refusal to comply with FCC regulations with the rebellion of the Founding Fathers. But their behavior is not at all like the Founding Fathers. They Founding Fathers were quite big on law and order and treating others with great respect. You see that in the tone of their writing and in their lives. No, these radio operators who love to attack hams for following the rules, and probably mostly following the rules of civil society in other parts of their lives, those other ratio operators don't act like the Founding Fathers, they act like two-year old children, screaming and crying and kicking every time they don't get their way.
And ... when SHTF whatever frequency gets the job done.
If everybody thinks that way, no frequency will do 😂😂😂
That's why I bought Boefeng radios! SHTF scenarios
if a baofeng tansmits .5w over FRS' allowed power deep in the woods, and no radio was there to receive it?
then did it transmit?
Subtle.. :)
But ham radios transmit across the globe?
Nice one.
Wtf are you saying
@@jasonjoslyn4294 He's saying if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around to witness it does it make a sound when it hits the ground?
Great video. As a licensed Extra, GMRS holder, and VE, I am one of the few who will admit to having over a dozen "Baofeng" radios (including 2 for GMRS and 2 for MURS) and they are the radios that got me back into wireless communications (I was a licensed CB radio operator in the 1970s). I also have an IC-7300, FT3D, FTM-100D, FTM-400D, and an FTdx-101MP. What cracks me up are the people that trash on "Baofengs" and yet don't even bat an eye at when, like me, do a MARS Mod on their other "quality" radios ... like my $5000 FTdx-101MP. Spurious emissions aside, it is just as illegal, and often more of an issue, since a MARS Mod can actually throw out over 1000 watts on to the wrong frequency (I also have an AL-80B amp), try doing that with a UV-5R. Point being, as was said, the FCC isn't cracking down on people who have FRS or GMRS frequencies in their "Baofengs" because it isn't a major issue ... 5 or 8 watts on those frequencies isn't going to be a major issue ... 1500 watts on a GigaParts MARS Mod radio is, but the FCC doesn't even bother with that, even though for $70 you can pay to have it done and it even maintains the warranty (how messed up is that?). So the next time anyone wants to trash "Baofeng" for being able to be transmit on unauthorized frequencies, consider getting off your high horse and remember that Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood, and others can ALSO be modified to do that as well ... and it isn't illegal to LISTEN to those frequencies, only transmit.
I know a bunch people go low power on FRS (2W) and being considerate in general. Much better than licensed abusers.
I, for one, appreciate your comments. The Baofengs have brought several people into a slowly dying hobby. I use them more for GMRS/FRS than for Ham radio & they work fine.
We used the baofeng at my office.
Because it was easy to program lightweight easy to carry long-range communication.....
We called the FCC and inquired about it..... They thought we could just do whatever we wanted to wasn't no big deal.
We put in a signed law enforcement frequencies that are office used.
We also put in what we refer to as car-to-car frequencies as well.
I was a big CB guy back in the 70s
I become a big CB guy back in the late 90s to about 2012.....
Driving OTR commercial trucks.
I had a connex radio with 100 in the finals....tuned and peaked to my high watt antennas....... and I had a back up Galaxy with a Texas Star 350 kicker....
I still have my baofeng radio I wish I could remember how to program it.
In fact there's several guys in our area that are looking to get the same radios on the same channels to talk to each other for various things like hunting fishing and for civil defense
I guess you could call in people's militia....any type of disaster or any situation that requires the safety of our families are friends and churches in our communities we all gather up to help out out each other.
Thanks for the video.... love it
And all the non legal advice...
When you was just talking out loud about your inner thoughts ....lol
God bless you 😇
Never seen an extra that didn't want to tell the entire world that he was one and then tell everyone all about his knowledge and equipment. Congrats, you fit the bill.
@@skippyi6969 Stick to disco and car burnouts. HAHAHA
Somebody back in the "founding fathers" days said, when laws become so complicated that a lawyer is required to understand them, laws have gotten out of hand. This is a perfect example and, well, I personally don't care what the laws are.
When SHTF, ain't NO ONE ALIVE that's going to give a damn about the rules. So just cut the the chase and tell us "WHAT" GMRS is, and not "how/why" it is... thank you.
@@john.wick1 @Paul Hare 100!!
These are not laws:
These are rules (technicaly oriented).
It is not a real crime to use improper radios, but its is anti-social.
When you drive on the right side of the road, you are helping to let everybody use the road orderly.
It is respect for others on a set of rules.
yep
@@jplacido9999 True: There Is Only 3 Actual Laws In America. All The Rest Are Rules And Statutes Govern By Contracts That People Willingly Consent To.
1. Injure Someone
2. Damage Someone's Personal Property
3. Breach A Contract
gotta admit I think the regulations dealing with this are over complicated and kinda silly. great well explained vid thanks
In some cases, I agree. For FRS, I can understand the restrictions. If the goal is to allow lots of people to share limited channels within a small area, you have to limit the effective transmission range, thus the power and antenna restrictions.
But MURS' only meaningful restrictions are 2W xmit, proper bandwidth on the channels, and antenna under 60 feet. Practically every HT can meet those for channels 4 and 5, and most could do the other three. I don't see why a licensed amateur shouldn't be able to use their HT on MURS.
When it comes down to it though, it's not super easy to track down radios generating interference, malicious or accidental. The FCC would have to commit resources to straighten out the situation which would likely be mobile, transient, rare and random. From their perspective, it's cheaper, less aggravating and best when everyone just stays in their assigned lanes. However, I wholeheartedly agree, if you are a licensed operator, understand the law, and the technical issues and how to avoid them, it seems like much-ado-about-nothing to me.
Its all ridiculous. Let them come get us. Pretty sure FCC has bigger fish to fry than some people talking on handhelds
jayo84 As he mentioned, its the power... if you really think its ok to do any damned thing you want ... when you want... you NEED a knock on the door & a free ride to their office. ALL need to be held accountable for their actions. Best way to lose our freedoms is to abuse the trusted privileges earned by and granted to us.
@@seminolerick6845 Right, because an extra watt or two is so devastating..
As a former cb license holder in the 70’s I find the performance and utility of my Motorola family radio walkies a real pleasure to use. Clean crisp sound, compact form factor, no skip waves or competing transmitters, and good range.
I listen to FRS/GMRS with my ham gear all the time. You hear interesting conversations, kids playing is the funniest. They are typically much further away than the FRS/GMRS radio can receive.
Any problem airport sar
What frequencies do you go to? I haven't heard a single real word since I got my Baofeng and have been scanning. Nothing but white noise.
I'm completely new to all this. This video answered about the first 1000 questions I had. Thank you for the Awesome.
This channel is really informative and usually my go to for info on amateur radio.
You can use your Baofeng to transmit on GMRS channels. Technically, I do not need to, as I have a HAM license. Most of the people I talk to, do not have a license. So, I am the law breaker. Unless you are doing something crazy or illegal, the FCC has better things to deal with.
And... don't forget, under emergency conditions, like responding to some hiker with a broken leg on a trail, using his FRS, you CAN & should respond on whatever equipment you have! And under those conditions, power limit do not apply either!
Not really practical if your radio is setup with transmit disabled in the programming to "keep it legal." This doesn't really matter anymore anyways, the FCC isn't going around looking for people transmitting on FRS bands with Baofengs to see if it's an emergency or not. It's not even fair to compare this to speeding in terms of breaking the law, because at least with speeding you'll probably get pulled over for it some day.
@@wavemakersdj Disabling the transmitter doesn't "keep it legal" if the rules require part 95 certification prior to marketing any radio "capable" of, i.e., manufactured with features to transmit in, FRS or GMRS. Yes, go ahead and use your ham transmitter to answer any FRS distress call, if necessary!
@Ghost Rider You spelled "capitalism" incorrectly ...
I just got two baofeng radios, and I'm studying to get certified to use them.
All because of you!
How hard is it so far?
If you can program a Baofeng from the front keyboard bouncing in a moving jeep, you deserve a honorary ham license.
I feel like it's a good idea, and smart, that everyone have FRS/GMRS/MURS programmed into their amateur radios. It bothers me that many amateur radios have those frequencies hardware locked out. The FCC makes it very clear that...
§ 97.403 Safety of life and protection of property.
"No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station of any means of radio communication at its disposal to provide essential communication needs in connection with the immediate safety of human life and immediate protection of property when normal communication systems are not available."
I use to do a lot of hiking in remote areas. No cell service. I always had FRS/GMRS/MURS programmed in and would leave my radio scanning all those "channels". In the event someone was injured, pretty good odds they might be calling on those frequencies. Like wise, if I were to be injured, I am going to take FULL advantage of the "any means of radio communication at its disposal" the FCC states, to call for help. Be a shame to be injured somewhere, unable to raise anyone on the amateur frequencies when a group of backpackers with FRS radios might be walking by a few hundred yards away. lol
New Baofengs are actually LOCKED OUT of these frequencies. However, there's a work-around that's easy enough to do in the field in a legitimate emergency. If you hold ptt, moni, and vfo/mr buttons while turning the radio on, it will factory reset. This doesn't even wipe your memory channels, but some people report the radio no longer working with CHIRP afterwards. This will enable you to transmit on the locked out frequencies. I haven't tried it out but it's good to know it's possible for exactly the kinds of reasons you gave.
You make a good argument, but I would not limit the mod to emergency use only. If an individual is a licensed Ham and GMRS operator and their transmission fully complies with the radio service specifications, then the equipment used should not matter. Americans should be able to build or modify their own radios. Americans should not need a government bureaucrat's permission.
it is all fee airwaves you can use any radio at anytime no boogie man is coming for you lol
Yes, the Baofengs can transmit on a wide range of frequencies. I believe it can also work on the maritime band, as well. Like you said, we can program those frequencies into the radios, and disable the transmit capability and still be lawful. Thanks for getting the word out to the amateur community. 👍👍👍
I misunderstood that comment when I first read it. You’re right 🤙 thanks for the comment !
@@HamRadioCrashCourse Yes, but perhaps not "lawful" to market or import any radio that "has the capability" of being used in a way outside of its FCC certification for that type of radio (e.g., a BF-F8HP has Part 15B as a "scanning receiver and dual-band FM amateur radio", but not Part 90 or 95 certifications, let alone Part 80 (maritime), as of 1.18.2018).
@@UpnorthHere Obligatory disclaimer: The whole subject is murky and anyone making unequivocal statements here should be treated with great suspicion.
Thank you for the "no bullshit" "we are all adults here" answer. Getting an answer on these kind of things is strangely difficult.
Thank you Josh. I am a NOVICE Ham operator. I got licensed when I joined a Community Emergency Response Team. The team uses HAM and FRS so I was curious about programming my BF-F8HP for FRS so I didn't have to manage multiple radios. You answered my question perfectly! Thank again.
How are you a NOVICE? The Novice license hasn't been around since probably the early 2000's.
Just a novice as in "new".
You are the most postive amature radio personality i have watched. Most have a stick so far up thier butt that they almost deter me from pursing a license. If there are more like you out there then i might get it yet!
What do you mean by "stick up their butt?" Are you referring to arrogance, narcissism, stubbornness?
I gave my grandkids 16 channel GMRS radios that they use around the farm. I programed those channels into my Baofeng radios so I can listen to the grandkids, which is a lot of fun. I can also call them back into the house if the need arises ... it hasn't happened, but it might someday. I have also programed the weather radio frequencies into my Baofengs so I can get weather reports. That comes in handy when you live in Tornado Alley.
Baofeng
How can I get the weather frequency in my area? I'm very new to the GMRS AND HAVE THE UV5
@@bigpappa642 162.400 megahertz (MHz), 162.425 MHz, 162.450 MHz, 162.475 MHz, 162.500 MHz, 162.525 MHz, and 162.550 MHz.
@@gerardo7290 Thanks a lot I appreciate your help!
@@bigpappa642 for anyone else that sees this and wants to know, you can get them right from Chirp too, so you don't have to type them in manually. There's a catalog of just weather service channels on Chrip.
Rules are made for people that can't think for themselves. Great video.
Yup. I’m an ADULT. I’m a REBEL, too!
So my thoughts on this - if you are studying for your license you may not be aware of type acceptance and the requirements of other radio services. If you are a licensed ham you should already know that using your ham equipment on an alternate service is not "legal." Beyond that, because of your leadership standing in the radio field you really should not overlook the regulations by transmitting on other services / bands not alloted to ham radio with your ham equipment. So I'm really glad to see this segment educating the larger ham community.
Thanks for watching! I appreciate the good comment.
Josh does a great coverage of this subject. possible uses as I am far from a prepper, but am a rescue diver and I have two of these, programmed for marine, frs, gmrs, and a couple fm air as well as police dispatch channels - make no mistake, absolutely illegal to transmit on these frequencies - I have it for an emergency use only. If I am doing a rescue on the water, I can use it as a backup to ships radio. If I happen to be assisting a mountain rescue, be nice to see if any frs/gmrs people out there. my point, this could be good for all the preppers out there. Also you could listen to these at will.
I’d rather have it and not need it. 👍
This information was so incredibly easy to follow, thanks for making it so anyone understand it.
I started working at a shipping facility, I have loads of down time on the job. After looking into getting a portable cb radio I really want to get a ham radio as well
Awesome! And thanks for the kind words!
Right on Josh, great video! This stuff can be very confusing and you did a great job explaining the different FCC parts.
Josh, I appreciate the video. A lot of folks get a Baofeng and don't have a clue about band plans and legalities, even to the point of arrogance. It's good when you have people on RUclips clearing things up. I see too many prepper channels basically telling someone to get a Baofeng. (Btw, the TYT TH-UV88 is much better at around the same price from personal experience.) Then either give them little information or worse tell them to program them for FRS/GMRS and MURS frequencies with no explanation or regard as to the legalities.
I am both amatuer and GMRS licensed. I have one community group running Part 95 (RT22s) radios programmed to be legal licensed free with proper bandwidth and power levels for the correct channels. It's kind of a pain to carry two HTs, one for ham on our local repeater and another for GMRS (operating with proper procedure). While claiming the fifth I will say "theoretically" it would be simpler to just have my TYT (UV-88 and UV8000E) programmed so I can monitor and transmit on both ham and GMRS instead of carrying two HTs all the time. ;) I just recently picked up a little Retevis RT 98 UHF mobile (freaking tiny little thing) to use in the shack. It is 5-10-15 watt. Again, "in theory" it is simpler to run it with our local UHF ham repeater programmed in and the GMRS channels while keeping the GMRS channels within power limits for each channel. That would make it a lot easier to put it in scan mode and keep track of both the ham repeater and the channels used by our little community group.
Like many things, don't be jerk, keep the numbers in line as far as power and bandwidth, and use good radio procedure. I don't think there are a fleet of vans running around getting Barney Fife excited because someone who is GMRS licensed and operating with good procedure isn't using a Part 95 radio.
I do have my HTs set to listen only to our local Fire/EMS dispatch. Had a call come through as I was typing this. I also have MURS programmed in and listen to the work chatter when I go to Walmart. However, I don't transmit on MURS. Though it is nice to have that option in an emergency.
If the SHTF like in 40 days or so, nobody is going to care how legal everyone has been!
Nobody cares now.
@@1925sk only if you're on the right side politically! (Or should I say left?)
In emergency situations the FCC rules can be ignored per the FCC.
It just depends on whether or not you like the taste of fed boots.
@@1925sk Nobody cared before LOL.
The reason for the power and bandwidth limit is to prevent the FRS channels (1-14) from interfering with the GMRS channels (15-22).
The “FRS” channels are actually in between the “GMRS” channels (12.5 khz away).
This is why channels 9 to 14 are super low power. They are close to the repeater INPUTS.
Josh, love your videos man! So full of info. You’re podcast with FieldCraft Survival got me started down this rabbit hole of radios. I dipped my big toe in and now have a GMRS license for the family and videos like this just help people understand more by explaining things. Now a friend of mine has his and another is thinking about getting it. Awesome hobby and thanks for taking the time to help newbies understand things more. ✌️
@Ham Radio Crash Course - With regards to this video... THANK YOU. You are (in my opinion) reasonable and fact filled. Its refreshing to hear a person of your knowledge, who holds a license give some input that is not over the top ridiculous. SO MANY of your counterparts give the impression that the FCC is out here hunting down and handing out tickets at $10,000 a clip. So thanks for being reasonable.
Thanks!!
Great job IMO. on explaining the parts/rules for the newer or future HAMs. I loved the video Josh. Keep up the good work.
MURS saves the day! I got my license (KI5DWL) but I used MURS to bring several of my classmates (KI5FLX, KI5FLW, W5BRJ and three in the works) and teachers (W3TFP and two more in the works) into radio (because they could use it), and we founded a radio club: W3SLA!
73s to KI6NAZ ! Your videos are really well done and informative!
I was literally googling this last night. My son has a FRS and I do have my Baofeng programmed to our FRS channel we use for emergencies. Pretty freaky you posted this today within 24 hours of my researching the subject.
It’s so freaky to think that you used google to do your searching on this topic and RUclips is owned by Google and perhaps cookies are the reason that RUclips’s algorithm fed you this video 😂
Finally a good explanation of why its not legal, I've been hella confused on this
Thank you!
Just do what you want
It would be nice for the FCC to allow those with both a HAM and GMRS license to use one device, especially with mobile and HTs - trust licensees to set the proper power levels, since we are already trusted to follow the other rules. How nice would it be to use an Anytone for both... my 2-cents
I'd add MURS to that as well.
The problem with that is that the radio would only legal in your hands. If anyone not licensed possessed the radio, then what?
@@ik04 Not sure that logic holds water as there presently is no restriction for anyone to obtain a radio. There is implied trust that those without a license would listen only and not transmit...
@@ik04 Apply that restriction to almost any other product. I don't think you want to follow that chain of thought to its conclusion. I don't believe it's the responsibility of manufacturers of gov't to guarantee a product cannot be used illegally or maliciously.
@@kenrnet6706 The only major "restriction" is that anyone wanting to market, import or sell a radio commercially in the USA legally must get an FCC certification for it. Anyone violating at that level could face fines of $20,000 per day. So, maybe it's like saying "you can't sell cigarettes to minors", knowing that some of them may figure out a way to get them, but you probably don't want to be the one caught doing the sale.
Great explanation of the FCC rules as they apply to the different radios and frequencies. Thank you. There seems to be some competitive attitude between ham and GMRS. What I like about GMRS is that the license applies to my family. It won't stop me from hamming.
It will prevent FRS and HAM to communicate then in emergency or a wilderness area. That make it less efficient in situations then radio needed the most.
Josh, you have excellent presentation skills. Nicely done done Bro.
I applaud you and what you suggest to people! You simply tell the truth and feel you have an obligation to do so. What a change from so many of the irresponsible uTube content suppliers.
Thank you Ed
Great video Josh! I have also done the MARS CAP mod on many radios over the years. My reasons are for emergency preparedness. That way I have the option to communicate on any frequency possible during a life or death emergency. Which is completely legal. 73!
I do mars/cap modifications to allow use of MURS band. In wilderness use, licensed people "illegally" using properly bandwidth/power configured MURS frequencies to talk to unlicensed people is infinitely preferable to everyone jumping into amateur freqs. And when you're in areas with no cell service, it's unlikely this will cause problems for others.
honestly, as long as you set your radio to the allowed output power allocated by the FCC, they wont have probable cause to check you out for using these frequencies. go ham!
I have always looked at it like this. Don’t transmit on any inappropriate frequencies! However know how to do it for emergencies. If you have a genuine life or death situation I want to be able to transmit on the widest amount of available frequencies. So there it is understand an know it but don’t do it unless of emergency. The FCC will not destroy you to save a life.
How often do you have an emergency? How would a baofeng help? How much skill would an average non Ham have making use of the baofeng in an emergency? OK in an emergency.which means likely never. A cell phone is more likely to help. If you are really going into the wilderness a PLB (personal locator beacon) would be best to save ones bacon.
During an emergency, particularly localized, cell towers get overloaded. Yes, I've had it happen.Fortunately, at the time, the data side wasn't used as much as today, so I was able to communicate with the people I needed to on the data side of cellular. I try to always keep at least three independent means of communication along with a backup power system.
Where a live a 5 watt vhf radio will get me to at least 3 repeaters with backup power, including those used for emergency management, so I would say it is a good thing to know. I also know what frequencies are used for simplex communication in my area. I'm not licensed, but I monitor local repeaters. I just don't use that ptt button.
@@rayh592 You are exactly correct I have my radio programmed for such scenarios in my home state. And they are a great way to make emergency coms happen in natural disaster scenarios. That was goods advice!
@@gmcjetpilot Those beacons are great however they cannot explain an exact situation the way verbal communications can and being two or three deep in options is not a bad idea.
@@gmcjetpilot
By that logic, you better let everyone in ARES and RACES know that smart phones have rendered them utterly irrelevant, huh?
If you DO use your HT on GMRS/FRS frequencies, make sure to RESPECT THE POWER LEVELS AND MODULATION!!!
I take a practical approach. If they put you in a box with your radio, can they tell that you are doing something wrong just by using a spectrum analyzer and an antenna. If your signal has horrible harmonics (Baofeng), then you are doing something wrong. If your deviation (modulation level) is too high, you are doing something wrong. If you TX using too much power, you are doing something wrong. Otherwise, no victim, no crime.
Your HT has power level adjustments. Keep the power levels to low for FRS frequencies, and medium for GMRS frequencies. Set the deviation to low.
Well said. Although, if you use your Baofeng on FRS/GMRS and MURS, you will die. Do not do it. (officially)
@@indridcold8433 "Officially", you can use a BaoFeng legally in the USA on MURS if it has the 2AGND-MURS-V1 sticker, and on GMRS if it has 2AGND-GMRS-V1 sticker (2 watts, Part 95A, 2016), or the 2AGND50X1G sticker (43-watt GMRS mobile). You will not die.
@@UpnorthHere It is rather an exaggeration. Sort of how so many hypocrites will cry of a non type accepted radio on a frequency but will think nothing of speeding in their automobile. Speeding in your automobile is far more dangerous to everyone around you than using a Baofeng on 1 watt setting and using it on MURS. Regardless, I will not be getting any transceiver at all until I become licensed. But I still will not use a Radiooddity Baofeng, Pufung, TYT, QYT, Abbree, nor any other open transceiver on unauthorised frequencies, just in case I may die or cause nuclear armageddon ; ) Someone already used a Baofeng on MURS and caused Covid-19. I can not have that on my conscious.
If you're going to use a non-type-approved HT for a given service, at least make sure that your emissions follow what is allowed for the service.
That is, if you're insistent on not following the letter of the law, at least follow the spirit -- and make sure your emissions don't affect other users of the public radio spectrum who *are* using type-approved radios.
MURS for example:
- Keep it at or below 2 watts. Don't blast out 5 or 8 or 50 watts on your unlocked radio.
- Use narrowband for channels 1-3. Most amateur gear defaults to wideband, but can be changed with software / config.
FRS and GMRS have their own ERP and bandwidth requirements also, which often vary channel-to-channel.
IANAL and IANYL and I'm not advocating or condoning violations, but... you do that, and no one will care, except pedantically. "It's not a problem unless you're a problem".
Or just have the discipline to not press the PTT when you're out-of-band for your service -- unless there's an immediate threat to life or property and it's your only option.
Or get a dedicated radio for each service you want to use. They're not expensive these days, and many can share batteries and chargers and other accessories.
I went to my first Ham meet today. Bought my first radio. Very excited!
Seems like a great community so far.
Awesome man. Thanks for watching!
The best example of the whole part 90,95,97 argument I heard was 'part 97 says if I can get this computer mouse to transmit and it dosent produce spurious emissions I can'
I think this is a great video. I do feel like the majority of people who buy the Baofeng type radio are getting it so they can use FRS, GMRS, and MURS with a radio that has higher power output at a cheaper price, and also have the ability to program in stuff like weather channels, and some national simplex channels for emergencies.
Is this legal? No. But I would imagine if you stuck to FRS 8-14 and MURS you would probably be ok. Just keep it smart.
These radios are incapable of exceeding the power limits of GMRS or MURS, only FRS. But your point is still valid for FRS. Worse, some mods allow the radio to transmit outside all of these radio services and that is a bigger problem. I have no issue with licensed operators modifying their personal radios and it is wrong for the FCC to make that illegal. What matters is whether the operator complies with the radio service band specifications.
@@treelinehugger It was my understanding MURS had a max of 2 watts, and most of the Baofengs can reach 4-5 watts I think?
@@JimYeats My bad. You are correct.
I've been using my GMRS radios to talk to my friends while hunting that only have FRS radios.
This is the "going 10 over the speed limit on the highway" of the radio world.
Are you going to get caught? Probably not.
Are you going to get in serious trouble if you do get caught? Probably not.
Is it still illegal? Yes.
There's absolutely nothing illegal about that.The FRS channels are the same as GMRS 8 - 14. Same power levels, same bandwidth, same everything. They're transmitting on equipment that's type accepted for FRS, and so long as you have a GMRS license you're legal to transmit using GMRS type accepted equipment.
@@perrylove3913 what are the channels that are equivalent to frs that are free game?
@@portrasoft Oh right - wait ... it's channels 1 - 22, but the power / bandwidth across the two services on channels 1-7 and 15 - 22 are different between services - my bad! A GMRS licensee can talk to FRS people on ANY of those channels, but the GMRS radio can have more power and bandwidth except on 8-14 where they're the same...
Agreed Josh. I programmed the FRS/GMRS freqs into my UV5R and found that they don’t “sound” as good on FRS as an FRS radio. We have a pair of Motorola FRS HTs and one time I did an A-B comparison. The Motorola sounded better on FRS than the Baofeng. But, I leave the UV5R in my truck and, IF an emergency cropped up and I needed FRS/GMRS, THEN I would have it. That’s it. Great video as always. K2CJB
You really can't talk any father on your uv5r I seen two guys on these had only 3 miles and did not sound as good as getting a gmrs radio why get ham radio and licence when they really don't have no more range than gmrs radio moble gmrs has up to 50 watt out and they got good range sound great and don't have to take that stupid test just apply for licence and pay that's it no turning you down for licence
What would we ever do without useless bureaucrats regulating everything?
This was a great explanation. I bought a simple scanner to listen to railroad radio and found all the different bands in the scanner and had never even heard of GRMS or FRS. I wanted to get into GRMS and was very confused reading about different radios on Amazon with what the 90 and 95 etc was. New subscriber here!
Thank you!
If you want to use the FRS/GMRS bands, use type accepted radios. That being said, locking those frequencies to receive only just isn’t logical. In an emergency it is legal to use whatever means necessary to save life or property. If your radio is locked out, it is of no value.
Exactly.
Know how to use your radio. Learn how to unlock transmit from the panel. Or program separate channels for RX only and for TX-RX.
great video explaining part certification. the question of Baofengs on GMRS comes up a lot. I can save a lot of time just pointing out that even though they can be programmed for GMRS they absolutely suck at it compared to a type certified radio. the idea is that family radios are simple to use with only 22 channels that you can pass out to anyone without a lengthy explanation and remembering what channels are associated with what frequencies to the 4th decimal place. even consumer grade Motorola FRS are good for 85% of my actual family communication needs plus they are waterproof and simple to use. Baofengs are cheap and fun to play with for amateurs (I really love the tri-band) and introduce people to radio without need to use them on those special services. this is a long post lol but my last humble opinion is that if you were going to program an amateur radio for gmrs, the old Kenwood TK-xxxx UHF radios that came out of ambulances and whatnot are available used for cheap and are very easy to program and use while also being tough as nails.
Great video, excellent orientation that I was seeking to get up to speed on with my cheap new "eBay/Prepper" UV-5R8W radios. I have no desire or intent to be disruptive on the airwaves and your video helps me understand how to accomplish that objective. As usual, technology is ahead of laws. I will be watching your other videos to learn more. Keep up the good work!
Glad it was helpful!
Checking in from Sweden/Denmark - getting my licence soon!
Good channel my man!
Thanks for the shout out Josh 👍
Just getting started , not sure yet.
Did buy (4) BaoFeng BF-F8HP,
purchased the $70 for 10 year license for family use.
Now it sounds like not really licensed to use these radios. (Legally)
So far we have been using them on FRS-GMRS Channels settings of L1w,M4w stock antenna rubber duck lol
And we have been fortunate enough right now where we live to hear no one, I mean no one on these channels in the Poconos.
Although I’m sure that will change on our road trips to various locations.
Now I do have a RCI-2950 i’m considering on hooking back up from the old truck driver CB days, I think I still have some booster equipment to go along with it. Although dabbled with the ham without a license talking to Maine from Pennsylvania was pretty cool. No one busted me on it because they were happy to hear where they were getting out as well. But it just never stuck with me, now that I’m retired, looking for something to do so this may be it I don’t know yet?
I will probably go ahead and get my technician license and go from there. In short, I wish I would’ve seen some of your videos sooner. But they help,
The more I watch, the more I get interested
Thanks
The range on these radios is so short that running into any FCC enforcement on FRS would be problematic.
I don't think it's fair to say the range on the radios is short - they are 5W radios capable of communicating with radio towers dozens of miles away. They're only short range when you use them for simplex communication, which is when two or more people transmit/receive on the same frequency, as you're limited by the earth's terrain. The moment you cause enough interference for someone to report it, then you're gonna be in hot water. Read up on the FCC's Enforcement Bureau website, there are hundreds of enforcement actions on there ranging from forfeiture orders, monetary fines, and warning letters for some really small things, like failing to broadcast your callsign every 10 minutes. Not sure what's worse - getting a warning letter or fine from the FCC or having your name and the specific wrongdoings you did online in a public shame database. I'd be careful. Will using a BaoFeng radio on GMRS (with a license) get you in trouble? Probably not. Will screwing with people legally operating their radios (whether you have a license or not) get you in trouble? Absolutely - it happens way too often to ignore.
@@GIJew If you QRP down to 0.5 watts (or 2 watts, depending on channel) and use a tiny rubber ducky, it is nearly impossible to determine the difference in field strength pattern. Many licensed amateurs tend to forget that we're supposed to QRP whenever it does not present an inconvenience.
@@michaellin4553 Most Baofengs will not go down to 0.5W, but the minimum setting of 1W with a rubber ducky will quite probably cause no more interference than any other FRS/GMRS unless you are right on top of the device you're trying to interfere with.
The ERP difference between 0,5W and 1W is only 3dB, which means being 30 feet further away, or with a tree between you and the receiver.
If you set the radios to higher powers (5W or 8W) -- then it's a different story, so don't do it.
Henry Black I had one with a radio shack weather band scanner antenna, and I was able to key up repeats 60 to 70 miles away, took awhile to find me🤣, like months to find me. Bouncing around different repeaters on the link system. Took them to different cities to look for me🤣🤦
@@Stoney3K so if my buddies and I transmit within the same FRS frequencies and lower our w to 1 or less (Currently at 5w lol) we should be fine? We bought some BF-T1s to use as 2-ways for when we go driving, but want to make sure we're not overstepping our boundaries. 🥴
Great video. There are a few channels on RUclips staffed by the same group of people talking about trucks that use Baofeng for their truck testing communications. These folks are more than likely not licensed amateur radio operators. So it is openly being used in an illegal manner and broadcast on RUclips with their identity known for the world to see.
Like anyone would care. You’ll get into more trouble with the authorities walking through a frickin public park these days.
Do people still use high power amps on CB radio bands? They did for decades and I don't know if anyone was ever in trouble for it. Linear amps, I forgot the name.
@@jack002tuber I don't think anyone has ever been in trouble for it.
@@jack002tuber Yes but only during band openings.
You will get into trouble with the FCC freal fast for an illegal FM broadcast transmitter because at that piont you are encroaching on corporate media brainwashing machine outlet territory. The FCC is not going to enforce rules regarding FRS, GMRS, or MURS bands, that barely do anything for Ham anymore.. You will also get into trouble if you purposely interfere with public service, airlines, military, and railroads..
Yeah well I disagree because I've used all that kind of shit on the license-freeFrs/ Murs frequencies and so on nothing's ever happened a lot of prepper groups even have them already modified to transmit out of band
Great video, thinking about getting back into CB like in the 70s when this last batch of Tornadoes ripped through and I was in the shelter with 30 adults and a bunch of animals and no one has a NOAA radio?!? I quickly DL an app and then couldnt hear it in the shelter. Today I'm looking at NOAA radio and the Baofeng UV5R pops up and check off a ton of boxes for me. NOAA, FM rechargeable, GMRS, FRS, $20!!! Buy Now!
Ok here I am with a few questions now that I've spent the money! I know what HAM is, but never even heard it IRL, and my only experience is with CB 40 years ago! Skip so bad you cant talk across town. I had a license then and likely will again. Thanks for trying to clear up the mud on this subject, great video. I think this would be perfect if it had a flashlight!! lol Seriously though, I wanted a NOAA with a flexible antenna mainly. All this other stuff might be really cool :) Thanks again for a great video.
A Baofeng for FR/GM/MURS is really not the right tool for the job. Some of these radios could potentially overlap frequencies. You could do a Part 2 of this video and explain bandwidth and why the radio service channels are spaced the way they are.
All the ones I've used can be programmed to use either wide or narrow FM per channel. You're still right that technically the "narrow" setting might still be too wide and overlap the channels. But when I'm using a 'Feng on FRS or MURS, it's because I have an emergency and I need to get someone's attention. In that scenario, spattering is the least of my concerns.
exactly!
Thank you for doing these informational videos. I am studying for my Technician and maybe will take on the General license as well. I have looked at some radios, just to see what I would be interested in, but honestly, I am trying to pass the exam before buying one.
Keep up your great work in keeping me and others informed about amateur radio.
If you know you're going to do it, buy (or borrow) a radio and start listening.
Did you get your license?
Don't forget there is one exception to the rule. In the case of an emergency you may use any equipment, any frequency, and any mode to call for help.
Danger to life or great property loss, yes. But people still get fined if they transmit on first responder frequencies during an emergency.
not completely true as in SD a Ham there was outside of cellphone range (according to the article) and haad the Sherrif band programmed into his radio and called for help. He ended up paying a hefty fine and nearly lost his license, they confiscated his radio I believe.
John mclain didn't care. What is this? Ameture hour?? 🤣🤣
U are the coolest ham radio channel I have found. I really enjoy how you are not a ham radio snob and kill joy. Please keep up the awesome videos.
Thanks for watching! I appreciate it.
Hello! Always wanted to have a cb radio, now that I can actually start learning about them no idea where to start. I found your channel and I will definitely take advantage of the info you are posting. Thank you!
Thanks a ton, lots of useful information. Just bought a UV5R just because I could for $25, and this was a video I needed to see.
I saw the Title and began to question my life as a ham radio operator, then I watched the video.
You are really good at repeating yourself. Don't make the mistake of getting a GMRS license. I bought one on the FCC website. Never got it and it will not even let me log in with my FRN number or user name and password. I never ran legally on 11 meter, aka CB and I see no reason to why I should on GMRS or FRS.
I repeat because it’s important. You do you. I’ll keep taking about what I think matters. Cheers.
If the FCC (hypothetically) wanted to crack down on people who illegally transmit on on FRS bands using non-certified devices, HOW would they do that?
My understanding is: if someone sets their HT to low power mode, there's nothing in the FM signal that would inherently tell them (the FCC) about the device making the transmission. They would have to locate every transmitter and inspect them physically.
they can and do- check out the 5 small infractions they issued in the last 90 days after no enforcement for over a decade. it seems that they just send a strongly worded letter. I have also read something about fcc listening stations across the US that are fairly sophisticated and believed to be operated remotely and no longer manned.
@@grumpy_ken wow that's amazing. Thanks for the insight!
Monitoring RF makes sense. But I'm also curious how much manpower it takes to locate and physically inspect devices prior to issuing these infractions.
@@jeffreydmillard the RUclips channel notarubicon has been keeping track of and reading the infractions. After years of inactivity they must have gotten some funding and personnel 🤷♂️
New guy studying for my Technician license. Have my eye on a Yaesu FT-3DR. Thanks for the great videos.
That was a great and informative video on the issue of FRS and GMRS with the Boafeng. I’m a new subscriber to your channel.
Excellent explanation of a complex & misunderstood situation. I'm 68 and have only ever been licensed on CB in the 60's. Always fascinated by radio comms, would rather have a broken arm then deal with FCC techno-jargon and anal retentive advice. Old enough to have some spare $ and not give a damn, so recently got two BaoFeng GT3TP MkIII and my GMRS cert (WRHS739), mainly to use while travelling in our RV. Was going to "wing it" and ran across this vid. You are the MAN! Will probably follow your vids and maybe even start eyeballing the ham tickets. Keep it up!!
Now do one on spectral purity / spurious emissions and whether it's properly "legal" to transmit on the ham bands.
I have 👍
Hey Josh great video with a lot of good information, I am a GMRS license holder and I have type excepted Midland radios both in mobile and handheld that I use. I can understand why some people have chosen to use or continue to use ham radios for these other radio services. Part of it comes down to the manufacturers if the manufactures aren't making what customers want, then people will turn to other sources. For example I only know two companies that make a type excepted MURS radio, MURS allows the use of a detachable and external antenna, but most of the manufacturers only make them with a fixed antenna and by doing so does not allow you to take full advantage of what the MURS service offers.
Don't get me wrong I do believe we need to do everything we can to be legitimate, if you want to use a ham radio on those bands you need to have a license, the same applies for a GMRS radio and its license. I do think it is a little strange though that if you do have a ham radio and it is working on either GMRS or MURS and is within the legal power limit, bandwidth and not causing interference to others, why this radio would still be considered illegal for use considering it matches all of the technical requirements. So in the end it's a bit of a juggling act between manufacturers, consumer demand, and navigating the FCC's often complicated rules.
Just out of curiosity I don't know if you know the answer to this question but GMRS has been around since the 60s and the 70s I tried to find what type of equipment they used back then for the service and I can't really find any information did they use ham radios? If they did use ham radios is the type excepted rule a a fairly recent invention.
Glad you can afford all the "Legal" equipment. Some of us can't afford it. One thing that got me out of Amateur Radio is the Hams with Little Peckers flaunting their 5000.00 Transceivers.
I’d say a lot of hams probably run GMRS on their HT or mobile radio if they’re into GMRS. There’s strict power and bandwidth limits depending on the channel. Some are 12.5KHz, some are 20KHz, some channels are 2W, some are 50. But it usually comes down to money. It’s not economical to have a $250 Midland GMRS 40W mobile when your $200 FTM7250 or something can do it too. Same reason we use BaoFeng in the first place. It’s cheap. As long as you strictly stick to the channel, bandwidth and power, it probably isn’t an issue. Most people that are new and know nothing about radios should only stick to FRS/GMRS only radios. What I don’t like about GMRS is that Walmart sells them and doesn’t remind people to get a license in the first place. I’ve rarely met another person out of my close friends circle on GMRS that even has a license.
You're probably right about hams knowing how to "do it right", but the FCC is still concerned about Joe "Selfish" Consumer buying a cheap radio that is NOT already programmed (and locked in) for FRS or GMRS and ignoring the regulations completely. I have ham and GMRS licenses but would "never" use a ham (non-certified) HT on GMRS other than "to provide essential communication needs in connection with the immediate safety of human life and immediate protection of property when normal communication systems are not available," as part of my "amateur station". 47 CFR 97.403.
Perfectly clear as mud... I just got 4 Baofeng UV-5Rs and am studying when I can but having a hard time catching on...
Somebody has told you already that the EXACT test questions, with the EXACT correct and EXACT incorrect answers is online or in books, right? If you want a ham license don't try to understand it. All you need to do is recognize the answers when you see them. Easy peasy.
@@channelview8854 yeah. It's just memorization. But that is difficult with my learning disability... still working on it. Lol
I keep learning with this guy
for future viewers, this haircut and beard is likely due to covid19, not strategically aimed at attracting hipster viewers, haha.
He's past hipster. He's going for the mountain man crowd now.
I’m almost full Grizzly Adams status at this point. And yes, Rona hair.
I think his beard is becoming on point. Can't say as much for the hair.
I saw that too. Doesn't look too bad though.
Great video Josh. I have the frs and GMRS frequencies programmed into my radios to listen. Being said if I were ever faced with a Pan or Mayday call and I had little alternative I could care less about the regulations and have certainty that I’d have the support of governing bodies in that case. I live in mountains terrain which plays havoc with RF cellular is often unreliable. Lots of repeater dead zones too.
Woohoo! Caught an upload just as it made it in.
I don't know who started our hair style first. But it's getting popular, I may go back to 1989 and keep mine.
I have a UV5RUU that I bought from Hong Kong in 2012 that has no part 90 cert sticker. I think the ones that came from a US site have the part 90 cert stickers.
Probably
Or you have a counterfeit
MARS-Cap as you said, the CAP is Civil Air Patrol. But on HF we all know it means "high power CB"
So using a Baofeng on FRS and GMRS is like swimming in the ocean, there are sharks, but you probably won't get bitten by one.
but I be careful as I known navy divers who refused to go in the water when it was full of white tips
The FUDDS don't swim in the FRS and GMRS ocean.
You got me into ham radio and im working on getting my license thank you for everything you do!
Look up GLAARG (Greater Los Angeles Amateur Radio Group). They are doing remote testing over Zoom, if you don't have sit-down sessions where you are.
Dude, thank you so much for this one.
Thanks for the explanation! Sounds a bit like the "evil" features used to restrict attributes of certain types of rifles.
The idea for the "features" is to prevent people with over-powered stations stepping all over each other on the air. You have limited channels on FRS and GMRS, so the limits there are some times good.
Thanks for straightening a few things out for me. Being totally new to this, and wanting to get my license, this all feels like trying to get into a Frat or something. Overly complicated rules, that feel like "those in the know" only really get it, and they look at all of us newby's as bothersome pond scum Baofeng-tards. Trust me, I get it..I'm a Master Plumber and I have to explain the same simplistic hydraonic theory to folks ad nausium, but to have to study for a test, and pay a silly tariff to be able to use emergency radio feels stone-age at best. Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to teach us!
G.
Great subject ! I tell folks skin pack radio (FRS,CB, 900 ISM, MURS) is the legal option for a non licensed user. MURS is an bit of an exception as long as you follow the bandwidth and RF Pout guidelines with a part 90 radio IIRC. Its still amazes me that they were able to get these chinese radios part 90 acceptance. Thanks for sharing !
Remember kids, the FCC couldn’t give a rat’s ass about unlicensed FRS/GMRS/MURS.
As long as you don’t interfere with legitimate operations (security, medical, etc.) you’ll be just fine.
in the case of a valid emergency or preparation for a real emergency using a part 90 radio is acceptable for part 95 and part 97 and generally any part 90 mid or high tier radio is ham radio type accepted due to the inherent nature of exceeding the actual requirements for that part
The term "type accepted" went away years ago. No testing is done to "acceptance." The devices are certified once they pass the required certification testing.
The certification testing may have been done months before the company submits an FCC application, after which they become certified.
@@UpnorthHere OK, let me rephrase that... "The devices are approved for use as a transmitter once they pass the required certification process."
I programmed GMRS/FRS channels into my Anytone 878 radio as a learning exercise. I learned about bandwidth requirements and power limits for GMRS/FRS channels...and more.
I’ll never need to transmit and that is great. I have real GMRS radios that are for that.
However, my Anytone can scan the GMRS channels and listen to tests on my elderly GMRS radios. It turns out the GMRS all call channel (20) is used almost exclusively by truckers on the I35. I hear them as they drive by.
GMRS license fee is $70. Just got one for my family. I’m a Ham but wanted to have a couple of higher power HTs for talking with my spouse on our acreage and she won’t do the Ham license.
Good call!
Wait, (sorry obligated new to all of this) if I get the GMRS license, it would be, legally okay to transmit on GMRS with a baofeng?
@@dylann4723 If you are licensed you may transmit from any FCC approved GMRS transceiver. I believe Baofong makes them. but you cannot modify your Ham radio to transmit on GMRS legally.
@@dylann4723 Likely no. Baofeng radios are not type 95 accepted. The UV5R in particular is not legal to transmt to transmit on GMRS.
Good practical information. If you keep the power at .5 watts with a duck antenna, and not causing anyone a problem, swearing or fighting , you are not likely going to get in trouble here in Canada. Just don't run high power into a high gain base antenna and you will stay under the radar!
2 Watts is Allowed for FRS Radios now. It went from 0.5w to 2 Watts In 2017.
@@maddog57fulyup
I’m really new. I’m curious to know if they can be used for line of sight radio without license. I don’t want to interrupt anyone speaking and I’m trying to get my license. Thank you for response.
I'm not sure what you mean bby "line of sight radio" or why you thing that would relieve you from the licensing requirement. These radios will only work "line of sight" because of the frequencies they operate on (VHF and UHF bands). Lower frequencies will reflect off the ionosphere or bend somewhat and so can be used for longer distance communciations. When you get to VHF and above, the frequencies are not reliably useful for longer distances (beyond "line of sight") unless you run into unusual propagation anamolys or you enjoy meteor scatter or moon bounce operations. This is really fascinating stuff -- study some of the RUclips videos and take the test to get licensed. You'll then know what you are doing and be less likely to interfere with others. i commend you for being concerned about unintentional interference but until you understand what "line of sight" and other issues are really about, you should EXPECT that you are interfering with someone who has the legal right to use the frequencies tht you are bootlegging.
I doubt FCC will chase anyone down using a 3-4 watt Baofeng on MURS or FRS. Now, if you transmit on154.6 or 154.57 (the two higher MURS channels) with a 100 watt base station, with Ringo 9db gain antenna set at 100’ and interrupt radio comms for every Walmart and Lowe’s in a 40 mile radius, don’t be surprised to see a White van come calling. 154.6 and 154.57 are often used by Walmart and Lowe’s, even a few drive thus. Walmart sometimes acts all territorial about “their” channel and may fuss at you. They have no standing if you have a legal radio and follow the law, but the managers can be belligerent. I have about 8 of the RadioShack 19-1210s which was an amazing fully legal mobile MURS radio that has been out of production nearly 20 years. I was also a dealer for Dakota Alert who made legal MURS handhelds, base stations and driveway alarms, but gave up after everyone started buying baofeng instead. I have a gmrs repeater and love the service where I live, but it’s nearly useless in town because of pirates. I just accept that it’s still a good service where I live. Now in town it’s awful and likely our band will go the way of CB and we will one day lose it (the repeater and high power that is). Occasionally I get folks passing through on hand helds....for the most part I am not bothered as they have no power. However, at times if they have the right ctcss, the FRS toys are built so crappy they emit spurious emissions enough to break the squelch on the repeater....sometimes the annoying rings punch through. At that point, I shut her down until they pass through
Literally got a aircraft over Hyde Park during the UK protest for lockdown
Fun fact. Walmart uses murs frequencies. They have a grandfathered license across America for those frequencies.
There is no license for MURS
@@VoiceAlertTexas That is correct. However, before murs came to be, those were licensed business frequencies. The U.S. government "grandfathered" in whoever had a license there. Including Wally World. So they have priority to the frequency. Supposedly. The same thing happened to people on gmrs/frs frequencies.