GMRS radios?

kennyj

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Jun 22, 2005
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Orlando, FL
I'm thinking of getting my own GMRS radio for work (and some FRS personal use as a perk) because the Kenwood TK-3101 radios they provide, while elegant and very high-quality, get the living shiott beat out of them by less-than-careful coworkers and have this really annoying habit of not working properly when I really need them to, having dead batteries, and just being generally inadequate by fault of their users.

I was considering the Uniden GMR1088-2CK because of its specs, featureset (like weather radio, things that might be handy off the job) and the fact that its price is a mere fraction of what the company's radios cost. It does a lot more, just probably can't withstand the same sort of daily beatings.

Anyone have any experience in this area that could be used to vouch for my tentative choice, or set me straight? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Range is pretty important for me. I do respect my radio but occasionally, it does get dropped or wet.
 

Mike Painter

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CB radios are legal and intended for work related activities. MURS is also.
If your employer gets caught (a rare chance unless an employee gets pissed) they will be in for major fines.
To quote the FCC
"The General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) is a land-mobile radio service available for short-distance two-way communications to facilitate the activities of an adult individual and his or her immediate family members, including a spouse, children, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and in-laws"

The only concern you should have for thes radios, aside from the license and use requirements, if you buy one is the ability to run the same privacy codes the work ones do. Pretty rare these days but it still happens.
 

Lips

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Louisiana - USA
Midland GXT550VP4 5 Watt 22 Channel GMRS Value Pack with Up to 14 Mile Range, with Charger, Rechargeable Batteries, and 2 Headsets
5 Call Tones - Notifies you of an incoming call within your group
5 Watts of power with Hi, Medium and Low settings
Channel Scan - allows you to find conversations in progress
22 channels: 7 FRS, 8 GMRS, 7 shared FRS/GMRS
38 Privacy Codes
NOAA Weather Radio
Up to 14-mile range (depending on terrain and conditions)
Roger Beep
Vibrate Alert
Silent Operation
eVOX - Hands Free Operation - 3 sensitivity levels
Auto squelch automatically reduces noise
Backlit Display
Battery-saver mode and low-battery indicator
Requires 4 AA batteries (not included), or optional AVP-4 battery packs and charger.
Mossy Oak Camo - Click for Black/ Silver
3 year Manufacturers warranty!
__________________________________
$69.0 AWESOME BANG FOR THE BUCK ( 2 Radios )________________________________
Midland NAUTICO1-VP 5 Watt Handheld Marine Radio $55.00 1 Radio
 

Mike Painter

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Messages
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"Up to 14-mile range (depending on terrain and conditions) "
Talking between hillsides on a lake even FRS can do 20 miles.
GMRS (and almost any handheld) will rarely do this if there are trees and building around.

"eVOX - Hands Free Operation - 3 sensitivity levels" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
VOX has very limited usage, make sure you can turn it off in some positive way. I've listened to a lot of conversations when a switch was in the wrong position and once had to find the guy on the tractor who had his radio in VOX. Until we located him we listened to him plowing.
 

Anti_Candescent

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Mar 20, 2004
Messages
240
I have a pair of the Midland 325 radio's. They are only 3 watt, but provide good reception. 5 watt would be even better. We're not talking satellite uplinks here, but they do have good power. Most of the midland's are adjustable for output, which is good also. The battery pack came with mine, and seems good. You can chanrge both radio's at once, decent runtime on it. Plus 4 AA's runs it for a good long time. I've used the vox feature on mine, which only has 2 settings, and it works fine. In the car with windows down, it will squelch out good enough. Great warranty. For 70 bucks you're not going to find 5 watts from another company, either. Let alone two batteries and the headsets. The 5 series does the weather band, too. You can't go wrong.
 

kennyj

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Jun 22, 2005
Messages
395
Location
Orlando, FL
[ QUOTE ]
Mike Painter said:
CB radios are legal and intended for work related activities. MURS is also.
If your employer gets caught (a rare chance unless an employee gets pissed) they will be in for major fines.
To quote the FCC
"The General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) is a land-mobile radio service available for short-distance two-way communications to facilitate the activities of an adult individual and his or her immediate family members, including a spouse, children, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and in-laws"

The only concern you should have for thes radios, aside from the license and use requirements, if you buy one is the ability to run the same privacy codes the work ones do. Pretty rare these days but it still happens.

[/ QUOTE ]

Interesting... there isn't even a license for commercial use, or something?
 

GarageBoy

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Brooklyn NY
You need a $80 for 3 yr license for each person, but its not enforced and the FCC treats it as a cashcow. I'd get some VHF radios for MURS.
 

Paul_in_Maryland

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Mar 27, 2005
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Location
Maryland, USA
I don't normally visit this forum but "GMRS" caught my eye.

Several years ago, I equipped my family of five with five 5-watt MIL SPEC GMRS radios, each with a 5/8-wave extending antenna. My hope was that this $1,400 investment would keep my family from feeling the need to buy cell phones.

Well, they felt embarrassed to be seen--and heard--using long-antenna'd radios, ending each transmission with "over"-- when everyone around them was using cell phones or, at worst, those tiny FRS (Family Radio Service) $50 jobs with the 2-inch fixed antennas.

Within two years, my wife and daughters acquired cell phones. The radios fell into disuse. By the time I sold them, they fetched only about $70 apiece. It seems that everyone else was turning to cell phones, too.

Yes, it's regrettable that GMRS can't be used for business, but those are the rules. To learn more about GMRS and similar radio systems that may be more appropriate, visit GMRS Web,
 

Mike Painter

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[ QUOTE ]
GarageBoy said:
You need a $80 for 3 yr license for each person, but its not enforced and the FCC treats it as a cashcow. I'd get some VHF radios for MURS.

[/ QUOTE ]
The license is for the system, not the individual.
"The FCC grants five-year renewable licenses for GMRS Systems. The individual licensee is responsible for the proper operations of the licensed GMRS system at all times. "
 

Mike Painter

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I am not aware of any way to license GMRS for anything other than family use.
There is a ton of frequencies aavailable for business.
MURS is free, CB is free and licensing the others is not a big expense.
 

kennyj

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Joined
Jun 22, 2005
Messages
395
Location
Orlando, FL
I'm actually second-guessing if they use GMRS, as the radios they have (besides the Kenwood, they also have a few Motorola SP50 radios) can be programmed to use a couple of VHF channels.

It's not so much a choice of frequency for me, just a choice of radio that will actually work alongside theirs seamlessly. If they're using a VHF channel, naturally I need to as well.

I'm hoping to get a look at a third type of radio they have to see how it compares. I'm also going to see if I can steal a cheap FRS/GMRS radio that a friend has and see if I can get it to work.
 
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