GMRS Mobile radio

[mep1811]

Has anyone used the GMRS Icom F221 / F121 Radio? It is a 45 watt unit which I will pair with a 5db gain antenna.

I am thinking if getting this in my FJ60.

 

[gary in ohio]

you'd be about 40 watts over the legal output limit if that figure of 45 watts is correct. GMRS and FRS radios are limited to 5 watts of output power if I'm not mistaken.

FRS is limited to 1/2watt (500mw).

GMRS has 8 simplex/repeater output channels that you can operate 50 watts and 7 Interstitial simiplex channels shared
with FRS that are limited to 5 watts.

An FCC license is required to use GMRS frequency, EVEN!!! if they are in combo FRS/GMRS radios and regardless of power output levels.

 

[AndrewP]

Why bother?

Step up to Ham radio and forget about FRS, GMRS, CB.

Save your $$ and spend it on radio that is flexible and really does the job you want.

 

[off-roader]

Has anyone used the GMRS Icom F221 / F121 Radio? It is a 45 watt unit which I will pair with a 5db gain antenna.

I am thinking if getting this in my FJ60.

I checked the spec sheet and I don't see where it says it's a GMRS unit unless that's within the UHF/VHF frequencies?

Also I agree that unless the folks you plan on communicating with regularly have a radio which supports UHF/VHF, I'd stick to either GMRS/FRS or CB as those are the most common off road communication standards from the folks I've run into.

 

[gary in ohio]

corrected.

I'd go Ham too but being as how I'm already a Ham operator I'm probably a bit biased.

It really comes down to this, who are you going to talk to and where are they gonna be when you need to talk to them? If you're looking for something to communicate directly with another person(s) with and they've got a GMRS radio, you're golden. If on the other hand, you're out somewhere trying to raise someone in an emergency, you're at the mercy of the equipment you chose.

I don't know of any emergency communications organisations that use GMRS, on the other hand, there are an awful lot of them using Ham frequencies.

While ham may be the test option for general communications, GMRS has its place. As for Emcomms on GMRS, there are a many groups using GMRS for emergency communications, While not as pracical as it was in the past SAR groups, I heard of one skywarn group, Several REACT groups and neighborhood watches. Keep kin mind also that GMRS was once available to business, I know of a couple police and fire agrencies that are still licensed on GMRS. You can license business anymore but a few grandfathered places exisit

 

[gary in ohio]

I checked the spec sheet and I don't see where it says it's a GMRS unit unless that's within the UHF/VHF frequencies?

Also I agree that unless the folks you plan on communicating with regularly have a radio which supports UHF/VHF, I'd stick to either GMRS/FRS or CB as those are the most common off road communication standards from the folks I've run into.

With the exception of the little toy FRS combo radio, you will seldcom see GMRS listed on any mobile. While rules say radio must be type accepted for part 95 GMRS, FCC has said you can also use part90 accepted radio that follow a more stringant rule set and still be within the law. So MOST any UHF radio that is fcc certified part 90 or 95 is ok to use. When you go part 90 radio you do need to make sure when you program the radio that your following the part 95 rules on freq and power levels.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I agree with Gary and others here, GMRS I think has a definite place. In fact I happen to think that GMRS is a fantastic solution to comm for 4WD as a replacement to CB. The way a lot of other OHV enthusiasts use ham is more akin to GMRS anyway, program their radios for a few simplex and a few repeaters and never think about it again. There are a lot more things you can do within ham that I have a feeling a lot of people never try. But the point is to have someone to talk to, so you really just need to agree to use one service or another with your buds and then get familiar with it.

 

[mep1811]

This is the radio I am looking at. Few people seem to have CBs unless they are real offroaders. Most people I go out with all have a FRS radio. I don't like taking and driving on a HT and I used to having a mobile radio from work. I do plan on getting a ham license in the future.

Icom F221 / F121 Radio

Applications Capable
Features
Powerful 50W (VHF), 45W (UHF) Output
6 Prog. Buttons and Independent Volume Knob
4W typ. Front-mounted Speaker
128 Memory Channels with 8 Memory Banks
8-Character Alphanumeric Display
Flexible Hanger Actions
Built-in 2-Tone, 5-Tone, CTCSS, DTCS Encoder & Decoder
Advanced Multi 2-Tone/5-Tone Systems (See overleaf for details)
Standard DTMF Encoder and Optional DTMF Decoder with ANI Function
Programmable Wide/Narrow Channel Spacing for Each Channel
2.5kHz Channel Step (U.S.A. VHF only)
Advanced Multi 2-Tone/5-Tone systems
Programmable actions when a matched tone is received
Bell icon indication ON/OFF/Blink
Answer back calls
Beep sounds
Scan Start/Stop
Auto transmission
Stun/Kill functions (prevents use of a lost or stolen radio)
External out for horn drive (Optional OPC-617 is required)
32 Tx and 9 Rx 5-Tone codes available
11 Tx and Rx 2-Tone codes available
Other features
Hook scan function and Hook scan ON/OFF button are assignable
10 scanning lists and normal/priority scan
Power on password
Optional Voice Scrambler, UT-109/UT-110
SmarTrunkII™ or LTR® Trunking capability with optional UT-105 or
UT-111, respectively
Backlit LCD and keys for night time operations
Meets MIL-STD 810 C, D, E and F requirements

34%


Details

 

[gary in ohio]

I did a quick check on the Icom web site and didnt see it, but I would CONFIRM that you can adjust the power on the radio via software programming before I would buy it. I would also confirm part90 and/or part95 compliance.

Without the programable power, down to 5watts you will NOT be able to talk to any of the little FRS/GMRS combo radio's and would be only legally able to communication on the simplex GMRS only simplex or repeater freq.

The use the radio on ANY freq you will need a license..