New GMRS Handheld Two-Way Radios Now Available

[MOguy]

So use a cell phone. Didn't realize it was a question of substitution.

Anyway, just an example of the propagation for the W0GS repeater in Dixon. A 25 watt transceiver with a 5 dB gain antenna at 120 feet AGL is going to cover a lot of area. You just said south and west of Rolla and that you worked at Ft Leonard Wood, so I assumed you probably lived in Waynesville or St. Robert and this repeater will cover there well.

I just don't get it, why ask about repeaters if you don't actually want to learn anything about them?

Also looks like there's a couple of repeaters in Osage Beach, which you could probably raise from near Waynesville, too.

View attachment 508139

I live south, closer to Houston. I would like better permanent coverage where I live but at this point it doesn't seem practical. The areas i am looking to extend my comms ( how dreadlocks has mentioned) are south and east primarily of Houston. The area you speak of has decent cell phones coverage.

I am not interested in learning about them, or at least much about them. I am not looking to turn this into a hobbyI just want to be able to communicated with those in my family or group in an area where there is not the ability to do that. It there is there is cell phone coverage that is good enough.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Cell phones sound like a fine plan.

Then a repeater actually located in Houston won't be of interest.

Repeaters within 25 miles of Houston



Particularly the one (KB0MPO) that is linked to the Southwest Missouri Skywarn system, since I don't how much a fella should worry in an area prone to severe storms.

Southwest Missouri Regional Skywarn – Severe Weather Repeater Network

n0nws.com

 

[BigDaveZJ]

What's the usual turnaround time on the GMRS license? Have a couple of the Midland radios at home and waiting for my license to go through so I can test them out a bit.

For completion's sake, I got an email overnight saying my license was granted. Less than 48 hours from application to receiving the license.

 

[MOguy]

Cell phones sound like a fine plan.

Then a repeater actually located in Houston won't be of interest.

Repeaters within 25 miles of Houston

View attachment 508205

Particularly the one (KB0MPO) that is linked to the Southwest Missouri Skywarn system, since I don't how much a fella should worry in an area prone to severe storms.

Southwest Missouri Regional Skywarn – Severe Weather Repeater Network

n0nws.com

Are these GMRS? Willow Springs, Houston would be getting close.

 

[MOguy]

So use a cell phone. Didn't realize it was a question of substitution.

Anyway, just an example of the propagation for the W0GS repeater in Dixon. A 25 watt transceiver with a 5 dB gain antenna at 120 feet AGL is going to cover a lot of area. You just said south and west of Rolla and that you worked at Ft Leonard Wood, so I assumed you probably lived in Waynesville or St. Robert and this repeater will cover there well.

I just don't get it, why ask about repeaters if you don't actually want to learn anything about them?

Also looks like there's a couple of repeaters in Osage Beach, which you could probably raise from near Waynesville, too.

View attachment 508139

You have never used a cell phone? I don't want to learn how to build them. I would like to use them and understand their capabilites and limitations and there restrictions.

I have used amplifiers for cell phones in the past that worked. Is there something like that for GMRS?

 

[dreadlocks]

Directional Antenna and/or Signal Amps, you can put out 50W of power.. far more than any phone can.. best too get a radio that has the power output you want than to use an external amp tho.

Distance requires LOS though, you can only multi-path propagate things so far.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Are these GMRS? Willow Springs, Houston would be getting close.

Ham. I don't have a GMRS license, @dreadlocks would be the subject matter expert there.

You have never used a cell phone? I don't want to learn how to build them. I would like to use them and understand their capabilites and limitations and there restrictions.

I have used amplifiers for cell phones in the past that worked. Is there something like that for GMRS?

There's places in Colorado and Utah where I travel that have better (and sometimes only) amateur repeater coverage and not cell phones. So I have a phone but don't rely on it any more than I do ham radios.

Many years of significant effort has been placed in linking ham repeaters state-wide and regionally and as a result they are relied upon for emergency use. Coverage is pretty good overall and as a volunteer- and donation-based system I would call it excellent.

Of course the state-built emergency management radios are good, but it's only recently (and at great taxpayer cost) that I would say they are actually better. The main (and not small) difference is when a state repeater goes down in the winter they can afford to get a team there with helicopters while hams have to find and borrow a snowcat or wait until spring.

 

[MOguy]

Directional Antenna and/or Signal Amps, you can put out 50W of power.. far more than any phone can.. best too get a radio that has the power output you want than to use an external amp tho.

Distance requires LOS though, you can only multi-path propagate things so far.

GMRS seems to be affected by terrain more-so than others. What about in thicker woods? On the trail it seems to be the new CB, so GMRS seems to be the answer there.


For around the camp site and family communication is their better options as far as radio to radio than GMRS?

 

[dreadlocks]

Various Frequencies have different propagation characteristics, UHF (70cm HAM & GMRS) likes to bounce off solid objects and does really well in the city/metro areas and in canyon lands.. unfortunately in a conifer woodland the foliage often attenuates the signal.. Deciduous environments also but to a lesser extent.. VHF (2m HAM) tends to propagate with less attenuation in these environments but dont reflect as well to bounce around corners in a canyon/dense urban environment... HAM's often run VHF Repeaters out in rural America, UHF Repeaters in Metro America to take advantage of each band's various strengths (also UHF is a bigger band so you can fit more repeaters on it in dense environments)

Terrain effects everything until you get into HF and can reflect signals off the atmosphere, Cell phones operate at higher frequencies than either VHF/UHF and the signals propagate even worse, thats why one HAM repeater can cover areas that require a dozen cellular towers... 5G is so much worse they are going to need a tower every other block.. the higher the frequency the more attenuated it is when it has to penetrate a solid object like a wall, canopy, vehicle body, etc.

For the family around camp there is really only GMRS, CB is HF but its characteristics are terrible, along with the gear.. HF is hard to work compared to UHF and requires more knowledge/experience to get decent results.

 

[MOguy]

Various Frequencies have different propagation characteristics, UHF (70cm HAM & GMRS) likes to bounce off solid objects and does really well in the city/metro areas and in canyon lands.. unfortunately in a conifer woodland the foliage often attenuates the signal.. Deciduous environments also but to a lesser extent.. VHF (2m HAM) tends to propagate with less attenuation in these environments but dont reflect as well to bounce around corners in a canyon/dense urban environment... HAM's often run VHF Repeaters out in rural America, UHF Repeaters in Metro America to take advantage of each band's various strengths (also UHF is a bigger band so you can fit more repeaters on it in dense environments)

Terrain effects everything until you get into HF and can reflect signals off the atmosphere, Cell phones operate at higher frequencies than either VHF/UHF and the signals propagate even worse, thats why one HAM repeater can cover areas that require a dozen cellular towers... 5G is so much worse they are going to need a tower every other block.. the higher the frequency the more attenuated it is when it has to penetrate a solid object like a wall, canopy, vehicle body, etc.

For the family around camp there is really only GMRS, CB is HF but its characteristics are terrible, along with the gear.. HF is hard to work compared to UHF and requires more knowledge/experience to get decent results.

Thanks

 

[Billoftt]

What's the usual turnaround time on the GMRS license? Have a couple of the Midland radios at home and waiting for my license to go through so I can test them out a bit.

When I checked the ULS the next day it was there already.