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Two way radios?

Kingsly

Kingsly

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Aug 9, 2005
3,389
14
Either in front of a computer or behind a camera.
I got some great two way radios for Christmas (for use in paintball-ing) but upon further inspection realized that they are GMRS and thus require a license from the FCC. :eek:

All that I require in radios is that they have a charging station and privacy codes. Also they obviously need to be of the FRS frequency. Any ideas?

Alternatively, someone could talk me into keeping these and convince me that obtaining a license is no big deal.
 
Yeah, getting a GMRS license is no big deal. IIRC it covers your whole family too, but I could be wrong on that. I had one in addition to my ham radio license for a while. The advantage of GMRS is that they're interoperable with FRS radios, but you can put out quite a bit more power for better range. I've made contact over about 10 miles on a GMRS radio.
 
Kingsly said:
I would imagine that there are some pretty good FRS sets out there that are rechargeable and have privacy codes...? :confused: :eek:
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Even cheapish FRS sets would probably be good enough for an occasional game. Most of them have the so-called privacy codes these days.

If you want the privacy stuff for competitive reasons, you'll want to know that it's just a fancy sort of squelch, nothing prevents anyone from listening in. It's really there so that you can ignore other people on the same channel. There's no encryption or anything like that, that isn't even allowed with these bands.
 
iMeowbot said:
Even cheapish FRS sets would probably be good enough for an occasional game. Most of them have the so-called privacy codes these days.

If you want the privacy stuff for competitive reasons, you'll want to know that it's just a fancy sort of squelch, nothing prevents anyone from listening in. It's really there so that you can ignore other people on the same channel. There's no encryption or anything like that, that isn't even allowed with these bands.
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I know... "Privacy code"... misleading, eh? :rolleyes:

How about these? I know they are GMRS, but they also have 7 channels of FRS.
 
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Kingsly said:
I know... "Privacy code"... misleading, eh? :rolleyes:

How about these? I know they are GMRS, but they also have 7 channels of FRS.
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GMRS doesn't require a license because of the channels used, but rather because of the allowable power. Those 7 channels are the same as FRS channels, but you still need a license to operate on them at GMRS power levels.
 
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Move to Canada, where GMRS is available license-free ;)

Seriously, though, I am very glad to see someone with a conscience who is taking the license requirement seriously. Your average Wal-Mart shopper doesn't even realize he needs a license, or if he does, doesn't bother to get one.
 
notjustjay said:
Move to Canada, where GMRS is available license-free ;)

Seriously, though, I am very glad to see someone with a conscience who is taking the license requirement seriously. Your average Wal-Mart shopper doesn't even realize he needs a license, or if he does, doesn't bother to get one.
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I appreciate the appreciation. It scares me how many people are "Conscience free".


Okay, so... since the radios are just for staying in contact with my squad-mates, who should never be more than 100 feet away, all I need are some .5watt FRS radios that have privacy codes and are rechargeable. Help? I have searched Amazon and cant find anything useful.
 
Kingsly said:
I am going to assume that I cannot turn it down to .5 watts?
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Well it would depend on the specific radio, but my GMRS radios don't have a power adjustment, and I'd be surprised if any of them do. If you could do that, you'd have to stick to the 7 frequencies that overlap with FRS (there are also GMRS-only channels).
 
Just reviving this thread, as I'm heading to Florida on 3 July on a three week vacation with my family (they think I'm going on holiday to the USA to enjoy myself, but I'm really going to get my iPod touch).

We'll be going to all the usual places, Disney etc. and we have a couple of kids, so we're keen to get a couple of decent two-way FRS radios, rather than rack up cellphone charges.

Can anyone reccommend any good two-way radios I can pick up at Wal Mart when I arrive?
 
Excellent - where can I pick up a set when I get to FL?

Also - will I be able to use these in the UK without too much in the way of legal issues?

Best,

CDC
 
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