Tech Licenses

Some Differences Between Amateur and GMRS license

If you are using amateur radio to communicate with family members, each person controlling an amateur station must take a test and have their own license. There must be a licensed operator at the "control point."

For instance, if you and your wife are both licensed, and your unlicensed minor child is riding in the car with you, the child may use the radio, when under the direct supervision of the licensed parent. But an unlicensed minor child cannot use the radio unsupervised when you gets out of the car to use the ATM, because there is no longer a licensed operator at "the control point."

The General Mobile Radio Service is an FCC Part 95 Licensed Service intended for personal and business use by immediate family members. So under your license any immediate family member over 16 years of age can operate under your license. The license costs $85 for five years. No test is required. Portable radios up to 5 watts and mobile radios up to 50 watts may be used if certified for use in the GMRS. Like Amateur or ham radio, GMRS also enables use of repeaters.

FRS channels 1 through 7 are shared with the GMRS. Unlicensed FRS users and GMRS licenseess may legally talk to each other on these shared simplex channels. For instance, this would enable you to monitor the activities of your unlicensed minor children who carry an FRS radio, and you may contact them using your more powerful GMRS mobile or portable radio using the shared interstitial simplex channels 1 through 7.

Amateur radio VHF and UHF repeaters are widely available for use by licensed users throughout the US. There are several repeater directories available, one is:
http://www.artscipub.com/repeaters/ GMRS repeaters are less common, but are usually found near large urban areas.

Repeaters "Repeat" radio signals to extend range of portable and mobile units. They receive on one frequency while simultaneously re-transmitting on another (Duplex).

Amateur radio and REACT GMRS repeaters are available to licensed users on a shared basis. Commercial equipment used is similar to that in public safety radio.

Repeaters are typically located on high-rise buildings or towers and transmit at 50-100 times the power of a portable radio. Repeaters may be linked together in a network. Some repeaters enable "phone patch" to 911.

Repeater coverage depends upon the "radio horizon," typically 20 to 60 miles operating radius for licensed users with commercial-grade equipment.

For more information:

Amateur Radio Relay League Emergency Communications
Emergency Radio

FCC General Mobile Radio Service Licensing Information
http://wireless.fcc.gov/feesforms/feeguide/services/generalmobile.pdf

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