General Mobile Radio Service is just as the subtitle implies; another Citizens Band. It's located on 462MHz, and has a somewhat limited range by design. The system uses crisp, clean FM (Frequency Modulation), and is not bothered by "skip" or propagation. The F.C.C. in 1989 made a ruling that the GMRS band was no longer to be licensed for business use, instead, they wanted to promote it's use by those interested in communications for their family's (personal) business. They grandfathered those businesses that allready had licenses, and allow them to renew. But the F.C.C. will not issue NEW licenses to any commercial users or "groups".

Any U.S. citizen, without any felony convictions or prior license revocations, can apply for use of the GMRS. So long as your purpose for using the band is of a "personal nature" and not for business, or any commercial interest, GMRS is for you.

Let your imagination run wild. You can use it to keep in touch with family members when they're on the go, coordinate family events, radio in emergencies and much much more. If there are others in your area, you can converse with them and discuss anything you like, so long as it's clean, and not business related. (There are some people on the net that would like you to believe you are not allowed to talk to others, outside of your own license, but, they are sadly mistaken. They have the idea that it will turn GMRS into another 'CB' band with all of the foul language and bad operating practices.)

You can use any equipment that has been "type accepted" by the FCC to comply with the rules and regulations of Part 15 and Part 95. Icom, Uniden, Radio Shack and Maxon are just a few of the manufacturers that have radios designed for GMRS. The radios can be a base, mobile or a handheld. You may have an antenna that is 6.1 meters (20 feet) or less in height above ground, and can operate using 50 watts on main channels, and 5 watts on the interstitial channels. Digital squelch, tone encoded squelch for selective calling purposes is allowed.

GMRS consists of 14 "channels" or frequencies. The FCC will license you for 2 "main" channels or channel pairs of your choice, and will allow you to use the emergency and interstitial frequencies without additional licensing. Repeaters on GMRS operate like any other, they have an input frequency 5 Mhz above the output. Here are all of the GMRS frequencies:

Main: 462.550, 462.575, 462.600, 462.625, 462.650, *462.675, 462.700, 462.725

Interstitial: 462.5625, 462.5875, 462.6125, 462.6375, 462.6625, 462.6875, 462.7125

Emergency: *462.675

As far as you can with legal power levels. If you can hear them, and they can hear you, it's ok. There are no limitations on how far you can talk, as long as you do not cause interference to others on the same frequency. A simple 2 watt handheld radio will be good for about 5 miles or better, where as 50 watts and a base antenna will allow you to go 20 miles or more! If you have access to a repeater in your area, this will drasticly increase your range. A repeater is a device up on a hill or building that re-transmits your signal on another frequency, at a higher power. This allows small handhelds and mobiles to stay in contact when they are too far to hear each other on simplex (TX and RX on same channel).

Sure you can, but there are two things you need to do. You must be licensed for the input of the repeater (467Mhz) and you must have the permission of the "trustee" or owner of the repeater first. Some of the repeaters in your area may be offered for a price. There's a group here in Phoenix that want's $40 per month to use one of their repeaters! What a rip! You'll notice that the majority of people use the repeaters, and seldome use simplex. And even then, the majority of repeater users are businesses. (Yes, businesses. Even though the FCC doesn't issue new ones, old licenses (pre 1989) can continue to renew)

The cost is initialy only $60.00 for the license (5 years), plus the cost of your radios and other equipment you purchase. Its another $60 to renew for another 5 years after that.

Simple. Call 1-(800)-322-1117, and select the appropriate number for ordering forms (was option 1). Specify that you want form 574, and order more than one copy incase of mistakes. If you plan to use a repeater, also order form 574-T. The 574-T allows you to operate temporarily (on repeaters only) until your license is received. Once you have received the form and instructions, complete them as best you can and send it in with your licenseing fee.

Give your application about 4 weeks, then call the 800 number shown above. Select option 1 again, and ask for the status of your application. Last time I called, they told me to expect a turn-around time of 5-6 weeks, but was more like 3 weeks. Keep an eye on your check you sent. Check with the bank on a regular basis to see when it clears. This is a good indicator that your app was received. I found that the check you send is cashed about a week before you show up in the FCC's computer. The apps are still entered by hand into the computer at the FCC, and this is why there is a lag in time between cashing your check and the entry into the system.

If you still have questions, and I'm sure you will, you can E-me or contact the Feds. If you need GMRS information, might I sugguest a sweetheart that helped me out a great deal. Joy Alford 1-(202)-418-0680

Related Links:

FCC's GMRS Fact Sheet