FRS radios are a lot more than just toys! I take groups on kayak trips on the protected sounds along the east coast. These groups inevitably spread out over time and I needed a way to maintain contact. I have a GMRS license, and I have both a GMRS and a vhf marine band radio hooked onto my life jacket. The group members aren't family members, so they can't use my license, but as GMRS and FRS radios share the same frequencies I just hand out a bunch of FRS radios everyone in the group. Over water GMRS and FRS radios have the same range (about 1.5 miles when sitting in a kayak), but using relays when necessary I can pass along messages and information over a large area. My Motorola 600 and Retevis 49p waterproof (and idiot proof) radios are made for that sort of activity, and have proven to be very reliable.

Best explanation on KZfaq. Exactly what I needed. Well done.

CB now has authorization by the FCC to transmit in the FM Mode.

The HF aspect of CB also allows for “skip”. You get the right band conditions and right antenna, you can converse for hundred of miles.

FM CB is here now too.

You bring up a great point. We need to start a letter writing campaign asking the FCC to grant GMRS more channels. It is also important to pay the $35.00 and get a license. This gives the FCC the evidence it needs showing there is a growing need for the service.

Our emergency radio group uses MURS for non-licensed participants in training or emergencies.

Having all cb , gmrs , ham like cb for what it is and everyone runs power so its actually got a lot more range than advertised. I use gmrs the most as its nice to use repeaters and its much easier for the family and not as stuck up as ham , although ham is definitely the best for performance.

I'm a GMRS user right now but I really think I want to get a HAM radio license. I don't believe it's too hard to study for but having that extra capability is VERY valuable in the event of SHTF.

Oh and you need to look into cb more. It has ssb and there are many groups of people talking dx. There are still those talking over seas on it and now cb in the states can use FM so that opens more to it as well. Don't get me wrong my ham radio legally has more capabilities but if people actually set up their cb's properly they would get a lot better results.

This was by far the best breakdown for someone new...like me.

Thanks for that, that was informative.

I have it all, why? Because they all have advantages and can reach people that don’t have any of the other radios. You can now get FM CB radios too. Many many 4x4 off roader “jeep” clubs still use CB radios.

FRS isn't just a child's toy as you can get quality made radios and use them for business use. C.B. which is allowed 4 watts is both FM/AM now and in FM mode allows CTCSS/DCS tones to filter out unwanted signals.

Thanks for the info. It was what I needed to hear. I recently got my GMRS license and bought a GMSR radio. Where I live in Massachusetts there is not much of anything going on with GMRS other than road construction flaggers use GSMR & FRS for directing traffic. GSMR repeaters are not within reach of me, due to my geographical location which is pretty rural. Most GSMR repeaters out here are in more urban areas. I have a CB radio from years past, and no one other than truckers are on it, as you stated. So, the GMRS radio is sitting on my desk packaged up and ready to to send back to where I purchased it. I'll take a look at your links and think about going for a tech. Ham license. I thought the GMRS radio would have been ideal, but the lack of users & reachable repeaters out here really put a damper on it for me. Don't think GMRS has really caught on yet in the eastern part of the country. Thanks again for the information and I have subscribed to your channel.

Just a few points that techies don’t often consider. I think techies get so wrapped Up in technology that they forget about much of the practical side of the equation. 1) GMRS May have its place for a short distance Communication with handheld devices if you’re on a hike or perhaps four wheeling, but that’s about it. The 36 mile ranges that I often hear quoted for GMRS are seldom realized unless you were an extremely flat environment with no obstructions and that of course presupposes that you can hit a repeater And as many people have stated there may not be reachable repeaters in your area. 2) ham radios offer the greatest range but also depend on repeaters for that great range. As you said, depending on what you’re using it for it may be fine, but you need to be licensed and as such fewer people use them. As a practical matter, whatever radio service you choose to use your main purpose is to reach other people so no matter how good a particular type of radio may be if an insufficient number of people are using it it isn’t worth very much to you. My main criticism of your review is that those numbers are not explored so to a certain degree on information that is inaccurate. Currently there are 750,000 licensed Ham Radio Operators in the U.S. and only 80,000 licensed GMRS users in the U.S. These are rather small numbers for a country of 335 million people. In contrast 3.5 million truckers use CB radios everyday and over 40 million CB radios have been sold in the U.S. since the late 60's. So in making a decision one must look beyond the technical aspects. And instead look at marketing data. Ham radio usage is down and GMRS really hasn’t caught on yet to have a sufficient user base. Despite what you said about no one using CB radios except for truckers or hookers, the fact of the matter is that CB usage is up drastically. Walcott radio the largest online radio dealer states that sales of CB radios have tripled in the last year and they can’t even keep the popular models and the associated accessories in stock. So if you’re looking for a radio to use in an emergency, if you are looking for a tool that can help you when you’re mobile in your car or truck on the road in areas where cell service may go down, if you are looking for a radio that is not dependent upon repeaters for range, CB radio is the way to go particularly now that it is available in FM so that you can get greater clarity for the shorter distance that FM covers. If you wish to take it further, CB radios are readily amplified and many ham radios such as the President Richard come from the factory ready to be modified for CB Band and operate at 12 Watts providing even greater range basically giving you the power of a SSB channel on all 40 channels.. This is not a problem since the FCC has been defunded in terms of its enforcement arm so no one is going to be looking for you if you are using a 12 W CB. I have such a radio and it’s range rivals and even surpasses that of GMRS radios and it does not require a license. Further, in the event of a power grid failure where the repeaters go down, such a modified CB radio will clearly provide the greatest range and the largest number of users that you can contact. So if you’re looking to make a decision then you should make it based on all real relevant facts and not just the technical aspects and at the end of the day the overriding relevant facts are that CB radios are the most prolific form of radio communication in this country, is completely non-dependent on possibly unreachable repeaters, requires no license and are readily available at a reasonable price.

In Europe CB or 11Metres is used for global communications just like Ham, without a license or test. We can use all modes, AM. FM. SSB. Each country has a divisional code forming the first part of your callsign. Example: Italy is 1 USA is 2 England is 26 Wsles is 163 Spsin is 30 Plus weve had FM on CB since the Early 1980s I live in Wales 73s ftom 163-FB-029

FRS, GMRS, UHV/VHF, HF, but them all! Get liscences for them all! FRS allows me and my neighbors to communicate during flash floods and winter black outs. An FRS transmission can be relayed to GMRS, Ham on UHF/VHF and HF. CB can also be reached long distances with the correct antenna. I can hear people on my SDRplay and they talk between Michigan and Louisiana.

MURS is also used by commercial businesses and can be used for proximity security. Some factories using it have large antennas to reach around a factory. It's VHF. All four of these services are in my repertoire. I'm far enough away that MURS is very private. Of course GMRS is pretty silent near me. FRS is up to 2 watts now. There may be audio issues as it's supposed to be narrow band.

This was very informative. As a hooker aficionado I have been totally lost since radio shack went out of business.

Does the cell phone make the long distance features of HAM less critical? Repeaters connected to the internet? It be interesting to see Garmin/Inreach compare to the HAM locator you mention. Or satellite phone too.

The tech license allows for digital as well. You can use digital on 2m, 70cm, 10m and I believe 6m. If you are willing to learn cw you have other frequencies open to a tech.

For some reason it will not let me like the video. So hopefully the comment works towards you algorithm. Thanks for the video!!!

You probably know this by now. CB is now allowed to have FM as well.

Since ham radios are versatile, can one be used on a gmrs frequency, eliminating the need for two radios?

11:14 - You can take the test online.

do you need 2 FRN numbers one for GMRS and one for HAM or it’s the same?

Which is best the answer is yes....😂 In a shtf scenario you want to monitor all traffic especially if you're bugged in you want to know what's going on around you you don't want to broadcast you don't want people to know who you are or where you're at or that you're even out there your best bet is just a listen to everything listening for news and or possible threats to you and your area and only broadcast when necessary with encrypted radios only between friends families neighbors say you live on a farm in the middle of nowhere in a relatively safe area something bad happens and you can stay in contact with your neighbor's farm your friends down the road or whatever but you don't want to be out there broadcasting talking letting people know you're out there because there will be people that can easily find you and they'll show up with 20 guys and four pickup trucks to take whatever you have and if it's just you your wife and your kids you don't stand much of a chance

The FCC doesn't care about the personal radio services. Adding FM to CB radio is many decades too late. They should've also increased the legal power on AM to at least 30 watts and doubled the number of channels. By failing to do these things they've insured that CB radio will NEVER make a comeback of any kind.

Cb is not dead ssb 12 watts ch: 28. (Lsb 36 38 39 is active

you sir do not know what your talking about me and my friends talk on CB radios daily in Arkansas . it not only just used in truck . there people all city that uses CB radio all the time you should check thing out before make a statement like you just made . I don't know about murs, grms or frs. but I'm ham & CB radio operator

You in USA is so luck with all the options. Please remember not everybody the view your videos is in the US. I think this was a good video. I get mixed info on CB. In South Africa, there some free FRS type radios, CB as a paid service hand ham as expensive service with 1 license type an test 2 times per year. None of these 3 types of license where you can grow into it, if you find it is really what you expected. The SA equivalent of your fcc, icasea web site is so difficult to use and get info from. Clubs are limited to the big cities and they are more ham. For the average person, its so difficult to get info. Almost no videos on this platform. Web sites are limited or outdated. So, thank you for this video, but please remember the rest of the world also see your videos, so maybe don't talk as if your services is available all over the planet.

SDR???