Kind of like it being unknown.

I am just getting into Ham radio, and this channel has been very informative. I still have alot to learn, hopefully I can pass my test on Dec. 14th.

Well I passed, and I have my call sign.

@@OG_Zlog Congrats!

@@OG_Zlog Congrats

That emergency needs to be life or death, not out of gas or even a car crash if there are no serious injuries

Exactly. But the 2 watt rule makes me cringe. It should be 30 - 200 watts but....

@@JARyding Yes, technically, "the rules" cannot be legally "overridden " -- the rules INCLUDE a limited exemption for "mayday" situations where no other communication means will work.

@@UpnorthHere If you want 30W to 200W, just go for the 144-148 range.

if you do not have a call sign no one will talk to you same on G M R S you need to give your full calsign every 10 minets

Yes, you are correct. I was speaking broadly about FRS and forgot that the FCC changed the rules to allow up to 2 watt operation on certain channels.

BTech GMRS V-1 has the FRS channels in them and the radio allows external antennas.

@@djsoundzentertainment42 Under the new regs, that would be a GMRS radio (not FRS ) and requires a GMRS license to operate, and other operating requirements under GMRS rules.

@@UpnorthHere Yes, so what are you trying to tell me?

@@djsoundzentertainment42 That your GMRS radio has GMRS frequencies, not "FRS", although some GMRS frequencies match FRS frequencies, and are limited to 500 mW.

True , but only for the former GMRS channels. The original FRS channels are still 500 mW.

MURS is great for that purpose. VHF works well in wooded areas and you can set up an external antenna at your base camp to extend the range.

If you're new, you might want to spend somr time learning the rules.

Xv I igxii'gxg😊

Some Walmart and Burger King still use MURS 154.570 MHz Blue Dot and 154.600 MHz Green Dot. While standing outside a Walmart waiting for friends buy some camping stuff I was talking to other friends who were getting gas a security guard asked what frequency I was talking on (I think it was 151.880 ch.2). I told him and he got all up in my face telling me I couldn't use it on Walmart property. He told me that Walmart had "licenses" for all MURS channels. I tried to show him on my pocket computer that he was wrong but he wouldn't listen, so I just turned and walked away. Our next stop was Burger King. My friends in the van heard the drive-up window person taking orders. Now I'm not someone who would encourage interfering with public safety, or other restricted frequencies, but geeze louise, I'm not above trolling a Burger King for a moment of fun. Everybody in the van started singing What's Up (Four Non Blondes) dropping the carrier after each verse. We didn't sing the entire song in the car, we got out and walked in the store singing. All I have to say is it was hysterical. No planes crashed, we didn't go to DEFCON 5 and we threw the kid with the headset a 20$ The entire staff behind the counter was in stitches along with all the customers. Six big bearded hairy guys with leathers, denim, grease on our hands and I sure we smelled kinda foul. True story!

Well I have had my radio on going through several Walmart's sticking right on the cart in front of me and the worst I got was an employee turn their head and looked at me. By the way nobody who is licensed has exclusive use of anyting. Because you are licensed ham operator do you have exclusive use of all the ham channels? He's just misinformed as well. Walmart can make a rule stating that they don't want you to use it inside their store and that would be fine if they put up a sign. But if you are out front on the sidewalk that is a common use area with all of the other stores in the shopping complex. Whatever fast food is out there or anchor grocery store. It's all common property in Walmart can't tell you not to use it in front of their store. But as long as you're not on there phone they won't hear you anyway because they have a repeater in that store in the middle that helps the walkie-talkies boost signal to each other inside the concrete. But of course best not to argue or the guard will harass you next time you want to buy a hammer. I wonder what he would tell the local volunteer fire department is also on Channel 4 frequency or an EMT service. They have a license as well. I don't think Walmart would have the ability to tell them to turn their radios off while inside the store LOL. All you can do with a $5 an hour employee is shake your head and walk away. By the way it just hit me, Walmart cannot possibly have a license for all five channels oh, they are licensed on the Business Band. Channel 1 2 and 3 are industrial channels I know for a fact the FCC does not issue crossband licenses LOL and as far as I know Walmart is a retail outlet not an industrial construction site or Metropolitan Water District or telephone company

Yes, you are correct. I was speaking broadly about FRS and forgot that the FCC changed the rules to allow higher power operation on certain channels.

I didn't deviate from the topic, but I figure that you're a person who rather have 100% facts. I may have made an error with FRS channels 8 through 14. I looked at part 95 B and notice FRS Channels 8 through 14 are still restricted to 1/2 watt

1 though 7 are restrict to 5 watts GMRS Lic ONLY ! FRS 2W ONLY ! ;)

When i had my technician license decades ago I put a home brew j-pole on the end of an extendable pool skimmer pole.I could put it. Up and take it down simple.

Thanks for the info. I know other countries have similar unlicensed radio services, but I didn't know the specifics.

@Stevie Blue that frequency may be assigned to hundreds of stations, not just NYPD.

anyone can seem to have good knowledge, when looking down every 4 seconds to read off paper

The FCC is a Toothless Lion that has been Castrated and had it’s rectum sewn shut so they are not doing anything since they have no money for enforcement for such petty stuff and all they are is just a scare tactic.

Yeah same radio but murs only. Alot more cost and alot less features.

Not true. You can still be fined or arrested.

UpnorthHere ... Oh really??? Show me ONE example of a fine imposed, or an arrest made for ANYONE, unlicensed or not, transmitting a distress call.

​@@xavierathorne There have been massive fines handed down for people who thought they had an emergency and jumped on public safety frequencies. The key here is that a lot of people have a different idea of "emergency" than the FCC does, and the FCC will win. But they are a lot more protective of those frequencies for good reason. A good rule of thumb for breaking into non-permitted bands in emergencies is "Am I screwed enough that I even care about receiving a FCC fine?" If you have enough broken bones that the answer is "no", then transmit away.

@@ExtremeSquared then that isn't an emergency. If somebody is too stupid to know what is or isn't an emergency, then they are an obvious exception. True emergencies-- nobody is being fined or jailed.

​@@CenturyofTerror Yes, that is what I am saying. There are examples of this. The people in these cases thought they could use the defense that there was an emergency and they failed. I won't call them stupid -- they just made an expensive miscalculation.

Prior to the early 2000's, when the MURS band was created, the five channels used to be known as the business band 'color dot' channels. A license was required and there are still a few businesses that are grandfathered onto the service, most notably Walmart stores. It could be possible that your local fire and EMS are grandfathered, but I doubt it. They most likely latched onto the empty channels so as not to need a license. They really should move off them and onto a licensed public safety frequency.

That's a great question and I'm glad you brought the point up. There are only 5 MURS channels, but the BTech has 15 channels hard programmed into it. You can't change the frequencies of the channels, but you can change the CTCSS or DCS codes for each channel. Having three sets of channels allows you to have up to three different tone codes for each channel. I hope this answers your question.

Ha ha I think I need to do more studying. I'm in no way a radio guy. My experience extends to bubble package radios (cobra, midland, etc.) The issues I have is everyone was using the same style radios on campgrounds, parks, hiking trails, etc. So I was told about MURS since it doesn't require a license to operate. I'm not really sure what CTCSS and DCS is but Ill look online to study this. I also hear others speak about blocking tones, Walmart, home depot, etc. That's something else I need to study.

So to clarify I assume you are saying the BTtech has 3 banks of the 5 MURS channels hard coded correct.

Yes, that is correct. 3 banks of five channels, or 15 channels total. You can change the CTCSS or DCS codes for each of the channels, but you can't add or remove channels.

As with similar "privacy codes", you're still sharing the same 5 MURS channels -- you're just ignoring (and possibly annoying ) anyone who has to listen to you because you just talk right over people you can't hear.

KC9CPX ~ thank you for the security Channel LOL yeah Channel 4 is very popular. There are many volunteer fire departments across the Midwest that wear their radios into Walmart. If they don't use a tone then the Walmart people come blaring acrossed LOL. Burger King on Arby's uses the channel for drive-thru window. You'll hear a lot of nonsense in forums about Walmart kicking people out and threatening to call the police blah blah blah it's all a bunch of nonsense I wear my Murs handy talky in Walmart all the time they don't care

Motorola MURS radios have their channels labeled differently. Walmart has Motorola radios, so I think for them Channel 4 is Channel 2. That's how it is on my RMM2050.

KC9CPX I live across from a local walmart and hear alot they were fun to mess with now I just monitor murs channel 3 im part of a prepper group called amron we host local nets and its wayyyy better than ham no jamming either to worry about like it has in southeastern wisconsin im no longer a ham because of false crooked hams in my area made bogus statements to laura smith and she and I got into a heated discussion and she will not be renewing my license so I told her to shove it and to cancel my license and to take it off the database as I dont need or want any radio stalkers useing my license to jam or worse jam public safety like somebody from kenosha county did calling in a fireworks complaint over the sheriffs channel useing my callsign that I will not stand for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But feel free to send me an email at jonathancampos12@gmail.com

Sorry, but no.

From what I can tell, the baofeng can interfere with adjacent frequencies and that’s the biggest reason it’s not type accepted.

I know what you mean about the FRS/GMRS warzone. We have a ski hill nearby and before the advent of everyone carrying smart phones, I would hear the GMRS channels loaded with skier traffic during the weekends. Yes, that is the stock antenna for the radio.

I had bought the TruTalk MURS-25 back when they came out and dished out $199 each to Henshaw Electronics. Back in those days the radio had a ch.6 which paired ch.4 and ch.5 for repeater use. Wish I still had those radios but had problems with them and sent them back to Henshaw and never got replacements or a refund.

Years back I ran across 3 MURS-25s at a hamfest for $50 each. Like a dummy I passed on them.

Unfortunately the MURS band only has five channels and there is no provision for repeater operation. I do make a MURS specific J-Pole antenna and it is quite popular. Even if there is no repeater capability the band and the radios are quite useful as a teaching tool and for short range emergency communications.

@@KB9VBRAntennas Thank you.

Or AWESOME maybe? 🤪

@@1OFGODSOWN 🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

Truth is FCC has better stuff to do than crack down on baofeng users. Ive had 2 and have local repeaters, FRS and MURS. FRS and MURS are dead in my area but I keep them in there anyway. Look at the guys running THOUSANDS of watts on channel 6 CB.... Legal output is 4... 99.99% of CB's arent legal lol. Been talking on them for years with amps. They just dont really care. No harm in using a baofeng on murs the way I see it. As long as you don't jam people or something, if I hear business convos they have priority and I'll change frequencies.

If you want to get and keep your license, you need to know and follow the rules. Otherwise, why bother to even get the license? Yes, there are limited exceptions for "actual emergencies ", but the rules allow us to cooperate in well- defined ways the rest of the time.

MURS does have a 2 watt restriction and the Btech MURS radio does meet that power limit. Other Baofeng radios are not type accepted for MURS, so using them on the MURS channels would be in violation of FCC regulation.

No. MURS is a totally separate radio service. No callsign is necessary.

FRS is license free but GMRS lets you use higher power radios and repeaters. That may be advantageous if you are in areas that all limited coverage with low powered handheld radios. It's super easy to have a cache of FRS radios and hand them out to friends at a gathering. I've done that to get everyone communicating. If you are looking for communications during roundabouts and events- I'd probably survey to see what other people are using for their method of communication.

I think it will really tough to communicate 10-15 miles on the MURS band. MURS is designed for short range point-to-point communications. The radios in that service are limited to 2 watts transmit power. You can use external antennas, but I think you would need a tower and favorable terrain to still cover that distance. Maybe GMRS would be better suited for your needs.

You can use CTCSS and DCS tones on the MURS band. I'm not aware if digital modulation types are allowed on that band- I'd have to read the FCC part 95 rules to verify.

It appears that there are a few itinerant business band frequencies that allow transceivers up to 35 watts: wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Common_Itinerant_and_Business. That might be what they are using. As for licensing to use to frequencies, I'm not sure of the process. I'd have to dig through the FCC website.

~ I did all the digging I could on this including finding the minutes taken at the FCC meetings and Congressional hearings. It seems that Motorola and some other company wanted to create this band because you had CB on 11 m, and Family Radio Service on UHF but there was no VHF license free. RadioShack sat there and oppose the whole thing and threw temper tantrums at every corner because they did not think of this idea. They refuse to make five channel radios even though they had a 2 Channel radio with 2 watts. They absolutely refused to make a mobile unit for this band. Everybody else just decided to use handy talkies for the construction industry. But the long and short of it is like CB having a 4 watt limit the Murs band has a 2 watt limit. The licenses that were handed to Walmart etcetera for business Bend are there to stay but there will be no new high-power licenses issued on these two frequencies. 4 Watts on 11 meters get you about the same as 2 watts on VHF distance wise. Just a nice 10 mile station and mobile units for personal home or business use. The other idea was to move some people over and decrease the congestion on CB or GMRS. Also the FCC says you can grandfather in an older radio not type accepted if it's before the 2000 date. The problem is the narrow and wide band is narrower then the ham counterparts look at the video again and you'll notice the 11 versus the 12:25 bandwidth. The rules make it virtually impossible to put any mobile unit into service. Other than the two channel 2 Watt Radio Shack Business Band there isn't a whole lot you can find that will conform. Hammers and other radio people are telling me they're just running the ham Channel width and it just sounds like a Bodacious slightly over modulated radio to anybody else but you're still on freq. But of course nobody will recommend that.

Raymond Cruz If you are a US citizen, your license is The Constitution. First Amendment, freedom of speech.

@@rifleshooterchannel208 "Freedom of speech "? So, you're saying The Communication Act of 1938 is "unconstitutional "? Good luck with THAT ridiculous "defense".

UpnorthHere It’s absolutely Unconstitutional.

Nobody said you can't use a Baofeng within the rules, according to its particular FCC approvals!, if any.

Murs is relatively unknown

That's a tough question as it's like comparing apples and oranges. MURS radios are VHF and are limited to 2 watts while GMRS radios are UHF and can use up to 40 watts with a mobile/base radio. If you are out in the woods or a rural setting, MURS handhelds might give you better range as compared to a GMRS handheld. But in an urban environment the GMRS band's UHF signal will have better building penetration and a higher resistance to interference.

@@KB9VBRAntennas Thanks! I think GMRS seems a lot more versatile overall so I'll pursue that route.

I think you're correct. GMRS offers more options like mobile radios and repeater operation. MURS is strictly low powered point to point communication.

KB9VBR Antennas Update, I decided to go with MURS after all because for just occasional family use I didn’t want to pay the government the fee for a GMRS license. I’m pretty happy with them.

47 cfr 95.1767 (a)(1): GMRS transmitting power limits. "The transmitter output power of mobile, repeater and base stations must not exceed 50 Watts."

It's not type accepted for that. It needs to be type accepted for a certain frequency range according to FCC. If it's not, then it's not legal.

@@htfkid2000 not 'type' accepted? So it's functions are designed to operate for just that purpose, like every other hand-held two-way radio, but you can't use it? That's like saying "You can have a steering wheel in your F-350, but if you have an F-150 you are not permitted to purchase that vehicle with a steering wheel from the manufacturer, or install and after-market steering wheel...and if we catch you driving it with a steering wheel you're gonna' be in BIG trouble!! F-350's? No problems!!" Or you can buy a boat but you can not use an outboard motor for it. It isn't even laughable. China refused to pay the FCC money the FCC expected from China to import Baofeng UV5R two-way radios, so the FCC simply would not approve Baofeng UV5R's. China did eventually agree to pay the FCC their graft, so some Baofeng's are legal and some are not. The legal Baofeng's have the 'compliant' FCC registration # on the back of the battery compartment. If it doesn't have that FCC registration # it is illegal. If it has that FCC approved registration # it is legal. If I am wrong, please correct me. I'm brand new at this, but this seems like every other license in existence in N. America; a money grab.

@@dwaynerobertson383 no. It’s more like buying a car that CAN go 100 mph, but knowing you cannot use a regular license to do so on public highways. The FCC is chartered to administer RF bandwidth under the US statutes. They pay for some of that with money from license or certification fees friom people taking advantage of the airwaves. What if your neighbors illegally set up a baby monitor that prevents you from using wifi or a cellphone? Should th e FCC just butt out and let you figure it out? Also, to GET type approval generally requires submittal of certified test results and legally binding statements of compliance. Anyone illegally manufacturing or marketing in violation of the FCC rules should expect to be fined if not imprisoned.

@@UpnorthHere thank you for that explanation man. Seriously. I appreciate that. Makes a lot of sense, the way you put it and why. Stay safe and play safe!!

@@dwaynerobertson383 Also worth noting that many Chinese companies now hire US or European test labs for certification. It has little or nothing to do with "China " paying graft, since each company still has to file the application, reports and certifications to get FCC type-approvals like anyone else.

Non es possible en USA.

You are correct. But the term 'walkie-talkie' also has a connotation of being a toy or cheap radio. And these are not toy radios.

Yep, it's the TK-290. It is capable of transmitting on the MURS frequencies, so, yes you could use it for car to car operation. But officially it's not type accepted for FCC Part 95 operation.

@Stevie Blue There are people who care. Otherwise the regulations would have been changed in 2017, when they had the chance. Illegal is illegal for a reason.

Yes, if you use the one with MURS approval.

Lol. Me too. Do me a favor, talk all you want then Let me know what happens.

www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/family-radio-service-frs

Yes, there are now 16 channels that are shared by FRS and GMRS where FRS users can run up to 2 watts of power. The FCC made that rule modification in mid 2017.

The Antron-99 is a popular antenna for CB radio, and it will easily do the 10 meter band with a bit of adjustment. I did a bit of sleuthing online and it appears with a tuner you can also use it on 12 and 17 meters, and somewhat on 20 meters. Since the 20 meter band is a bit of a stretch for the antenna it will take a manual tuner and a bit of luck and skill to good results. Since you mentioned the Antron, I'm guessing you are looking for vertical antennas for 10 -20 meters. Hygain makes some good verticals that cover those bands: www.hy-gain.com/Categories.php?sub=1&ref=41. Otherwise I would recommend a multi-band wire antenna, although that again may necessitate using a tuner.

No they are not. The FCC allows for MURS radios to use external antennas with a height of no more of 50 feet. Max transmit output power is 2 watts, but there is no limit on Effective Radiated Power from an antenna. The Family Radio Service (FRS) radios, which uses UHF frequencies interspersed among the GMRS band may not have removable antennas.

You could, but in an emergency situation raising help on a MURS channel would be highly unlikely as MURS is a short range personal radio service.

My smartphone cost under a dollar and has much better likelihood of being useful in an emergency,!

@@UpnorthHere not if the digital network goes down murs is analog and will work when your cell goes down

The Fcc has an online searchable database of all type-approvals at its OET page.

Try the dual band J Pole

The J-Pole has about 4-5 Mhz of bandwidth, so it is a little bit of a stretch to cover both the MURS and 2 meter band. I have specially tuned the antenna for a few customers so you can get the lower channels of the MURS and upper end of the 2 meter band, but otherwise the antenna can't cover both bands in their entirety.

Yes. The MURS channels may be used license free for business or personal communications.

KB9VBR Antennas ....how does murs compare to gmrs in overall usefulness? I realize gmrs is not for business, Im curious if gmrs will be better for longer range use over murs

No it's not, but it is complimentary to the amateur radio service and a lot of my viewers do have an interest in it.

Armor plating won't affect the coaxial cable and as long as the antenna is above the plates- you shouldn't have an issue. As for the type of cable‚ I'd look for something light and flexible. Since you only need a couple of feet‚ losses wouldn't be an issue. As for the type of antenna in the woods‚ you are going to receive a certain amount of attenuation from the foliage and tree cover. A longer antenna may not necessarily be better as antenna height and terrain will be bigger factors in getting your signal out.

Thank you for the help with this. Understanding what you said, I still want to understand a little more about the Antenna. Is there a better all around antenna than the upgraded 8” 701C out there for the MURS V1 in you opinion? Im just looking for better overall transmit and receive strength in general wether on flat open ground or where ever.

@@irishanimal917 I know this is a little late to the game (conversation) but, the Nagoya NA-771 High Gain 15.6-Inch Whip VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna SMA-Female Connector will work on the radio. I have 2 for use on my GT3TP's (basically an upgraded UV5R) and they make quite a difference on both transmit and receive.

Nagoya na - 701C

Yes

That's a good question. Without observing the radio in use, there would be no way to tell.

@@KB9VBRAntennas Yea you could use a 45 watt kenwood mobile..... no that would not work unless no one cared about 5 throwaway channels.....

petrol devo They won’t know even if you are running the 8 watt model at full power.

That's like asking "how will they know if you run a stop sign, if nobody's coming?" Whether or not they know isn't the point. You might get away with it, but you're still a bad person.

@@UpnorthHere are you serious? Still a bad person?

The type of coax depends on the length of your feed line run. Since the MURS transmitter is pretty low power‚ I recommend investing in a low loss coax like LMR-400 if your feedline is 50 feet of more. Otherwise if the cable is in the 25 foot vicinity‚ then CNT-240 is a really good choice: amzn.to/2OSFqTt

KB9VBR Antennas thanks I am just getting in to radio and setting up a MURS network for the neighborhood for emergency notification. Also getting a ham license!

Perhaps the Nagoya NA-701C: amzn.to/2Lp7CrN. It's an aftermarket rubber duck antenna tuned to the VHF/UHF commercial frequencies.

KB9VBR Antennas Thank you.

One more question, could you legally program these to listen to NOAA channels? I'm new to this things. Edit: The BTECH MURS-V1 is what I'm asking about.

Luke Shaver the radio receives the entire VHF 2 meter band. It can only transmit on MURS. NOAA is easily received.

My MURS J-Pole antennas are tuned to the MURS frequencies so high SWR should not be an issue.

@@KB9VBRAntennas... It is always a good idea to check the SWR as the location of the antenna in relation to other objects, especially metal objects, can cause the SWR to change and sometimes drastically. 73, John, N1WOM

Not all Walmart’s because our local store uses both channel 2 & 3.

@@1OFGODSOWN ... The store near me uses both channels 4 and 5 (154.570 MHz and 154.600 MHz).

Just the power increase would be fine with me, I can't really find any MURS around my area

@@randykitchleburger2780 I've always said that MURS isn't something that you listen to because there's just nobody on it. But MURS really is pretty useless in most areas because the FCC wants it to be useless. It really would be a nice alternative or backup to GMRS if the FCC would do what I've suggested. I've monitored the VHF Business Band frequencies extensively and I'm here to tell you, it's DEAD. There's no good reason why the FCC couldn't reallocate 17 additional frequencies to MURS creating a 22 channel version of the service. And increasing the legal power to 5 watts would help immensely. Of course all of this is just a pipe dream and will never happen. It's okay to dream though. 😴

@@radiohobbyist13 Huh, had no idea of the free spectrum you where talking about

No its preset with the five murs channels

@@treerat7631 yeah I think they were once used for business I forget which one was a blue dog or red daughter or whatever I think that's four or five then the others one two three is God knows what but there's nobody up there on those channels it's dead

@@ernestbodvar5431 Some places Sam's and Wally world still use murs

Unfortunately no it doesn't. The MURS frequencies are hard coded, so you can't make changes.

@@KB9VBRAntennas ok thank you