I have both. Just bought the GMRS and haven’t used it yet. We have 2 Jeeps. So I have hand held units so they can go easily back and forth. I have a hard Mount CB as well that I used in my previous Jeeps but haven’t reinstalled yet in my current JK. I am in the process of getting licenses for the GMRS for my husband and I. The last time I did an event where we were in a group the trail guide had both available so no one was left out. Since the cost is minimal especially in the world of Jeep mods I would suggest both at least in hand held versions so that no matter where you are and what situation you get into you’d be able to reach first responders.

One of the best things about GMRS is its ability to communicate with FRS radios. That way you can hand out inexpensive FRS radios to those who don’t have a radio in their vehicle, and that allows them to communicate at up to a mile away.

I am a truck driver, so I’m used to CB, and I like to have one in my four wheel rig on the highway. GMRS is certainly better for many reasons, but it seems to me that best is to have both. Maybe start with a CB, then add a GMRS later. Truly, the best is whatever the people you want to talk to are using.

I believe a mix of both is a great idea. Especially when offroading with a group with families. If the families elect to stay at a base camp and you're 3 miles away rock crawling, you can stay in contact with them using the HAM, while talking to the rover group with CB.

I have a Uniden sideband in my Jeep, and have had CB's since the 70's. 😁 That being said, I recently bought a handheld GMRS in case I need it. Here in Washington state the logging trucks use CB's to warn folks on the logging roads. So in that case CB's are a 100% safety necessity here.

Many haven’t thought of when shtf such as power outages no repeaters ( unless generator/solar powered) how far would gmrs+ go compared to cb’s??? From experience in hurricane in Puerto Rico many that had ham radios were defeated by the cb radio cause repeaters were down & or damaged no power to them cb radios were the leaders during that time but any communication is better than none.

You can get upto around 30mi groundwave propagation with SSB on a CB with 12w legal power

Don't forget about VHF radio... MURS is a good frequency range in the woods... We use VHF in search and rescue operations in the wilderness...

Just starting with a new Midland 75-822 40 Channel CB-Way Radio. I may try out some GMRS devices also. Thanks for the video. Lots of good advice. Thanks.

All you need is a CB radio and a GMRS.

i have not been on a cb in quite some time but when i was a young fellow we would talk to folks 20-30 miles away on the base stations with base antennas..however mobile use without a hefty amp the range was pretty limited. gmrs is the way to go for mobile operation.

CB running sideband vs AM increases the range by not transmitting the carrier. This is why I have a sideband CB. For my jeep I have a VHF/UHF and HF ham radio too. One more antenna might be an issue for GMRS.

I have been a CB'er Since 1981 and I still use one today but I'm also a GMRS operator and I live in the city I prefer GMRS

I just bought the Midland MXT275 GMRS radio. I'll use it on the trail for the first time tomorrow. Last week I got the license and it was still $70. I really like the radio. I like the controls being on the mic. I put the unit on the passenger side console area by the feet and used VHB tape to secure the mounting bracket. So far so good. I hate drilling holes in my Jeep if I don't have to!

Based on my understanding of RF. The GMRS advantage comes into play with the repeater capability. CB (AM) actually gets around curves pretty well but the lower CB power is a factor in TX range. GMRS (FM - 'line of sight') not so much which is where the repeater capability effectively 'bends' your TX. In mountainous areas, GMRS has the advantage assuming a repeater is available and the higher power of GMRS also helps. In an emergency situation, GMRS is hands down a better option if you don't have other CB'rs in range that can help you pass on your call for help. All that tech being said, GMRS clarity is significantly better than CB.

I don't like one or the other, I just like radio in general because it can work well enough without an infrastructure in case of emergencies. I grew up with CB so I have nothing against it. I want to clear something up, however. GMRS is NOT "HAM" radio. It has some similarities, but it is NOT Ham. Hame requires a different license set and a test to get the license. GMRS is like a fishing license, you pay the fee, you get your license. Ham can use "lots of bands" yes, but when most people think of Ham Radio, they think of someone with a Ham Shack and a tower antenna bouncing signals across the world. This is done in the HF range and CB is near the top of that HF range which is why at peak solar cycles some CBs can "skip" signals huge distances. So, while Ham can use frequencies NEAR the GMRS range, they usually go much lower. Because GMRS is NOT Ham, it doesn't have "all those different frequencies" to play with. Like CB, GMRS is "chanalized" meaning you're not legally allowed to broadcast above, below, or between channels with your GMRS license nor will any type accepted radio allow you to transmit on anything other than a GMRS channel. GMRS has 22 channels + 8 repeater channels. That's it. Granted, it's still "technically" better than CB because of the different frequencies allowing stronger transmission and less interference etc, but you don't get tons of channels like you were suggesting. What many people think of as "sub channels" or "private channels" don't actually exist. The so called "private" channels are NOT private in any way. Supposed "extra" channels like Midland adverties are a LIE. They use something called CTCSS (you can reseach that later if you want the tech details) that can be set so that you only hear other people transmitting with the same CTCSS code that you are listening for. This can make a channel seem "private" because you can't hear anyone else but the people using that CTCSS code, but anyone in range can still hear YOU. So, really, all the "private" stuff advertised is a load of bull from the makers. You still only have 22 basic channels with 8 repeater channels... using an "extra" channel like midland has is just one of the 22 channels set up with one of those CTCSS tones acting like a spam filter basically. CB might take off again here soon now that FM has been approved by the FCC for use on CB. When FM capable CBs start coming out, I imagine things will get interesting in CB land lol. I still like to check out CB from time to time, but I generally prefer the punching-power of GMRS better in general for my primary use case, which is hobby and road trips. One thing I like alot about some GMRS radios, however, is that because they are in the UHF band, while they can only transmit on the GMRS channels, they can receive most of the VHF and UHF bands... meaning you can also use it as a scanner. My favorite GMRS mobile radios typically have dual watch so you can listen to two different channels/frequencies at the same time... so you can have one side scanning and the other side you can be talking to your friends about what's being discussed on the scanner side.

CB: fuzzy, noisy, limited to 4 watts. GMRS: quiet, clear sound, up to 50 watts.

Use GMRS on our dirt bike rides out on the trails. Works great! External mics on over our shoulders works excellent. I'm the only licensed user in our bike group.

Not licensed for gmrs because I can’t figure out how to navigate the FCC website so I’m kinda stuck with CB. With that said I do keep a gmrs in my rig for emergencies and weather.

A CB radio seems like a good start for beginners especially if they don’t know how often they will be off roading. However, a GMRS radio seems like a great bargain for the licensing fee to last 10 years.

GMRS is great for short range communication for off roading, but I would not depend on it in an emergency. According to the FCC, there are only 80,000 licensed GMRS users in this entire country, vs 750,000 licensed Ham users vs, God only knows how many millions of CB radios given 40 million have been sold in the US. It's great to communicate, but you need to someone to communicate with. Also, Sideband or adding an amp can greatly increase CB range. Or, you can do what I did and buy a President Richard, solder a bridge wire where indicated on the board, ad CB band via the digital menu and you now have a CB with 12 watts of power and 50 watt PEP on ALL 40 CHANNELS.

GMRS👍. I just got the Wouxun 1000G 50 watt👍

Which is more widely used in the community? For instance if you go to a gathering of people ready to run a trail which would they be using?

What they need to do is have a non-licensed freq set on every band. 6m is a nice compromise between GMRS and CB. Make it USB standard for range in all conditions.

CB, but im considering GMRS

I have 2 licenses and all 3 types of radio. One reality you forgot is that most cb guys run several hundred watts of power and are quite capable of talking farther than a 5 to 50 what ham or gmrs ht or mobile. I like gmrs and ham where there is good repeater coverage. Without repeater I prefer a high power cb with a well tuned antenna.

I'm thinking about getting back into trucking , hunting , and/or fishing so what do I need ? An app that I can download on my current cellphone , An all-in-one cellphone , cb , walkie-talkie , walkie-talkie+ ( is what I'll call a GMSR radio , lol ) and/or low powered Ham Radio ?

I'M LOOKING TO BUY THE BEST SOUNDING EXTERNAL SPEAKER WITH STAND FOR MY BC345CRS SCANNER SHOULD I BUY THE 15W OR THE 20W SPEAKER DO YOU THINK? PLEASE EVERYONE CHIME IN ALSO.

There are 22 GMRS channels., not hundreds.

What do you mean amplified antenna for GMRS. What brand / model?

You get your cb peaked and tuned it will work just as good as the other radios. GMRS needs a college degree to operate lmao

Thx

FYI, most of those Baofeng HAM radios that can transmit on GMRS are illegal us do so...as they are not certified as GRMS radios in the US

CB vs GMRS? Undecided. A friend swears that CB sideband will work better than GMRS. I dunno. I need to do more research.😕

Here's my GMRS question: I know that it covers "family only" for the license holder. That said, let's say I wanted to go on a day trip / outing with my church friends. If I had my GMRS would it be a violation for me to pass 2 or 3 radios out to people in that group and use them to communicate. For example: "Hey Fred, it's Roger. Let's get the entire group to meet at XYZ for lunch at 1pm."

I don't get what all the hype is about everyone says gmrs will go farther but I can talk 20 miles no problem with my cb base to mobile and that's 4 watts my receiv on my mobile is a little soft at that distance but if I hit the power on my base that fixes that all this talk about gmrs is better I'd like to see what my cb would do all thing the same my radio 50 watts and a gmrs 50 watts I'll bet it would be pretty close

For inside a jeep? neither one of those hanhelds you just showed are worth a damn.

This guy knows NOTHING about how to properly use a CB efficiently. Antenna and placement matters more in CB than anything else and if you are not getting 25 miles line of sight and talking hundreds of miles of skip you are doing it wrong. You might only be getting a mile or two on that handheld but that thing is crap and limited by that super short inefficient antenna.

This guy needs to learn about CB radio because his understanding is very limited. Much of his information is false.

lots of misinformation in this video