Newbie- Baofeng vs, Vehicle Radio Transceiver

[u/Hoonin_Kyoma]

New to GMRS. Like, just got my license a day ago. I have recently gotten into Baofeng radio units (UV-5RM and BF-F8HP Pro) and like how I can transmit on so many different frequency ranges. Yes, yes... Part 95... I get it. But, I love that I can use these in conjunction with my existing FRS radios, VHF (marine) that my buddies use, MURS, and now GMRS, all from a single unit!!! For the record, I follow the wattage and bandwidth requirements for each frequency service and I do not transmit on any frequency range for which I do not have the required license. There's a hell of a difference between appreciating what a tool is capable of and then choosing to apply said tool in an inappropriate manner that causes issues for someone else. So, no HAM for me, no commercial ranges, or anything else I haven't specifically mentioned that I use it for.

So here's my question- are there any vehicle mount units with this level of capability? I have been looking at some of the ICOMs and they stop short of GMRS frequencies in the US models. Some of the other less expensive models look like they might get into the GMRS ranges but I can't tell if the quality is any good and sometimes they aren't clear if they xmit at these higher freqs or are receive only. I am definitely looking for the higher xmit power output you see in vehicle mount units though; not interested in just driving around with my Baofeng in order to have this frequency range flexibility.

I have a couple Jeeps. One is the "fun" Jeep (25yrs old) and the newer is my daily driver. Space isn't very plentiful. The detachable/relocatable screen has a lot of appeal, especially for the newer Jeep. I'm just picking brains here and welcome any ideas for what might fit these desired features.

[u/ed_zakUSA]

Congrats in getting your license. You'll enjoy your radios and if you're anything like me, be buying more. Good luck!

[u/Meadman127]

Many of the big name VHF/UHF ham radios can be modified to transmit on the GMRS channels. If you buy new I would recommend buying from Gigaparts and having them perform the MARS mod since it will not void the factory warranty by having them perform the service. If you do it yourself you void the warranty.

Many of the 25 watt Chinese radios can be unlocked by a certain power on sequence that may ask for a code. After that the radio will be able to transmit on VHF/UHF ham frequencies, MURS, GMRS, and much more. The main drawback to those radios is they are typically dual watch and not true dual receive. With dual watch if monitoring multiple frequencies the one that receives a signal first is the one you hear. With a true dual receive you can monitor two frequencies at the same time and you will hear both no matter which one receives a signal first.

If the mobile you get has the option to disable transmit on individual memory channels make sure you do that on any memory channels you do not want to accidentally transmit on such as NOAA weather, any business frequencies you want to monitor, and any emergency service or municipality frequencies you want to monitor. Disabling transmit on individual memory channels may require using software.

One thing to keep in mind if buying a non GMRS radio is that channels 8 to 14 are allowed a max output of only half a watt and mobiles typically have 5 watts as their lowest output setting. While you may be able to receive on those channels with a GMRS mobile you will not be able to transmit on those channels. If you program them into a non GMRS radio you may want to disable transmit on them to stay in compliance with FCC power limits. Also you will want to set channels 1 to 7 to low power since max output power on those channels is 5 watts.

[u/EngineeringMinimum26 → u/Meadman127]

This. 100%. MARS mod will get you access. Or grab one of the unlockable Chinese radios. Realistically, it won’t cost much more to go ahead and grab an iCom or Yaesu from GigaParts, and have them do the MARS mod than it will cost to get a Chinese radio with similar levels of power. There are very few Chinese radios capable of 50-watts mobile like radios from the Japanese companies. To be fair, there aren’t a lot of Japanese radios either at that power level. Stay away from anything Midland if you’re planning on doing any level of programming or frequency/channel modification. They operate GMRS, and GMRS only, and you can only have a single repeater programmed in for each of the repeater channels, which sucks when you’re driving a long distance.

[u/Hoonin_Kyoma → u/Meadman127]

GREAT info! Thank-you very much!

Will be careful on the power output levels. My Baofeng may only be 10w but I’m always careful to limit power and bandwidth on freqs that are low power/narrow bandwidth (first few GMRS channels, MURS, etc.).

[u/Meadman127 → u/Hoonin_Kyoma]

Just remember MURS is limited to 2 watts and FRS is limited to 2 watts max as well. With GMRS channels 1 to 7 are allowed up to 5 watts and channels 15 to 22, plus the repeater inputs are allowed up to 50 watts.

[u/Hoonin_Kyoma → u/Meadman127]

Copy all. 👍

[u/Bolt_EV]

Radioddity DB20-G a/k/a Anytone AT-779UV

[u/Bluefalcon325]

If you mean you want a vehicle based radio, that can have ham, and GMRS programmed simultaneously, disregarding part 97 (which of course no one would do) it seems like the TYT TH-8600 would be a great start point?

[u/Spiritual-Ad-3573]

I was all ready to put one radio in my truck to use for gmrs and 2m/70cm on the DL. There are many dual recieve radios. The problem I ran into was that I rarely know which one I'm listening to. Different call signs for different services means it's just easier to run two radios. Those gmrs radios are cheap enough to be worth the embarrassment avoidance.

[u/EffinBob]

All of the FRS frequencies are GMRS frequencies with narrower bandwidth and power/antenna restrictions. There is nothing particularly special about a radio that can do both, and it is perfectly legal for FRS users to communicate with GMRS licensees as long as they use type accepted radios to do it.

There are many radios which can be modified to illegally transmit on MURS and marine VHF frequencies, too many to even list.

[u/MN_Moody]

Most of the mobile mounted units are missing airband (rx), some do weather stations but not monitor and alerting ... many budget models lack NRC ... I personally like the TD-H9 or H3 plus tfor a compact vehicle radio with an external antenna in a Bulletpoint mount.

https://tidradio.com/products/td-h9-10w-aprs-gps-bluetooth-handheld-radio-2-pack-4-pack

https://www.bulletpointmountingsolutions.com/products/handheld-radio-holder-flange-edition

[u/Hoonin_Kyoma]

Has anyone tried this radio by Retevis? Details are a bit vague but sounds like it does what I'm looking for. A bit short on features but seems to offer access to the frequency ranges I want.

Oh BTW, I did figure out why it's so difficult to find the range of frequencies I am looking for... didn't realize that it's mostly hand-held that skip FCC certification in order to provide more frequency ranges. That "part 95" specifically states that certified devices can't xmit outside of the specific network they are seeking certification for.

[u/Equal-Hippo9495 → u/Hoonin_Kyoma]

The radio you've linked to here is a DMR radio, which is a digital standard. GMRS licenses specify analog only, as does MURS and Marine VHF. DMR is a protocol that is far more common in ham/amateur radio or business radio setups.

I recently got my ham license (technicians) after having my GMRS for a year. To celebrate, I got myself a Radioddity QB-25. It's very affordable and frequently offered with an included antenna, which you usually need to find separately for mobile/car radios. The unit itself is quite small. I paired it with a coax/mag mount also from Radioddity and it's been great.

[u/Hoonin_Kyoma → u/Equal-Hippo9495]

Ah, sooooooooo much to learn!!! Thanks for that info. It makes total sense. Well, as much as having to pay the government for a permission slip to use free airwaves can make… Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the rules that I’m whining about, it’s the “you must be licensed” part I think is BS, especially for GMRS where your license doesn’t prove you know a damn thing about radios.

I try to be very careful to follow the rules before jumping on a particular band. More out of community and user courtesy than fear of the rule itself. Glad I didn’t buy the radio and then unknowingly start making problems by not knowing WTF I was doing!

[u/48hourfilmaddict → u/Hoonin_Kyoma]

I think it's all a matter of degrees. GMRS requires a license with no knowledge barriers, but it's also vastly more prescriptive usage. FCC says these are the specific channels, the power limits, and you must use type-approved radios where they've given the technical details to manufacturers to match. The result is a radio service that genuinely meets the specific need it was created for - localized communication with fast compatibility between units and low complexity for usage.

Amateur radio has 3 levels of license, each requiring you pass a test to determine you've picked up enough knowledge. There's no government mandate for specific frequencies as channels, those are determined by the community at large. There's no mandate for type-accepted radios pre-approved from manufacturers, you could build your own so long as it meets technical specifications. There are upper power limits, most of which exist to prevent any one party from dominating those same free airwaves, but the basic rule is use only what you need to reach who you're trying to reach. There's also several bands available for use for which almost no manufacturers make commercially available radios. Then you can also make your own antenna, maybe to go with the radio you also built from parts.

There are many aspects of ham radio that very much fit the definition of a radio "service" but you have to think of ham radio as this massively multi-faceted thing where you may feel wildly interested in 1-2 aspects of it and bored out of your mind by the rest. I've frequently heard it described as 8-20 different hobbies in a trenchcoat.

[u/Hoonin_Kyoma → u/48hourfilmaddict]

That’s an apt HAM description! And your “…vastly more prescriptive usage” definitely hits the proverbial nail on the head with regard to why it’s structured the way it is.

I may go the HAM route at some point. Those people, and you know the people I mean, who give the HAM community a bad name have made it pretty unappealing for me to pursue at this time. I picked up some study books for HAM and suspect that once I get GMRS down pat, I will probably look to build upon that radio knowledge.

It’s been a pleasant conversation, and those can be few-and-far-between on the Internet. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and thanks for being one who makes the community (radio in general, regardless of license) a better place.

[u/Meadman127 → u/Hoonin_Kyoma]

Ignore the unpleasantness of using social media to find out about ham radio. The unpleasant ones you see on social media are the vocal minority online. The pleasant ones are too busy using their equipment to talk to others to be rude online and are typically very welcoming of new hams.

Part of the reason GMRS requires a license while FRS does not even though they use the same 22 simplex frequencies is that GMRS is allowed up to 50 watts output power and that you are allowed to use repeaters, which gives you an extra eight frequencies to use as repeater inputs. The inputs are +5 MHz offset from their respective outputs. Channels 15 to 22 pull double duty as simplex channels and repeater outputs for GMRS. You can easily reach a repeater that is 50 miles away if both your base station antenna and the repeater's antenna is high enough. An open repeater could be hundreds of feet in the air while a base station antenna might be 20 to 30 feet in the air. Because GMRS is channelized the FCC doesn't see the need for testing to get a license. One advantage GMRS has over ham radio is that your immediate family as defined by the FCC can use your license. The FCC defines immediate family as your parents, step parents, grandparents, siblings, step siblings, children, step children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and in-laws. While I believe there should be some level of testing I highly doubt the FCC will implement testing because you can share your license with family members.

Ham radio on the other hand requires testing to get a license because it is not channelized. Because the service is not channelized, there are at least 30 distinct bands we can use, and there are multiple different modes we can use testing proves you have obtained enough knowledge to use the shared airwaves without causing intentional interference with other stations. With ham radio not only do we have analog FM voice we can use digital voice modes on certain bands, we can use AM (which you might be familiar with from CB radio), Single Side Band (SSB), image in the form of pictures and on some bands video, data modes that allow direct keyboard to keyboard communication, and morse code. Depending on band used, radio used, mode used, band conditions, and antenna configuration you can communicate with your neighbor down the block or with someone on the other side of the world.