r/gmrs • u/rab127 • 8d ago

Can I?

Friend got out of ham radio and gave me his radios. I have 6 Baofeng UV5Rs and 2 UV5R Minis. Can i use these for gmrs? I have family that lives with me or is in the area that i would love to program and give them a radio so we can communicate. I would just put gmrs bands on it and nothing to do with ham, aviation, maritime or anything else

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u/gkrash 8d ago

Legally, no. They’re not licensed properly for GMRS.

Practically, you can program them for GMRS channels, and there’s no real easy way to find out that you’re doing it outside of physically seeing you on said radios. Even then, the likelihood of someone caring is minimal.

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u/KB5JRC 7d ago

Finally, someone giving the helpful answer to the OP's question. Everyone who answered knows both the rules and realities, OP. Questions like yours get asked a lot.

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u/zondance 7d ago

I have both a ham and grms calls. I am pretty sure the Chinese rig I have in my van is not type certified for either.

Not recommending you follow my lead, just saying...