Hey guys! Looking for advice on communication set up for my rig. The GMRS just seems much easier with a 10 year license and no test, but I know the HAM is capable of much much more. Pros and Cons of both!?
GMRS vs. HAM
- Thread starter The_Rogue_JKU
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Member III
In my opinion...
GMRS is good for a group convoy/trail use where you may get a bit more spread out than a CB could handle.
Ham is good for more long distance communications, back to camp... back to town... across the state... or country. It is also far more capable in what you can do with it.
It depends on what you want or are looking for. Also depends on the groups you run with, what they use or their willingness to change.
Personally I run ham, GMRS, and unfortunately still CB.
Also, welcome from Oklahoma.
GMRS is good for a group convoy/trail use where you may get a bit more spread out than a CB could handle.
Ham is good for more long distance communications, back to camp... back to town... across the state... or country. It is also far more capable in what you can do with it.
It depends on what you want or are looking for. Also depends on the groups you run with, what they use or their willingness to change.
Personally I run ham, GMRS, and unfortunately still CB.
Also, welcome from Oklahoma.
Traveler II
Hello from an hour west of you.
I agree with @Prerunner1982, it depends what you want out of the communication device. It also depends on your current groups radio preference. If you are the only ham guy in a group of rigs with GMRS radios it wont do you much good.
It does seem like the local Jeep Clubs in Kansas are moving away from CB to GMRS. Very few members seem eager to get their ham ticket. The informal Konza Overland group seems pretty split on radio choice. The split is 1/3 CB, GMRS, and ham.
I find ham to be more useful for my purposes traveling with a small group where everybody is licensed. The ability to hit repeaters when solo and tinker with APRS is a lot of fun.
I agree with @Prerunner1982, it depends what you want out of the communication device. It also depends on your current groups radio preference. If you are the only ham guy in a group of rigs with GMRS radios it wont do you much good.
It does seem like the local Jeep Clubs in Kansas are moving away from CB to GMRS. Very few members seem eager to get their ham ticket. The informal Konza Overland group seems pretty split on radio choice. The split is 1/3 CB, GMRS, and ham.
I find ham to be more useful for my purposes traveling with a small group where everybody is licensed. The ability to hit repeaters when solo and tinker with APRS is a lot of fun.
Member III
That's good. The groups here a slow to move away from CB.
Advocate III
- 5,584
- First Name
- Michael
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- Rose
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20990
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I don’t understand the hesitation to get the ham ticket... $15 for life compared ($60 for a to $70/10 year. As @Prerunner1982 said the versatility of ham vs GMRS. I bought my GMRS license and have never used it, and probably never will. I listen in on GMRS, but have no reason to talk on GMRS now that I have my ham ticket.
The test isn’t that hard to pass. I have severe learning disabilities, and my memorization skills are bad. But I missed my General Class Exam by one question when I took it right after taking and passing my Tech license exam with a 34/35 score. When I went back 5 months later and took my General Exam I passed with a 34/35 and got a 23/50 on the Extra Class Exam.
Now if every one is using a Tin Can and String to communicate, and you have a cell phone, guess what, you can’t communicate with every one else. So in other words if the people you are needing to talk to are on CB, and you are wanting more power and the ability to talk to people outside your group, get ham... if everybody is using GMRS, then get GMRS.
If you’re worried about taking a test, I have a set of study materials that can get you a call sign within 7 days. If you’re a fast learner you might even be able to go from 0 to general in the same 7 days. It’s not hard, just takes about an hour of studying per day.
The test isn’t that hard to pass. I have severe learning disabilities, and my memorization skills are bad. But I missed my General Class Exam by one question when I took it right after taking and passing my Tech license exam with a 34/35 score. When I went back 5 months later and took my General Exam I passed with a 34/35 and got a 23/50 on the Extra Class Exam.
Now if every one is using a Tin Can and String to communicate, and you have a cell phone, guess what, you can’t communicate with every one else. So in other words if the people you are needing to talk to are on CB, and you are wanting more power and the ability to talk to people outside your group, get ham... if everybody is using GMRS, then get GMRS.
If you’re worried about taking a test, I have a set of study materials that can get you a call sign within 7 days. If you’re a fast learner you might even be able to go from 0 to general in the same 7 days. It’s not hard, just takes about an hour of studying per day.
Influencer I
I have both ham and GMRS rigs in my vehicle, but I *use* the ham.
- greater range
- better signal quality
- much larger set of usable "channels"
- more repeaters (10x more where I live)
- more people listening on the repeaters
- digital modes available
- APRS position reporting, messaging, tracking, etc (map integration)
- inexpensive equipment available for both
- higher quality/capability equipment for ham
- broader flexibility (especially in antenna choices)
- cheaper license ($15/lifetime vs $7/year in 10year chunks)
- The "test" was actually covers what you need to know
Off-Road Ranger I
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I used to have all three in my Jeep and I will probably put the CB back in it for this new club that I want to join. I have had my ham license for 10 months now and I have only talked on it for 1 day. The GMRS I use every time that I am out on the trails. The CB never gets used and that is why I had pulled it out of the rig. Hopefully the new club will learn to like the gmrs and do away with the cb. I really hate running so many different antennas on the JK and would like to downsize to just 2 of the them. If I ever get my ham modded out, then I might even drop to 1 radio. Yes, I know that we aren't suppose to use the ham as a gmrs.
Influencer III
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I had the antenna holes already, why not use them.
Advocate III
- 5,584
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- Rose
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20990
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I talk to a couple guys out of Tucson and Yuma almost daily.
Contributor I
I am new to this and am looking into getting my Ham license for two maybe three reasons. The first is that I live in Northern California and have had to run from a wildfire with communications. I want a non cell phone way if communicating with the rest of the world. Second, it’s cool in a nerdy way. Lastly, it seems like a lot of OB folks out here are pushing ham use.
Influencer I
I picked up the ham license and rig as backup communication, because I frequently solo-explore places where a good cell signal might be many miles away. But found another reason over last summer: I was able to listen to the fire crews' chatter here and get some insight into what was happening when local web and media resources weren't getting regular updates on our wildfires.
Influencer III
- 4,312
- First Name
- Rex
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- Drake
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Member III
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Your reasoning is very similar to mine ... outside of overlanding the general idea of being prepared for various situations! We had to evac last year because of fire and cell towers were all out. I say go for it! Like the other said, the tech and general exams are straightforward and with a bit of review should not be a problem for most. I got my Extra this AM - the hobby sucked me in and I'm hooked! I am in the east bay and happy to connect offline if you want to chat.
Advocate III
- 5,584
- First Name
- Michael
- Last Name
- Rose
- Member #
-
20990
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- W7FSB
- Service Branch
- US ARMY Retired
Member III
- 733
- First Name
- Aaron
- Last Name
- Smith
- Member #
-
24118
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- W6AEF (previously KN6KOC)
Advocate III
- 5,584
- First Name
- Michael
- Last Name
- Rose
- Member #
-
20990
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- W7FSB
- Service Branch
- US ARMY Retired
Influencer III
- 4,312
- First Name
- Rex
- Last Name
- Drake
- Member #
-
19540
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- KI5GH
- Service Branch
- Air Force
bamakojon
Rank III
Enthusiast III
HAM is certainly more versatile than GMRS, and the technician class license allows for a whole lot of capability while not being expensive or difficult to get. If you want to try out HAM, then get yourself a Baofeng UV-5R handheld radio for like $30 on Amazon, take the test, and just try it out. If you end up deciding to go with GMRS, you're only out $45 total and have a backup radio and the ability to use HAM frequencies in an emergency. The UV-5R is technically not certified by the FCC as a "GMRS" radio, so technically you're not supposed to use it on GMRS frequencies. It's kind of dumb, because, to my knowledge, really the only thing standing between it and being able to be used legally on GMRS frequencies is some FCC paperwork... 
Advocate III
- 5,584
- First Name
- Michael
- Last Name
- Rose
- Member #
-
20990
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- W7FSB
- Service Branch
- US ARMY Retired
The reason the Boefang radios (or any Ham Radio) isn’t allowed on the GMRS bands is because they have the ability to change out of frequency on the GMRS/FRS band. Meaning GMRS Chanel 15 is actually 462.5500 MHz. On a GMRS Radio you have a channel up and channel down button to navigate through preset frequencies without the ability to go out of band. With a Ham Radio, you have the abbility to enter a desired frequency like 462.556 which while within the GMRS range, it’s not on the Chanel list and might cause interference on the commercial/business/ or other frequencies assigned for other dedicated uses.HAM is certainly more versatile than GMRS, and the technician class license allows for a whole lot of capability while not being expensive or difficult to get. If you want to try out HAM, then get yourself a Baofeng UV-5R handheld radio for like $30 on Amazon, take the test, and just try it out. If you end up deciding to go with GMRS, you're only out $45 total and have a backup radio and the ability to use HAM frequencies in an emergency. The UV-5R is technically not certified by the FCC as a "GMRS" radio, so technically you're not supposed to use it on GMRS frequencies. It's kind of dumb, because, to my knowledge, really the only thing standing between it and being able to be used legally on GMRS frequencies is some FCC paperwork...
Now the UV5R (and most other Cheap Chinese radios) aren’t credited by the fcc not because the company didn’t file with the FCC, but there is a problem with radio to keep it from being an acceptable radio by the FCC.
The Baofeng GT-3 P Mark III is licensed by the FCC , has an advertised 8 watts of power, and is usually between $35-45.00 and is actually sold by genuine Amateur Radio Stores.
So what @bamakojon said is true. And I agree with him. Just wanted to explain why transmitting on the GMRS frequencies with a 70cm Radio is illegal. But as told to me by others in the community as long as you match the power outputs for the GMRS channel being used, you’re not being stupid and jamming other users, being respectful, and have both the GMRS and Ham license, then there isn’t really any way without a spectrum analyzer to tell you aren’t using a GMRS radio.
Another thing you hear, “Well the FCC won’t do anything about it any ways. They couldn’t care less... there underfunded and under staffed...”. This is almost true. The problem is the FCC has put it back on the armature radio community to self regulate. I know a couple of people that don’t have any problem sending up reports to the FCC for violations. In fact that is all they do every day is just monitor the airwaves for violations.
For us, just keep it within frequency, the power down, and fallow the rest of the rules and no one will know or care. Pump out 100 watts on 462.5500 and you will probably get a warning if not a suite showing up.
Member III
Most of the folks I run with have Ham and GMRS. Its nice that we can use either depending on what the group has available. Some folks only use the GMRS and when that happens, it's not an issue as we all have it available.
However, we've run into situations where the added power and range of Ham has been nice to have. Earlier this year our group got split up and having 2m to communicate over longer distances and APRS to locate camp with was nice.
Could it have worked out fine without it? Yes. But it was nice having the locations and being able to make those long distance contacts to relay information about the situation.
However, we've run into situations where the added power and range of Ham has been nice to have. Earlier this year our group got split up and having 2m to communicate over longer distances and APRS to locate camp with was nice.
Could it have worked out fine without it? Yes. But it was nice having the locations and being able to make those long distance contacts to relay information about the situation.
