Be careful with unlicensed GMRS radio usage

[oakranger]

 

I feel for it.

[Curlew]

wtf, those things are bad now? I assume those are more than line of sight radios, but wow, i have a handful of similar ones, guess I shouldnt use them

[CAVPFCDD]

guy 1 :deploy the chopper they've got hello kitty radios

guy 2 : those sick terrorist bastards

[dentin]

Have to relate a story in order to help you avoid a similar incident in the future. While on a recent camping trip to Ray Roberts lake we decided to try out some 2 way radios we had bought at Cabelas as an early family Christmas present. After setting up camp we decided to experiment a little with the radios. Little did we know that a license was required for something called GMRS.

Anyhow, my wife and daughter were playing around with and communicating over the radios for about ten minutes when a Blackhawk helicopter came right over our camp at fairly high speed executing a sharp, steep turn, almost like a chandelle, and then proceeded to hover right adjacent to our camp. The rotor wash was somewhat fierce. I am thinking what is this, that's different?

Almost immediately after coming to a hover, six US Marshals in full assault gear and one FCC agent fast roped out of the Blackhawk to the ground and then yelled at us to drop the radios and put our hands over our heads. At this point my daughter is crying and our camping gear is being blown to kingdom come from the rotor wash.

After a couple of hours of intense questioning, the FCC agent told us that most likely we would receive an official warning for the first time although we could all be put in jail and receive hefty fines. They subsequently confiscated our radios to turn over to the US district attorney along with a recording of the communication. My wife and daughter's words will always stick in my mind when we reviewed their evidence:

"Hi mom"

"Hi Audrey"

"Can you hear me momma?"

"Yes I can hear you fine"

Whatever you're on...pass it around . 

[dentin]

BS!!! LOL!!!
I ran a 10,000 watt ILLEGAL radio station for YEARS...
Bleeding all over the airwaves... Complaints from local
airtraffic control, Police, EMS... Could hear them complaining
to dispatch on my illegal scanner too... LOL
People couldn't drive by without my bleedover shutting
their engine down... 5 miles away, my neighbors toaster
was talking in my voice... And his acoustic guitar strings
would vibrate, making him walk around his house looking,
for who was talking.....

Never had the black helicopters come for me..
Even tho the State Police academy was 10 miles away...

RC

       

[uptown]

  I was ready to go to war with these Gmen! 

[moot]

5 miles away, my neighbors toaster
was talking in my voice...

awesome.

[CAP1]

Have to relate a story in order to help you avoid a similar incident in the future. While on a recent camping trip to Ray Roberts lake we decided to try out some 2 way radios we had bought at Cabelas as an early family Christmas present. After setting up camp we decided to experiment a little with the radios. Little did we know that a license was required for something called GMRS.

Anyhow, my wife and daughter were playing around with and communicating over the radios for about ten minutes when a Blackhawk helicopter came right over our camp at fairly high speed executing a sharp, steep turn, almost like a chandelle, and then proceeded to hover right adjacent to our camp. The rotor wash was somewhat fierce. I am thinking what is this, that's different?

Almost immediately after coming to a hover, six US Marshals in full assault gear and one FCC agent fast roped out of the Blackhawk to the ground and then yelled at us to drop the radios and put our hands over our heads. At this point my daughter is crying and our camping gear is being blown to kingdom come from the rotor wash.

After a couple of hours of intense questioning, the FCC agent told us that most likely we would receive an official warning for the first time although we could all be put in jail and receive hefty fines. They subsequently confiscated our radios to turn over to the US district attorney along with a recording of the communication. My wife and daughter's words will always stick in my mind when we reviewed their evidence:

"Hi mom"

"Hi Audrey"

"Can you hear me momma?"

"Yes I can hear you fine"

these are the same as the ones you can buy at any store....like we use at the race tracks?  i think they call em "family" radios?

 a friend of mine, that has 2 stores in philly, approx 1.5 blocks apart uses these all the time. so far no probs.....but if this is truely a prob, i think i might need to warn her.

<<S>>

dammit!!!!

[trigger2]

GMRS stands for?

The General Mobile Radio Service... used to be called Class A Civilian Radio.

[trigger2]

these are the same as the ones you can buy at any store....like we use at the race tracks?  i think they call em "family" radios?

 a friend of mine, that has 2 stores in philly, approx 1.5 blocks apart uses these all the time. so far no probs.....but if this is truely a prob, i think i might need to warn her.

<<S>>

dammit!!!!

No, family radio's are different. A family radio shares a few channels in common with GMRS, but they're perfectly legal to transmit on.

[bj229r]

Well you ARE supposed to register GMRS radios (says so inside package) but of course, no one ever does. Serious radio people disdain them as trash ('blister pack' radios, etc)

[Meatwad]

BS!!! LOL!!!
I ran a 10,000 watt ILLEGAL radio station for YEARS...
Bleeding all over the airwaves... Complaints from local
airtraffic control, Police, EMS... Could hear them complaining
to dispatch on my illegal scanner too... LOL
People couldn't drive by without my bleedover shutting
their engine down... 5 miles away, my neighbors toaster
was talking in my voice... And his acoustic guitar strings
would vibrate, making him walk around his house looking,
for who was talking.....

Never had the black helicopters come for me..
Even tho the State Police academy was 10 miles away...

RC

There a BS story for ya

[Tango]

Federal Gov over reacting.

Think it was bad in the 90's? Wait and see how bad it gets in the next 4 years. Hopefully it won't be 8.

[RipChord929]

There a BS story for ya

No BS, Just da FAX!!!
My brother lived 62miles out, as the crow flies..
I turned my cophased 4element Yagi Beam antenae
toward his house, Switch to the vertical plane, KEY UP,
and bleed ALL over his cable TV... 62 MILES OUT LOL!!!!
Along with sat dishes, Broadcast radio and TV...
RMS 10k watts, spiking to 17k, with Vert or Horizontally
cophased Moonraker4's, (sitting in the 4th ground wave),
Will definately do it... LOL!!!

LOL, this wasn't no dinky little CB radio, LOL...

On another occasion, just for kicks. I used my
Bi/axial Yeasu rotor motor to point my beams at
the moon... Made a 60db direct AM voice contact in
Auckland New Zealand, No SKIP, by bouncing my signal
OFF THE MOON!!!

Still have everything, except the antennae, and rotor motor..
Still have the Kenwood Tranciever/VFO...
60amp regulated/shielded power supply..
2 linear step up Amps, 500watt and 1000watt (transistor)...
and the 220volt/27tube linear main amp, (3 drivin 24)...
Full set of meters, Transmit power/SWR/Modulation..
Antenna switch box, and load matcher...
And the 30db recieve preamp...

Used to fry the recieve in alot of muddubbers radios
when in the vert plane.. They used to hate
the big strappin radios, LOL... Had envious little twerps
try to sabotage my equipment too... The old needle
thru the coax cable routine... Ran'em off with
a shotgun more than once...LOL!!!

That was my hobby at the time!!!
Lots of ppl had BIG strappin radios back then..

No BS
RC

[Meatwad]

riiiiiiiiiiiiiight