› Forums › Archived Forums › Geo-Campout 2004 › FRS vs. GMRS (at the campout)
- This topic has 9 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 21 years, 9 months ago by
GrouseTales.
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04/26/2004 at 3:12 pm #1722275
In the past, we’ve always used FRS channel 12 for the repeater system.
These days, more and more people are upgrading to the GMRS radios. The GMRS radios have a few more channels, and are able to transmit with more power on the GMRS channels. FRS radios transmit at up to 1/2 watt. GMRS transmit on 1 or 2 watts (several times the power of the FRS radios)
The GMRS and FRS radios overlap on a few channels. For example:
[*]FRS – 14 channels (1 – 14)
[*]GMRS – 22 channels (1-14 FRS + 15-22 GMRS only)
[*]GMRS radios can transmit on high power on channels 1-7, and 15-22.
[*]On channels 1-7, GMRS users can transmit at “high power”, yet still be on the same channel as the FRS users.So what does this all mean? Well, I’m proposing that for the campout, we use channel 7 instead of channel 12. The repeater will still be operating at FRS power. The people using the GMRS radios will have a slight advantage in triggering the repeater from father away, and have clearer transmissions.
While placing the caches this past weekend, we installed the repeater on channel 7. It worked great! We were able to communicate throughout the whole park.
My question is: does anyone have a good reason why we shouldn’t switch to channel 7?
“There are two kinds of hunting: ordinary hunting and grouse hunting.”
-Aldo Leopold, A sand county AlmanacBrian
WGA President
[email protected]04/26/2004 at 11:38 pm #1754480I was going to suggest this very thing. We just bought a pair of GMRS 5 mile range radios and I was hoping to switch to a different channel in order to take advantage of the range.
GREAT IDEA!!!!!!!!!
P.S. Fleet Farm has a pair of Motorola GMRS Radios (model # T5720) for less than $50. These have the five mile range. Good stuff and a great price!
Jeff
[This message has been edited by Green Bay Paddlers (edited 04-26-2004).]
04/27/2004 at 8:48 pm #1754481Are you aware you need to have a FCC license to use GMRS?
PWB – Comet Cache Chasers
http://www.cachechasers.com04/27/2004 at 9:03 pm #1754482quote:
Originally posted by pwb:
Are you aware you need to have a FCC license to use GMRS?
Yes, I am aware of that. I’m assuming that people will adhere to any regulations for the particular radios they are using. The WGA repeater is FRS.
04/28/2004 at 3:48 am #1754483I’m sorry, I’m just stupid, but what the heck do you mean by repeater? Does it have something to do with eating cucumbers?
I have an FRS radio, and have no problems with channel 7. Just can’t figure out what you mean by a repeater….
Bec (The Dense)
04/28/2004 at 12:58 pm #1754484The repeater we use is a “simplex” repeater. That means it receives and broadcasts on the same frequency. It does this by recording your radio transmission, and then re-broadcasting it when you let go of the mic button. When you say something on the radio, it will immediately rebroadcast what you said.
How does this help? Well, we put the repeater in a central spot in the park, and hoist it high into a tree. Your radio may not be able reach from the East side of the park to the West side of the park. However if your radio can reach the repeater in the middle, the repeater will then relay, or repeat, your message. Now the person on the opposite end of the park hears your transmission.
Here is a little diagram:
Mary <- 2 miles -> repeater <-2 miles ->Bob
Your FRS radio has a 2 mile range. Mary wants to talk to bob, but he is 4 miles away. Her radio normally wouldn’t reach that far. Now with the repeater in the middle, Mary is able to reach the repeater which is two miles away. The repeater records her message and then re-broadcasts it. Bob is able to hear the repeater and Mary’s message.
Now the tricky part which most people have a hard time with. YOU NEED TO WAIT FOR THE REPEATER. It’s quite possible that at some point the person you are talking to is much closer then the repeater off in the distance. Mary talks to Bob who is about 500 feet away. The signal is loud in clear. The repeater is still repeating everything you say and re-broadcasting it. You need to wait for the repeater to finish before talking. At close range to another person, this can be frustrating. In this case you might be better switching to a different channel.
Most people make the mistake of not waiting for the repeater to finish. Subsequently you have two radios transmitting at the same time, and you can’t make out either conversation. The repeater has a “roger beep” at the end. That means when the repeater is done repeating, you will hear a “beep”.
At the Gov Dodge campout, and the Lapham Peak picnic, the repeater was a tremendous help in overcoming the terrain. We were able to communicate much better with the aid of the repeater.
What does it look like? It’s basically a mobile FRS radio, 12 volt battery, and the actual repeater device. The repeater is a small black box that plugs in to the speaker/mic jack on the FRS radio. This baby will run for several weeks on a single charge. It’s contained in a metal ammo can which we hoist up into a tree.
[This message has been edited by GrouseTales (edited 04-28-2004).]
04/28/2004 at 3:41 pm #1754485Wow! That’s pretty cool!
Bec
04/28/2004 at 10:31 pm #1754486Cool you say? Huh….
Unless you’re the one GrouseTales makes climb the tree….
jk
Bill
04/28/2004 at 11:52 pm #1754487GrouseTails…. I bow to you… You are the MacGyver of all MacGyver’s… You make me proud to be an American…
I will go to bed tonight dreaming of 12 volt batteries, long ropes and tall trees…
God bless brother… There is a cold beer waiting for you at GEOCAMP….
Jeff
04/29/2004 at 12:14 am #1754488I’m always looking for a good excuse to enjoy a cold one. This sounds like a good one to me
Actually GB, your post is pretty funny. Believe it or not, my co-workers all call me “MacGyver”, or “John Malon”, but that’s a whole different story.
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