Which radio service is right for you? Ham, FRS, GMRS, MURS, CB and LMR compared.

[@bendeleted9155]

This channel is a Godsend to all the people starting from scratch. I will pass this vid and the latest one on prepper radio to the folks that have asked me questions in the past but haven't acted yet. Well done 👍. So far, it's GMRS for family and friends that are further out, and FRS handouts for my neighbors. I have recruited zero hams so far though.

[@EvanK2EJT]

You're doing more than 99.9% of people are when it comes to comms preparedness! Your family, friends, and neighbors are lucky to have you around!

[@bageldad]

I asked the same question on a video he posted today. The issue “preppers” are having is the mid range distance 6-100 miles. GMRS is good up to 6 miles - unless we have a repeater (which we do not in this part of Southern Illinois).

[@JohnAshtonRandolph]

Just got a Baofeng UV-5RM (twin pack) from Amazon for about $70 with all the accessories included! Very cool for just getting back into this hobby. Been tuning into nearby repeaters and frequencies to see what's out there. Planning on going for my licenses soon. Great channel Evan and thank you so much for the info!!!

[@EvanK2EJT]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@dads2006gt]

Tidradio td-h3 gmrs radios are in route from Amazon. Just ordered two whip and two stubby antennas. Already purchased the license so for under $200 I'm able to get started. I'm a complete newbie to the game so I'll be tuning in with you and others often to learn. I appreciate your knowledge! Thank you

[@EvanK2EJT]

Great start! The H3 is a nice radio. Thanks for watching!

[@ralphnunn3]

Good, solid explaination of all the services. Thanks for the video.

[@jjhendo]

Great video, very comprehensive. I'm oddly intrigued by MURS. 😅

[@EvanK2EJT]

MURS is cool.....because it's basically simplex 2m ham, but channelized and nobody uses it lol

[@ThePainWhisperer]

Thanks for this great video.

[@EvanK2EJT]

Thanks for watching!

[@marctlm3636]

Excellent video, I across across your channel last night, and I would say by far at least for beginners like myself you have one of the best channels that is easier to digest and actually understand

[@EvanK2EJT]

Thank you! I know it can be daunting at first, so I wanted to make the information as easy to digest as possible, while not watering anything down. I appreciate your feedback, and thanks for watching!

[@brianr0159]

That’s a lot of knowledge transfer. Good work, Evan.

[@dgio5052]

Scanners are a great way to get in to radios. You can get real familiar with the popular channels in your area, CT tones and all the emergency stuff. I'm still using an old Radio Shack one from the 90s and it still works great. Any thoughts on scanners? It's about time I upgrade. Lol

[@EvanK2EJT]

You're absolutely correct! The other nice thing about a modern scanner is you can easily listen to local emergency comms if they're P25, which you can't easily do on most radios. Including a good scanner in the mix is an EXCELLENT idea!

[@Porty1119]

@@EvanK2EJT Whatever you do, don't take a deep dive into P25 operation on ham radio. You'll get addicted and it will empty your wallet.

[@michaelfe.7930]

So I am in the Northeast Philadelphia area, looking to learn and show my son alternate ways of communicating

[@EvanK2EJT]

You should have piles of repeaters, etc. down there to work with!

[@glennsimpson4066]

Thanks for you videos. Always informative.

[@EvanK2EJT]

Thank you for watching!

[@bobanderson1727]

Great information and video! Thanks for your work.

[@EvanK2EJT]

Thank you, and thanks for watching!

[@Bill-HRT]

A good reference for anyone! Nice and comprehensive. Thank you. See you out there. 73 de Bill

[@Swamp-Fox]

Great overview Evan! 73, Patrick KF4LMZ

[@Mikael5732]

Enjoyed the video. Thanks. Won’t post my call sign but am a ham. I like your FTDX-10! 👍🏻

[@Robbie-sk6vc]

Embarrassed about your call? How unfortunate! Or are you paranoid? May want to get help for that. De kd7cjo

[@JohnAshtonRandolph]

Evan, what were you looking at on the monitor as your video began...looked really cool!!!

[@EvanK2EJT]

That's Hamclock running on an Inovato Quadra: inovato.com/products/quadra-hamclock-bundle-with-mini-keyboard

[@SK-rj1ti]

The Wouxun KG-805M MURS and KG-805G GMRS radios are also good VHF and UHF rigs, respectively. You can use Chirp-next to program in whatever frequency you want, including ham TX. Just use the KG-UVD1P settings. No VFO, but if you stuff in enough freqs, it might be sufficient. Not to mention that they are MURS and GMRS radios out of the box. Very simple and great for ladies who don't care about radio. Excellent (!!!) superhet receivers. I would say WONDERFUL receivers. IP-54. They go for about $80 from BTWR these days. Not affiliated in any way.

[@EvanK2EJT]

Yeah, the Wouxun stuff is fantastic for the money

[@KC2BKM]

Great teaching! Took a topic I am totally not interested in because it’s in large part what I do for a living and taught me something. What’s next walking on water? Lol

[@deaconnyte9748]

Watched your other antenna videos and learned a lot - going to pick up a pair of Signal Stuff Signal sticks for a pair of AR-5RMs I have a Wouxun KG -935G with the high gain antenna and Wouxun KG -905G with the stock antennas. watched a few GMRS videos on youtube and many said to replace the stock antennas - one suggestion came up to replace with a Smiley antenna. I'm an infrequent user but have been using more lately . I had thought about replacing with the 5/8 slim duck 465 mhz , but saw for Veterans day they have their MINI RUBBER DUCK 465 MHZ for 50% off - would this be a good all round replacement or would the 5/8 slim duck 465mhz be a better replacement for my 2 radios or would I not really notice much difference between what came on the 935G and 905G ? ie. 1) Keep the stock antennas 2) Buy a pair of 5/8 slim duck 465 mhz 3) Get the deal - MINI RUBBER DUCK 465 MHZ for 50% off Don't want to buy a pair of antennas if I'm not going to notice much difference. This would be for just installing and using as an all rounder. Any advice appreciated - Thanks!

[@EvanK2EJT]

So my experience with the little tiny Smiley antennas is that they work quite well for what they are. They aren't going to be as good as the 5/8 wave, but they work well. It's hard to say how much better or worse they'd be than the stock antennas. They're short, so they're not going to be super efficient, but the stock rubber duck is kind of meh too. If you want the best range with a manageable size antenna, the 5/8 wave is the way to go. If you want super compact with reasonable range, go with the stubby guys.

[@deaconnyte9748]

@@EvanK2EJT Thanks for the quick reply, I''ll wait and pick up pair of the 5/8 slim ducks. Again great channel, love your presentation for us new users.

[@GeneReasoner-h4s]

I have a Technicians license and am slowly learning my way along. I plan on getting my General soon. What is a good entry level budget HF radio to start with? I want to get into Dxing eventually.

[@EvanK2EJT]

There are a few options. If you're looking to get into DXing, my normal go to answer of the G90 isn't really appropriate. I'd say probably either an Icom 7300 or Yaesu FT-710 would fit the bill. The 7300 is probably a tad easier to use, while the Yaesu has a superior receiver and filtering.

[@IamTingster]

Hey Evan what is that program you have running on your monitor behind everything with the propagation information and spotting info?

[@EvanK2EJT]

That's Ham clock running on an Inovato Quadra: inovato.com/products/quadra-hamclock-bundle-with-mini-keyboard

[@rhayes458]

Really appreciate your video as I’m very new to radio comms. My goal is to communicate with family that lives 5-6 miles away (generally flat rural terrain but definitely woods and some structures between). Ease of use is important, and I am not ready for HAM. Is GMRS a viable option? Would we need to jump up to the 50 watt units? Thanks!

[@EvanK2EJT]

That's absolutely doable with GMRS. As long as you have an unobstructed view antenna to antenna, that's not a problem at all. Even a 5w handheld will work for that no problem. Now, if there are obstructions (hills, etc) that range can be dramatically reduced. The only way to know for *sure* is to try it out and see what works. The quality and efficiency of the antenna is going to play a HUGE role in this as well.

[@rhayes458]

@@EvanK2EJT thank you! I was assuming I may need to get into a 50w unit. If the 5w handhelds don’t work, do you see much of a difference jumping up to a 20w base station unit? For the 5w handhelds on Amazon, what specific antennas do you suggest? Thanks again!

[@EvanK2EJT]

@@rhayes458 The difference between 5w and 20w on an S meter that displays signal strength is only 1 S unit, or 6db. It's not a huge difference. Antenna is really going to make the difference. The best GMRS antennas I've found are the Smiley 5/8 wave, the Nagoya 771, and the Melowave Bandit

[@ThePainWhisperer]

Question: Midland's X Talker T71VP3 is an FRS radio and claims to have 36 channels, not 22. How is that?

[@EvanK2EJT]

I would have to look at it, but I suspect what they've done is program the normal 22 channels, and then added 14 of the same frequencies (likely channels 1-14 which are the lower power channels) with different CTCSS tones so that you're not hearing other chatter on the same channel.

[@phonicbeast302]

Sounds like getting a ham would be cool to me but I haven't seen or understood how one radio to one radio works with blasting stuff to every one. I can see how gmrs would be great for that but I'd like to dive into ham if I actually get into this. Would you just find an empty freq. and go ham without call signs. Also, just to clarify, if I had a ham, I would be able to talk to gmrs radios and them to me?

[@EvanK2EJT]

So if you're on a radio, everyone on that frequency will be able to hear you. Generally, you find an open frequency and just roll. Usually a non issue. As for ham to GMRS, they're two separate licenses and two separate radios. You *can* unlock a lot of radios so they'll transmit on GMRS, but it's technically against the FCC rules. Here's the truth though, if you're talking simplex (radio to radio) on GMRS, absolutely no one is going to care what radio you're on, and nobody uses their callsigns. Repeaters are a different story (they'll want you to use your callsign), but since GMRS shares frequencies with FRS, there's not really any way for anyone to know what kind of radio you're on. Thanks for watching!

[@edbeckerich3737]

APRS!!

[@Oriewaviations]

Hey is frs license free in Canada.a

[@EvanK2EJT]

I'm honestly not sure what the regulations in Canada are. Any Canadians in the comments who want to chime in?

[@TheCmbteng21b]

I have been watching some of your videos and other’s videos and getting really interested in ham radio and wanting to get licensed. I do have a ton of questions though since this is all new to me. One of my questions is if I get licensed can I talk on gmrs or do I have to have a ham license and a gmrs license? And is there a decent hand held radio that I can use for ham and if a hunting buddy isn’t licensed I can use the same radio to talk to him on a Walmart special walkie talkie?

[@EvanK2EJT]

Great questions. First, ham and GMRS are separate licenses. You'd need a license for each. The radios are different as well. GMRS licenses are type accepted for that service. You *can* transmit unlock (or MARS mod) a lot of radios. It's technically against the FCC regulations, but if you're talking to someone on FRS frequencies on an unlocked ham radio, nobody is going to know........or care for that matter. Now, I'm not telling you to break the rules, I'm just giving you the reality of the situation LOL

[@TheCmbteng21b]

@ lol I understand so a ham license seems like something interesting to get into but what got me started on all of this was seeing an add for rapid radios which I found out through your videos and other ham radio videos that was not what I was looking for. What I’m looking for is a radio to use for hunting that will reach a few miles through hilly terrain or to leave one at the house for my wife while I take one to the woods maybe 20 miles away because of limited to no cell service and emergency. Would ham or GMRS be better. Still not a bad idea to get licensed in both.

[@EvanK2EJT]

@@TheCmbteng21b Well, the answer will depend on what repeaters are in your area, and whether you can hit them from both your home and where you are in the woods. If there are no repeaters, and there's lots of terrain, and you need to be able to reach 20 miles, you'd really be looking at ham radio on low bands with NVIS antennas. Keep in mind you're talking antennas somewhere between 41' and 132' long depending on whether your radio has a tuner and what band you want to operate on. GMRS is going to be line of sight UHF. If you have a repeater with clear line of sight between where you are and your house, that would work. The same goes for any VHF or UHF ham radio.

[@TheCmbteng21b]

Ok thank I’m continuing to watch your videos and learn as much as I can. Still interested in both GMRS and HAM so I’m going to try and get both types of radios and license. Sorry for all the questions but you are the only one who has replied to me so you are my go to guy for questions lol

[@EvanK2EJT]

@@TheCmbteng21b Not a problem at all. Ask as many questions as you want. That's what I'm here for.

[@SK-rj1ti]

Great info. Miss the East Coast accent.