The GMRS Podcast: Recent Episodes
Don Fitzsimmons
A podcast dedicated to the General Mobile Radio Service: GMRS. Discussing two way radios, repeaters, antennas and more.
Products Mentioned in this EpisodeThe Jackery portable power units that I use for off-grid power:
The Jackery 500
The Jakery 500 with Solar Panel
The Jackery 1000
The Jackery 1000 with Dual Solar Panels
Jackery also has some Black Friday deals here
Gear mentioned in this episode
Radioddity DB20-G
Diamond X50 NA Antenna
LMR 400 Coax Cable
The FCC Regulations MentionedBelow are the relevant links to part 95, sub-part A, which covers all of the personal radio services, including GMRS. This is what I missed because I was only looking at sub-part E. Oops.
§ 95.335 Operation of non-certified transmitters prohibited.
§ 95.337 Operation of impermissibly modified equipment prohibited.
You can find Matt Kester on YouTube here.
Radios mentioned in this episode:
Wouxun KG-1000G (mobile)
Wouxun KG-935G (ht)
Wouxun KG-S88G (Matt's current favorite ht)
Midland MXT-275 (mobile)
Radioddity DB-20G (mobile)
Product Recommendations Mentioned in this Episode (and some not)All of these antennas work very well. Some are dual, or multi-band and some are only designed to work in the GMRS frequency range. Remember, dual band is always a bit of a compromise, but works well if you plan to use ham radio in addition to GMRS. If you only plan to use GMRS, stick with a single band antenna for the best results.
SWR MeterSurecom SW-102
HT Antennas
The Signal Stick by Signal Stuff (dual band)
Mobile Antennas
The Browning BR-450 (GMRS)
Laird Phantom Antenna (GMRS)
Compactenna Scan-III (multi-band)
Base Station AntennasSirio CX455 (GMRS)
Diamond X50-NA (dual band)
Harvest BC200 (GMRS)
Yes, two-way radio is in fact better than your phone. I'm not talking about emergencies either. Listen to find out why.
On this episode, I review the Radioddity GM-30, a very inexpensive HT transceiver. Is it better than a Baofeng? Find out.
In this very short episode, I explain my absence in the last few weeks and what's in store for the future of this podcast.
You can find the Radioddity DB20-G here. The price varies a bit, but it's usually in the neighborhood of $99-120. I think it's a great value.
This is the final episode covering the basics of GMRS. Here we discuss narrow band vs. wide band as well as the relationship between GMRS and FRS in a nutshell.
In this episode, I discuss the complex concept of tones in GMRS. Using tones in simplex communication as well as for repeater access. How they work and why you would use them.
Stuff I Mentioned
Brian Regan on the name "walkie talkie"
The Notarubicon Guide to GMRS Licensing
The HT Radios Mentioned in this EpisodeRadioddity GM-30
Baofeng UV-5X
Baofeng UV-9G
Wouxun KG-905G
Wouxun KG-935G
The Mobile Radios Mentioned in this EpisodeRadioddity DB20-GWouxun KG-XS20G
To view all of the rules and regulations surrounding GMRS, you can view the FCC rules here: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-95/subpart-E
On this episode we discuss more about what GMRS is and more so, why you might be interested in using it. I tell the story of how this technology nerd ended up totally fascinated with radio communication and GMRS.