caerdydd 0 #1 June 17, 2003 okay... went to Best Buy yesterday, to replace my tits-up motorolas. it seems that good old fashioned 14-38 FRS radios are passe, and now it's all new-fangled 22-38 FRS/GMRS nonsense. it says right on the box "FCC licence required", so i figured it'd just be a simple form and a nominal fee. but no! went blind on the FCC website, and then figured that it's $75.00 per "callsign". two radios=two callsigns?? so $150 in federal licencing fees just so that my wife and i can chat over a couple hundred yards? here's the real kicker: to get the licence, you HAVE to register your SS# first! and then to use the radio, you have to abide by all sorts of regulations, or face the risk of prosecution. the upside to the radios? well, if you've done all that s__t, you can maybe get 5 miles out of the GMRS channels (1-7, and 15-22). however, channels 8-14 (the FRS channels) are still just your 0.5 watt, 2-mile range channels. bottom line? you end up with only 7-38 channels of the same power as the old FRS radios, and a major headache. oh, and once you've registered your SS# and details, you CANNOT cancel the registration, only "deactivate" it... hmmmm... so, there you go... avoid the GMRS radios, and order some 14-38 FRS radios from whoever still sells 'em (ie. Cabela's). and of course, be careful what you say. if all this is old news, or wrong, sorry, and i'd be happy to stand corrected. opinions, anyone? C. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
narcimund 0 #2 June 17, 2003 The other option is to skip the FCC licence like everyone else is doing. First Class Citizen Twice Over Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freakydiver 0 #3 June 17, 2003 Get a portable CB and talk in code... -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." -- Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mcclone 0 #4 June 17, 2003 Yo C... Is that your real name... sounds Brittish to me. You know you really don't need radios if your object is low enough... lets play tomorrow... that little tiny smokey thing is calling our name... Punk N Bones Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
caerdydd 0 #5 June 18, 2003 yeah, good point. i guess i was just worried about that... don't know how they monitor those sorts of things. plus, if you were to be nabbed, wouldn't it be a federal offence? probably no chance of it, but i'll still stick with the FRS channels. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
