You wouldn’t think walkie talkies would cause such controversy. But, back in 2019 they sure did. One of our biggest selling daily deals at that time was a handheld radio that promised to work for FRS and GMRS broadcasting. These two forms of broadcasting are very similar except for the amount of broadcast power they use. Both use a similar range of frequencies, so it’s very easy to make radios that work with both. Except that here in 2024, it’s illegal to have radios that do both. Here’s why.
Resident guru Phil Karras informed us of an FCC rule change which I went into in detail in this 2019 article. The real issue is that GMRS use requires a license, while FRS didn’t. If you bought one of these radios and you didn’t have a license, you were supposed to just pinky swear that you wouldn’t use the higher broadcast power or the GMRS frequencies. I guess that didn’t sit too well with the FCC.
Because of this rule change, we stopped selling all of these sorts of radios. Unfortunately a lot of other companies didn’t, and even today I see overseas shopping sites that offer this sort of radio to their customers. Just be careful though, because it’s the customer — you — who is ultimately responsible for operating these radios the right way. If you’re using them in a way that should need a license and you don’t have one, you’re the one who will get punished.
Yeah, I get it, there’s a pretty small chance that FCC agents are waiting in the woods with signal meters to try to catch you using these things wrong. It’s one of those things that just doesn’t happen. But that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. It’s always possible that your broadcasts could interfere with those of some government agency and those folks are pretty particular about how they communicate. If public safety agencies like ranger stations are using these frequencies to communicate and you block them, they’ll report you and things could get pretty messy.
FRS radios still make sense for areas where cell service is poor like hiking in the woods. With range up to 1.5 miles, they can help people stay in contact when it’s really important. Solid Signal doesn’t sell these radios anymore, but they are still out there. Cell phones are used most often for a lot of this stuff because cell service is so good in the US. But there are still pockets here and there where you don’t get great service even with a cell phone signal booster.
Just be sure that any radio you buy is from a reputable brand and doesn’t include GMRS broadcasting. Better safe than sorry.
The post THROWBACK THURSDAY: When we stopped selling FRS/GMRS radios appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
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It helps to have friends in the business
Resident guru Phil Karras informed us of an FCC rule change which I went into in detail in this 2019 article. The real issue is that GMRS use requires a license, while FRS didn’t. If you bought one of these radios and you didn’t have a license, you were supposed to just pinky swear that you wouldn’t use the higher broadcast power or the GMRS frequencies. I guess that didn’t sit too well with the FCC.
Because of this rule change, we stopped selling all of these sorts of radios. Unfortunately a lot of other companies didn’t, and even today I see overseas shopping sites that offer this sort of radio to their customers. Just be careful though, because it’s the customer — you — who is ultimately responsible for operating these radios the right way. If you’re using them in a way that should need a license and you don’t have one, you’re the one who will get punished.
Yeah, I get it, there’s a pretty small chance that FCC agents are waiting in the woods with signal meters to try to catch you using these things wrong. It’s one of those things that just doesn’t happen. But that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. It’s always possible that your broadcasts could interfere with those of some government agency and those folks are pretty particular about how they communicate. If public safety agencies like ranger stations are using these frequencies to communicate and you block them, they’ll report you and things could get pretty messy.
Does that mean you should stay away from all handheld radios?
FRS radios still make sense for areas where cell service is poor like hiking in the woods. With range up to 1.5 miles, they can help people stay in contact when it’s really important. Solid Signal doesn’t sell these radios anymore, but they are still out there. Cell phones are used most often for a lot of this stuff because cell service is so good in the US. But there are still pockets here and there where you don’t get great service even with a cell phone signal booster.
Just be sure that any radio you buy is from a reputable brand and doesn’t include GMRS broadcasting. Better safe than sorry.
The post THROWBACK THURSDAY: When we stopped selling FRS/GMRS radios appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
Continue reading...
