GMRS radio group

TG Pioneer said:
It’s not a militia. More like a mutual aid group. We know we can count on each other. Again, this is just so we can stay in touch when SHTF.
The most important thing about this is that it’s getting group members to start thinking about emergencies. That alone helps with group cohesion. People love the radio checks.
Baofeng radios are just a start. As we get more into it, the radios will get better. As I stated in my initial post, we’re FNG’s. Most of us don’t know much about radios and I really don’t want to geek everything up with discussions about technical crap that’ll sail over the heads of our people.
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I have done this 3 times with different groups of dudes over the last 15 or so years. You should absolutely start with bfengs so when these dudes you can count on get over the fun of talking about it and buying their $25 radios and accessories to clip to their unused tactical gear, they won't be upset that they wasted a ton of money on something they have no real desire to learn how to use.
 
paul73 said:
just do not hold an 8w emitting antenna close to your melon while transmitting.
from all other perspective, minus digital channels, those 5x3, 5r8w are great little radios.
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The 2 or 3 times these bfengs emit before being tossed in a box or a drawer and forgotten about, I am sure they will be fine.
 
ChevyGuy91 said:
The 2 or 3 times these bfengs emit before being tossed in a box or a drawer and forgotten about, I am sure they will be fine.
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they are quite useful in a forest. we used to have kenwoods on a hunts, with the encryption of course, because reasons. :)
when used for the most of the day, it gets quite hot.
 
ChevyGuy91 said:
I have done this 3 times with different groups of dudes over the last 15 or so years. You should absolutely start with bfengs so when these dudes you can count on get over the fun of talking about it and buying their $25 radios and accessories to clip to their unused tactical gear, they won't be upset that they wasted a ton of money on something they have no real desire to learn how to use.
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There’s no tactical gear. As I said before, nothing like that is going on.
 
TG Pioneer said:
Keep in mind that I’m a novice. I’m no expert by any means. We have a Republican group that meets in a little town on the South Coast. We’re very conservative. Given that we are on the cusp of WWIII, Civil War two, societal collapse, or God knows what, we began incorporating emergency preparedness topics into our meetings. These can range from first aid to food preservation, firearms, and emergency comms.

We decided to use the GMRS band radios. You can buy FRS radios and they’re okay for short distances like parking lots, political rallies, etc. CB is great but limited in terms of legal power. Ham radios are the gold standard, of course but there’s a hell of a learning curve.

After considerable research by some of our people, we decided on the GMRS radio service. It’s is like CB 2.0. Its power limitation is 50 watts, which is considerably better than CB’s. Our group members that were interested got their GMRS licenses on the labyrinthine fcc.gov website. It’s $35, good for ten years, and covers the whole family. We bought a variety of radios, from the walkie talkie sized Baofeng UV-9G to the 50 watt Wouxsun KG-1000, mounted in vehicles. Very few people use this service so we can’t lurk and listen. We try to do a radio check weekly and we keep it brief, giving everyone a chance to participate. In our town, given the tree cover and a few hills, we can generally catch each other up to about two miles. We’ve listened to conversations twenty miles away too.

I know some people are going to ask why we didn’t go with ham radio. The range is better and so forth. The answer is that we’re not really radio enthusiasts. This is mostly just for emergencies and group cohesion. We don’t want to gum up the Ham band and most of us really don’t know much so we don’t want to impose. Ham radio can get REALLY technical.

GMRS radio can be easy to get into for relatively short money ($30-$500). For people who want to stay in touch with their local network of friends during a SHTF event, this might be a great way to get the neophytes like me onboard. I’ve just discovered Notarubicon productions on YouTube. His deadpan delivery takes a little getting used to but he’s very informative. I’m interested to hear what our NES brain trust thinks and eager to learn.
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To learn from one of the most notable, go to NotaRubicon Productions on Youtube
 
commodon said:
To learn from one of the most notable, go to NotaRubicon Productions on Youtube
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I like Randy. He's very good for GMRS but is definitely an acquired taste. My other favorites, though chiefly amateur radio oriented, are Josh at Ham Radio Crash Course and Jason at Ham Radio 2.0.

It's amazing how much you can absorb just watching Youtubes. Even without viewing any test prep specific ones, I took a technician practice exam and only missed passing by two answers.
 
commodon said:
To learn from one of the most notable, go to NotaRubicon Productions on Youtube
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Blackmore said:
I like Randy. He's very good for GMRS but is definitely an acquired taste. My other favorites, though chiefly amateur radio oriented, are Josh at Ham Radio Crash Course and Jason at Ham Radio 2.0.

It's amazing how much you can absorb just watching Youtubes. Even without viewing any test prep specific ones, I took a technician practice exam and only missed passing by two answers.
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I said pretty much the same thing. He’s tough to take at first but he’s absolutely an expert on GMRS and related topics. His reviews are excellent too. They helped me select the Wouxsun KG-1000 for my van.
 
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