DaveInDenver
Rising Sun Ham Guru
Trying to bring together a presentation with recommendations at different price and feature points. Looks to me that a significant issue is finding specific models in stock.
Which FRS/GMRS handheld radio(s) to buy?
- Thread starter Hulk
- Start date
wow Dave, that's some great info there. 
DaveInDenver
Rising Sun Ham Guru
There's a few new mobiles radios coming.
Midland MXT500 - 50 watt traditional mobile. Notice the radio is upside down in this photo. Attention to detail by the test lab.
Midland MXT575 - Looks to be a remote mic/head like the MXT275 but 50 watts instead of 15.
Both are FCC listed now but I don't see them for sale yet. According to the test reports they are both wideband (16K0F3E, 20KHz) listed but it appears bandwidth may be selectable between narrow and wide.
And Rugged has a couple of mobiles, the GMR25 and GMR45. I can't really recommend them at this point. Not really a problem performance-wise (they're cheap Chinese radios like any other) but their prices are pretty high compared to the original radio they rebadge.
www.ruggedradios.com
They are rebadged TYT (looks like in the FCC database the TYT TH-8600 is GMR25 and TYT TH-9000D = GMR45).
TYT-9000 - There's some chatter that this radio is capable of separating the face from the body.
TYT-8600 - This is interesting because it's IP67, e.g. waterproof and 25 watts
Midland MXT500 - 50 watt traditional mobile. Notice the radio is upside down in this photo. Attention to detail by the test lab.
Midland MXT575 - Looks to be a remote mic/head like the MXT275 but 50 watts instead of 15.
Both are FCC listed now but I don't see them for sale yet. According to the test reports they are both wideband (16K0F3E, 20KHz) listed but it appears bandwidth may be selectable between narrow and wide.
And Rugged has a couple of mobiles, the GMR25 and GMR45. I can't really recommend them at this point. Not really a problem performance-wise (they're cheap Chinese radios like any other) but their prices are pretty high compared to the original radio they rebadge.
GMRS Radios
With major Jeep clubs making the switch to GMRS, the future of offroad communications is clear. GMRS radios offer superior range compared to traditional CB, and they're incredibly simple to use! With walkie-talkie compatibility and easy, inexpensive licensing, using GMRS is a no-brainer.
www.ruggedradios.com
They are rebadged TYT (looks like in the FCC database the TYT TH-8600 is GMR25 and TYT TH-9000D = GMR45).
TYT-9000 - There's some chatter that this radio is capable of separating the face from the body.
TYT-8600 - This is interesting because it's IP67, e.g. waterproof and 25 watts
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RDub
Locked
I saw this one reviewed on YouTube last night...Radioddity DB20-G, listed as 20W, but reviewer only got 15W on high power. Seems brand new.
Radioddity DB20-G
Radioddity DB20-G
DaveInDenver
Rising Sun Ham Guru
This appears to be a variant (or vice versa, this is a DB20G rebadged) of the Anytone AT779-UV: http://anytone.net/pro_info100.html
Another listed under the original FCC Anytone ID is the Retevis RA25: https://www.retevis.com/RA25-20W-GMRS-Mobile-Radio#A9198BX1
I'm only just become aware of this radio so can't yet say much about it feature-wise or technically.
But one thing generally is the size and heat sink are small for a 20W radio so I would expect this radio will get very hot, very quickly.
It also may be programmable, which could be important because the default channel assignments appear to have tones added which might need to be changed or removed. More investigation is required here. Pretty sure the radio has the option to turn on/off tones on both transmit and receive. Everyone will want to - turn off subtones - at this point.
This is what the Retevis RA25 shows in its user manual.
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FJCDan
Rising Sun Member
Mr Fedex showed up Wednesday with radio and yesterday with antenna. Have a project for me.
@DaveInDenver - take a look at the Rocky Talkie. Denver-based company making a rugged FRS radio.
DaveInDenver
Rising Sun Ham Guru
It was already in the product matrix.
My $0.02 is it's nothing exceptional from a radio perspective. It looks to be aiming for a market segment of adrenaline junkies. Seems kind of expensive for an FRS radio (no license needed) with a pretty limited feature set (radio-wise) just put into a kind of unique package.
Brand | Model | FCC ID | Part 95 | Price | Type | CH1-7 Pwr | Ch8-14 Pwr | Ch15-22 Pwr | High/Low | Narrow | Wide | CTCSS | DCS | Charging | Antenna | Repeater | Program | NOAA | Rating | BT | Data |
LedgeTech | Rocky Talkie | 2ATSN-ROCKY1 | yes | 95 | HT | 0.73 | 0.15 | 0.73 | no | yes | no | 1-38 | 83 | USB | Fixed | no | | no | IP56 | | |
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Is anyone else using any of the Front Range repeaters?
For an FRS radio? Or for Ham radio?
DaveInDenver
Rising Sun Ham Guru
Or GMRS?
FJCDan
Rising Sun Member
Sometimes I will sit out in the truck and monitor the radio for a while and have picked up some communications coming from Scottsdale AZ. Came in really clear, one of them was talking about coming to Denver at some point. I managed to catch them when he was here. He was near Windsor talking to his friend in Az. Came in crystal clear again, so I am assuming he was on a repeater, I tried to call out but no response. I know that some repeaters are privately owned and you need permission to use. Still learning that part. Kind of crazy since most of what I hear around town comes in statically, I think a lot of business use them, especially when you hear a lot of Spanish. Hope to get some use out of it on the snow run in a couple of weeks.
The site that I linked above will get you access to a few of the Front Range area private repeaters. No charge, just use proper etiquette.
DaveInDenver
Rising Sun Ham Guru
Added Radioddity GM-30
DaveInDenver
Rising Sun Ham Guru
Added four radios to the matrix. Some the data is assumed since it was clear to me in user manuals or reviews, which I note below.
Bridgecom Echo E30 (GMRS HT)
Bridgecom Buddy F10 (FRS)
TIDRADIO TD-H5 (GMRS HT)
QYT GS800D (GMRS Mobile, CTCSS and DCS values are assumed as common with other Chinese brands)
Bridgecom Echo E30 (GMRS HT)
Bridgecom Buddy F10 (FRS)
TIDRADIO TD-H5 (GMRS HT)
QYT GS800D (GMRS Mobile, CTCSS and DCS values are assumed as common with other Chinese brands)
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So I feel like a total idiot. Out of sheer rush to get FRS by CM I ordered a pair of Baofeng UV-5G for now and future backups.
Wellllll my dumb butt didn't realize my Baefeng BF-F9V2 that I've been using for HAM radio covers all GMRS/FRS frequencies too.
Wellllll my dumb butt didn't realize my Baefeng BF-F9V2 that I've been using for HAM radio covers all GMRS/FRS frequencies too.
DaveInDenver
Rising Sun Ham Guru
That radio is not a legal for FRS/GMRS and won't work out of the box. Whether you personally choose to operate one against the rules is yours but regardless of that you can't just buy one and have it work without programming it and maybe making physical modifications. Baofeng got in trouble a few years ago for selling illegal radios and has been more proactive about locking them to certain TX frequencies in hardware or firmware.
The way I understood it is that they got in trouble because they are capable out of the box of transmitting on frequencies that you can't legally transmit on as a regular civilian. I was told some of the emergency frequencies for eg. And warned to be very careful of that.
As far as being illegal for "FRS/GMRS", I imagine that has to do with output. This radio is rated for up to 5 Watts on its high power setting (realistically closer to 4.5 measured). If I read right FRS is limited to 0.5w on some channels, so that's a big difference I guess.
As far as "won't work out of the box". What won't work? I tried a couple of the FRS channels this morning and the two walkies communicate clearly with each other. But I don't want to play with it TOO much till I learn more on what I'm not supposed to do.
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DaveInDenver
Rising Sun Ham Guru
Suffice to say the power is one potential aspect. BTW, 5 watts is completely legal for GMRS handhelds. But it's spectral purity, frequency tolerance, bandwidth, deviation. The FCC requires manufacturers to test and submit documentation for FRS, GRMS, CBs, business radios, public service, etc.
Baofeng got in trouble for exploiting an exception in the FCC rules that ham operators do not have to buy radios that have been tested. We're trusted to self-certify our radios. We can even build our own. The only requirement is that we do not exceed our power limits (usually 1500 watts) or produce fundamentals or significant harmonics outside our band limits.
You can use any radio you dang well please as a ham radio. So Boafeng was selling their radios as ham radios knowing full well users were programming for business or FRS or even in some cases fire or police.
The main complaint was under Part 90 (business) rules but Part 95 users were also under that umbrella.
FCC Cites Baofeng Importer for Illegally Marketing Unauthorized RF Devices
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association for amateur radio, connecting hams around the U.S. with news, information and resources.
What I mean by "won't necessarily work out of the box" is that they may not be programmed. So depending you might not know if channel 16 is actually FRS/GMRS channel 16 properly set up. It should be 462.5750 MHz and 12.5 KHz bandwidth and 2 watts for FRS or 20 KHz and either 5W (for HT) or 50W (for mobile) on GMRS.
Also the question of tones. For example, on a Midland the channels 23 and higher are the FRS/GMRS frequencies repeated but with various tones. In this case 23 on a Midland is actually 462.5625 MHz (channel 1) but with PL tone #38 added (250.3 Hz). This continues out to all 50 channels on them. A Baofeng (or any similar non-standard radio) might not match that. Other brands sometimes let you just turn them on and off ad-hoc or there's other ways to do tones.
Mainly, I don't personally condone or recommend using non-standard radios but if you do make sure you understand what you're doing and be sure to specifically TX-inhibit to prevent inadvertent mistakes. The FCC and NTIA don't mess around if you interrupt military, airbands, cops/fire, weather radio, etc.
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