GMRS Radio and discounts (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Apr 26, 2021
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Location
Billings, MT
ALL:
Since I don't have a CB radio I am looking to purchase a GMRS Radio. Anyone know of TLCA discounts available. Best I could find was a 15% discount on Midland through a youtuber. I could also get a 10% military/veteran discount. Looking to purchase for the club run on Saturday. Thanks,
 
ALL:
Since I don't have a CB radio I am looking to purchase a GMRS Radio. Anyone know of TLCA discounts available. Best I could find was a 15% discount on Midland through a youtuber. I could also get a 10% military/veteran discount. Looking to purchase for the club run on Saturday. Thanks,
As a 406 Cruisers member there is a discount through Right Channel Radios (though I am not sure what the discount is) I am not aware of anyone in the group that has a GMRS radio but I could be wrong. We use CB as a "club requirement" and most of the folks have a ham radio.
 
Correct, although GMRS is likely the way forward the club requirement is a CB and yes many folks have stepped up to HAM.

If you come this weekend, you’re welcome to borrow my hand held HAM radio and try it out. You can listen but you’re not supposed to transmit, but there are a few exceptions to that rule.
 
Correct, although GMRS is likely the way forward the club requirement is a CB and yes many folks have stepped up to HAM.

If you come this weekend, you’re welcome to borrow my hand held HAM radio and try it out. You can listen but you’re not supposed to transmit, but there are a few exceptions to that rule.
Excellent! Thanks Drew. Then I won't have to go buy a CB for Saturday. See you there.
 
Excellent! Thanks Drew. Then I won't have to go buy a CB for Saturday. See you there.
You can get a pretty sweet kit for CB on right channel or other sites for no more then 250, if you get one before Saturday let me know I’m willing to help you instal! There a lot of fun!
 
I’m torn writing this since it’s our club baseline but skip CB all together and shoot for a HAM setup. I promise it’s night and day.
 
I’m torn writing this since it’s our club baseline but skip CB all together and shoot for a HAM setup. I promise it’s night and day.
If there was ever enough interest, many ham clubs have put on successful one day class-test-license events to quickly get people from zero to technician license. It usually costs a little bit more than just the test fee as they need to pay for an instructors time and some class materials. The test session could also be an opportunity for anyone who already has a technician license to upgrade, if they have any interest in doing so. The reality though, is that most people can spend a couple nights over a week looking at HAMstudy.org or HamExam.org and pass just fine.
 
You can get a pretty sweet kit for CB on right channel or other sites for no more then 250, if you get one before Saturday let me know I’m willing to help you instal! There a lot of fun!
Very appreciative. I am going to wait since Drew is going to hook me up with his HAM. I don't think spending any money on a CB radio is a wise investment.
I emailed right channel to get the discount code for future buys. I will DM or private message anyone interested. Hope to see you on Saturday.
 
Well crap, at last month’s meeting I thought I heard that GMRS radios were ok to replace CB. My GMRS kit just arrived Saturday.
 
@Stryder03 don't be bummed. I think the GRMS is the new way to go. I think we should really discuss making it the new base line. If you are off road, the amount of people using GRMS is really increasing so you'll have a good chance at coms in a sticky situation. Most of the SxS guys run them. I am sure they'll get traction in the club too. You're a trend setter...
 
Well crap, at last month’s meeting I thought I heard that GMRS radios were ok to replace CB. My GMRS kit just arrived Saturday.
I am a HUGE proponent for GMRS, you can get up to a 50 watt radio for in-vehicle and the range is substantial, it not as good as HAM but it is soooo much better than a CB. Depending on where you may travel there are GMRS repeaters and more popping up all the time.
 
I am a HUGE proponent for GMRS, you can get up to a 50 watt radio for in-vehicle and the range is substantial, it not as good as HAM but it is soooo much better than a CB. Depending on where you may travel there are GMRS repeaters and more popping up all the time.
@Boondocker_153, I agree. I used it for 6 days last month in AZ. Only issue was an official/sanctioned race caused us to switch channels one day. No FCC test, simple to operate, and more power than CB. I don't want to rock the boat. Just want to make a wise investment.
 
@Boondocker_153, I agree. I used it for 6 days last month in AZ. Only issue was an official/sanctioned race caused us to switch channels one day. No FCC test, simple to operate, and more power than CB. I don't want to rock the boat. Just want to make a wise investment.
You should rock the boat. Apparently every one thinks CB is garbage but it's still a club requirement for some reason.
 
You should rock the boat. Apparently every one thinks CB is garbage but it's still a club requirement for some reason.
CB really is garbage and if the club thinks that comms needs to be a requirement for club events, then the club needs to choose a standard. Ham radio is the most capable equipment with good basic mobile setups available at the $200-300 price point, complete, but the license, test, and $12-20 test fee presents a barrier to entry. Whether or not that barrier can be overcome is ultimately up to the individual. GMRS only requires an application with a $35 fee for licensing, so the barrier is lower. I haven't looked, but I would guess GMRS mobile radios are probably available at about the same price point as basic mobile ham setups.
 
The other thing that (maybe) should be considered is non-club uses. I don't imagine many of us only use our vehicles during club events. If someone gets into trouble while solo on a trail in SW Montana, assuming they've already tried cell phone, what system is going to give them the best chance for getting help?
 
Sorry to repeat post here, but I did some looking into GMRS:

One thing that does give me a bit of concern is that there are only 8 GMRS channels that can be used at 50 watts in simplex mode. The lower power channels don't really provide much functional benefit over the 4 watts of CB. (Yes, they are in a different frequency range and that will have an effect on signal propagation. Yes, 5 watts is more than 4 and that's an extra 7 channels. 5 watts isn't as useful as 50 watts.) So GMRS has 8 channel which would be useful to the club. Right now, that's probably not an issue. If someone else is using a channel, we just move to another one. It could be a bigger issue as the service grows in popularity or if we are trying to use GMRS radios in an area where lots of people are using radios. An example could be Moab.
 
Let’s hit up midland and see if they can get a club group buy on a gmrs set up!
This is what I do for a living. 20 years experience in contracting. I buy stuff for the Navy (including radios/nav). I am more than happy to volunteer if there is enough interest and once a standard is agreed upon.
 
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This is what I do for a living. 20 years experience in contacting. I buy stuff for the Navy. I am more than happy to volunteer if there is enough interest and once a standard is agreed upon.
Also, just spoke with Pat at Right Channel. He doesn't want to advertise the discount, but there is one. I will share in person or phone only, or call him yourself if you are interested. I can negotiate a better deal.
 

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