FRS Radio

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Author Message   Zak Ruck (Zak) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 07:45 am:    Someone suggested that I get a FRS Radio for offroading trips. I've never owned one, or a cb, or even a cell phone, so what should I look for? What brands do you DWebers like? Any advise would be greatly appreciated See ya Zak   Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 08:05 am:    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005LPS5/qid=1026302637/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_2/002-6640378-4976004 I just got a pair of these, and really like them. (Just in case that link doesn't work, try this one too... http://commerce.motorola.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=228890&prmenbr=126&twoway_cgrfnbr=8&zipcode=&prsdesc=TALKABOUT® T6220 AA Alkaline Radio Shop, and you can find 'em on sale... I got mine last month when there was a $15 rebate offer going, so I paid $20 each for mine... FWIW..... -L   Eric Pena (Evalp) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 11:57 am:    Just an FYI. A FRS radio is great, and I carry them off road, a CB is more widly used and in emergencys or just being able to use it more often a CB might be alittle more usable. If you go wheeling with people with FRS radios, this is better as you wont hear as much chatter on the FRS. As you can get both somewhat cheap, I would get both. For FRS, a Motorola TalkAbout is always a good choice like the above link. You could spend andywhere from $35-150 for a pair. Mine was $120 for a pair and it has altitude, compass, temp and more on it as well as the radio. For a CB it just what you want on it. Again Amazon would be a good place to look at models and go over the reviews.   Rob Davison (Pokerob) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 12:12 pm:    if you are going FRS, go Rino! http://www.navtechgps.com/supply/rino.asp rd   Michael Villanueva (Michael) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 12:42 pm:    Now Rob, that is some cool stuff! Peer to Peer Positioning??? Sounds like Tres Fun. Have you used these? The pricing seems on the low end of the advertised fucntionality, so I am wondering where corners were cut. Construction, perhaps?   Eric Pena (Evalp) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 12:44 pm:    I was wondering the same thing. I think the GPS portion is really basic.   Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 01:25 pm:    FRS can't x-mit more than 1/2 mile so there are very few times where GPS information from a Rino will be helpful. Another option to FRS is GMRS. You have much more power available and better radios and antennas to use over FRS but you can still talk to users of FRS radios. The only downside to GMRS is the radios cost a little more and you need to pay $75 to the FCC for a license although it's good for 5 years and covers your entire family (even in-laws).   Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 01:29 pm:    Wally-world has some dual GMRS/FRS radios, some as low as $10 a piece.... I can't speak to their quality, tho'..... FWIW....... -L   Zak Ruck (Zak) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 02:00 pm:    What's Wally-world? Also, what are some good CB's?   James F. Thompson Jaime (Blueboy) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 02:04 pm:    have 2 Motorola Talkabouts and 1 from Radio Shack. work great. use them skiing and even in the mountains, the range is pretty good. on a road trip where line of sight is not a problem and in the flats of OK., they've worked up to 2 miles. Jaime   Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 02:12 pm:    Wally-world = Walmart? The GMRS/FRS radios still need a license. You can pay the FCC for it online. Wallys is getting lots of heat for not letting people now they need to pay another $75 to use the radio legally.   Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 02:53 pm:    Yep, Wallyworld = WalMart..... You need a license to use the GMRS portion of the GMRS/FRS radios. Hence, I ignored the Motorola versions (the 6300 series) and stuck with the 6200 series... I like my 6220 because it has the weather-band.... the stock Disco does, too, but if you're in, say, a Subaru, or out hiking, or in a Series Rover, or have replaced your Disco's factory radio, then you've still got the NOAA weather available.... FWIW..... -L   Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 03:11 pm:    Actually you need a GMRS license to use the radio not just the GMRS band. The radio itself gets type approved by the FCC as a GMRS radio. Even though some of the channels share the same frequency as FRS, they're actually operating under GMRS rules. An example of the difference is as follows... GMRS can operate on the first seven "FRS" frequencies at 5 watts. FRS is limited to 1/2 watt. (Other GMRS channels can go up to 50 watts) GMRS can use wide band while FRS is narrow band) GMRS can have a removable antenna. FRS can not.   Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 03:15 pm:    Ah, okay... I didn't realize they were sharing frequencies... I figured it would use GMRS on X set of frequencies, and Y set on FRS frequencies, so that you could just use what you needed.... Good to know.... -L   Rob Davison (Pokerob) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 06:27 pm:    well here is the deal they just came out and are like 160 for the cheap one and 210 for the nice one, the nice one has all the funtions a normal gps does at a similar size. but you get a free radio with it... i was planning on buying an etrex to act as my gps antenna for my new laptop based gps system. because i wanted something i can take out of the car. now luckily i dont already own a FRS radio or it would be kind of wastefull. but for me , it will be a great mutilpurpose product, less to carry and just neato. i sepecially like using the GPS thing to track people. i recon it'll be usefull when you are out skiing and get seperated from the group(in theory) no i havent used it yet, but i'm fixin to order mine in two weeks when i have the cash handy, i'll report back then.   James F. Thompson Jaime (Blueboy) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 06:52 pm:    which one are you planning to get?? Jaime   Rob Davison (Pokerob) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 07:22 pm:    the 210 model, it has the full maping capabilities rd   Jeff Anderson (Groovydude) Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 11:59 pm:    AL, Theres no charge for the GMRS lisence. I know what the FCC web page says but all you have to do is check the waiver fee box and they will send you a lisence with out a cost. I know I got 2 GMRS Lisences one for my wife and myself and they are good for like 5 years before i have to re-submit them. I think the GMRS application is a bit wordy and tricky. I think you only need to pay for the lisence if your operateing a GMRS BASE STATION. Just wanted you to know incase the fee was detering you from buying one. I myself own the UNIDEN GMRS and they work wonderful. A few other here own them as well and also speak good of them. I didn`t by Motorola because they where ALOT more and the Unidens where just as good..I figured why pay for a name when the other is just as good. Also the Uniden comes with the FRS frequencys as well incase your buds have a FRS and you have the GMRS.   Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 12:09 am:    Actually no... What's your call sign? You can get a temporary license for free while you wait for the actual one to be assigned to you but the $75 for five years is the fee. You also need only one license for your entire family living with you or not. Brothers/sisters, fathers, in-laws, and kids are all covered. Cousins need to get their own, however. Your call sign they assigned to you should be something like KAB1234 or WABC123   Jeff Anderson (Groovydude) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 12:28 am:    Al, Nope I have a 5 year license and I didn`t pay anything for it. My call sign is WPUG994, Grant Date is 03-05-2002, Effective Date is 03-05-2002, Expiration Date is 03-05-2007, Radio Service is "ZA". When you fill out the GMRS form theres a option at the bottom that says EXEMPT or WAIVER for the fees. All you have to do is check it off.   Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 01:13 am:    Wow!!!.. .I'll have to check that out. I got mine last year when it was $85 and I know there was some changes to it since then but I didn't know you could do it for free. I'll have to check it out.   Michael Villanueva (Michael) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 10:23 am:    Well, I am very tempted to order a set -- I am surprised that no one has commercially applied this PPP idea. Done well, it would really be useful! PPP just sounds like fun; however, the real question is how well does it work in cover? And then, what type of cover can it handle? Plain old flat desert? Wooded ski slope? The rocky canyon depth of Maob? I have been none to pleased with some of Garmin's stuff -- notably the Etrex -- when I was in the Maryland / DC area some months back the damn thing kept loosing the sat signal at every turn. But these units actually have an antenna protruding. Sure wish there was some technical / realy usage review of these critters! I wonder if any of Ram's mounts will work with this unit.   Rob Davison (Pokerob) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 12:10 pm:    i plan on getting the external antenna for mine. as i'll only be buying one for myself at this time i cant really test the PPP thing. they have just come out this month thats why the testing isn't there yet. search the web for "rino frs" and you'll find a lot of the same reviews. i keep looking in hte local stores buy no one has them yet, looks like i'll be a guinne piggy rd   Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 12:26 pm:    The use to transmitted data over FRS has only been approved by the FCC recently. And I think only data such as position information is allowed. There are other radio services that allow data but not on CB, FRS (UHF CB) or GMRS.   Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 12:31 pm:    Rob, Are you sure that it can accept an external antenna? -L   Michael Villanueva (Michael) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 01:44 pm:    Now I am wondering if its PPP capabilities can track multiple bogeys. That would be fun. Clearly, its two mile position beaming limitation is going to be affected by cover. Still.... and it is supposedly waterproof....   Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 02:01 pm:    From looking at Garmin's site, yes, evidentially it can track multiple radios, which would be cool.... But, you'd only track them when they broadcast.... if they quit broadcasting they could pick up and run elsewhere, and you'd only update their locale once they broadcast again.... But, I don't think it'll take an external antenna, though..... IMHO, it'd be nice to have the GPS in the cradle on the dash where you can see it, w/o having to pull it out of the cradle to talk to the others all of the time.... GPS on the dash, FRS in hand.... at least, for me, that is.... FWIW.... -L   Michael Villanueva (Michael) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 02:26 pm:    Yeah, you would not want be dealing with a unit on a cradle mount for radio communciations. I did write to Garmnin this AM asking them if the unit had (a) external antenna jack, (b) external power jacks, and (c) tracking of multiple units. Like you point out, it is unlikely they have jacks for that stuff. But maybe a future product will incorporate those. I noticed on the Garmin site that they apparently applied for or have a patent on the PPP stuff. Ha! Seems like such an obvious idea once you think about it.   Rob Davison (Pokerob) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 05:35 pm:    http://www.garmin.com/products/rino/spec.html damn, now i am a little pissed, one of the other sites that were pimping it listed a bunch of option things you could add to it, of those antenna and cigarette ligther adapter were listed garmins page makes no mention... still i must have. rd   Rob Davison (Pokerob) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 05:38 pm:    http://www.123-gps.com/garmin-rino110120.shtml this place at least has the cigarette lighter, and it was nopt mentioned in the garmin page,, so maybe the antenna will fit. rd   Michael Villanueva (Michael) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 07:32 pm:    I am with you on this one Rob: It is a must have for me as well. But I want to hear the oinks from you first!   Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 10:07 pm:    Maybe, mabye not..... On my Garmin, there are two ports, one is the PC-data port, which also doubles as the secondary power input. The external antenna is a second port by itself. Since the Rino can have maps downloaded into it, it has to have a PC-link port, so, it would stand to reason that it also could use the power input. But, the eTrex series has the same kind of data/power port, but lacks the external antenna. FRS radios are forbidden from having an external antenna.... that's part of the reason why I'm suspecting that, even though it could have a GPS-only antenna, that the Rino may have omitted the external antenna capability. Although it WOULD be cool to have a map showing where people are in relation to each other the way the PPP does, I think I'll be happy with my Motorola FRS and Garmin GPS separate..... FWIW.... -L   Eric Pena (Evalp) Posted on Friday, July 12, 2002 - 11:59 am:    I agree Leslie. I like my Garmin on my dash with external antenna and I can plug my laptop into it for maps and what ever on a long trek. My FRS seperate with all the functions I want on it to. Maybe someday, along time from now, they will make one with every option on it, but I'm not so sure. Have you ever noticed they never make a product thats really all in one. Like baby diapers; thay make the girl/boy ones, the velcro ones, super absorbency ones, the ones that have the little cartoons on them, but not ONE with ALL that on them. oh sorry...   Peter Carey (Pcarey) Posted on Sunday, July 14, 2002 - 06:06 pm:    BTW, A cradle mount would be fine as long as the FRS has the external jacks for speaker and microphone like the TalkAbouts do. pwc   Rob Davison (Pokerob) Posted on Friday, July 19, 2002 - 05:44 pm:    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005MITJ/103-6540039-9847063 found another one, just cant find any data on it rd   Michael Villanueva (Michael) Posted on Friday, July 19, 2002 - 06:27 pm:    Hmmm... Nothing even remotely like the PTP system of the Garmin is inidcated.   Eric N (Grnrvr) Posted on Friday, July 19, 2002 - 06:49 pm:    If you do the 360 view on the garmin web site you can see that it only has the Data/power port in the back and a ear bud/mic jack on the side. So no external antenna.. No what looks curious is the brass hole right above that battery compartment. My guess is that it is a threaded hole for a holder since it isn't deep enough to use as an antenna plug. I ended up getting the Uniden FRS440 I almost always use my handheld CB though.