THE GENERAL MOBILE RADIO SERVICE (GMRS) FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION
THE GENERAL MOBILE RADIO SERVICE (GMRS) FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION
Recently I have noticed quite a bit of interest by individuals seeking a form of “Emergency Communication” for themselves and their family in the case of a natural or man-made disaster. I became interested in this same subject when as a young New York City Police Officer working during the terrorist attacks on 9/11 I witness what can be best described as the breakdown of the communication system. Without going through the events of that day I can just say that there was no real way to communicate effectively from Ground Zero. Cell towers were damaged, land lines were clogged and radio communications was overwhelmed. It was at this point that I started to research the various means of radio communication so that in the event that such a situation took place again there was an effective way to communicate with my family.
With this new motivation I first went to my attic and retrieved an old CB radio and erected a working antenna and just listened. It was clear that the 1970’s were gone. The only thing that could be heard was the guys with the illegal linear amplifiers. The noise floor was so loud that it was just not practical for a regular guy to operate on any level of effectiveness with the legal 4 Watts. The other negative thing about CB is that portability and stealth are a factor, there is just no such thing as a good handheld CB and the size of a decent CB antenna is about 18 foot. So for the above reasons I eliminated the Citizens Band from my list of possible practical means of communication.
At this point I started to explore the other non-licensed alternatives, the Family Radio Service (FRS) and the Multiple Use Radio Service (MURS). Almost immediately it became apparent that FRS was useless. Operating on the UHF band and legally limited to a ½ Watt of power with no provisions for a detachable or gain antenna it is just something that was best left for the family vacation. MURS on the other hand has quite a bit more potential and has a fairly large following amongst the survivalist crowd. Operating in the VHF spectrum and with a legal limit of 2 Watts a MURS radio offers a bit more performance from a handheld radio. What makes the MURS radio even more attractive to me is the ability to adapt external antennas. With a good antenna mounted 20 feet or more above the ground a 2 Watt MURS radio is capable of several miles of clear communication in an urban environment, even more in suburban or rural area. It is a definite contender if one just wishes to communicate within an area of a few miles. MURS is good I thought but there had to be more.
Having now eliminated all the non license bands it was now time to study up and buck up as they say. The first step was to send away for my General Mobile Radio Service license (GMRS). For months I read all the literature I could on GMRS. Some say it is good some say don’t waste the money on a license. I also read the FCC Regulations pertaining to GMRS and Part 95A communications. Tricky language, dated in many cases but it is buried within this language that the true potential of GMRS exists. This is what I found that would unlock the potential of this UHF band. A GMRS station my operate with up to 50 Watts mobile or base on the 8 GMRS primary frequencies 462.550 through 462.725 and on the associated repeater splits. A GMRS station is also allowed to utilize an antenna mounted 20 feet above the structure to which it is mounted. The rules do not differentiate between a residence, tower, etc. Remember that useless FRS band. Well now with a GMRS license you can operate on those channels with a full 5 Watts. Even better yet, your whole family can operate under your license. The biggest plus of all is that with GMRS repeaters are allowable which has the potential to really increasing the range of a system. With $85 bucks well spent in my mind it didn’t take but a few weeks to discover the downsides to GMRS.
The rules about FCC Part 95A compliant radios limits ones options to a degree. There are a few makers of Part 95 type accepted radios out there but it is also commonly understood that any radio Type Accepted under FCC Part 90 Commercial Land Mobile meets or exceeds the standards outlined in Part 95A. A good resource of Part 95A radios are surplus UHF rigs from makers like Kenwood, Motorola, Ritron and Uniden. To put this in laymen’s terms one cannot simply order a radio from a Ham Radio catalog and put it in service. Research must be done in order to comply with the spirit of the law.
Another somewhat disappointing thing about GMRS is the lack of repeater systems in operation. There are a few out there depending on your region. What most will find is that they are private endeavors, not huge systems and can be difficult to get access to. Unlike Ham Club repeaters that tend to be open systems most GMRS repeaters are not open to the general public. Once again, research has to be done, permission gained and private rules followed. This is what almost drove me away from GMRS as a viable system. As it existed my family communications system now consisted of several quality HT’s, Mobile 25 & 45 watt radios with good base and mobile antennas. I had the ability to communicate with family members at all the local spots of necessity, grocery, library, school and medical facilities. I was OK with that but there had to be more.
I figured since I now had equipment that was compatible and could be used on the Amateur Radio 70cm/440 mhz bands that I should study a bit and take the test for the license. I did just that, made a few more purchases buying dual band mobiles to be used on the 2 Meter repeaters operated by the local Ham Radio Clubs. I started listening and participating in their NET’s, spent some more money and joined a few clubs and was impressed with the repeater systems they operated. A 4 Watt HT could be used from just about anywhere on Long Island for effective communication; this was great I thought from a technology standpoint. From a personal standpoint I was not all that impressed. First and foremost is that a Ham license is only good for the individual. My wife or my kids could not legally pick up a radio and communicate with me. This is contrary to the reason I started this journey. This fact made being a Ham radio operator more of a hobby than a useful tool. It was then that something called Hurricane Sandy happened. Sandy was a great learning experience for me. Within 30 minutes of the first storm surges hitting the shore the Ham club repeaters starting dropping off the air. With the exception of one repeater the clubs that were supposed to be prepared with their Emergency Headquarters and orange vests were useless. On the contrary my GMRS radios were placed into service handed out to family and friends and became a nice security blanket. I decided to revisit GMRS and take it to another level.
After Sandy I researched and shopped for my own GMRS repeater. I set it up amongst my other equipment and utilizing the existing antenna mounted on my house. My design was a lightweight low profile antenna system that would take any storm, have battery backup and can cover my local community via 4 Watt HT. Not a big system, one just big enough to cover my needs, and of course a few chosen friends.
Around the same time another group of individuals with the same ideas started working on their own repeater system. There work would eventually lead to the creation of the SHTFLI.COM repeater system. A system now that we are all familiar with and one that makes the General Mobile Radio System not only viable but a system that has gained a lot of attention by those interested in a family orientated means of emergency communication.
