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GMRS radios come as base or mobile units.
Hot House – Donald Pagani is a U.S. Army veteran and former law enforcement officer.
Today, he is a security and survival consultant. He is also a member of the Western Carolina Amateur Radio Society, Murphy Chapter.
Pagani knows how important it is to be prepared as he has spent much of his lifetime in situations that require awareness, planning and action. The ability to communicate in an emergency situation increases the chances of survival.
There’s a way to combine both emergency communications as well as fun in a single handheld or home-base device. General mobile radio service, or GMRS radios, offer both. The GMRS radios are a step above a standard walkie-talkie and unlike the ham radio; GMRS radios are less expensive and easier to operate.
A traditional walkie-talkie or family radio service (FRS) radio allows for person to person communication but only for a short span of distance. Its power limit in watts is between 0.5 Watts and 2 W. The step up to the GMRS radio offers between 0.5 W and 50 W. The greater the wattage the longer the communication distance.
FRS and GMRS radios come already pre-programmed by the manufacturer allowing for them to be used right away after charging. Ham radios need to be programmed which can be time consuming.
To use certain radios for communication, one must apply for a license. Walkie-talkies and FRS radios do not need a license in order to operate. However, GMRS and ham radios do.
“The FCC license fee for GMRS and ham radios cost $35 per every 10 years. There’s also testing and different licensing tiers involved with the use of ham radios,” said Pagani, adding, “GMRS licensing covers the whole family of users whereas ham licensing covers only a single user.”
GMRS radios are gaining popularity for their ease of use and for being less expensive than ham radios which require more time to set up and the equipment can be expensive.
“I would like to see people understand the importance of emergency radio communications. They’re also for social contacting of each other, particularly in a neighborhood because you can gather a lot of information about what’s going on in your neighborhood by having a two-way radio. You may not know the person well enough to call them on the phone so the radio’s an extension of communication,” Pagani said.
“If an emergency came up, you’re right off the bat going to be a step ahead of someone who doesn’t have a radio.”
Cell phone towers can go down or be destroyed all together leaving phones unable to communicate, whereas radios don’t rely on cellphone towers therefore, increasing the chances of faring better in an emergency situation. There are different makes and models for the consumer to choose from and plenty of YouTube videos that offer insight and instruction on the use of these types of radios.
These radios are just another tool that can be helpful in a variety of situations. They’re also fun to use. For details, email Pagani at patriot6123@gmail.com.