On July 16, 2021, Midland requested that the FCC waive certain sections of its Part 95 rules to extend data privileges that are currently limited only to handheld GMRS devices to include mobile radios as well. On November 29, 2023 the FCC issued a public notice seeking public comment on the request within 30 days. What exactly is this all about?
In this extended video segment from episode 185 of The Two Way Radio Show Podcast, Danny and Rick explain what is going on, the likelihood that the petition will be granted and what this potentially means for the future of the General Mobile Radio Service.
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They want to bring things like GoTenna from MURS to GMRS.
Gotenna did not kill MURS and there's only 5 channels there (3 usable in many areas where the old blue-dots are taken by Walmart)
I hope this does not come to be. There is enough noise with roger beeps and other data on the GMRS channels. Allowing this will erode the utility of GMRS for voice communications. There are plenty of other frequency bands where such data can be transmitted more efficiently. The 900 MHz ISM band is a perfect band for such a service and no rules need to be changed.
I welcome the addition of digital data in the GMRS service. There are many very useful features that promote safety and can make more efficient use of the service. The people opposed seem to be opposed to change regardless and are not for advancement that requires them to open their minds and learn something new. I’d love to also see digital voice (DMR voice 7K60FXE and DMR data 7K60FXD) integrated into the GMRS service.
I hope the FCC rejects this proposal. As it is, GMRS is already polluted with bleeps, bloops, and buzzes, from a variety of sources. Unscrupulous radio dealers already set up MotoTrbo and other digital radios, frequently for construction companies, on FRS/GMRS frequencies. This is another techy gimmick so a few radio companies can add it and sell some radios with "our latest and greatest". Decades ago, Yaesu added "Automatic Range Transpond System" (ARTS) to just about every VHF/UHF ham ht they made. It really wasn't that useful. Other than playing with it to see if or how it worked, I never knew anyone who actually put ARTS into actual use. It did drain the batteries of any radio it was used in quickly due to frequently transmitting "handshake" signals. Given Midland's short-sightedness on battery capacity for its portable radios as is, I do not see this as a useful or necessary feature.
We only have eight repeater/50W simplex channels. In some areas they are already clogged with the same conversation(s) on multiple or even all eight channels, thanks to irresponsible repeater linking and networking protocols that the FCC allows. We do not need this additional noise on our very limited channels. If the FCC feels the need to approve it, hopefully they will allocate an additional channel for exclusive use of the digital noisemakers and keep the remaining few we have clear of it.
I hope the FCC rejects this request. With a very limited number of repeater/50W channels (eight to be exact), we do not need to pollute the precious few such GMRS channels with additional bleeps, boobs, and buzzes. Yaesu for decades, put similar technology (Automatic Range Transpond System) in their ham VHF/UHF ht's. Other than playing with the feature to see how and if it worked, I know of no one who actually found practical use of this "feature". It prematurely drained batteries by periodically sending out a "handshake" signal.
As it is, unscrupulous radio shops have set up MotoTrbo and similar on FRS/GMRS channels which in some areas, adds unnecessarily to the digital noise level on our limited channels. The FCC would be well advised to reject this proposal and the extra noise pollution it will cause on GMRS. Ditto the repeater linking and network linking that jams all eight repeater/50W channels in an increasing number of areas.
This is going to noise up repeaters constantly. If they want this they need to open up a digital channel outside of the norman channels. I don't want this on the repeaters I/we operate.
I also use the digital location and text messaging provided by the BTech GMRS Pro. Love that I can locate my kids if necessary. Would love to see the capabilities extended to high power offroad mobile vehicle based radios! Hope there’s an open standard approach for digital data used so various manufacturers can interoperate!
I like the idea of data/location on GMRS it's a very useful tool. My wife and I have the BTECH GMRS PRO radios. They are really handy when we're camping as well as at the mall. If these changes were to take full effect I feel they would enhance the usefulness of GMRS. Especially for emergencies. I love the fact that my wife can request my location as I'm prone to do stupid things while out in the woods. If something happened to me and my radio was still working she'd be able to locate me and get help. I can, however, see the need for a dedicated channel or two for this type of thing. Especially in a large city with a lot of GMRS traffic. I live in a smaller town in Pennsylvania and there's very little traffic.
Review what is on this website above. Amateur Radio Service has used this for years. It has been a valuable medium to
track, locate, and generally know where a person is in realtime. It does not need a smartphone app to work, but it
could have a website to view where stations are at any given time.
Most important you need to have a dedicated frequency/channel for this to work well. It should be open to handhelds
and mobiles and base stations.
Take a close look how this works in the Amateur Radio world by looking at . Why reinvent the same thing that already exits. Do NOT mix the two services,
but create your own using the same rules.
Comments
Dennis
I don't like the Idea of digital for GMRS. In the Commercial world and Ham world, issues have been noticed with digital being finicky about dropouts / signal loss. Everything has to be set up and operate just right every time to have a reliable continuous signal, and the equipment has to be very good...NOT a $25 Baofeng etc.. Analog Capture Effect FM is more forgiving in marginal / fringe situations and probably more than adequate for GMRS. Yes, the Commercial world has remedied a lot of this issue after throwing millions of dollars at the engineering and the radio equipment being used is along the lines of Motorola / Commercial grade Kenwood / Harris etc. costing thousands of dollars per radio. I just don't believe digital can be done at the cost-effective level budget of what most people expect to spend for GMRS Radios.
Not too long ago I was asking John "622" if any digital radios were in the pipeline and he said "stay tuned."
I have the BTECH GMRS PRO used it some but not too many people to try it with. Now they have upgraded the software so they have "rooms" where you can connect to others. I'm experimenting with a small private group to see if I can keep up with my family.
As for interference, couldn't they do something like APRRS in ham radio where they have a dedicated frequency and use digipeaters? Also since MIdland would use a smartphone app I would hope it would be a good one for both Android and IPhone. I can tell you that the app for the BTECH product the Android app is far superior to IOS. I do live in a rural area. I don't think it would be much of a problem in the Carolinas. I do like the idea of location finding in an emergency; one time a loved one was in a wreck and we were able to locate him through cellphone turn by turn.