General

A standard two way radio headset is difficult to wear with a hard hat, and isn't feasible for use in a work environment with a lot of noise. The problem is finding an over the ear model that can accommodate a helmet and block out all the ambient noise while still offering both full comms and an acceptable level of comfort. Unless, of course, you have the HS500SM Heavy Duty Dual Muff Headset from XLT.

The XLT HS500HM is designed and built specifically for use with hard hats and safety helmets. It has a nine inch goose-neck style boom microphone built into the side of the right earmuff and and a PTT button mounted on the left one. Both earmuffs are heavily padded and designed to completely cover the ears and seal out loud external noise so you can hear incoming communications quietly.

The HS500HM has an adjustable headband with ample padding and attaches securely to your safety helmet or hard hat with special clips. The boom mic includes a wind screen to minimize wind noise during transmit.

To maximize compatibility with as many different radios as possible, the HS500SM does not use a cable and connector that is permanently attached to the headset. It uses a quick disconnect cable, more specifically the XLT Quick Disconnect Cable. This cable is sold separately from the headset and is available in two versions, the QD100 coiled cable, and the QD180 coiled cable with a large, inline PTT button. Both cables are available in a wide variety of connectors, including those for Kenwood, Motorola, Icom, Wouxun and many other brands of two way radios.

The XLT HS500HM headset comes with a one year warranty. It is available to ship from Buy Two Way Radios. Base Price:$119.99.

What's the difference between the IP65 and IP67 ratings of the Wouxun S-Series radios? Does it even matter? If so, why?

In this quick video tutorial, Tommy from Buy Two Way Radios explains the different ingress protection (IP) ratings of the Wouxun S-Series radios, including the KG-S72C, KG-S84B, KG-S86B, and KG-S88G and how they effect the operating parameters of each radio.

Questions? comments? Feel free to leave them below!

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In March 2021 we speculated on the question as to when the FCC would begin implementation of the new application fees on radio licenses, particularly those for the GMRS and amateur radio services. Well here it is. The FCC announced the effective date of the new application fees. The new $35 GMRS and Amateur license application fees go into effect April 19, 2022!

According to the public notice released July 6, 2021, the "As indicated in the 2020 Application Fee Report and Order, the new application fee rates will become effective when the Commission’s “information technology systems and internal procedures have been updated, and the Commission publishes notice(s) in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of such rules." At this time, the systems and internal procedures have been updated for the Office of Engineering and Technology and for the Media Bureau.

On March 23, 2022, the FCC released the effective date of the new application fee rates for the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, stating "This Public Notice announces that the new application fee rates for the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, codified at 47 CFR § 1.1102, will become effective on
April 19, 2022."

CFR § 1.1102 includes the fee rates for Personal Radio Services, including the amateur and GMRS.

Update 4/19/2022 - A notice on the FCC website states the following: System: Universal Licensing System (ULS) April 19, 2022, New Application Fees have been implemented. Please reference Wireless Telecommunications Fee Guide for fees related to applications filed in ULS. Please reference DA 22-307.

NOTE: This is a developing story. Keep bookmarked for updates.

A frequent question asked by our customers who use the personal radio services is also a deceptively simple one. What's the difference between an FRS radio and a GMRS radio?

It's a logical question, since FRS and GMRS radios have many similarities. So many, In fact, that at one time FRS and GMRS transceivers were commonly sold in the US marketplace as combo radios. This changed in the summer of 2017, when the FCC reformed the Part 95 Rules to further define the two services and end the manufacture, sale and use of these combo units. Ironically, this move created a bit of confusion for some users, both old and new, thus prompting the titular question.

Although they are two separate radio services, the FRS and GMRS co-exist within 462-467MHz frequency range of the UHF band. Both services share the same 22 simplex channels and frequencies. These channel and frequency assignments are standard across the industry. This means that channel 1 on a Midland FRS or GMRS radio is the same as channel 1 on a Motorola Talkabout, or a Cobra MicroTALK, or a DeWALT, Uniden, or Wouxun KG-805F and 805G. Channel 2 is the same, channel 3 is the same, and so on. For this reason, someone with an FRS radio can converse directly with someone who has a GMRS radio and vice-versa.

There is one caveat. A license is required to operate a GMRS radio. It's not difficult to obtain, and the terms are rather generous, but it isn't free. In contrast, an FRS radio is licensed by rule, commonly referred to as license-free, which means that the simple act of buying an FRS radio gives you the license to legally use it.

So, considering the licensing schemes, the interoperability between the FRS and GMRS services provides a unique advantage to both, as licensed and license-free operators can freely communicate with one another on the radios approved for their particular service. And best of all, it's legal!

Which brings us to the obvious question. If FRS and GMRS share the same band, channel assignments and frequencies, and each can communicate between the other, aren't they basically the same? what's the difference between FRS and GMRS radios?

There are 5 primary differences, and they are all important to consider, as any one of them can determine whether you need a GMRS license to operate your radio, or if it can be used as an FRS radio by anyone for personal or business activities, license-free.

Radio Type
FRS radios are limited to portable handheld models only. In addition, mobile and base station GMRS units are not allowed to transmit on channels 8-14 period, and can only receive on those channels. For this reason, some GMRS radio manufacturers omit those channels on their mobile/base units altogether.

Wattage
The maximum allowable wattage of an FRS radio on channels 1-7 and 15-22 is 2 watts, while the GMRS is allowed up to 5 watts on channels 1-7 and up to 50 watts on channels 15-22. Although the power difference is usually the first thing that comes to mind by the average radio operator, it's not necessarily as important as one may think in terms of performance and range, particularly on portable handheld units.

Detachable Antenna
FRS radios must have a permanently affixed antenna, which means you must not be able to remove it, at least not without permanently damaging or destroying any part of the radio. And yeah, we've seen this. Our advice: don't try to remove a permanently fixed antenna from an FRS radio. It violates the rules, it will void the warranty of your radio, and it doesn't look pretty.

In contrast, GMRS radios are not only allowed to have removable antennas, but they can be attached to aerials mounted remotely on a vehicle, building or tower, as long as it is within a certain height limit.

Now, a non-removable antenna does not necessarily mean the walkie-talkie is an FRS radio. On the contrary, there are many older GMRS handheld radios with permanently fixed antennas, particularly those in existence before the Part 95 Reform of 2017. However, if the antenna is removable, that alone does classify it as a GMRS radio by default, since such a feature is not allowed on the Family Radio Service.

The non-removable antenna requirement of the FRS service is another reason why there are no FRS mobile or base station radios, as those types of devices typically require the use of a remote antenna that is connected using a feed line by default.

Repeater Capability
Although both services do share the same 22 channel and frequency assignments, the GMRS also has 8 additional repeater channels available to it, for a total of 30 channels. FRS does not have these repeater channels and is not allowed to transmit on repeater systems.

FCC Certification
In order to be considered an FRS or GMRS radio, it must be Part 95 type accepted by the FCC for that particular service. If it is type accepted for Part 95B, it is an FRS radio. If it is type accepted for Part 95E, it is a GMRS radio. The FCC makes the final determination on this, so if you have doubts about which service your model is made for, locate the FCC ID on the radio and look it up on the FCC website to be sure. Ultimately, the FCC makes the call.

Of course, if your radio does not have an FCC ID, it may not be legal for use on either radio service. All radios capable of operating on any of the personal radio services in the United States must be FCC type accepted for use on that service, and must have a valid FCC ID assigned to that model. We're not the radio police, but is something to keep in mind.

The items listed above describe the differences between an FRS and a GMRS radio. Any one or more of them can determine the service the radio falls under, and whether it requires a license or not.

The onset of a global pandemic and a general outlook of uncertainty have fueled a surge in demand for short range radio communications, or more specifically, walkie talkies. Emergency kits and go bags, once the defining trademark of ham operators working disasters and end-of-the-world survivalists, are now becoming more mainstream. The government has an entire website devoted to emergency preparedness at ready.gov. And it makes sense. Everyone should be prepared for an emergency.

We receive questions from customers who are shopping around for two way radios to add to an emergency kit and are unsure of what they need or what their options are. With so many radios to choose from and different options available, it can certainly become a difficult and frustrating process.

Good news! We've done the hard work for you. Our pre-packaged BTWR Essentials Prepper Walkie Talkie Kits from Buy Two Way Radios are designed to take the guesswork out of choosing two way radios for your personal emergency comms. Here are four ready-made radio kits for preppers and survivalists.

Prepper Walkie Talkie Kit - Family Comm Package
This kit is specifically tailored for family use with the most powerful personal handheld GMRS radios available. It features one pair of Wouxun KG-805G GMRS Two Way Radios with the usual included basic accessories, plus a set of spare high capacity batteries for additional uptime. Also included in the package are two genuine Nagoya NA-771G GMRS antennas, two battery eliminators to power the 805G radios in a vehicle, two "AA" battery cases, and two USB DC charger cables. In addition to the gear, the package also contains a Prepper and Survivalist Laminated Frequency List & 333 Plan. This is a laminated, waterproof card with emergency frequencies and protocols for Amateur, FRS, GMRS, MURS, and other radio services. A GMRS license, which covers the entire family, is required to transmit. Price: $259.99.

Prepper Walkie Talkie Kit - Family Comm License Free
This kit is similar to the GMRS version of the Family Comm package, but without the need of a radio license! It features one pair of Wouxun KG-805F FRS Two Way Radios, the most powerful and versatile FRS radios currently available. The 805F is a 2 Watt version of the KG-805G, with many of the same features and functions. Most of the included accessories in each kit can also be shared between the two models. FRS and GMRS radios use the same 22 simplex channels, so they can communicate with one another on the same channels and privacy codes. This FRS kit includes two spare high capacity batteries, two battery eliminators, two "AA" battery cases, two USB DC charger cables, and a Prepper and Survivalist Laminated Frequency List & 333 Plan. No license is required to transmit. Price: $249.99.

Prepper Walkie Talkie Kit - Ham Radio Basic
This is our biggest selling kit and and is quite popular with preppers who are into amateur radio. This package has a pair of TYT TH-UV88 Dual Band UHF/VHF Amateur Radios. the UV88 is the well received rival of the Baofeng UV-5R. Some have even called it a UV-5R killer. It features 200 memory channels, dual standby, dual wait, an FM radio, remote stun/kill/activate and a high illumination flashlight for emergency situations. Also included is a set of Nagoya NA-771 2m/70cm dual band antennas, two battery eliminators, a USB Programming Cable and a Prepper and Survivalist Laminated Frequency List & 333 Plan. It requires an Amateur radio license to transmit. Price: $119.99.

Prepper Walkie Talkie Kit - Ham Radio Advanced
This is the top-of-the-line kit, and features a set of two Wouxun KG-UVD1P Dual Band UHF/VHF Amateur Radios - a proven workhorse and a long time classic with hams. It has 128 channels, CTCSS and DSC tone scan, priority scan, a built-in FM radio, and an SOS feature. The KG-UVD1P also features a high illumination flashlight. It even has a stopwatch! The KG-UVD1P is IP55 dust and water resistant, making it a ruggedly durable radio for emergency scenarios.

In addition the the KG-UVD1P, this kit includes two spare high capacity batteries for extra power, two Nagoya NA-771 2m/70cm dual band antennas to boost range, two battery eliminators, two "AA" battery cases, two USB DC charger cables, a Wouxun USB programming cable and one Prepper and Survivalist Laminated Frequency List & 333 Plan. It requires an Amateur radio license to transmit. Price: $319.99.

Want to know more about our BTWR Essentials Prepper Walkie Talkie Kits? Call 1-800-584-1445 or chat with us live weekdays at Buy Two Way Radios.

Finally, there's a professional grade FRS radio! In this excerpt from Episode 152 of The Two Way Radio Show Podcast, Danny, Anthony and Rick introduce the Wouxun KG-805F and KG-805FS, two new models in the popular KG-805 series that are FCC type accepted specifically for FRS! They provide an overview of the features, discuss the difference between the two models and explain why they consider them leaps and bounds over any other FRS walkie talkie available to date.

You can find a complete line of FCC approved FRS Two Way Radios available at Buy Two Way Radios.

UPDATE March 19, 2020 - When will the new FCC license fees take effect? Read here for details.

The FCC has just approved new license fees for Amateur Radio and the GMRS. These fees are actually lower than the original fees proposed in August, which were highly contested by hams, but welcomed by GMRS licensees. While the new FCC license fees may alleviate some of the sticker shock from the original fees proposed by the Commission, it is welcome news for fans of the GMRS.

According to the FCC Report and Order released December 29, 2020, Amateur Radio license fees will now cost $35. This same fee will apply to new licenses, renewal licenses, and vanity call signs. Previously, no fees were collected for ham licenses or vanity call signs issued to amateur radio operators, so technically it is a significant change. However, it is considerably less than the $50 fees originally proposed by the Commission, so it should be of some comfort to hams.

On the brighter side, a GMRS license will now cost significantly less than before. Up to now the application fee for a GMRS license was $70. With this Report and Order, the new GMRS license fee will be only $35, which is $15 less than the proposed fee and half the cost of the fees previously charged by the FCC. The license is still valid for 10 years and covers an entire family.

The amendment to the proposed fees was largely due to the comments and feedback the Commission received in response to the proposal in August. While the FCC disagreed with many of the assertions from hams and the ARRL why the original proposed $50 fees should not be charged at all, it did acknowledge on important point brought up by many that the fees did not fairly represent the amount of effort required to process the license applications, ,which is largely automated.

As the FCC put it, "We agree that the applications for amateur licenses, and other personal licenses, are largely automated, and for that reason the cost-based fee we adopt is only $35. With respect to the amateur licenses, while review is highly automated, staff must maintain the processing system to ensure applicants are qualified, vanity call sign procedures are followed, and off-lined applications are individually reviewed. Therefore, we cannot conclude that there are no costs involved in processing the applications and we do not have the discretion to exempt this service from application fees."

Since the same is true with the processing of GMRS licenses, the Commission amended the proposed $50 fee for that as well, bringing the cost of a GMRS license down to $35.

The new fees will take affect after the Report and Order is published in the Federal Register and is sent to Congress.

What is a MURS radio? What is MURS? In this excerpt from Episode 11 of The Two Way Radio Show Podcast, Danny, Anthony and Rick cover the basics of The Multi-Use Radio Service, talk about its advantages and disadvantages, and why you may want to consider a MURS two way radio for home or business use.

You can find a complete line of FCC approved MURS Two Way Radios available at Buy Two Way Radios.

Since the FCC Part 95 reform of 2017, we've seen quite a surge in demand for GMRS radios, of both portable handheld walkie talkies and mobile/base station units. This isn't surprising to us at all. It was inevitable, and for several reasons. In response to this demand, high quality, commercial grade GMRS radios such as the Wouxun KG-805G are entering the market, and are quickly becoming quite popular. This new generation of transcievers also brings a demand for professional grade radio accessories such as high capacity batteries, earpieces, speaker mics, and antennas.

However, while audio accessories are plentiful and power options are not much of a problem, it's the availability of detachable antennas that is at issue. More specially, antennas made and tuned for the GMRS.

Before the Great Reform, the antennas on FRS/GMRS radios were not swappable. While the FCC did allow GMRS radios to have detachable aerials, it wasn't legal on FRS walkie talkies, so the combo units simply didn't have them. With few exceptions, serious GMRS operators had to settle for using antennas tuned to a wider range of UHF business frequencies in the 420-480Mhz range. While these antennas also worked on the GMRS, they weren't specifically tuned for it, limiting the overall performance of the radio to which it was connected.

Not anymore.

Buy Two Way Radios and Nagoya have teamed up to introduce a new series of antennas designed and built specifically for GMRS two way radios. These new GMRS antennas from Nagoya are now available for purchase, and exclusively at Buy Two Way Radios!

There are currently three antennas in this series, two for the portable handeld walkie talkies, and one for mobiles. All three are made for the GMRS.

Nagoya NA-701G
Based on one of Nagoya's most popular antenna series for dual band portable radios, the NA-701G takes the venerable NA-701 directly to the General Mobile Radio Service, supporting 462MHz GMRS channels, plus 467MHz for fine tuning to GMRS repeaters.

Nagoya NA-771G
The NA-771G is based on another very popular, high performance antenna for handheld dual band amateur radios, the NA-771. It's also, at the time this article is written, probably the longest, at over 15 inches in length! This is a 1/2λ wave antenna with a maximum power rating of 10 Watts and is tuned to 462 MHz and 467 MHz GMRS frequencies.

Nagoya NL-770G
The NL-770G is a high gain linear mobile antenna tuned to 462MHz and 467MHz frequencies for GMRS. It has a PL-259 (UHF male) connector that fits any number of vehicle mounting kits that is equipped with an SO-239 (UHF female) connector or feed line, including the Nagoya RB-MJPL Mobile Mag Mount Base. At approximately 38 inches (97 cm) in length, the LN-770G has 6 dBi gain and V.S.W.R. 1.5:1.

All three antennas are now available exclusively from Buy Two Way Radios.

We have a long relationship with Nagoya and only buy direct from this manufacturer. When you purchase a Nagoya antenna from us, be assured that you are getting an authentic, genuine Nagoya product from an authorized Nagoya dealer - Buy Two Way Radios! Questions? Concerns? Contact us!

Here is the Official List of Nagoya Authorized Dealers and Distributors Worldwide.

There are many different types of business two way radios out there that offer many variations of channel options. Becoming familiar with how two-way radio channels work can help you decide which radio might be best for you. It could also prevent you from paying too much for a radio that may be overkill for your particular situation.

A radio channel is best described as a separate, individual line of one or two way communication on a radio band. Think of it as an assigned and numbered channel on a television set and you have the idea.

Most business radios will have anywhere from 1 to 32 different channels. Depending on the radio, these channels can be easily changed using either a knob on the top of the radio or by using the menu option on the LCD screen.

For businesses that prefer all of their radio users to be able to hear and reply to every conversation, one single channel will work just fine. For businesses that want to separate the communications between departments or want supervisor communications separate from those with and between employees, a radio with multiple channels will be the way to go.

Another benefit of having multiple channels is that you have options in the event of radio interference. Even if you only use or need one channel, having multiple channels to choose from will allow you to easily switch to a different frequency if the current channel you are on is already in use. For instance, if a neighboring business interferes with the channel you were using, simply change the channel.

Of course, a radio with more channels often costs more money, but not always. There are some models with a large number of pre-programmed or user programmable channels that are priced competitively with radios that have fewer channels. The advice here is to shop around and check all the different brands and models.

Deciding how many channels are ideal for your company can be a big money-saver, as well as a beneficial tool during day-to-day use. If you have any questions as to how many channels you may need, feel free to contact our sales department at 1-800-584-1445, and we will be happy to guide you based on your specific needs.