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by
John Huggins
Service | Available Bands or Channels |
Notes | Advantages | Dis-advantages | Licensing Required |
Equipment Costs |
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ARS - Amateur Radio (HAM) Service | 8 | Broad range of radio bands to utilize. | Impressive selection of bands available. VHF repeaters offer superb coverage over much of the country. Handheld VHF and UHF equipment have exceptional range with repeaters. Radio communications over hundreds of miles easy for hams. Hams can collaborate. | Requires licensed operators. Mindset of some hams, while noble, frequently makes for inefficient action. | yes | $100 - $10,000 |
CB - Original Citizen's Band Service | 40 | Noisy with short range, but useful for highway travel. | Lots of radios available at good prices. Lots of folks listening on channels 17 and 19. | Watch out for bad language from grumpy and sometimes exhausted drivers. Range limited. Antennas large. Static and other noises are real range killers. Handheld CBs have been displaced by VHF and UHF services. | no | $30 - $300 |
MURS - Multi-Use Radio Service | 5 | Simple VHF service for business and personal use. | 2 watt radios are relatively powerful compared with some services. VHF band a good one for longer ranges. Most of the benefits of VHF Business band without need of license. | Less popular than other services might mean equipment less available. | no | $100 - $300 |
GMRS - General Mobile Radio Service | 23 | Good UHF service. Licensing required. | Higher power and possible antenna options offer good range. Bubble pack radios available everywhere. | Range pretty limited. Expensive license required. Family use only except for grandfathered old GMRS licensees. | yes | $20 - $900 |
FRS - Family Radio Service | 14 | Good for simple UHF two way comms | Cheap equipment. No license. Standardize channel system makes various brands of radio work together. | Very limited range. No external antenna allowed. | no | $10 - $200 |
Now let's have a look at each...
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