This page provides information on the five major personal radios services provided by the FCC. They are; the Amateur Radio Service(ARS), the Family Radio Service(FRS), the General Mobile Radio Service(GMRS), the Mulit-Use Radio Service(MURS), and the Citizens Band(CB) Radio Service.
Amateur Radio Service
The ARS provides the most privileges and capabilities of all the FCC-regulated personal radio services. It is also the only one that requires the user to pass an examination in order to get a license to operate a station. Currently there are three ARS license classes - Technician, General, and Extra. Most individuals will be interested in the Technician classs license.
The privileges conferred by acquiring a Technician Class Amateur Radio license will allow experimentation and operation of voice and high-speed digital communications stations on all Amateur frequencies above 30Mhz. A Technician Class license is very easy to acquire. All that is required is taking a 35-question, multiple choice examination covering basic radio and electronics theory with a passing score of 70%, or higher. No Morse Code test is required to obtain a Technician class license. All of the possible questions and answers are available on-line. It is also possible to take practice tests on-line, to see how you are doing. Study materials are available for a cost from the ARRL, and others; but they are really unnecessary.
ARRL
The American Radio Relay League(ARRL) is the largest organization of Amateur operators. If you are interested in becoming a ham, the ARRL web site is the best place to start.
The Family Radio Service(FRS)is a licenseless service that offers families the ability to communicate over short distances(advertised at up to 2 miles, but in reality usually about 1/2 mile), using small, very inexpensive 14-channel UHF radios. FRS radios can be picked up for as cheap as $19.95 at K-Mart and Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, the FCC has placed very stringent restrictions on FRS radios. FRS radios are limited to 500mW ERP transmit power. Worse yet, they must incorporate low-gain, non-modifiable antennas, and split frequency repeater operation is verboten.
If you want to keep in touch with your kids at Disneyland, or with your group on the ski slopes, FRS might be your answer.
However, with the FCC restrictions on the FRS, most FRS newcomers quickly lament on the "lack of range" of their radios. For example, one possible application that would seem ideal for FRS users would be to keep in touch between cars when one vehicle must follow another. With the wimpy range of the FRS radios, this task is frustrating at best.
One alternative to acheive increased range, is the General Mobile Radio Service(GMRS), which actually shares 7 of the frequencies with the FRS.
The General Mobile Radio Service(GMRS) is a personal UHF radio service available to an individual. It is a two-way voice communication service to facilitate the activities of the individual's immediate family members. Expect a communications range of one to five miles with portable units and up to twenty-five miles with mobile and base station units.
Before any station transmits on any GMRS authorized channel, the responsible party is supposed to obtain a license for a GMRS system. It costs about $80 to file for the license.
There are 23 GMRS channels. Any mobile station, small base station or portable radio in a GMRS system with no more than 5 watts can transmit voice communications on the following GMRS frequencies: 462.5625, 462.5875, 462.6125, 462.6375, 462.6625, 462.6875 and 462.7125 MHz. These frequencies are also shared with the Family Radio Service (FRS) channels. Any base station, mobile relay station, fixed station or mobile station can operate on the following GMRS frequencies: 462.550, 462.575, 462.600, 462.625, 462.650, 462.675, 462.700 and 462.725 MHz.
Probably the most important advantage of GMRS over FRS is the ability to use external, high-gain antennas. While there are still limitations on the height of GMRS base station antennas, GMRS still offers a huge improvement in range over FRS. Another advantage over FRS is the ability to communicate through repeaters. Still another major advantage of GMRS radios over FRS radios, is that GMRS radios offer much improved battery and battery-charging options.
But what's the catch? Well, GMRS handheld radios are moderately larger than FRS radios, and are probably too big for little kids. Also, GMRS radios cost a lot more. A good GMRS handheld radio can be picked up for around $160-$180 on the Internet.
The FCC is preparing to implement a new personal radio service, MURS.
Here are the highlights:
The Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS)--a private, two-way, short-distance voice, data or image communications service for personal or business activities of the general public.
The MURS transmitter channel frequencies are 151.820 MHz, 151.880 MHz, 151.940 MHz,154.570 MHz, 154.600 MHz. Maximum ERP is 2 watts.
The authorized bandwidth is 11.25 kHz on frequencies 151.820 MHz, 151.880 MHz and 151.940 MHz. The authorized bandwidth is 12.5 kHz on frequencies 154.570 and 154.600 kHz.
At 2W ERP, the privileges are similar to GMRS on the interstitial FRS frequencies:
1) You can transmit data and imagery!
2) VHF is better for hooking up external antennas(less feedline loss).
3) No license is required!
The negatives(at least at this point):
1) You can't communicate with other cheap radios(FRS). But maybe MURS radio prices will drop like FRS prices, once volume goes way up.
2) The 2W limit is an ERP limit. So, while you can use external antennas(good), you can't use high-gain antennas(bad).
It appears that the FCC agreed to legalize these frequencies after Radio Shack and others sold a bunch of radios to people, and didn't fully inform them that they needed a license. So - what I gather from this is that if you want something legalized, get enough people to do something, and the FCC will just go ahead and legalize it anyway(as long as it isn't really hurting anybody).
This could have a minor impact on the growth of the Amateur Radio Service, as this service offers the level of privileges that some seek when acquiring the entry-level Technician Class license. The differences for a 2m handheld user would be the lack of repeater capablity, a slight reduction in power(2w versus a typical 5w), and a limited number of channels(5 versus ~200).
NOTE: When considering setting up an Internet-backboned wireless communications network using MURS, the 2w ERP limit actually becomes a benefit. It allows frequency reuse, akin to the cellular telephone concept. This is potentially the greatest application for MURS.
The Citizens Band(CB) Radio Service is a two-way voice communication service for use in your personal and business activities. Expect a communication range of one to five miles.
CB communications occur on frequencies in the 11-meter High Frequency(HF) band. HF frequency communications are affected by the ionosphere, which is in turn affected by solar radiation. Right now we are at the peak of an 11-year sunspot cycle, which has rendered the CB Radio Service useless for handheld operations at the current time, due to massive ionospheric interference. At the present time, mobile and base stations with good antennas will have more luck communicating. In fact they may be able to communicate at extremely long distances, due to the ability to bounce signals off the ionosphere(skip waves). This feature is really not a desirable, as it leads to ionospheric interference, and is one of the reasons why the CB Radio Service may not be a good choice for those looking for reliable short range communications, and it is one of the reasons why the FCC created the FRS as an alternative to CB. The other reason why the FCC created the FRS as an alternative to CB is a general condition of lawlessness that exists on the CB airwaves. The service is not conducive to family communications due to the use of inappropriate language by many CB operators. Furthermore, many CB operators utilize illegal power amplifiers to extend their communication range, which also leads to intentional and unintentional disruption in communications of other law-abiding users.
