I was at Sam's club today and picked up a set of Motorola T6510 FRS/GMRS radios. I picked these up because I wanted better range and I thought they might be a better option than the FRS only radios I have now. I use the radios for communicating between cars on the road (The FRS radios appear to be good for about a 1/4 mile direct line of sight.), around the cabin in the woods and while camping, and from shore to boat on the lake.
Here are the questions I should have asked before I bought them:
1.) You are supposed to have a license for GMRS channels but I saw a post that the GMRS channels may be going the way of CB where licenses will not be required. If using these without the license is like going five over the speed limit then I don't have a problem with it but I don't want to be an ouitlaw either. Although it seems to me that if the FCC wanted them licensed they shouldn't have allowed them to mass marketed the way they have been. What's your opinion on this?
2.) There are some channels listed in the manual as FRS channels (462.5625, 462.5875, 462.6125, 462.6325, 462.6625, 462.6875, 462.7125) but apparently these radios transmit at 1 watt on those channels rather than .5 watts and you are supposed to have a license for that. My question is, how could anyone tell?
3.) In order to be able to talk to someone on the FRS radios I have, you basically need to be within a 1/4 mile of them, line of sight, while driving; how much better is the distance going to be with 1 watt or on GMRS?
4.) These radios do not have seals around the battery compartments (my Cobra FRS radios do), how susceptible will they be to moisture if I'm wearing one on my belt in the rain or out on the ski boat?
Aside from a little more power, the only other feature these have my Cobra radios don't is that if there is an emergency weather broadcast they will jump in and broadcast that.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Here are the questions I should have asked before I bought them:
1.) You are supposed to have a license for GMRS channels but I saw a post that the GMRS channels may be going the way of CB where licenses will not be required. If using these without the license is like going five over the speed limit then I don't have a problem with it but I don't want to be an ouitlaw either. Although it seems to me that if the FCC wanted them licensed they shouldn't have allowed them to mass marketed the way they have been. What's your opinion on this?
2.) There are some channels listed in the manual as FRS channels (462.5625, 462.5875, 462.6125, 462.6325, 462.6625, 462.6875, 462.7125) but apparently these radios transmit at 1 watt on those channels rather than .5 watts and you are supposed to have a license for that. My question is, how could anyone tell?
3.) In order to be able to talk to someone on the FRS radios I have, you basically need to be within a 1/4 mile of them, line of sight, while driving; how much better is the distance going to be with 1 watt or on GMRS?
4.) These radios do not have seals around the battery compartments (my Cobra FRS radios do), how susceptible will they be to moisture if I'm wearing one on my belt in the rain or out on the ski boat?
Aside from a little more power, the only other feature these have my Cobra radios don't is that if there is an emergency weather broadcast they will jump in and broadcast that.
Thanks in advance for your help!
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