Prepper Vehicle Supplies

 Most survival scenarios are solo or small groups, short term, with only what you carry with you, also know as your EDC or Every Day Carry items which may at times include what you have in pocket or in your car, suggesting you should have your car well supplied.

Reading this, you may be interested in what is probably the Best Prepper Transportation.  Below are some links you may find worth reviewing. 

1. Best Prepper Transportation

2. Prepper Livestock - Horse

3. Best Prepper Retreat

4. Red flag warnings its time to Bug Out

For our discussion here, we will presume that you have a car or truck like most people and we are looking at more common survival scenarios.

What to carry in your car

1. Ethanol Free Fuel (EFF) -Gasoline- enough to get home. Never run below 1/4.
2. Siphon Hose for borrowing gas when stranded.
   
3. Jumper cables, and/or charged Jump Starter, large or small, both can serve as a phone charger with the appropriate charging cable(s).
   
4. Case of bottled water (rotated every year)
5. Water filter 
6. Stainless steel water bottle
   
7. 2 Qt Pot to cook and boil water in
8. Fire Building materials
   
9. Rifle with military ammo can full of the appropriate caliber(s).
   
10. Back Pack 
11. Machete & Hunting Knife
12. Water proof poncho or tarp for shelter
13. First Aid Kit
14. Long shelf life snack foods like beef jerky, granola, raisins or canned goods
15. Cell Phone, solar charger & water proof case; power off when not needed
16. MURS Radio and solar charger for communications
17. Motion Detecting, Solar Powered Lights &/or Alarms for Intruder Detection
18. Fishing - net, line & lots of hooks; extra line for security trip wires
19. A Thermal Scope will give you superior night vision for night travel
20. A regional Map for Survival or Atlas, plastic coated or in a freezer bag for navigation, along with a compass.
    
21. Coats, blankets to stay dry and warm or even a Power Outage Heater
22. Also carry basic EDC Survival items on your person like a pocket knife.

Know when it is time to get home with our Bug Out Red Flag Warning Signs.

What you carry in your car can make a huge difference, so plan ahead.  Sound crazy?  Think of it as potentially life saving insurance.

For more information visit our related links below: 

Blog Table of Contents
Best Prepper Websites (vote for this one)
Complete Sustainable Living Plan

Ammo Inventory Target  

 

Alone Season 1 Pack List
Alone Season 2 Pack List
Alone Season 3 Pack List
Alone Season 4 Pack List

Alone Season 5 Pack List
 

Alone Season 6 Pack List

Alone: Season 7 Pack List 

Alone: Season 8 Pack List

Alone Season 8 Cast

Alone Season 8 Food Harvested by tool

 

Alone Season 9 Pack List

Alone Season 9 Cast 

Alone Season 9 Days Survived

 
Alone Winners Pack List

Alone: The Beast S1 E1
Alone: The Beast S1 E2

Alone: Season 1 - 7 Winners

Alone: Show Records

Alone Survival Plan
Naked & Afraid Survival Plan
Survive on a deserted island
Wilderness Survival - TEST

Day 100 - 1 Millionaire Remains (Alone Show)

 
Backpack Selection Guide

Survival Pack (Security Patrol or Bug Out pack)  

Wilderness Survival Pack (Video)  

Wilderness Survival

Dual Purpose Items

EDC For Women
EDC For Men
EDC Survival
Best Survival Knife
Primitive Shelter

Best Campsite Selection Criteria
Acorn Flour Pancakes
Emergency Water 
Prepper Gift List
Bear: Fire Arm or Spray? 

Noodling for fish 
Primitive Fire Building 
Bear Attacks 
Nomadic Prepper Strategy 
Catch your own live bait (for fishing) 

How to make clay pots 
Quickly craft stone tools 
3 Odd techniques for catching fish
Survival Fishing 
Step by Step Prepper Plan 

Edible Wild Plants  

Greenbriar (catbriar) 

Cattails 

Dandelion  

Chickweed & Hackberries 

Edibility Test

Top 10 List of Prepper info
Top Rated Prepper Handbook Posts of all time
Top Rated Prepper Website
Top 15 Prepper Movies or Shows

Or click on a label below for similar topics.

     

Whistle Codes

Whistles are a valuable security or emergency tool that can be kept on your key chain and used to communicate messages via Code, or call for HELP.

 

There are short sharp whistle codes for urgent or emergency messages and long whistles for non-urgent messages.

Short

1.  Danger, close, one minute away
2.  Danger, two minutes away
   
3.  Danger, three minutes away
   

 

Long

1.  All Clear 
2.  O K
3. I need HELP

Police Radio Codes

10 - X

0	Use Caution
1	You are being received poorly / Cannot copy
2	You are being received clearly / Signal is strong
3	Stop Transmitting
4	Affirmative / Understood / Message Received
5	Relay Message to:
6	Busy / Out at call
9	Repeat last message
10	Negative / Flight in progress
19	Return to Station our Location:
20	Your location
21	Call by telephone
22	Disregard / Cancel last message
33	Emergency, All units stand by
43	Information
76	En route to location
77	Estimated time of arrival (ETA)
84	Advise ETA

For more information visit our related links below:

Blog Table of Contents
Best Prepper Websites (vote for this one)
Complete Sustainable Living Plan

Step by Step Prepper Plan

We can't afford to go out and buy everything we need at once, so we must develop a Step by Step Prepper Plan that can be used by anyone. Here is that plan:

Establish a Prepper Budget and stick to it. Suppose you start with a lump sum of $400 and then budget $50 per week.  Regardless of what your budget is, set the money (cash) aside until you have enough for your next Prepper Purchase.  Our plan will follow the Rule of 3 till bare minimum needs are met, then continue to reach advanced preparedness. As you read, you will see a number of recommended links (like this Rule of 3) with additional recommended reading that goes in to more detail.

1. Have a gun.  Learn gun safety and take a class if you don't know how to shoot one. Save/share a copy of the gun safety rules, so you can teach others. If you are asking why a gun is the first item, read the link titled Rule of 3 or the Dark Perspective. For help on gun selection see the following links: Beginner Prepper Plan, item #1 & 2; The Best Gun; Best Handgun Selection Criteria.  I prefer a name brand AR-15 with a thermal scope, a Glock 17 (9mm) and a stainless steel Ruger 10/22 as shown on the Beginner Prepper Plan. At the same time, at no cost, you can be putting some security plans in place. Here are some suggested links for this: Urban Security Plan; Group Security Drills; Red Flag Warnings; Blog Table of Contents.  Train others in your family/group to use the gun.
2. Get at least 100 rounds of ammo.  See the link: The right amount of Ammo.
3. Water is one of the most over looked preparations.  So you must store water, locate back up sources and have several means of making it safe to drink.  The following link:  Emergency Water, has everything you need to know about water.  The first step is building a reserve of water; something like this below is a good start.  If not this, then cases of bottled water. Savings your household jugs and storing water in the is a no cost source of water stores.
   
   
4. Emergency Cash is important.  Set aside enough for a few weeks worth of groceries.  Nothing larger than a $20 bill.  Some cash in coins is good for vending machines.
   
5. Silver could be essential to buying needed supplies if paper dollars become worthless.  Spend your next two months of budget buying US Silver Eagles, then spend one more months of budget buying some pre 1964 US Quarters and Dimes. Barter and Salvaging will be the other options for acquiring supplies.
   
6. Food is next, but unfortunately, many people want to start here and skip the previous steps.  A manual can opener (or two) is the first thing you need to buy.  After that, then buy one of these food rotation systems.
   
    
   Above is the largest (275 cans), and a smaller one below (60 cans), with many sizes in between. Sixty (60) cans equates to about a 30 day supply of vegetables for 1 person based on an 8 ounce serving for lunch and dinner of 2 vegetables.  275 cans will feed a family of 4 vegetables for over a month.
   
7. Our next step is to Build your Food Stores the right way with the can goods we normally eat. Start out by buying extra can goods each time you go to the grocery store with your prepping budget money. The link (above) will guide you. At the same time, you must have a way to cook and prepare your food in a disaster that resulted in a Power Blackout. Once your can goods are stocked up, then we will talk about long term survival foods.  At the same time, at no cost, you can be learning about Wilderness Survival and Edible Plants.
8. Before we move to long term foods, buy a large first aid kit, a tube of triple antibiotic cream, a bottle of alcohol and hydrogen peroxide for disinfectants. Also keep a bottle of acetaminophen, ibuprofen and cold/flu medicine. These are things you should have in your home anyway.
9. Communications are important because what you don't know CAN hurt you in a disaster.
10. Long Term Foods - Budget and add a few cans of long term dried foods monthly, starting with some #10 cans. I recommend that you join the Thrive Life Q program.  Here you can set a budget and a list of foods and each month, they send your budgeted amount of food from your list.  My first items would include 3 cans of instant beans, 3 cans of instant rice and 3 cans of instant oatmeal.  This will cost a little over $100 and provide two people enough food for 30 days.  These 25 to 30-year shelf life foods are in addition to your 1-2 year shelf life supply of regular can goods. 
    
     
    
    
    Get the 30 day supply above (or more depending on the size of your family) and add one can of instant milk for the family, possibly a few cans of your favorite vegetables.  After this, start with one pail per month of these same dried foods as shown below.  Round out your order to meet your budget with a few more #10 cans of pasta, wheat, vegetables and fruit.  
    
    
    
    This adds a 90 day supply of food for two people and costs less than $250.  If you are set up on the Q as recommended above, each month you will automatically be receiving another shipment of food to supplement your supplies.  Even if it is only one pail or can per month, get signed up as this will build up a good supply of food over time.
     
11.  Next step, improve security, because now you have a lot that is worth stealing. I suggest you start out by adding more ammo. Then I recommend having about 8 of these solar powered yard lights that use AA batteries.  They will light up the yard so you can see anyone approaching at night during a power outage.You can carry them in the house each evening to provide light or to harvest and use the rechargeable batteries in your radio(s).
12. Acquire more ammo. How much is enough ammo?  Bottom line is you can't have too much.  In a serious event with more than 50% casualties, there will be guns laying around, but no ammo for them.  A Bow and Arrow make a good back up for when the ammo runs out and it is a quite hunting tool. 
13. Buy a Military 3-day Assault Pack and stock it as shown in our Survival Pack post.
14. Buy another round of silver coins.
15. At this point, you are fairly well supplied and could last a year, but still not an advanced Prepper. But what if you need to survive for many years?  In this case, you must have Heirloom Seeds (& tools) to plant a Garden, you must Salvage for Supplies and Barter with others.  
16. Group Security - To survive this long, you must be part of a group that works together as there will be far more severe events that you need to be prepared for than just having enough food. Highly populated areas will get ugly fast.  Even the rural areas will see mass hoards of people migrating out of the cities.  Your biggest threat will be large groups of starving desperate people with guns that will do what ever is necessary to eat and feed their children. Many people foolishly think they will take to the woods to survive using their Wilderness Survival Skills, but there is only enough wild game for every American to have a few pounds of meat per year. Others have lots of guns and ammo and simply plan to take what they need to survive. You will need group security plans, with Rules of Engagement, like those found in the Prepper Handbook.
17. An even bigger threat may be our "Government" coming to seize your supplies, or even worse, Foreign Assistance coming to "help" us, and make us do things their way going forward.  They would like to see our US Constitution become a thing of the past, especially the Second Amendment, which is the only obstacle to them easily taking over completely. When you think about this, you realize the need for hidden caches of supplies, including weapons and ammo. Now we are talking about Advanced Preparations.

For additional information see the following links: 
Blog Table of Contents;
Riot & Looting Preparations Terrorist Attack - Best Preparations

Or click on a label below for similar topics.

Communications

What you don't know, CAN hurt you, especially when disaster is looming. During an emergency, communications and Actionable Intelligence can be critical to survival, so start developing your communication preparations now. In the Prepper Handbook, we talk about communication codes, but we will focus instead on the more basic topic of what you need in the way of equipment. As a side note, this equipment should be stored in a metal lined trunk or ammo can to protect against an EMP. There are several communications options that include:

           SERVICE / CHANNELS - RANGE

1. Citizen Band (CB) /40 - 10 miles +
2. Marine VHF /50 - 20 miles +
3. Family Radio Service (FRS) /22 - 1 mile
4. GMRS Radio UHF /8 - 2 miles+
5. Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS-VHF) /5 -  2 miles+
6. Ham Radio /Lots - 50 miles +

The first level of communication is SHORT RANGE that is limited to low power like the FRS/GMRS and MURS (2 way radio) bands, although some of the GMRS bands require a license that costs about $85 for 5 years and covers the immediate family. GMRS uses UHF frequencies which has a shorter wavelength. This allows better penetration into large buildings while the MURS (below) uses VHF which is a longer wavelength. Tends to work better outdoors and over hilly terrain

Here is what I would consider for this category for Rural and City locations: Midland GXT1000VP4 36-Mile 50-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair) (Black/Silver). These have low and high powered options for short AND medium range making them great for where you don't want others who are far away hearing what you are saying. Security patrols around your retreat or neighborhood should be using this type of radio, which is a GOOD FIRST CHOICE for a Prepper.

For this you only need a GRMS license (no test required) for channels 15-22, and for channels 1-7 IF you use more than .5W (low power). No license is required to use channels 8-14 which operate at one half watt. These radios will transmit at "high power" (50 watts) on channels 1-7 and 15-22 which does require a license, although it is unlikely anyone would know the difference. Testing the low power channels through the woods, it works at about 1.5 miles. 

This kit comes with two radios, both car and home chargers, rechargeable batteries and ear pieces and a mode for more silent communications. An extra battery pack or two is recommended (or 8 AA rechargeable batteries) and can be easily changed out in the field/woods or have a solar charger like this $5 Solar Charger or this more complete Solar System. The 36 miles is a stretch except under perfect conditions, (line of sight), but it will reach over a mile I know. Cheaper ones are available, but this is the lowest price I would consider.

For country or outdoor locations with hilly terrain, the MURS radio is a good choice. Some very experienced Ham Radio operations prefer this over GRMS especially with an external antenna.

This BaoFeng BF-888S Two Way Radio is the LOWEST COST OPTION, for two radios at $23 including 2 chargers and an ear piece. No license is required, but it has a limited number of channels (15) that could become congested if too many people were using them.  It is limited to 2 watts and I have verified that it works fine at over 1 mile outdoors through wooded areas.  Indoors at that distance has heavy static and hard to understand at times. This was with the upgraded antenna which costs an additional $16 but even with the standard antenna, it works at over a half a mile which easily covers 5 or 6 city blocks.  Both work just fine for a neighborhood security watch.  At this price, you can't afford to not have any communications stored in a top quality Military Steel M2A1 Ammo Can.
In fact, no matter which of these radios you have, they should be stored and protected in this manner when not being used to protect them from an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) or CME (coronal mass ejection) which is capable of destroying all electronic devices including your car and home appliances.

Potentially the best for medium range and most popular radio that does not require a license is the CB or Citizen Band which will communicate up to 10 miles. The best hand held CB radio is the Midland 75-822 40 Channel CB-Way Radio . Every Prepper should have one (or two) of these for regional communications beyond your retreat or local neighborhood.

For a base station CB radio, the best choice is Cobra 29 LX 40-Channel CB Radio or on a tight budget, the Midland 1001Z 40-Channel CB Radio. Base Stations also need a good antenna like the Cobra CBRHGA1500 36-Inch Base-Load Medium Magnet Mount 300W CB Antenna or the Midland 18-2442 Mobile CB Antenna. These have about 3.5 to 5 watts of power.

Your next level is a higher (8 to 16X FRS/GMRS) powered Ham type radio, which can be purchased for about the same cost, but does require a license but provides the longest range. Here is a good book to help get your license: The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual. and here is the American Radio Relay League or ARRL.org website where you can get it. At the high power setting, a licensed Ham operator can communicate around the world using relay stations.


A low cost (< $30) entry system of this type is: BaoFeng UV-5R Dual Band Two Way Radio which has a low (1 watt) and high power setting (4 watt). This does not come with as many accessories but has a number of options available. Doubling the power output will give you approximately 1.6X the range if its line of sight communications. For medium to long range, an inexpensive radio like this is the best option. More expensive radios wont get you a lot further without having proper antennas and placement. So a base station antenna on the roof of the house (or car) might be a good addition.

A more powerful version with a few more accessories is BaoFeng UV-82HP (CAMO) High Power Dual Band Radio which offers up to 7 watts. I like the camo version and the longer Nagoya NA-771 15.6-Inch Whip VHF/UHF antenna. There is also a programming cable and CD (software) that is recommended on both of the BaoFeng radios for about $6.

Having a Solar Power System to charge your batteries is also a good idea.

For more information see our Blog Table of Contents


Technical Details:

 

DISCLAIMER: This document is for general informational purposes only; NOT intended as legal advice and should not be construed as such. Legal matters should be referred to a qualified attourney or lawyer. All information is considered current as of the date this post was submitted. Since regulations and practises may change over time, it is advisable to consult an official source such as the FCC for the most up-to-date information.

REDISTRIBUTE FREELY!

CONTENTS

1. FREQUENCIES
2. MAXIMUM TRANSMITTER POWER LIMITS
3. BANDWIDTH/DEVIATION
4. LICENCING
5A. TYPE ACCEPTANCE
5B. FINDING TYPE-ACCEPTED TRANSCEIVERS FOR PART-95 USE
6. REPEATERS
7. OTHER FACTS
8. THE FUTURE OF FRS AND GMRS
9. SEE ALSO

FREQUENCIES ================================

Note: Channel numbers are given in this list according to the widely-followed Motorola numbering convention. GMRS channels are also sometimes referred to according to their dial position in kilohertz (e.g. "550" for channel 15) but this is uncommon.

FRS/GMRS
01 462.5625
02 462.5875
03 462.6125
04 462.6375
05 462.6625
06 462.6875
07 462.7125

FRS ONLY
08 467.5625
09 467.5875
10 467.6125
11 467.6375
12 467.6625
13 467.6875
14 467.7125

GMRS ONLY
15 462.550
16 462.575
17 462.600
18 462.625
19 462.650
20 462.675
21 462.700
22 462.725

*Note: for repeater use on 15-22, assume a +5 MHz shift (Tx: 467.xxx/Rx: 462.xxx). Simplex operation is not allowed on 467 MHz GMRS frequencies and are used for repeater input only.

MURS
01 151.820
02 151.880
03 151.940
04 154.570 ("Blue dot")
05 154.600 ("Green dot")


MAXIMUM TRANSMITTER POWER LIMITS ================================

FRS 1-7:
FRS: 0.5 watt
GMRS: 5 watt

FRS 8-14:
FRS: 0.5 watt
GMRS: prohibited

GMRS 15-22 (a.k.a. 550-725)
FRS: not applicable
GMRS: 5 watt (base); 50 watt (mobile/handheld)

MURS
All channels: 2 watt


BANDWIDTH/DEVIATION ================================

FRS/GMRS - All channels
Bandwidth: 11 kHz
Deviation: 2.5 kHz

GMRS ONLY - 15-22*
Bandwidth: 20 kHz
Deviation: 5 kHz

*Note: GMRS may also be worked with 11 kHz bandwidth/2.5 kHz deviation, though most mainstream equipment (e.g. department-store HTs) is fixed for 20/5 operation.

MURS*
Bandwidth
1-3: 11 kHz
4-5: 20 kHz

Deviation
1-3: 2.5 kHz
4-5: 5 kHz

* Note: narrowband (11/2.5) transmissions are also allowed on MURS 4-5.

LICENCING ================================

FRS
No licence required when operating on any channel (1-14) at up to 0.5 watt ERP

GMRS
Licence always required on 15-22 and when operating at power levels greater than 0.5 watt ERP on FRS 1-7
No licence required when operating a combination F/GMRS transceiver on FRS 8-14, or if said device does not exceed 0.5 watt ERP on FRS 1-7.

MURS
No licence required for personal use on any channel

- - - - - - - - - - - -

At the time of this writing, GMRS licencing is handled by the F¢¢. Fee is $85 and the ticket is good for five years. A GMRS ticket is valid for the holder and the immediate members of his family. GMRS licence holder must be aged 18 and up, but the service may be used by his family members of any age. No examination or test/quiz is conducted for GMRS licencing. A part 90/business or HAM radio licence does NOT legally grant any privileges to operate GMRS and vice versa. See also "THE FUTURE OF FRS AND GMRS" below.

People sometimes use handles (nicknames) on all three services. HAM call letters are considered a handle in part-95, as they have no official meaning in these services. If using any handle on GMRS (subject to personal preference), it should be given in conjunction with one's official legal GMRS call, never in place of it. GMRS call letters are not required to be announced on MURS, FRS 1-7 when operating at <=0.5 watt ERP or FRS 8-14.

TYPE ACCEPTANCE ================================

FRS
Equipment must be self-contained; if built to use detachable components (e.g. microphones/headseats) they must be designed specifically for use with their respective transceivers, batteries excepted
Antennae must not be detachable or easily removable
Mobile use permitted, but mobile FRS transceivers are difficult to find

GMRS
Equipment may be self-contained (as in combination FRS/GMRS HTs which are currently very popular in the US) or have detachable components
Transceivers excluding FRS coverage may use detachable aerials, but placement restrictions exist--specifically, antenna cannot exceed 20 feet elevation above ground level. HTs can not have detachable aerials if they include FRS coverage
Mobile use permitted

MURS
Transceivers may use detachable aerials. Antenna height limited to 20 feet above structure (e.g. the peak of a house's roof) or 60 feet above ground, whichever is greater.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

All transceiver equipment used on F/GM/MURS must be part-95 type accepted and meet certain criteria as stated in their respective FCC rules. In general, FRS transceivers cannot have removable aerials; GMRS and MURS radios can have removable aerials (particularly in the case of base or mobile units.) but GMRS transceivers with removable aerials can not be used to transmit on FRS. Tone/code squelch is permitted on all services, although this functionality is sometimes omitted, especially in very low-cost transceivers or children's "toy" HTs where carrier squelch may be used instead. Modifying an F/GM/MURS transciver in ways not intended by the manufacturer or F¢¢ generally voids its part-95 certification and may render it illegal to operate. Equipment can neiter be tunable outside its prescribed frequency bands, nor manually or computer programmable as such. External amplifiers can not be used with any transceiver on F/GM/MURS. These restrictions do not apply to equipment designed specifically for receiving (e.g. a police scanner.)

Many newer imported freeband transceivers marketed for HAM use (Baofeng, TYT, Wouxun, etc.) and modified purpose-built HAM equipment are capable of emulating an F/GM/MURS transceiver. Although sometimes used, such equipment is illegal to operate in these services as they are not type-accepted for part-95 operation, despite extremely lax enforcement by the F¢¢.

FINDING TYPE-ACCEPTED TRANSCEIVERS FOR PART-95 USE =================

The FCC maintain a searchable database of all transceivers certified for part-95 use on
https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/repor...ericSearch.cfm

1. Under "Application Information: Application Status:", select Grant Issued.
2. Under "Equipment Information: Rule Parts (up to three):", select "95A" for GMRS, "95B" for FRS or "95J" for MURS and tick "exact match" (selected by default). It's probably best to search each one individually, as this narrows your search and reduces confusion.
3. Under "Formatting Options: Show results in", select "HTML" (default).
4. Specify number of search results to display (default: 10).
5. Select "Start serach". It may take several minutes to display if a large number of results is given in step 4.

NOSCRIPT USERS: Temporarily allow "apps.fcc.gov" to use the search page.

REPEATERS ================================

Repeaters on GMRS are usually considered to be specifically for the private use of those who operate them, however many individuals and radio clubs operate "open" repeaters intended for public use. Some of these repeaters may require permission from the operators to work them, but not always (although it is considered polite to ask regardless.) A good resource for GMRS repeater information, including non-exhaustive lists of repeaters around the United States is http://mygmrs.com/. At the time of this writing, the ratio of open versus private ("permission required") systems listed in mygmrs seems to be fairly equal (271:308), indicating a slight bias toward private systems.

All repeater and telephone patch operations are forbidden on FRS and MURS. Telephone patches may not be used on GMRS. As far as I know, there is no restriction on an F/GM/MURS operator relaying communications by voice between their respective band and other radio services like CB or HAM, or other media such as Internet chat servers or telephone calls.

OTHER FACTS ================================

FCC RULES
FRS: 47 CFR 95B
GMRS: 47 CFR 95A
MURS: 47 CFR 95J

- - - - - - - - - - - -

FRS and GMRS always use FM (see "BANDWIDTH/DEVIATION" above.) MURS may use other modulation formats, but FM is arguably the most commonly used.

GMRS channels 19 and 21 (650 and 700) are not allowed to be used near the Canadian border.

FRS transceivers are allowed to be used in Mexico on channels 1-14, however care must be exercised to avoid transmitting on GMRS 15-22 if a combination transceiver is used there.

FRS 1 and GMRS 20 are commonly used and advocated as "de facto" calling and emergency channels, especially when traveling. Usually used with CTCSS 141.3 Hz (Motorola QC #22).

It is legal for FRS and GMRS users to communicate with each other. The low maximum power level of FRS devices may cause problems when communicating to a GMRS station over any significant distance.

CTCSS and digital squelch is allowed on all services, and may be required to access repeaters on GMRS. Usage of a CTCSS tone/DCS code is completely optional on any FRS/GMRS/MURS channel, but one is likely to attract more attention using it.

FRS, GMRS and MURS were originally intended to be used for personal communications within one's group, however there is almost nothing prohibiting deviation from this (see next paragraph). There is no "content police" on F/GM/MURS and in some areas, portions of GMRS and MURS are used as an "alternative" HAM service; the subject matter discussed in them might be similar to what one would find scanning the several HAM bands.

Transmission of music is never allowed on any part-95 band including CB. (That includes YOU, "Fisherman" and "Robocop".) Morse code is allowed but rarely used for anything other than distress signals or automatic GMRS repeater self-identification. Data transmissions are allowed on MURS but may be restricted on the other services.

Business use of GMRS is generally prohibited, principally due to (expensive) licencing restrictions and its reclassification as a personal-use radio service in the 1980s. Exceptions exist for businesses licenced for GMRS before revision of the service's rule in the 1980s and are operating under the "grandfather" regulation. Many businesses are now using FRS for this purpose as it is free of such restrictions.

THE FUTURE OF FRS AND GMRS ================================

It is speculated that licencing requirements on GMRS may be either greatly relaxed or completely eliminated in the coming years, and a slightly revised bandplan implemented. One oft-stated example has GMRS being restricted to 2 watts maximum ERP, simplex communications being allowed on the 467 MHz repeater input channels and repeater usage discontinued. The resulting service would be an "extended" 30-channel implementation of FRS and be regulated as such.

SEE ALSO ================================

http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/FRS - FRS description on the Radioreference wiki
http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/personal/family/ - FRS information from the FCC
http://popularwireless.com/gmrsfaqa.html - FRS/GMRS frequently asked questions

http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/GMRS - GMRS description on the Radioreference wiki
http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/per...generalmobile/ - GMRS information from the FCC
http://mygmrs.com/ - GMRS repeater information and directory
http://home.provide.net/~prsg/part95ae.htm - A very in-depth page about GMRS regulations that includes the FCC's rule

http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/MURS - MURS description on the Radioreference wiki
http://fcc.gov/encyclopedia/multi-us...service-murs-0 - MURS information from the FCC

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx...e=47:5.0.1.1.5 - Electronic Code of Federal Regulations title 47 part 95; the official document describing all this stuff (almost reads like an FAQ) (thanks, nd5y)

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