I recently bought the Wouxun KG-935G, which is being touted as one of the best GMRS HT radios today. I also got the more affordable New GMRS Baofeng UV-5G (UV-5X). The problem I have with these new radios are that they cannot TX if you use non-standard offset frequencies on the repeater channels. And you cannot transmit on Frequency Mode even if you use a frequency on one of the GMRS Channels. They’re “crippled” and there’s no firmware update to fix this that I know of. Same with the Baofeng. Their brand specific software and Chirp doesn’t work to fix the problem. Chirp allows you to change to a non-standard offset but the radios do not TX on those frequencies. The Baofeng allows you to change the offset by radio or by software but it doesn’t TX.
So now I have to resort to using my HAM radio on my club’s GMRS repeater to be able to access it using a non-standard offset, which is not allowed by FCC even if you have a GRMS License, which I do.
Does anybody know how I can get this fixed or if Baofeng or Wouxun is coming out with a firmware to fix the issue? Or should I just return these GMRS radios?
Hi Horace, when you say “non-standard offset”, what specific offset frequencies are you using? GMRS only has 8 repeater frequencies and they have + 5 MHz offsets.
The reason your two GMRS radios don’t transmit on 466.625 is because it isn’t a GMRS frequency. It is apparently reserved for specific licensed commercial business operations. There are no “non-standard” GMRS repeater frequencies. There are only the 22 GMRS simplex frequencies and 8 GMRS repeater frequencies with the +5 MHz offset frequencies. That’s it.
In order for GMRS radios to be Part 95 type accepted and approved for sale and use in the US, they must only be able to transmit on the channels and frequencies assigned by the FCC for the GMRS. For this reason, Wouxun, Baofeng and other manufacturers of GMRS radios will not typically offer firmware upgrades to users that will allow their radios to transmit on frequencies outside the GMRS. If they did, it would put their radios out of compliance and they would no longer be legally type accepted for manufacture and sale as GMRS radios.
Whether the FCC would go after individual users for cracking their radios is another topic entirely, and as this is a site owned and operated by a dealer, it is not one we discuss here. The fact is, the Commission has and does go after the manufacturers and dealers for breaking the rules, and when they do, they hit hard.
These are not Part 90 business radios, and although they can legally receive on some simplex business frequencies, they cannot legally transmit on them. It is not an issue, it’s by design.
Now I understand. 466.625 is not a GMRS Channel and these new GMRS radios are being compliant to the FCC rules on GMRS use.
I guess I have to look for FCC Part 95 compliant repeater stations in my area so that I can use these new GMRS radios. Or perhaps set up a repeater at home for use with my family.
Thank you for the explanation and making things clear to this noob.