Ham Radio Is Utilmily Way Better Than GMRS radio
GMRS - Limited Channals Controlled By FCC
Ham- Almost Unlimited Channels Also Controlled By FCC
Sort of. GMRS is for people to buy off the shelf, with no technical skills and use to either chat to only the people in their circle (the original purpose of it) but often now owners talk to strangers which is fun. Ham radio is a traditional, long term hobby that goes beyond this. More distance, more power, the ability to make your own gear, and while appearing to be uncontrolled is self-governed, with people following rules, taking exams and often spending LOTS of money constantly upgrading, tweaking and experimenting. Some people will spend their time to increase the number of countries they have talked to, others might use satellites, and others install large antenna arrays to bounce signals off the moon. Others buy a cheap radio and chat to people they don’t know and are local? That’s the only bit similar to GMRS, with identical performance and similar cost. Unlimited channels are a bit pointless if nobody answers. Locally, GMRS users don’t really need loads of channels - nobody to talk to.
That depends on who you talk to - literally. It also depends on what you want to do with each service. As Paul said, there are certainly advantages to ham radio for people who want to make contacts all over the world, but not everyone wants to do this. Each service has its strengths and limitations, and everyone who uses them doesn’t need them to do the same things. Each will fit one user better than another, and everyone is different.
You wouldn’t say airband is better than marine band, or FRS is better than CB. These are all different services intended for different things, so one isn’t really better than the other. They’re just different, as intended.
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GMRS - is mostly regular people having somewhat normal conversations
Ham - is mostly nerds
Me - I’m mostly regular, and sometimes I am a nerd. Just depends on the frequency. Both are great…
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Nobody to talk to? I’m a member of Selden Radio & BTG Communications on Lond Island NY. The BTG repeater system, 3 repeaters, covers all of Long Island into NYC and goes into Connecticut. They also connect with the Mid-West Repeater System 4 times a week. There are tens of thousands of people to talk to on GMRS. Simplex, not so much.
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wow! Very different to how I imagined. Thanks for the info.