Has there been an established frequency for GMRS radio and the use for stormchasing? Technically you need a license to use a GMRS radio, except for relaying wx info.

hmm i thought u had to have the lincese to even turn the suckers on. GMRS wouldnt do us much good as we do cover 14 states. i personally am looking to get HAM certified where i can relay info across SKYWARN who is on 2 meter radio. $12 for the test alone. No need to know Morse Code anymore either. eHam.com has practice tests and ARRL.org has test locale and date info. getting a rig depends upon yur brand choice and price ya wanna pay for a beginner rig varies in yur pocket book. Happy Chasing.

p.s. i maybe setting up a HAM repeater and dedicate it to skywarn. just gotta see if i got room lol

Oracle: There are probably people running around with GMRS units that dont even realize they need a license (ie most any Motorola TalkAbout series radio with a range greater than 2 miles). You are right in that it wont get you beyond your state but if all you're doing is looking to report back to a local EOC or something then you'd still be ok with GMRS provided you had a high enough power unit. (GMRS allows to 50W depending on configuration)

As to the original question: to my knowledge there has not been an established frequency for skywarn groups. Some areas could have a repeater for SKYWARN use, however I do not have any further information in that regard.

I haven't really thought about using GMRS while chasing, I didn't think many people had the radios in use. I have however used 146.520mhz (National Calling Frequency) on the VHF ham radio and talked to a couple of spotters. It was nice to know where people are seeing things and where everyone was so that we weren't all sitting in the same place. Also using the simplex frequency kept the traffic off the repeaters for the important info.

-Adam

Ham is the way to go, especially now it's easier to get the license. But when I'm out chasing, I use a wideband receiver, and hear alot of chatter on GMRS and some FRS. Since FRS has a very short range, most talk on GMRS channels. Which technically require a license. But during a severe wx event, I believe the FCC turns a blind eye to the licensing issue.

Ham is definitely the way to go. Dont even bother with the GMRS radios, they dont hold a candle to the capabilities of Ham radio. You can do so many many things with amateur radio, that theres no way to do on a GMRS radio. If ur a serious storm chaser, or even an amateur, go get your ham license. You can talk all around the world, were as with GMRS you can only talk a few miles, if even that. Ham radios are great if ur a chaser that needs to go from state to state. You can stay in constant contact with spotter all over the chase area via repeaters, or just simplex. And then you can relay what your seeing back to the EOC or the NWS. If your interested in getting your ham lisence, go to www.arrl.org, eham.com, qrz.com. I highly recomend getting your ticket, its a lot of fun.

Does sound like HAM is the way to go. Looking forward to the next test now.

I recall that last year, when we were IowaSkywarn.org, we met at the State Fair in Des Moines on that HOT 80-90 Degree Day and we used GMRS/FRS Radios, however we used an FRS Channel I believe, Ch. 7. However, I forgot mine and my mother leant me here Cell Phone anyway, so I did not use them.

Also, that Reminds Me, I'm going to start a Separate Forum Post regarding something similar to that This Year. Depending on my schedule, I may be able to take a Roadtrip, hehe.

I'd try to get my ticket (then when im out spotting i could go direct with K0DMX (WFO Des Moines) if I had to..) I just don't know if I have time to study enough to pass the exam, even with the morse code requirement dropped.

I'ma CB guy. looking into ham though. i'd really prefer to just sit through an all day class and pass the test the same day, but thats just me.

Go for the Ham ticket ... you won't be sorry you took the time to study. I went to get my Tech and studied enough to pass the General at the same testing session ... $14 either way.

Here is the actual test question pools for all three exams:

http://www.eham.net/exams/

Good luck!

73s de KDØCVJ

kc0usq wrote:

You can do so many many things with amateur radio, that theres no way to do on a GMRS radio.

Probably would depend on the actual radio however if you're using the bubble-pack radios from Wal-Mart/Best Buy/K-Mart/etc then the answer is obviously yes.

Somewhat back to the original question I will most likely be monitoring 462.550 MHz or 462.5625 MHz if I'm out in the field. I may scan other GMRS channels but I don't have a display in my radio to know which channel the radio is listening to.

I realize this thread seems to have veered off topic to amateur radio but as to the original question is there a GMRS frequency that is generally used?

I am not sure of any designated frequencies for spotting in the GMRS group, but we have a group here who are using a local GMRS repeater for spotting now... new for 2009!