E1674: Should We Demand FCC Allow Linking of GMRS Repeaters - podcast episode cover

E1674: Should We Demand FCC Allow Linking of GMRS Repeaters

Jan 02, 202610 min
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Episode description

Are you a GMRS radio enthusiast frustrated by FCC restrictions limiting your reach? In this eye-opening video, we break down the viral Change.org petition demanding the FCC overhaul Part 95 rules to allow seamless internet linking for GMRS repeaters and radios. Created by Brian Payne, this campaign has already garnered over 3,700 signatures—join the movement to restore the "gray area" freedoms that powered family chats, rural networks, and emergency backups! Why does this matter? GMRS is the easy-entry alternative to ham radio—no license hassles, just plug-and-play power for off-grid adventures. But recent FCC crackdowns have shut down beloved linked networks, crippling wide-area coverage for disaster prep, community coordination, and everyday off-grid living. We explore the history, the shutdowns, and how new rules could supercharge public safety and redundancy—like having a backup phone line that actually works when the grid fails.

Today's video is sponsored by Bioenno Power - Bioenno will fulfill battery needs for ALL of your radios - check them out here - https://geni.us/LfawM7B

Sign the petition today: https://www.change.org/p/demand-fcc-to-allow-all-network-connections-to-gmrs-repeaters-and-radios

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

Transcript

Speaker 1

A user like you and I is demanding the FCC to allow internet linking to GMRS repeaters and radios, and he's put up a petition that he wants people to sign. I wonder how realistic this is, and I wondered your thoughts on it. Let's take a look. GMRS repeater linking has been a hot topic recently. I've done several videos in the past about new GMRS channels GMRS repeater linking. Well, I just got finished recording one for a Reddit article

that says the justifications for repeater linking? How can someone justify that when it's clearly illegal to do? And I did a comments video that said something about you know, because I had a lot of really really comments that went the other direction from where I expected them to go on the first GMRS repeater linking video that I made. So it's been a hot topic recently. A lot of

good discussion is going on now. If you're operating a GMRS radio from your house or in the field somewhere remotely, if you ever do any remote operations, especially bio No Batteries is a fantastic battery manufacturer that supports the amateur radio community and the GMRS community. You can easily run your GMRS radio that's in a manpack or a backpacker somewhere. You're going out hiking, you need your GMRS radio. Check out Bio and O power dot com. They are the

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for supporting the channel. And this is an article that I found over here at change dot org and you can see right here. It's got thirty seven hundred and seventeen verified signatures right now, and you can sign this petition. On the right hand side. You give your first name, your last name, your email. It tells you where your location is. You can edit that and then you can uncheck this box that says display my name and comment on this edition if you want, or you can just

leave that littrier comments be seen by the world. Title of the article is obviously demand FCC to allow all network connections to GMRS repeaters and radios network connections. They're talking about the internet, an all star type system connect repeaters together over the Internet. When I first made this video about GMRS repeater linking, I thought everyone was going to be totally for it. The FCC should not disallow us to do this. We should be totally allowed to

do whatever we want on GMRS. Surprisingly to me, a lot of people were against that. A lot of people were like, no, we should not be able to link these repeaters together because of actions being taken by groups such as North Georgia GMRS group, who is linking multiple repeaters together over a large area several state areas. So I'm told this is what I've gotten from the comments, and I got emails from several of you that I'm reading and reviewing, and I'm probably will make a follow

up video on that later on. But what they're doing is they're taking all eight repeater channels from GMRS and linking them all together. So essentially we have one GMRS repeater channel now that is linked over a huge three

to four state area several hundred miles. This is in North Georgia again, And because a lot of these repeaters are on top of mountaintops, are on tall towers, and they're far reaching, they have a large footprint, and they're taking channel all eight repeater channels and linking them all together, which is stupid. This is a stupid way to do it.

I am all for GMRS repeater linking generally speaking. I've said several videos in the past that we should designate one or two channels and let those be linked and then all the other channels turn them off because there is a limited number of frequencies and channels in GMRS, so I understand that viewpoint. A lot of you made the point that it's like, well, it's so few channels, we don't have eight repeater channels if we link them all together, and I agree with that. It's a stupid

idea to link channels together. Everyone should be on Channel twenty two or Channel twenty or Channel sixteen or whatever. Pick a channel and that's the channel that you link together. And since people were apparently uncapable of being reasonable and having gentlemen's agreement and handshake deal. Since since everyone wants to kind of steamroll this and groups are taking over all frequencies, then I kind of have changed my mind

on this. Maybe we shouldn't allow GMRS repeater link. I still think we should have it on one channel, but we'll see. Anyway, those comments went a little bit differently. But here's a new article that I just found a couple, you know, a few days ago whenever it was demand FCC to allow all network connections. Okay, and the issue here we go. Okay, this is a pretty short article here.

It's by Brian Paine, petitioned Starter. Okay, the FCCS GMRS allows ordinary families and individuals to communicate without the need of technical expertise and sophisticated knowledge of radios. While GMRS is simple, it is powerful enough to use over a wide area with the use of repeaters. Linking GMRS repeaters and radios over the Internet and or networks has been

heavily debated. Yes. Currently, the part ninety five rule states the following in two sections ninety five dot one seven three three messages which are both conveyed by a wireline control link and transmitted by GMRS stations are prohibited wireline control and transmitted by gm res so over telephone line is how I read that part ninety five dot one seven four nine. Operation of GMRS station with a telephone connection is prohibited as in ninety five dot three four nine.

GMRS repruter base and fixed stations, however, may be connected to the public switch network and other networks for the sole purpose of operation remote control. Pursue it to ninety five dot one seven four five. So if you don't know what that means, that simply means that you can connect your GMRS repruter to the Internet and control it remotely.

So if it needs a reboot, if someone's keyed down on it, if it's timed out, if it's messed up somehow and throwing out weird noises on the internet, you can get on the internet. You have it connected on the internet, get on the app on your phone, which there are control apps for that, and you can log into it remotely to disable it, turn it off, reboot it, whatever. So that's what that's talking about there. He goes on

to say. In the past, many networks have received FCC correspondents saying that the FCC doesn't consider linking gym RS repruiters via the Internet against the rules, thus leaving it in a gray area. Many networks have received FCC correspondents that FCC doesn't consider linked gm res reviews the Internet against the rules. I'd like to see proof of that, because everything I've read on the Internet has clearly stated that it is against the rules. So I wonder where

he's getting this information from. He doesn't asterisk this information, he doesn't reference anything else, but he goes on to say, which opened the door for thousands of connecting networks for family communication. Okay, if you're connecting over a very large area network and linking all channels together, you're not doing it for your family. You're doing it because, quite frankly,

you're a bully. Okay, if it's being done like what I'm told North Georgia GMRS is being done, Okay, they've basically taken over all repeater channels and are not allowing families to use them because there's conversations going on all day long, and since all eight repeater channels are all linked together, no one else can use it. So that's not for your family. Okay, that might be your intent,

but that's not how it's being used. However, in recent times, the FCC has clarified that GMRS repuater stations cannot be linked over the Internet. Okay, once again, he's saying, he received many networks have received correspondence from the FCC stating that they don't care if linkedn gm RS reputers being Internet is against the rules. They don't consider linking Internet against the rules. I would like to see one of these correspondence letters. I've not seen anything like this. I'm

not saying it doesn't exist. I'm saying I have not seen this. So I'd like to see one of these, and in bold down here, he says. In this petition, we as citizens demand Part ninety five dot one seven two two, Section eight and Part ninety five Dot seventeen forty nine be removed from the GMRS Part ninety five rules and as a section within Part ninety five rules to clearly permanently allow GMRS repeaters and radio stations to be linked over the Internet and other networks. With your support,

we can bring this important issue to the FCC. Please sign our petition urge the FCC to clearly allow network connections to GMRS repeaters and radio stations and you can sign right there. I don't agree with a couple of the things that he said here. First of all, I think GMRS repeaters can be very good for families. But when you link together over a long distance, where's your family and why is it important to connect with your Say, well, my family's the next state over, okay, Well, my family's

like fifteen minutes down the road. So why do I need to connect my repeater or a repeater or talk on a that's connected to another state, you know, somewhere one hundred miles away. So I have trouble finding the justification saying we're connecting repeaters together over the internet for purposes of family communication. I have trouble wrapping my head around that is he doing that? Is he actually doing that? Maybe? Maybe maybe that's what he's doing, Okay, but I don't know.

I have trouble justifying that in my head. But I would like to know. More than anything, I'd like to know what you guys think. I'll put a link to this article in the description if you want to go out and signing. As a general rule, I think the FCC should have less power and less say and I think the citizens should say, should have more of a say over what rules we do and don't follow. Okay, there needs to be rules, but I think the citizens,

I think there should be a citizens voted upon thing. Well, this article doesn't really have a date on it. I found it about a week ago, maybe four or five days ago. Okay. The first comment in the comments is from eight months ago, so this article has been up for a while. I'm guessing even though the article itself doesn't have it has one hundred and twelve comments. You can see right there and you can go down in the comment section read through all these, and the first

one was eight months ago. Actually, I'm sorry, that's the most popular featured comments. This one looks like it's twelve months ago. This might be a really old article. Two months ago is the latest one. Okay. Some people are responding with videos. But it's only got thirty seven hundred people to sign the petition, so I wonder how popular it actually is. I want to know what you guys think. Are you four or against repeater linking? Do you think

you would sign this petition the way it's stated? Again, I am not against GMRS repeaterlinking. I think it should be regulated to one or two channels. I don't agree with the way this article is written, so I'm not going to sign this petition, but I want to know what you think. Put a comment in the video below and if you have any further information. A few of you have emailed me about large networks including North Georgia GMRS.

If you have any other information about those large systems, send me an email CAC five HWB at gmail dot com. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that. Seventy three and thanks for watching

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