I second the Rino recommendation. I have the 110 and it is compatible with the Motorolas my hunting buddies use.

Regards, Vince

Amper,
Yeah - if you want the BEST quality units - your's is the way to go - People do NOT realize the difference in quality you get when you buy even low end "commercial" land mobile radios

Can someone give an idea how long it takes to get the license? I was thinking about getting a pair of radios and was wondering if I would get the license in ~1month?

Thanks,

-john

Edit: And can someone say more about exactly you mean by a land-mobile dealer is and where I might find one in my area? Thanks. -john

Edit2: Also, some specific make/model recommendations would be great - something that is a) repeater compatible, b) removable ant., c) "commercial", d) AA batteries. Thanks. -john

Naah, it's pretty much immediate. Fill out the form online, then use your telephone number as your callsign till the database gives you your real callsign in a day or two.

It's a tedious process. Go to
https://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/coresWeb/publicHome.do
and get yourself a FRN (they explain it on the page).

Then go to
http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/personal/generalmobile/licensing/
and follow the directions. The US$80 fee is good for five years, and the license covers the members of your family.

What is it that you want them for? It's hard to give any advice without knowing the intended use. Lots of peope rcommend commercial radios, commenting that they can drive their ambulance over them, use them to drive nails, and so on. These radios cost an arm and a leg and can't be programmed without a computer. I never use my radio to change tires or drive nails, so that quality is a waste of money for me.

I'm not sure anybody's making 'real' GMRS radios anymore -- I think they're all Combo FRS/GMRS, which means low wattage and fixed antennas. That may be fine for you, but who can tell? My preference is for GMRS-only radios with a removable antenna and 4 or 5 watts, but I can't find any in my budget and that have full programming from a keypad. I'd check eBay for Radio Shack GMRS radios that are 5 watts if I were in the market for GMRS radios for my personal use. But they're simplex only; I never use nor need to use a repeater, so that's not an issue for me. I have no idea if you need or have access to a GMRS repeater.

I wore out a pair of Cobra 1000s, which were 2W simplex GMRS-only radios. Two watts was fine with their antennas, and we worked with a group who were using 5W business band radios -- no one noticed any difference. I use the Radio Shack 5W radios which are no longer made and Midland GXT-400 Combo FRS/GMRS radios (which I think is 2W, but has the fixed antenna which sacrifices the power) depending on what my needs are for the radio.

Whatever radio you choose, be sure to download the manual and read the instructions for changing settings. Some are so arcane as to render the radio completely useless without having the manual with you at all times.

John,
"Land Mobile" radio dealers are the folks who sell commecial radios for trucks/taxis/fire departments/police etc - they also sell the fixed side of the system, but in general, they are selling radios meant for 2 way communications on land, where at least one side is "Mobile"

BTW to give you an idea of the difference between even ham gear (which is built better than most GMRS units) and commercial gear - I'm the Radio Mile Post captain at Mile 14 on the NYC Marathon - that spot is what we refer to as "intermod alley" - you go down there with most radios, and your going to hear all sorts of horrible noise on your radio - mostly pagers - you will hear them on almost ANY UHF radio you bring down there - EXCEPT commercial LM radios - they stay silent, and when you are listening to someone talking to you, you don't get the constant screech of the pager transmissions

There IS a problem with commercial LM radios however - depending on what you want, they can cost more money than you probably want to spend (like $1700!! EACH) - then again, they might have a used one hanging around for a < $100. Almost any LMR (Land Moible Radio) will be more rugged, will definately be repeater capible etc - I saw one dropped more than 100ft off a tower a while back - guy got back to the bottom, picked up the radio, dusted it off, looked at it, and made some test transmissions - worked fine - hung it back on his belt, kept going. I carry the same model - I think I paid $75 for mine, and another $75 for second battery - often the used radios are cheaper than a brand new replacement battery

To sum it up - a commercial LMR is meant to be carried, all day, every day, and just WORK - think anout what your local police department carries - that is LMR