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There are almost as many GMRS licenses as Techs…
20 February 2023 | by At a recent local hamfest, my ARRL Section Manager, Malcolm W5XX, held the annual ARRL Forum. As Division Director David Norris K5UZ was giving his update on the recent Board of Directors meeting. W5XX commented that a club in North Georgia had begun reaching out to licensees of the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). Why? There are some 8,000 of them in surrounding counties! Give a statistician a number like that and it’s catnip to a cat.
I had heard of GMRS and the lighter-weight Family Radio Service (FRS) as additional radio frequencies to the famous Citizen’s Band (CB) that I used as a teen. But I didn’t really know much about it. So, I spent parts of a week doing some searching, reading, and, inevitably, database building. I saw the wisdom of the club in question reaching out to this audience. Let’s do a thought experiment to flesh this out.
GMRS licensees use radios up to 50 watts on mobile stations and 15 watts in fixed stations in the mid-400 mhz region. There are limitations on the type of one-way communications (no whistling which would rule out most anyone in amateur radio tuning up an amplifier, lol). But in general, there are parallels to GMRS operators to those holding a Technician license in the Amateur Radio Service with the latter having much greater frequency access, power usage, and other aspects of the radio arts.
After doing some reading, I checked the FCC ULS GMRS license data. There’s an interesting comparison: the ARRL February 2023 numbers show 386,122 Technicians while individual GMRS licenses total 336, 513 after APO addresses and one Canadian are removed. Organizations and some other groups can obtain GMRS licenses. Roughly, there are about as many individual GMRS licensees as there are Technicians, give or take 50,000. Ok, I thought, this is surprising but how do they operate? Are they communicating amongst themselves as ham operators do? How many GMRS repeaters are there? The surprises just kept on coming!
The popular site, RepeaterBook.com, does list some GMRS repeaters. But the mother ship is the myGMRS.com website. One has to have a GMRS license to register but there ‘s enough information available to the public to show just how organized parts of the GMRS community already is. I’ve taken a screenshot of the map display, nicely done with clustering repeaters until a certain zoom level is reached, showing the GMRS repeaters in the U.S. Note those in Puerto Rico: I had recommended that the ARRL assist in getting a permanent repeater on the westernmost mountains near Mayaguez after a devastating hurricane. Perhaps even an HF ALE type station directed at Florida or North Carolina. Looks like the GMRS community has done some work here, too.
The map below illustrates the set of repeater hubs and their links around the U.S. There are national and regional Nets held regularly. An audio stream can be monitored using the website for each hub, not unlike Hoseline for the Brandmeister DMR Network. Hmm. If ham radio were only this organized, so quickly.
After downloading the February 2023 GMRS data from the FCC ULS ftp site, I processed it and filtered out the overseas military licenses. These records were then georeferenced to street addresses, with some that did not have street addresses geocoded to zip codes and a few to city centroids. The map below illustrates this: the GMRS individual license IS a compelling market for amateur radio recruitment.
It’s easy to see that the North Georgia region is part of the Appalachian Mountain range that is covered with GMRS licensees But so is most of the region east of the Mississippi River, the West Coast and the mountainous areas of the Southwest. Here’s another view zoomed in to the ARRL Delta Division where I live. Licensees in GMRS tend to follow population centers but note the areas, like Nashville, where the topography gives more height-above-ground than others. Northwest Arkansas is another such location. Interesting patterns!
We know little to nothing about the age distribution of GMRS licensees as year of birth is not contained in the ULS database released to the public (only 18 or over). But it stands to reason that GMRS licensees are likely to have a broader age range of adoption. From perusing the names on the licenses — license holders can authorize other family members to use additional radios in this Service — there are gendered-naming patterns. More women in GMRS than ham radio? Possibly.
Some interactive maps of these data are now available over at FoxMikeHotel.com under the Maps tab.
An important note is that an unknown number of those holding GMRS licenses today also hold licenses in the Amateur Radio Service. The FRN is not contained in the GMRS data so it would take “fuzzy matching” with less than perfect results to examine this idea.
The ARRL has taken an interest in my proposed initiative to treat public libraries in the U.S. as “new served agencies” for recruitment strategies, according to Division Director David Norris K5UZ. See my two blog posts here and here. Should the GMRS licensees be viewed as another direct marketing opportunity by the ARRL?
I’ve taken the GMRS data and spatially joined the ARRL Division and Section fields to the license record using GIS. These files were then split into separate spreadsheets by Division with the Section as a separate field. I’ve put them on my public folder in Dropbox for all to retrieve should they desire. This would make it easy for a direct-mailing to GMRS licensees. In a cover letter identifying the contact info for their ARRL Section Manager, a brochure should be inserted describing the much greater options available by adding the Technician license through a VE exam. It works for some yield rates for other membership services. (Check today’s mail if you doubt this isn’t used frequently.)
It would not be inexpensive with USPS rates. But it would be directed at a market that is already known to have some interested in operating radios for communication. Perhaps it should begin with GMRS licensees in areas where there are existing repeater operations. This would be a good test case to see the yield from such a direct mailing.
What won’t work is to simply send the information “down stream,” expecting SMs to do all the heavy lifting. It simply won’t happen. The League already conducts a commercial mailing operation which is where this activity should be situated.
This would be a third recruiting rail for the ARRL, including the Teacher Institute (getting in schools), the pending (I’m told) Plant the Seed initiative for public libraries, and the direct mailing to known radio communication licensees in the GMRS arena. Recruit the Generals, anyone?
27 Responses to “There are almost as many GMRS licenses as Techs…”
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I am not surprised.
I often wonder why someone would limit themselves to just GMRS when they could get a amateur license and broaden their horizons in communications.
Greg,
My thesis is that the ARRL should make this market a priority. It’s why I took the time to construct Excel spreadsheets for each Division Director to download and view by Section. Outreach by ARRL-affiliated clubs would be easy. But a direct-marketing mail out from HQ is a key and very easy strategy.
Thanks for your comment.
This is an eye opener to me. I have been aware of GMRS but never seriously investigated it. My awareness comes from owning and using the el-cheapo FRS handy-talkies that include GMRS simplex channels. Occasional commercial traffic on GMRS has been heard. I have seen some mobile radios listed as GMRS on the Radiodity.com site. My wife shows no interest in amateur radio but has used one of the FRS hts so maybe I will take another look.
Thank you for this informative article.
Thanks Jim. It was an eye opener for me, too. Not all GNIS licensees would be interested in a ham license. But what if a dozen near each ARRL affiliated club were successfully recruited by the League HQ’s direct mailing to attend meetings? Compare that to the hundreds of thousands of dollars they spend on other efforts!
If you’re a club member, check out the spreadsheet for your Division. Pull out your Section and identify the nearby cities. There’s a list for your club to contact.
73,
Frank
K4FMH
GMRS is a great way to get your family on the radio. However, regardless of MyGMRS.com listings, the FCC has clarified that linking is not permitted on GMRS repeaters.
“You cannot directly interconnect a GMRS station with the telephone network or any other network for the purpose of carrying GMRS communications, but these networks can be used for remote control of repeater stations.”
See Operations und https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/general-mobile-radio-service-gmrs
Hi John,
Thanks for your note. I too ran across that part of FCC regs. My article was informative, not critical. You may want to direct your concerns to the myGMRS.com website since they contain the connected repeater systems to which you refer. At variance with FCC regs or nit, they are very organized as a radio user community.
Have a nice day!
73,
Frank
K4FMH
I suspect a lot of the GMRS licensees use it as intended – short-range personal and business communication in places where cell phones don’t work well.
A lot of others use it for disaster prep and community support, and probably don’t use it more than quarterly for exercises.
And I guess that maybe 4x as many GMRS users are unlicensed, either because they aren’t aware of the requirement, they have FRS/GMRS radios and don’t know which channel is which, or they don’t want to pay the fee (until recently $70 and thus more than the radio, although for ten years).
Anyway, my point is that many of these aren’t interested in radio as a hobby, just as a tool.
A survey would be very interesting.
Hi Frank,
My comment about linking GMRS repeaters is meant to be informative.
MyGMRS is a great resource for finding repeaters, but they have chosen not to disclaim repeaters operating outside the regulations. (There is also a Line A restriction that many may not be aware of.)
I think it is important that readers of the article are made aware of proper and legal operation. There are many, including some licensed hams, that are ignorant of, or hostile towards, the regulations.
K7VE / WRJT-215
Hi John,
Thanks for your thoughtful note!
73,
Frank
K4FMH
It’s an embarrassing slap in the face that GMRS is within 50,000 licensees of catching the total number of Technician Class amateur radio licensees. They need to ditch the three license classes and simply have one license for all of the privileges. The test for this should be the same test as for the current General Class license. Ham radio is in trouble.
I started in GMRS and developed an interest from there, I now have my general ticket. Most of my contacts are on The linked GMRS network. I’m fortunate enough to have an amazing repeater less than 12 miles from home at 400’ on a tower (my local amateur clubs repeater is only at 300’) we have a morning ragchew across the Midwest region most mornings we call the drive at 5, it’s fun and entertaining.
GMRS tends to be a bit more laid back than amateur, don’t get me wrong every ham I’ve met has been super polite and helpful but you can feel the difference on GMRS frequencies when talking to guys that have been involved for a while. The repeater owners drive the community, they’re active on the air and on social media, I believe they are also the ones responsible for the MYGMRS.com site which RepeaterBook could learn a thing or two from. (Like an interactive map!)
I still learning the ins and outs of amateur radio, I’ve joined a club and am trying to learn, but I was already in an amateur radio club just by being involved the GMRS community, I think both sides could learn a bit from the other, I know several of the GMRS operators just got their technician tickets at the Elkhart ham fest, and there a bunch of that have one foot in either world that are trying to nurture the relationship and share our knowledge to both sides.
At an event for ham club some of the guys were peppering me with questions about GMRS and asking advice, it was great I had a couple senior extras asking me radio questions!!!
Embrace it all and share it more.
Chris – K9CMB / WRTX998
As a user of both services they are a bit different. There seem to be more conversations on GMRS on a daily basis. Our repeaters thanks to the repeater owners and contributions are commercial quality. We gain many Ham radio operators every week. At the Hamfest in Elkhart 20 of our members got their Ham licenses. This service is not necessarily about distance as it is about talking to friends and no always out equipment. Many of us use commercial equipment that is older but solid and proven. You also can but a $40.00 radio to get started and still talk across the US. Midwest GMRS is great. I am located near Chicago and right in the middle. If your a Ham give it a listen. Because of our call signs many of us use MDC 1200 as identifiers.
Hi Dan,
Thanks for adding your insights and experience. It continues support for the ARRL marketing to GMRS licensees. One can have both licenses and use each service very satisfactorily. I’ll note that your comment about GMRS repeaters having more conversations is in stark contrast to so many nearly dormant ham repeaters around the US. That’s good to hear that community is alive and well in the Midwest!
73,
Frank
K4FMH
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your enthusiastic note here! It’s good to know about the collaborative nature behind MyGMRS. The developer of RepeaterBook, Garrett, appeared on a recent episode of the Ham Radio Workbench. It’s worth listening to this one-person shop with local data monitors has done. It’s good inside baseball on projects like this.
73,
Frank
K4FMH
I recently saw a statistic that the FCC is processing on average 1000 new GMRS licenses a month. At that rate they will surpass Technicians in a mere 2 years roughly if it doesn’t slow down. I also hold a GMRS licence and use it quite often. There is a mixed bunch on the GMRS band. While the potential is there for new Amateurs, in some of the densely populated areas there’s a lot of misuse going on. I think reaching out to the masses might be a bit too much. Right now it seems to be a bit of a fad in large part and much of that came from the lockdowns IMO. In a sense its like 70’s all over again. I can agree that most of the repeater owners seem to have things in order and many of the groups do outstanding jobs and those might make good consults. I would start there. They would likely bring more if a solid core base with them.
Dave,
Thanks for your thoughts.Hmm. Sounds like what you see in GMRS largely parallels ham radio itself! As a member f the ARRL VM Program, I can certainly say that there’s misuse on ham repeaters as well.
It’s a targeted market for amateur radio but nothing’s all sweetness and light, for sure.
73,
Frank
K4FMH
Thanks to the drop in licensing fee and aggressive marketing by aficionados and manufacturers (hello, Midland!) GMRS is currently riding a wave of “coolness” at the moment. This is not unlike 2m/70cm Amateur Radio in the early 1990s vis-à-vis keeping in touch with family and friends.
What will knock the wind out of GMRS’ sails will be disagreeable (to say the least) behavior by users, repeater owners/trustees, and unlicensed interlopers. This also parallels Amateur Radio of the 1990s onward, and even 11m CB of the 1970s onward. Everyone and his proverbial dog will have one at the beginning. Many will leave. The hardy users will remain.
Just calling it as I see it, Your Mileage May Vary as is said. 😉
Hi Michael,
Good comments…I had a CB during the early period, too.
My post isn’t so much about the life course of GMRS or why it’s grown per se. It’s about the market potential for amateur radio. Moreover, that potential fir the ARRL to reverse the dramatic drop in market share of ham licensees that are members of the “National Association for Amateur Radio.” See my blog article at FoxMikeHotel.com on Elvis Has Left the Building demonstrating that Dave Sumner’s retirement marks this dramatic decline.
Don’t jump to the knee-jerk conclusion that this is because of the rise of Tech licensees. My article shows that cannot account for this market share dropping like a stone.
Thanks for your view, Michael.
73,
Frank
K4FMH
Tech for over 30 years. I have now migrated to GMRS and Zello. Amateur radio is great, one problem…. Zero use of 2 meter or 440 repeaters in my area. GMRS is always active, nice PPL, zero CB lingo and no swearing. Nothing like 11 Meters. Lots of linked systems and Zello (network radio) access. More potential for disaster relief etc because of ease of licensing. I see amateur tags all the time and no more 2 meter antennas on the trunk deck. It’s not the lack of new hams, its the lack of involvement by existing ones.
Hi Dave,
Thank you for your considered comments. I do not disagree but emphasize that the lack of vhf/uhf activity by licensed hams is an important but different aspect of the ham hobby’s future.
Reinvigorating extent licensed hams is a challenge facing local clubs more than the ARRL. So many of them use leadership principles from work (employment) locations which do not work very well in voluntary associations. Robert Putnam described the rise of more bowlers (ham licenses) but far fewer bowling leagues (ham licensed club members). In an interview with then-CEO Howard Michel of the ARRL published on the ICQ Podcast, I showed him how to get free voluntary group leadership training through each state’s land grant universities. I even gave him the number of my friend, Susan Herbst, President of UCONN. Howard never called. The League now offers old wine in new bottles on this by regurgitating “veteran” club leaders’ insights on club management. I have no idea how this is going.
Thank you for your use of both licenses to serve your communities needs for public service comms.
73,
Frank
K4FMH
I have been a ham around 30 years and only using GMRS now. Hopefully some will join & grow the amateur ranks, but no matter where I travel 2 meters is dead. Ham call plates everywhere but no longer with the 2 meter whip on the trunk deck. GMRS linking is happening big time and linked with Zello. A lot of potential during disasters. I tried to log into an amateur Zello link and they made such a big deal because my callsign “wasn’t in the right place” in my profile. One network (gmrs.network) is a bunch of lids and village idiots. “GMRS Live” (gmrslive.com) is well run and as professional as DMR. midwestgmrs.org is a group of wide area linked repeaters. Many hams on both networks. No CB slang, nonsense – just polite operators. For some it’s not a stepping stone to ham, repeater owners juggle 8 frequencies just fine. Get a Midland MXT-500, license for $35 and give it a try.
Hi Dave,
Great comment! I appreciate your lay of the land in GMRS networks.
73,
Frank
K4FMH
I am deeply involved with the GMRS group that dominates the Midwest, well, the founder. I am also an active HAM; I use repeater building and linking skills learned from my adventures in GMRS to revive some old HAM repeaters in my area. My GMRS hobby is why I got my ticket in the first place.
Our group in the Midwest has flipped 100s into HAMS and vice versa. GMRS is perfect for the HAM with a wife and kids who will use the radio but don’t care about the tech aspect of it. A single GMRS license covers an entire family with no test.
73’s
Find me on 10M USB
Corey
midwestgmrs.org
Hi Corey,
Thank you for the additional confirmation about this article! Your groups’ experience is a string testament for getting radio communication tech into a broader audience.
73,
Frank
K4FMH
Hello Frank,
The fastest way into the GMRS community is by having HAM clubs sponsor public GMRS repeaters. One in a prime location, covers a large area with HTs and is not run like a HAM repeater. This will attract users rather quickly, and most of the GMRS repeaters gain a significant group of daily users. GMRS repeaters are used far more than HAM repeaters, with rag-chew round tables going 60 minutes. Fully duly cycle repeaters are a must as GMRS is more causal, the conversations on a repeater can keep them active for hours on end. Setting up a GMRS repeater is no different than 70cm, with the advantage of self-coordination. You do not need a GMRS license to own and operate a GMRS repeater but you do need one to use it.
73’s
Find me on 10M USB 28.445
Corey KD9HCW / WQVA593
midwestgmrs.org
Newsflash – whenever folks can buy communication products with zero training requirements (think cellular and now GMRS radios), there will always be a large number of folks that throw money at a solution with little regard to how well it works vs. other technologies (think Technician Class hams). That’s to be expected.
We’ll see if the rapid GMRS growth continues if the FCC clarifies in plain English whether or nor linked GMRS repeaters are allowed. As of right now, many GMRS clubs are rushing to link their repeaters to one another using various cellular technologies, while other GMRS users claim that linked GMRS repeaters are forbidden by FCC rules.
Craig,
Thank you for the news flash. Looks like you’ve got GMRS all figured out.
If you had read my article carefully, you’d realize that it is a different issue. The relative number of GMRS licenses vs Technicians merely identified a target market for recruitment INTO ham radio. Your cautions about GMRS would only make amateur radio more attractive to many GMRS licensees who have experienced linked repeaters.
If you’re a Dad, Happy Father’sDay!
Frank
K4FMH