Communications Solution: The Icom GMRS Radio

Icom F21 GM

The cellphone isn't necessarily the universal solution for everyone's two-way communication needs. Aside from per-minute charges, there are times when the two-way radio is simply an easier, cheaper and more efficient method of communicating.

Car-to-car communications during a long road trip, for instance, can chew up a big chunk of monthly free minutes and may tack on roaming charges to boot. And campers, hunters, skiers and others engaged in outdoor activities might need an instant, hands-free method of communicating, without the hassle of dialing a number and awaiting a response. That's the attraction of FRS and GMRS radios.

FRS (Family Radio Service) was approved by the Federal Communications Commission in 1997 and occupies 14 channels of UHF bandwidth in the 462 to 467 Megahertz range. These are low-powered, short-range radios that don't require a license to operate.

There are some drawbacks to FRS radios. Their miniscule 0.5-watt maximum output, meager battery power and fixed antenna mean outdoor range in flat, open country is usually less than a mile. Used inside a car, even on level ground range often drops below half a mile in anything less than line-of-sight conditions. An external antenna--an absolute necessity for mobile use of a CB radio--would dramatically increase range but isn't available, due to the FCC requirement for a non-removable antenna. This, along with the metal-encased vehicle interior, does an excellent job of limiting signal propagation.

Another drawback to FRS: with prices dropping each year these radios now are dirt-cheap and are literally everywhere. Use them in any area with a concentration of people and you'll have plenty of competition for any of the channels.

This usually takes the form of a stranger's voice suddenly breaking the silence on your radio. Sometimes you'll call a friend and a stranger will answer; some morons do this deliberately. One way to cut down on the interference is to use the CTCSS tones. Once programmed, the radio only responds to transmissions from another radio--hopefully one of yours--using the same channel and CTCSS code.

There's a better way to solve all of these problems: GMRS. The General Mobile Radio Service is intended for business communications and requires a five-year, $85 license. (Application Form 605 and remittance Form 159 are available online at http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls.) But the payoff is far less competition for the eight channels available and significantly longer range. GMRS radios are allowed up to 4 watts of power

Using a magnetic-mount antenna positioned in the center of the vehicle roof dramatically increases range.

and most can be used with an external antenna. In flat country this combination can be good for 6-8 miles of range or more.

In testing detectors, over the years we've tried everything: CB, FRS and GMRS. Even used with a high-gain external antenna, CBs proved too short in range and since our test sites were within a few miles of interstates, the constant and often profane chatter from passing truckers, many of them broadcasting at thoroughly illegal levels of power, made these low-frequency VHF radios useless.

FRS radios proved incapable of reaching out far enough and their limited battery capacity couldn't support much talk time. We finally settled on GMRS radios due to their inherently quieter operation, the ability to be used with a magnetic-mount external antenna and the availability of extra-capacity rechargeable battery packs. We needed the extra battery life because transmit time during a detector test often exceeds two hours per day. And with target car and radar vehicle frequently separated by seven or more miles of uneven terrain, the use of high-efficiency antennas on both vehicles is required.

We experimented with radios from several manufacturers--Cherokee, Cobra, Kenwood, Maxon, Motorola and Uniden, among others--but found all of them lacking in one respect or another. Finally we turned to a manufacturer whose ham radios we used in the 1983 Four Ball Rally. The successor to the Cannonball Sea-to-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, the nutball underground cross-country road race (this one was even nuttier; it ran some 3,100 miles from Boston to San Diego and had only one rule--the car had to be driven the entire distance, no starting the race and secretly air-shipping it the rest of the way or having a duplicate car stashed near the finish line). We'd hired a twin-engine aircraft to act as a spotter, flying at low altitude scanning for cops just ahead of our 400-horsepower, 175 mph De Tomaso Pantera) and installed Icom radios to communicate with each other. In the event the Pantera retired in Ohio with a cracked wheel and we used our Icom radio only once, to broadcast a plea for roadside assistance that, fortuitously, was answered.

But we remembered the quality of the Icom gear and, after having sampled moderately priced GMRS offerings, we raised our sights--and budget--somewhat and purchased two F21GM radios. This proved to be a good move.

Standard desktop charger works fine if you're not in a hurry. Optional fast charger greatly reduces charging time.

The F21GM is a rugged, professional-grade hand-held transceiver that operates on both FRS and GMRS frequencies. We bought ours from Lee Electronics (http://www.leeselect.com) for $170 each. Each comes with belt clip, flexible antenna, rechargeable NiCd battery and trickle charger. We also bought a quarter-wave magnetic-mount antenna ($24.99 from Lee Electronics) and BP-210 1650 mAh, Ni-MH rechargeable battery ($48.99 plus shipping from Chief Supply (http://www.chiefsupply.com). The BP-210 offers 275 percent more amperage than the standard 600 mAh NiCd battery and can be charged in the same BC-144 desktop charger, supplied with the radio.

In addition Icom offers a wide variety of accessories for this radio. Three different speaker/microphones are available, allowing it to be belt-worn with the mic clipped to shirt or jacket. The HM-75A with a programmable function key to operate the radio and the HM-131L has moisture proof construction. The HS-51 headset allows hands-free operation and there is a range of earphones, earphone/mics and other gear.

The F21GM has adjustable power output: 1 watt, 2 watts and 4 watts. Be aware that the doubling of power output doesn't result in the doubling of range. For that you'll need to increase power output by about 400 percent. But by using the mag-mount antennae, we found that we could dial back power to 2 watts and easily get 5 to 6 miles of range. This increased battery life significantly with no loss in signal clarity. Still, we learned to appreciate the big 1650 mAh battery after finding that the standard battery is marginal for the amount of transmit time we demand of it.

The F21GM has 52 CTCSS tones and 83 DTCSS tones. Once programmed, radios respond to only to others on the same channel, making them exceptionally quiet. It's the next best thing to having a private radio channel.

This quiet nature, coupled with its rugged construction, extensive array of features and, most important, the ability to reach out to a considerable distance, leads us to conclude that the Icom F21GM is well worth the tariff. Meanwhile, we've got about two dozen FRS and GMRS radios for sale on eBay.

Contact information:

Icom America Inc.
2380 116th Ave NE
Bellevue , WA 98004

Phone: (425) 454-8155
Fax: (425) 454-1509
Customer Service: (425) 454-7619

http://www.icom.aero/