A GMRS licensee may use a combination of portable, mobile, fixed and repeater stations consistent with the operational and technical rules in Subpart E of Part 95.  The use of some channels is restricted to certain types of stations and certain channels are reserved for voice-only operations, while other channels allow voice and data operations.

None of the GMRS channels are assigned for the exclusive use of any system. You must cooperate in the selection and use of the channels in order to make the most effective use of them and to reduce the possibility of interference.

You can expect a communications range of five to twenty-five miles. You cannot directly interconnect a GMRS station with the telephone network.

Normally, you and your family members would communicate between yourselves directly or through a repeater station. The stations must be within the territorial limits of the fifty United States, the District of Columbia, and the Caribbean and Pacific Insular areas.

In transient use, a mobile station from one GMRS system may communicate through a mobile relay station (repeater) in another GMRS system with the permission of its licensee. The communications may also be with mobile stations from other GMRS systems also with permission from the licensee to communicate through the mobile relay station.

The amateur and amateur-satellite services are for qualified persons of any age who are interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest. These services present an opportunity for self-training, intercommunication, and technical investigations. Twenty-nine small frequency bands throughout the spectrum are allocated to this service internationally. Some 1,300 digital, analog, pulse, and spread-spectrum emission types may be transmitted.

Millions of amateur operators in all areas of the world communicate with each other directly or through ad hoc relay systems and amateur-satellites. They exchange messages by voice, teleprinting, telegraphy, facsimile, and television. In areas where the FCC regulates the services, an amateur operator must have an FCC or Canadian license. FCC-issued Reciprocal Permit for Alien Amateur Licensee are no longer needed. Reciprocal operation in the U.S. is now authorized by Section 47 C.F.R. § 97.107.

All frequencies are shared. No frequency is assigned for the exclusive use of any amateur station. Station control operators cooperate in selecting transmitting channels to make the most effective use of the frequencies. They design, construct, modify, and repair their stations. The FCC equipment authorization program does not generally apply to amateur station transmitters.

Operator Class & Examinations

The FCC has issued six types of license operator class, each authorizing varying levels of privileges. The class for which each licensee is qualified is determined by the degree of skill and knowledge in operating a station that the licensee demonstrates during an examination to volunteer examiners(VEs) in his or her community.

Most new amateur operators start at the Technician Class and then may advance to the General Class or Amateur Extra Class operator license. The VEs give examination credit for the license class currently held so that examinations required for that license need not be repeated. The VEs construct the written examinations from question pools that have been made public. Helpful study guides and training courses are widely available.

License Grants & Exams

Operation of an amateur station requires an amateur operator license grant from the FCC. Before receiving a license grant, you must pass an examination administered by a team of volunteer examiners (VEs). The VEs determine the license operator class for which you are qualified through the testing of your skills and abilities in operating an amateur station. You can contact a VE team in your community to make arrangements for being administered the examination elements you desire. If you need assistance in finding a VE team in your area, contact a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator(VEC).

After you successfully complete the exam, the VEC collects your infromation from your VE team and, after carefully screening it, forwards the information thereon to the FCC for processing. Your operating authority begins when your license grant information appears on the amateur service licensee database of the Universal Licensing System.

Common Filing Tasks

Amateur licensees can submit applications using the Universal Licensing System (ULS) or paper applications using Form 605. Common filing tasks include:

• Changing Address
• Checking Application Status
• Vanity FAQ
• Renewing a License
• Replacing a License

A unique call sign is assigned to each amateur station during the processing of its license applications. Each new call sign is assigned sequentially using the sequential call sign system, which is based on the alphabetized regional-group list for the licensee’s operator class and mailing address. The station is reassigned its same call sign upon renewal or modification of its license, unless the licensee applies for a change to a new sequentially assigned or vanity call sign on FCC Form 605.

The vanity call sign system offers you the opportunity to request a specific call sign for your primary station and for your club station. A vanity call sign is selected by the FCC from a list of call signs requested by the station licensee or license trustee.

When transmitting in conjunction with an event of special significance, an amateur station may transmit the identification announcement using a special event call sign. Substituting a special event call sign may help call attention “on-air” to a station’s participation in the special event and to the unique opportunity for the amateur service community to exchange greetings with the station.