The radios are sweet. I can hit the repeaters at 40 miles. The license is the issue and makes it not all that cool. My wife is never passing a ham exam so its not as useful as it could be, unless you ignore the FCC rules.
There's the main issue is the FCC licensing. The Baofengs are handheld ham radios. For legal use it does require the operator to hold an FCC license. There is a difference between HAM and GMRS when it comes to licensing and power output. The main difference is the GMRS bands are meant for family use and the license is good for the entire family on the GMRS frequencies for 10 years. No test to take, pay the fee, and get a call sign. HAM is full-blown amateur radio. The license does require passing a test but it's not hard to pass if you put in a little study time on it.
www.hamstudy.org has all the questions to review/study before taking the actual test.
So anybody could buy the Baofengs and listen on ham frequencies. Keep in mind the blue Rugged Radio handhelds are repackaged Baofengs at an elevated price with locked-in frequencies that Rugged has "licensed" specific frequencies for its customers to use. It's a dubious way to get around the law, but that's a discussion for another time. Many use the Baofengs without getting the license (including me so far) but it's best to stay off the repeater stations to limit interfering with legal Ham users.
Older Baofengs prior to last year were wide open for frequency use allowing the user to dial in HAM, GMRS, Police/fire, Marine, and business bands. I'm not sure if the ones you buy now can get to the GMRS bands specifically. That's exactly what my group has done. Some have actual GMRS radios (base units) in their trucks and use the older Baofengs programmed to the GMRS frequencies to hand off to others in the group that may not have a radio. Keep in mind, the use of a Baofeng on GMRS is technically illegal because it wasn't certified for it even if you have a GMRS license.
I'm not saying not to do it because the communication level and quality far exceeds CB in just about every way, besides the need to get a license. I'm just saying if you have the time get the test done and be legit if you can. I still plan on getting mine this year, but haven't made time for it yet. If you don't I'd say go for the GMRS radios from Midland as they are not much more expensive and actually have more wattage and range than the handhelds do.
Wade- I'd be curious to see if the Baofengs you bought can be tuned to the GMRS frequencies. Try to plug in 462.575 into the radio and see if it takes it. That is GMRS channel 16. IF it does I'd say it would be the way to go. Folks could buy either the Baofeng or get an actual GMRS radio and the frequencies used on the trail could be set to a specific GMRS channel. But by staying of HAM frequencies and or the repeater network you'll draw less static (pun kinda intended) from the HAM community which seriously frowns on unlicensed folks cluttering up the airways.
