MARA Net 10/13/2010 More info on FRS/GMRS FCC changes.

The following links will give a good overview of the situation with the FCC and FRS/GMRS radios.

Side Note: Midland G-11 and Cobra PR2000WX GMRS radios have removable antennas ;-). They are very hard to find, though.

FCC Proposes major changes in GMRS and other Part95 rules/services
http://www.twowayradioforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1106

Availability of FCC Rules and Interpretative Information
http://home.provide.net/~prsg/rules.htm

FCC Proposes Radical Changes to GMRS!
http://home.provide.net/~prsg/

Scott said that he could not get the link to work that shows hams in your zip code. It seems to be temporarily down. It worked fine yesterday evening and I hope it will soon be back online. Here is the link again:
To see the distribution of hams in any ZIP code, use the URL http://www.arrl.org/fcc/hamszip.html?zip=XXXXX, where XXXXX is the ZIP code for which you want to see a map of licensed Amateurs. NOTE: put the zip code in BEFORE you click the link.

Here is another one that IS online. There is a site -- N4MC’s Vanity HQ -- that has been available for several years that allows you to plot hams in a specific ZIP Code. Just click on the “N4MC's Ham Locator” link in the left sidebar of the home page to get to it.

There are other FCC links that also may be of interest: for example, the “FCC Registered Antenna Towers” link.

Question - which HT's have built-in TNC's???

There is a new VX-8GR, it's a 2M/440 handheld with built-in GPS/TNC.
The Kenwood D7 is discontinued and will be replaced by the D72 with built in GPS and TNC. It uses a standard mini USB cable to connect to your computer. Available sometime in 2010 once FCC approval is complete.

The 448.10 MHZ repeater power supply has been repaired. We are now just wating on the two repeater trustees to get to the site at the same time to finish the job.

CHALLENGE: Do you know hams personally who do not participate in the nets? They are going to be of very limited use in an actual emergency. Try to get them to participate in one or more nets so that they can get trained.

-N7OZH-