Amateur radio is a hobby and has over 600,000 radio operators in the USA alone. The hobby is about communications and various ways of communicating via radio waves.

What most people do not know about the hobby and the people that are operators is that they are one of the most used groups in a disaster situation.

The amateur radio community has networks set up all over the world that can be activated quickly if there is a disaster anywhere in the world. Amateurs worked weeks at the site of 9-1-1 in New York side by side with rescue crews supplying communications.

When there is a disaster such a hurricanes or tornadoes or the likes of 9-1-1 then one of the first things to go away is the local communications. Phones go down and electricity and the only thing left is amateur radio operators that can operate from a battery and a piece of wire for an antenna.

Read the rest of this entry »

In Part 1 of this report, we discussed how the technology of using satellites to broadcast radio signals from over 20,000 miles above the earth results in great reception throughout the US everywhere and all the time. But there is more.

Satellite radio is not free radio. It is subscription based, meaning that you pay a monthly fee for the service. The costs are very nominal though as Sirius costs .95 a month and XM is .95 a month. Neither of the subsciptions can be said to be expensive, but initially you may recoil from thwe idea of paying for something that you have gotten for free for so many years.

However, think about this. You weren’t actually getting anything for free all this time. Think of how much time in your life has been wasted listening to ads or commercials on the radio instead of the programming that you tune in for. If you added it all up, it would no doubt be a huge chunk of time, and if your time is worth anything, you were definitely paying a price for tuning in. The radio stations have no other way of making radio broadcasting a profitable business, so you are stuck with putting up with ads for so many minutes of every hour just to be able to listen to the programming you want in between the commercials.

]]> Read the rest of this entry »

If you are thinking about purchasing a walkie talkie, you might to consider GMRS radios before you do that. GMRS is an acronym that stands for General Mobile Radio Service, and it describes a two way radio system that is best used over short distances. These communication devices look similar to walkie talkies but they have much better performance and can work over a much wider range of service. One thing you should understand, though, is that you will need a communication license to operate GMRS radios. Let us take a look at these wonderful radios and find out how they operate and how you can get a license. Since licensing really is the first issue to deal with when using GMRS radios, we need to take a close look at the requirements. First, to get a GMRS license you need to be at least 18 years old and you must not have any ties or obligations to any other governments outside of the United States. You must apply by completing and submitting an application, and paying a small fee of eighty five dollars. The license will allow you and any of your immediate family members to use the device. The license also allows you to use the radios for personal communications, and if so desired business communication as well. You may also use the radios to talk with anyone who is a current and valid license holder. The GMRS bands are not the same as the Family Radio Service, even though they do share some of the same frequencies. The major difference between the two is that the Family Radio Service is free and has use capabilities with many public access stations. Based on current records there are approximately ninety thousand active GMRS licenses out there. While walkie talkies have a fairly limited range, this is not the case with GMRS radios. In a dense city area with tall buildings, cars, and other obstructions, you can expect these radios to operate up to one mile of service. If you are in a wide open space your GMRS radio will easy broadcast up to five miles. The biggest advantage to using these types of radios is that there is no monthly service fee associated with them. With cell phones you must pay your monthly fees to use the units and it can be quite costly. With the GMRS there are no fees, it is free to use your radio once you have purchased your unit and acquired the license. This can be a really big advantage for a business as they have no monthly operating fees to pay when using GMRS radios. These devices are really simple to operate. All you need to do is press the communication button, talk into the mouth piece are of the radio, and you will be broadcasting a message. Listening for a message is also quite simple, just so long as the unit is powered and you do not have the talk button engaged you will be able to hear any incoming messages. The GMRS has really carved out a unique line of users since it was first introduced in the nineteen sixties. These specialized radios are similar to a Ham radio, but they are designed to operate over much smaller distances and serve a much smaller market. If you are a business owner, you find that GMRS radios are optimal for you needs to serve you and your business with cost effective communications. If you are looking to add to your portable radio experience then you need to consider purchasing GMRS radios. Find out more information, reviews, and availability for GMRS radios please visit http://gmrsradios.org

Related Radio Broadcasting Articles