 | MURS (Multi User Radio Service) is one of the best kept secrets and most misunderstood of all the personal use radio services. MURS operates in the 151-154 MHz band as compared to the 460 MHz band for FRS and GMRS. You can operate on up to 5 MURS channels WITHOUT A LICENSE as long as you conform to the FCC technical requirements (Check here for an overview). The long and the short of it is that you can use any FCC Part 95 approved radio, limited to a maximum power of 2 watts. The 154 MHz channels can be operated on the standard 25 kHz wide band or narrow band mode. The 151 MHz channels can be operated ONLY in the narrow band mode. ANYONE can use MURS channels for personal use, business, or governmental use as long as all communications are in compliance with all applicable sections of the FCC Rules. |
Pictured above is our lowest priced offering, the MIdland 70-440 (available for GMRS only) shown at the upper left. At the bottom left is the TEKK X1000 (available for both GMRS and MURS). The radio in the center is the new HeadLine series from TecNet and the radio at the bottom right is the Ritron SLX series. These latter two radios are available for both GMRS and MURS service. The radio at the top is the Motorola DTR650, our only license free digital radio.
MURS is a great choice for outdoor use and our personal recommendation for mixed use (indoors and outdoors as well as vehicle to vehicle when traveling). Additional information is available on FCC operating standards by clicking here. Although MURS is normally used for portable radio operation, you can operate mobile and fixed stations radios as long as the transmitter power output does not exceed 2 watts. The ground elevation for a fixed station unit can be as high as wish, but the antenna height cannot exceed 60 feet for free standing towers or 20 feet above an existing structure. There is no limit on the amount of gain allowable for antennas. You can get a 6 dB gain antenna (4X power gain) that will meet the 20 foot maximum limitation that can provide substantial range to both mobiles and portables. The practical maximum antenna gain for mobiles is 3 dB (2X power gain).
The company that makes products especially well suited for MURS is Ritron, Inc. of Carmel Indiana, USA offering AMERICAN MADE products. Ritron offers portables (Jobcom Portables as well as the SLX series), fixed station and mobiles (Jobcom Stations), wireless call buttons (Quick Assist), and even 2-way call boxes (Outpost Callboxes) and a wireless PA system (Loudmouth). You learn more about these products at www.usa-radio1.com/prices.
TEKK, Inc. also makes several outstanding products that are especially well suited for MURS operation. Additional information on TEKK is available at www.falcondirect.com/tekk. At this point, we will assume that you have looked at FRS, and GMRS. Is there anything else you should be considering? You betcha - it's call FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) in the unlicensed ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical 900 MHz band). You can learn more about ISM by clicking on the FHSS Radios tab at the top of this page.
A word about accessories
We are often asked for a recommendation in selecting accessories. In a general sense, we rarely recommend the purchase of accessories with a few exceptions. In the case of GMRS radios, the purchase of a programming kit is not a bad idea. You'll find the prices on the product pricing pages referenced above. We generally ship MURS radios pre-programmed with all five channels set up for open channel use to talk to other people and the same channels programmed with a privacy code to block out interference when desired. So we see no need for a programming kit for MURS radios. The FHSS radios do not use specific channels, but hop around using different slots (call them channels if you prefer), so there is no need for a programming kit by the average private user.
Relative to audio accessories (speaker-microphones, lip microphones with earpieces, and headsets), we normally see no real need for such devices with the exception of hunters who may benefit from an earpiece, people with their hands full (such as off road cyclists) who can benefit from a headset in combination with the hands free VOX feature available that is standard in our radios. Those who may be operating their radios in noisy enviornment (like skydivers, perhaps?) may find some benefit in the use of dual muff headsets with throat microphones (See www.falcondirect.com/cobalt for our more popular audio accessories).
We were recently asked about the possibility of purchasing a shorter portable radio antenna and whether it would degrade the performance of the radio. Let's put it this way - the manufacturer will always go with the longest customer acceptable antenna with a self imposed limitation of around seven inches maximum. Antennas are like baseball gloves - you catch more with a bigger glove/antenna! The stubby antennas (1.5 to 3.0 inches) look better and wear better, but they cut performance by as much as one-half. They look and wear better, but there is a price to pay in performance. We recommend the standard antenna and the standard antenna only.
A spare battery is often specified but rarely necessary with top quality radios such as those recommended on this web page. More often than not, we have found that those who purchased a spare battery for emergency use couldn't find it when needed. Still, they don't cost that much, and a spare could come in handy. We'll leave that call up to you. That leaves us with carrying accessories. Most of our users have no interest in making a fashion statement, and if they did, the cases we offer likely would not meet their needs. For those who worry about dropping their radio, a case would make sense but for most of us, a case simply adds bulk with no practical benefit. We're really good at this sales thing aren't we?
We just thought it would be appropriate to answer the question before it was asked. If you have other questions, we are as near as your telephone, fax, or PC (See Contact Us section at the top of this page).
