CB VS MURS VS GMRS VS HAM - Which should you buy?

We recently had a question from a viewer asking for a breakdown of cb vs gmrs vs ham because he needed some assistance in deciding which radio service he needed to use. In this video, we give a general overview of these three services, plus MURS, and tell you who uses them, what their benefits and drawbacks are, and what the overall barriers to entry to each are. Is HAM Radio really the best? Is CB dead? Is GMRS the perfect middle ground? Tune in to find out.

0:00 - Intro
00:58 - Overview
1:31 - CB/MURS
5:44 - GMRS
10:15 - HAM
13:52 - Conclusion

[clydeosterhout]

FRS radios are a lot more than just toys! I take groups on kayak trips on the protected sounds along the east coast. These groups inevitably spread out over time and I needed a way to maintain contact. I have a GMRS license, and I have both a GMRS and a vhf marine band radio hooked onto my life jacket. The group members aren't family members, so they can't use my license, but as GMRS and FRS radios share the same frequencies I just hand out a bunch of FRS radios everyone in the group. Over water GMRS and FRS radios have the same range (about 1.5 miles when sitting in a kayak), but using relays when necessary I can pass along messages and information over a large area. My Motorola 600 and Retevis 49p waterproof (and idiot proof) radios are made for that sort of activity, and have proven to be very reliable.

[raymondwarceneaux]

CB now has authorization by the FCC to transmit in the FM Mode.

[JohnSmith-bqgz]

Best explanation on YouTube. Exactly what I needed. Well done.

[jhill]

Our emergency radio group uses MURS for non-licensed participants in training or emergencies.

[itmeng]

The HF aspect of CB also allows for “skip”. You get the right band conditions and right antenna, you can converse for hundred of miles.

[bulldogbrower]

You bring up a great point. We need to start a letter writing campaign asking the FCC to grant GMRS more channels. It is also important to pay the $35.00 and get a license. This gives the FCC the evidence it needs showing there is a growing need for the service.

[togeika]

Does the cell phone make the long distance features of HAM less critical? Repeaters connected to the internet? It be interesting to see Garmin/Inreach compare to the HAM locator you mention. Or satellite phone too.

[adambatchelder]

Having all cb, gmrs, ham like cb for what it is and everyone runs power so its actually got a lot more range than advertised. I use gmrs the most as its nice to use repeaters and its much easier for the family and not as stuck up as ham, although ham is definitely the best for performance.

[michaelmejias]

This was by far the best breakdown for someone new...like me.

[linuxman]

I'm a GMRS user right now but I really think I want to get a HAM radio license. I don't believe it's too hard to study for but having that extra capability is VERY valuable in the event of SHTF.

[djsoundzentertainment]

FRS isn't just a child's toy as you can get quality made radios and use them for business use. C.B. which is allowed 4 watts is both FM/AM now and in FM mode allows CTCSS/DCS tones to filter out unwanted signals.

[Greg-zrwm]

Oh and you need to look into cb more. It has ssb and there are many groups of people talking dx.
There are still those talking over seas on it and now cb in the states can use FM so that opens more to it as well.
Don't get me wrong my ham radio legally has more capabilities but if people actually set up their cb's properly they would get a lot better results.

[phillipnelson]

MURS is also used by commercial businesses and can be used for proximity security. Some factories using it have large antennas to reach around a factory. It's VHF.

All four of these services are in my repertoire. I'm far enough away that MURS is very private. Of course GMRS is pretty silent near me.

FRS is up to 2 watts now. There may be audio issues as it's supposed to be narrow band.

[roysutton]

Thanks for the info. It was what I needed to hear. I recently got my GMRS license and bought a GMSR radio. Where I live in Massachusetts there is not much of anything going on with GMRS other than road construction flaggers use GSMR & FRS for directing traffic. GSMR repeaters are not within reach of me, due to my geographical location which is pretty rural. Most GSMR repeaters out here are in more urban areas. I have a CB radio from years past, and no one other than truckers are on it, as you stated. So, the GMRS radio is sitting on my desk packaged up and ready to to send back to where I purchased it. I'll take a look at your links and think about going for a tech. Ham license. I thought the GMRS radio would have been ideal, but the lack of users & reachable repeaters out here really put a damper on it for me. Don't think GMRS has really caught on yet in the eastern part of the country. Thanks again for the information and I have subscribed to your channel.

[selfdefensept]

Just a few points that techies don’t often consider. I think techies get so wrapped Up in technology that they forget about much of the practical side of the equation.

1) GMRS May have its place for a short distance Communication with handheld devices if you’re on a hike or perhaps four wheeling, but that’s about it. The 36 mile ranges that I often hear quoted for GMRS are seldom realized unless you were an extremely flat environment with no obstructions and that of course presupposes that you can hit a repeater And as many people have stated there may not be reachable repeaters in your area.

2) ham radios offer the greatest range but also depend on repeaters for that great range. As you said, depending on what you’re using it for it may be fine, but you need to be licensed and as such fewer people use them.

As a practical matter, whatever radio service you choose to use your main purpose is to reach other people so no matter how good a particular type of radio may be if an insufficient number of people are using it it isn’t worth very much to you. My main criticism of your review is that those numbers are not explored so to a certain degree on information that is inaccurate. Currently there are 750, 000 licensed Ham Radio Operators in the U.S. and only 80, 000 licensed GMRS users in the U.S. These are rather small numbers for a country of 335 million people. In contrast 3.5 million truckers use CB radios everyday and over 40 million CB radios have been sold in the U.S. since the late 60's.

So in making a decision one must look beyond the technical aspects. And instead look at marketing data. Ham radio usage is down and GMRS really hasn’t caught on yet to have a sufficient user base.

Despite what you said about no one using CB radios except for truckers or hookers, the fact of the matter is that CB usage is up drastically. Walcott radio the largest online radio dealer states that sales of CB radios have tripled in the last year and they can’t even keep the popular models and the associated accessories in stock. So if you’re looking for a radio to use in an emergency, if you are looking for a tool that can help you when you’re mobile in your car or truck on the road in areas where cell service may go down, if you are looking for a radio that is not dependent upon repeaters for range, CB radio is the way to go particularly now that it is available in FM so that you can get greater clarity for the shorter distance that FM covers. If you wish to take it further, CB radios are readily amplified and many ham radios such as the President Richard come from the factory ready to be modified for CB Band and operate at 12 Watts providing even greater range basically giving you the power of a SSB channel on all 40 channels.. This is not a problem since the FCC has been defunded in terms of its enforcement arm so no one is going to be looking for you if you are using a 12 W CB. I have such a radio and it’s range rivals and even surpasses that of GMRS radios and it does not require a license. Further, in the event of a power grid failure where the repeaters go down, such a modified CB radio will clearly provide the greatest range and the largest number of users that you can contact. So if you’re looking to make a decision then you should make it based on all real relevant facts and not just the technical aspects and at the end of the day the overriding relevant facts are that CB radios are the most prolific form of radio communication in this country, is completely non-dependent on possibly unreachable repeaters, requires no license and are readily available at a reasonable price.

[thequarantinecatholic]

FRS, GMRS, UHV/VHF, HF, but them all! Get liscences for them all! FRS allows me and my neighbors to communicate during flash floods and winter black outs. An FRS transmission can be relayed to GMRS, Ham on UHF/VHF and HF. CB can also be reached long distances with the correct antenna. I can hear people on my SDRplay and they talk between Michigan and Louisiana.

[garyzimmerman]

I have it all, why? Because they all have advantages and can reach people that don’t have any of the other radios. You can now get FM CB radios too. Many many 4x4 off roader “jeep” clubs still use CB radios.

[rideyoride]

Since ham radios are versatile, can one be used on a gmrs frequency, eliminating the need for two radios?

[hatchetjackphillips]

I run cb and gmrs in my truck and at the house. We use FRS radios for hunting and fishing trips.

[Greg-zrwm]

The tech license allows for digital as well. You can use digital on 2m, 70cm, 10m and I believe 6m.
If you are willing to learn cw you have other frequencies open to a tech.