You have no items to compare.
Same Day Shipping! Orders placed before 5 p.m. EST ship same day!
If you need a UHF two way radio for business, home or recreational use that's license-free, FRS may be a way to go. But what is FRS?
In this episode of Radio 101, Tommy explains what a FRS two way radio is and the advantages of using one. Check out our complete selection of FRS radios!
Getting your GMRS license has never been easier. Really, it hasn't. This is because it's never been easy at all. Unlike the main FCC web site, the portion of the site where you get a license, known as the Universal License System, or ULS, seems to be it's own little ecosystem. Unfortunately, the ULS isn't exactly a modern, intuitive web experience.
Before 2017, the FCC site as a whole was an archaic design, a throwback to the mid 1990's that was excruciatingly cumbersome to navigate and use. At some point the Commission decided to modernize it, but for some reason neglected to update the front facing side of the COmmission REgistration System (CORES) site as well, which included the Universal License System, or ULS. The result was a mashup of relatively modern web design butted up against crude, pre-millennial blast from the past. Imagine driving down a four lane freeway and suddenly turning onto an old dirt road. The ULS was something like that. It also was not mobile friendly, so if you wanted to do this on a tablet or cell phone, good luck.
In the fall of 2022 the FCC apparently updated the site again. It is now known as the New CORES. Before you get too excited though, it looks about the same as the old CORES, with a few minor upgrades, which at least brings it up to the year 1999. It is still not very mobile friendly. It's like steam punk without the steam or the punk. We recommend you use a desktop computer to navigate the site. At least it's functional.
Aside from navigating decades old web site technology, getting a GMRS license isn't really that hard at all. It just takes some patience and a little perseverence. You could say it's even kind of amazing, in the sense that you're going through a maze. You have to know where to go and what information to provide. Oh, and if you really like to fill out forms, you'll love this. If you don't, maybe not. Just try not to think about it.
Here's where and how to apply for a GMRS license in only four steps.
Step 1. Register for a Username
Note: If you already registered in CORES, you can skip this step.
To register for an FCC Username, go to the FCC Universal License System (ULS) page, and under the Filing sub-heading, click New User Registration. This will take you to the FCC Registration Login page. Select the option Register under the column header Need a Username?. This will take you to the online FRN registration form.
Before you fill out the form, you will need to perform a search to verify that the you are not already registered. Enter your email address in the field and click the button marked Check Availability. This will be your username. If your email address is unavailable, follow the instructions in the latter part of this video to retrieve your existing password.
If your email address/username is not already listed, proceed to the form. Fill out the form with your name and address, and choose a password. The FCC requires the password have a minimum of 12 characters and a maximum of 15 characters, and must meet all of the following criteria: at least 1 lower case letter, 1 upper case letter, 1 number, and 1 punctuation mark/special character.
Next, select a personal security question, enter an answer and click Submit. After the form is submitted, there will be a process by which your email address/username needs to be verified. Once verified and accepted, click on the button GoToCores to continue with step 2, where you will need to register for an FRN number.
Step 2. Register for an FRN number
Note: If you already have an FRN number, you can skip this step.
Before you apply for any FCC license, you will need an FCC Registration Number, commonly referred to by the Commission as an FRN. Your FRN is a 10 digit number that identifies you when conducting financial transactions with the FCC. As a social security number identifies you as a taxpayer with the IRS, an FRN identifies you as a fee payer with the FCC. Ironically, the form will require your SSN as well, so be ready for that.
The important thing to remember is that your FRN will be used for all license applications, changes, renewals and upgrades. Once you have an FRN, it's your number for life.
To apply for an FRN, click on the button mentioned at the end of step 1 or go to the FCC Universal License System (ULS) page, go to the Filing sub-heading and under the Username Login section, login with your Username and password. Either method will take you to the User Home page.
Now, here's where it gets interesting. On this page you will find the following six options:
If you already have an FRN, skip to step 3. For the rest of us, the one to click on is the third item, Register New FRN. This will take you to a box with radio buttons for registration options.
There are two registration types, business and individual. A business cannot apply for a GMRS license, so you would choose An Individual. Your contact address should be within the United States or its territories, so this is the option to choose. Click Continue.
This takes you to a second box with another set of radio buttons. Choose CORES FRN Registration and click Continue.
This will take you to the actual online FRN registration form. yeah, another form. Fill out the form with your name and address.
After the form is submitted and accepted, you should be taken to a page with your FRN registration information, along with your assigned FRN number, which should appear at the top of the information box. It is important to write this number down and keep it in a safe place for reference later, as this is the number for which you laboriously applied.
As an important side note, if you already have existing FRNs, you must associate them with your username before you can manage them. To do so, go back to the User Home page, click on Associate Username to FRN and fill out that little form.
Step 3. Apply for the license
Once you have your FRN number, you can begin the actual license application process. Go to the FCC Universal License System (ULS) page and under the Filing sub-heading Click File Online. This should take you to the License Manager login page. Enter your new FRN number and password to log in.
You should now be on the My Licenses page. Click the link on the left sidebar labeled Apply for a New License. This will take you to another page with a drop-down to select the service license for which you want to apply. You will want to choose the option ZA - General Mobile Radio (GMRS). Click the continue button, Choose No for all three drop-downs on the next page, click continue again and will be taken to - you guessed it - another form. Fill out that one, submit it, and it should take you to the page Manage Existing FRN(s).
This page has a lot of intimidating looking red type, and four options from which to choose:
Thought you were done? Not quite. Now you have to pay the fee. On a normal web site, this would actually be a simple and intuitive step at the end of the application process. fill out the application, click pay, and you're done. But this isn't a normal web site. It's the domain of the FCC. This means that for some convoluted reason it has to be unnecessarily complicated. We've already filled out two forms with what was basically the same information. Now we're off to yet another area of the FCC website.
Step 4. Pay the license application fee
On the Manage Existing FRN(s) page, click on FRN Financial. This will take you to the page where you begin the fee payment process. It should list your FRN number on the left and the link View/Make Payments to the right. Click the link to go to yet another page with the FRN listed under the tab Awaiting Payment Confirmation and a Make Payment link to the right. Click that link, fill out the payment form, and submit. Now you're done.
The FCC should issue your GMRS callsign within a few days. To check the status of your license and callsign, simply log into the ULS License Manager.
And there you have it. That's how to apply for a GMRS license from the FCC in only four steps.
Hey, I said there were only four steps. I didn't say they were easy.
Two way radios are used extensively in professional sporting events such as motor racing, so it comes as no surprise that they would be used for kart racing as well. What may be a surprise is the type of radio used in this sport.
In this video clip from episode 179 of The Two Way Radio Show Podcast, Rick interviews Chris North from NotReadyRacing.com, a kart racing team located in Rhode Island that utilizes two way radios in their events. Learn about how radios influence this exciting hobby for all ages!
Radios mentioned:
Listen to the full Two Way Radio Show podcast and Subscribe to the show!
Want more videos about 2-way radios? Browse our video blog and subscribe to our YouTube channel!
NOTE: This promotion expired April 21, 2023 and is no longer available.
On April 19th 2022, the FCC officially lowered the GMRS license application fee from an exorbitant $70 to the current and much more reasonable $35. This was certainly a cause for celebration, and on that day, thousands of radio enthusiasts rushed to the FCC website to become newly licensed GMRS operators.
As one of the leading two way radio dealers in the United States, Buy Two Way Radios was the first to introduce and celebrate the new, lower GMRS license fee by declaring April 19 National GMRS Radio Day! We established this as an annual event to celebrate the new accessibility of the GMRS to the American public.
To celebrate GMRS Radio Day, Buy Two Way Radios is bringing back its original 35 hour sale on select GMRS radios and radio accessories with Promo Code: GMRS35!
Why 35 hours? It represents the $35 cost of the license fee, which was catalyst that caused the sudden surge in GMRS license applications. This surge in popularity literally happened overnight. It is estimated that during the first 35 hours after the introduction of the new fee in April 2022, the number of GMRS licenses granted by the FCC more than quadrupled over the same two day period in the previous year. For the entire week of April 19, 2021 there were 900 license grants. There were 3,875 in that same period in 2022. That's quite a surge.
The GMRS Day Sale begins at 1 PM EDT Wednesday, April 19, 2023 and ends at midnight EDT Friday April 21, 2023.
Again, this offer is valid for 35 hours only.
Celebrate GMRS Radio Day 2023 with Promo Code GMRS35 at Buy Two Way Radios!
Some manufacturers of consumer FRS walkie talkies market their products based on the range in miles. We are often asked about the actual wattage of these radios, because these manufacturers don't usually include this information on their products. There is an obvious reason for this. It isn't impressive. In fact, if they did so, many consumers may be somewhat disappointed, because the wattage on these products is usually on the low end, often much lower than the maximum allowable wattage for FRS. In many cases, it doesn't even approach the >maximum allowed on the low power 467 MHz FRS frequencies, and that's when the radio is operating at high power!
It's even more ironic when you consider that, until the Part 95 Reform of 2017, Most of these were FRS and GMRS hybrid radios that were often assumed to operate at the maximum wattage allowed on GMRS handhelds. The maximum allowable power on GMRS channels at the time was 5 watts. The power output for the GMRS, and hence the overall range, was actually very weak on nearly all of these models, which is why many licensed GMRS users preferred business radios over the consumer models.
The Great Reform changed all that. In 2017 the FCC separated the FRS/GMRS hybrids, allowing the channels previously reserved for GMRS to be shared with FRS as well, and while the seven 467 MHz FRS channels remained at one-half watt (0.5W) max, it raised the maximum allowable wattage on the now fifteen 462 MHz FRS channels to 2 watts.
This was welcome news to almost all users, since it encouraged manufacturers to make dedicated GMRS radios with higher wattage, and gave FRS users more power and greater range. In essence, what the reform did was re-classify hybrid "bubble pack" radios that were under 2 watts as license-free FRS radios. With the exception of a couple of Midland handheld radios that were above 2 watts, nearly all of the hybrid radios were well under that 2 watt limit, and therefore became FRS radios.
So, the manufacturers could now sell all of these hybrid radios, which previously required a license to operate on the GMRS channels, as FRS only radios that were "license-free". One would think that this would provide more opportunity and innovation with the introduction of 2 watt FRS radios, since that became the new limit. But that's not what happened, at least, not right away. With the exception of Wouxun, which jumped right on this one with the full 2 watt KG-805F FRS radio, a majority of the manufacturers chose to stick with their current lineup and simply re-label them all as FRS.
One of these manufacturers was Motorola. Although they did apply wattage changes to a few models, for the most part it was business as usual. Their Talkabout line is a prime example of how low the power can go on the high power setting. And Motorola is not the only one. Other bubble pack manufacturers did the same.
Many consumers mistakenly assume that because it is an FRS radio advertised at 35 miles range or more, it operates at the full 2 watts. But that's not quite accurate. And this is why we receive queries and complaints that their Motorola, Cobra or Uniden radios can't make it a couple of miles, or sometimes even a couple of city blocks. It's because these radios are not a full 2 watts, and some are only capable of operating at a fraction of what the FCC allows. A few are not much more powerful than the little walkie talkies sold as toys.
Yet, you'll often find them in use in some mom and pop retail stores, restaurants, schools and churches.
Just how powerful aren't they? The chart below lists some popular Motorola Talkabout radios, their advertised range and their actual wattage, according to the official documentation on file at the FCC.
It is important to note that a few of the radios listed in the following chart have "inverted" wattages, meaning that 467 MHz channels may actually have higher wattage than the 462 MHz channels! Strange, indeed.
| Motorola Talkabout Wattage Comparison | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | FCC ID | Range* | Adjustable Power | Low Wattage | Max Wattage |
 T100 | AZ489FT4930 | 16 Miles | 0.19W | 0.2W** | |
 T107 | AZ489FT4930 | 16 Miles | 0.19W | 0.2W** | |
 T200 | AZ489FT4928 | 20 Miles | 0.411W | 0.47W** | |
 T260 | AZ489FT4929 | 25 Miles | 0.4W | 0.8W | |
 T265 | AZ489FT4929 | 25 Miles | 0.4W | 0.8W | |
 T280 | AZ489FT4929 | 25 Miles | 0.4W | 0.8W | |
 T400 | AZ489FT4924 | 35 Miles | 0.48W | 1.71W | |
 T402 | AZ489FT4924 | 35 Miles | 0.48W | 1.71W | |
 T460 | AZ489FT4924 | 35 Miles | 0.48W | 1.71W | |
 T465 | AZ489FT4924 | 35 Miles | 0.48W | 1.71W | |
 T480 | AZ489FT4925 | 35 Miles | 0.37W | 1.39W | |
 T600 | AZ489FT4927 | 35 Miles | ✔ | 0.4W | 1.3W |
 T605 | AZ489FT4927 | 35 Miles | ✔ | 0.4W | 1.3W |
 T800 | AZ489FT4947 | 35 Miles | ✔ | 0.4W | 0.75W |
*Motorola advertises FRS/GMRS radio range in miles, however your actual range may vary as it depends on a number of variables. For more information watch our short video Radio 101 - The Truth About FRS/GMRS Two Way Radio Range.
**The "low power" 467 MHz channels have the higher wattage.
The the KG-935G Plus has a number of new and exciting features that are unique to this GMRS transceiver. The KG-935G Plus is the first to market with these features. No other radio has them.
In a previous video, we introduced the PF Key Quick Guide. It's quite a handy, time-saving feature to be sure, but there is another feature that's an even bigger deal. It's the Channel Wizard, and it's a real game changer. Why? Because it takes the process of field programming the radio directly from the keypad to a whole new level.
In this video tutorial, Tommy from Buy Two Way Radios explains what the Channel Wizard does and shows you how to use it.
Want more videos about 2-way radios? Browse our video blog and subscribe to our YouTube channel!
In this video clip from Episode 175 of The Two Way Radio Show Podcast, Danny and Rick pick up where they left off in part 1 of a two part series that provides an in-depth overview of the new KG-935G Plus radio. Part 2 goes through the new features and firmware enhancements, including some revolutionary features never before seen on a portable handheld radio.
In addition to the standard radio package, the the KG-935G Plus is also available in a Two-Radio Value Pack and a Deluxe Edition Kit, and only from Buy Two Way Radios.
Want more videos about 2-way radios? Browse our video blog and subscribe to our YouTube channel!
Wouxun continues to innovate in the GMRS world with significant upgrades to its most popular professional grade consumer radios. The latest model to get a makeover is the KG-935G, with the introduction of the KG-935G Plus! What makes this radio a plus? According to the hosts of The Two Way Radio Show Podcast, a lot.
In this video clip from Episode 175 of The Two Way Radio Show Podcast, Danny and Rick start the ball rolling with the first of a two part series that provides an in-depth overview of this radio. Part 1 goes through the physical enhancements, as well as improvements to the NOAA weather channels and alerts.
In addition to the standard radio package, the the KG-935G Plus is also available in a Two-Radio Value Pack and a Deluxe Edition Kit, and only from Buy Two Way Radios.
Want more videos about 2-way radios? Browse our video blog and subscribe to our YouTube channel!
There are a lot of pluses to Wouxun radios, particularly the GMRS models. There's the Wouxun KG-1000G Plus and the the KG-XS20G Plus. And guess what? Now there's one more plus, the the KG-935G Plus! It's the latest upgrade to the original KG-935G, and it really packs a Plus!
In this video introduction, Tommy from Buy Two Way Radios gives you a first look at this radio and quick overview of some of its exciting new features. The the KG-935G Plus is a new horizon for GMRS handhelds!
Want more videos about 2-way radios? Browse our video blog and subscribe to our YouTube channel!
NOTE: This promotion expired February 14, 2023 and is no longer available.
Love is on the air with our Valentine's Day Sale at Buy Two Way Radios! Buy a Wouxun KG-S88G GMRS radio and get 10% off the regular price! Regularly $139.99, during this special you can get it for only $125.99!
And there's more. if you buy the pink one, you'll get 10% off plus a FREE FRS/GMRS Radio Quick Reference Card! That's right, choose pink and get an extra bonus, just for you (or your significant other). There's no maximum purchase limit and no promo code needed. Simply add your radio(s) into the cart and your 10% discount (plus bonus item if you choose the pink one) will be added to your order automatically!
Our Valentine's Day Sale begins February 8th 2023 and ends at midnight on Valentine's Day, February 14th, 2023.
Show your love this Valentine's Day with an Wouxun KG-S88G from Buy Two Way Radios!
