Just a quick note, I know this a ham discussion but I have noticed FRS/GMRS abuse is on the rise as well...
I have come across several people on the FRS bands and I mean the FRS only channels such as Ch.10. I usually put all the FRS channels into the HAM radio just to listen when I am bored or just to see if there is anyone around. I have come across several cases where I have been able to pick up FRS users for many miles, sometimes upwards of 20 - 25 miles and they have been registering with powerful signals. This leads me to the conclusion that they are using modified HAM radio equipment and probably dishing out 35 - 50 watts. I have come across an individual here in Canada who claimed to be using a kilowatt (probably lying) and the government has been chasing him down. I believe they eventually caught him, but he was probably using 500 watts in the city of Toronto. He could be heard on a cheap FRS radio just about anywhere in the city (again 30 miles in any direction).
Due to topography the hills blocked his signal before it reached my place, if that was not the case I would have gone on a fox hunt since it was incredibly annoying, he was interfering with business and personal communications as well as ambulance services when he wanderd well outside of the GMRS/FRS band. Furthermore, fowl language was the least of concerns, he was fighting with children and using/saying all sorts of slanderous language any parent would be heavily offended over, not so much the language but the messages conveyed!
People are always going to open up their radio's since there is always someone that knows how and will do it for whoever asks, but if you are someone who chooses to operate on the GMRS/FRS bands with an illegal setup please be considerate of others out there. Don't use 50 watts if you guys are 10 feet apart LOL and try to keep the language down to a minimum.
To be honest I am not endorsing any illegal activity, but I much rather have people abuse the public bands (FRS - CB) then the HAM radio bands since the public bands are rarely used for emergency purposes while the HAM bands, especially 2 meters and 80 meters are very important during emergencies. GMRS is a public band technically but given some companies invest quite a bit of money into good GMRS systems with nice repeaters they deserve respect too. In fact, the best band to take advantage of is the CB band. There are many people and experimenters on that band who operate well above and beyond the FCC regulations so CB abuse is actually the best kind of abuse since it is almost accepted as the norm.
I am not saying to go out and abuse these bands, but if you are going to abuse them then abuse them... lol how do I put this... ok abuse them 'properly' LOL.
BTW on 70cm many chasers use 446.025/446.100 and that is sometimes patched into 146.550. That only happens when things are very busy and tones don't solve problems on 2m. Usually everyone who can move to 70cm will do so but the guys stuck on 2m will be patched in or sometimes vice versa. People don't often scan UHF simplex so often this fact goes unnoticed.
Also, I have heard some chaser activity on CB channel 26 during a few occasions, all AM. I have not come across any SSB activity with chasing.
I suppose I should have posted to this thread sooner given it did start in Feb and it is currently April. Hey Dave thanks for bringing the thread back to life!
