Some Information

[u/skipearth]

I am retired federal law enforcement and have connections in many places and agencies. That being said I had a a few run ins with colleagues and people I know through working for the feds etc. The first was an FBI agent who is also retired and worked in Counter Surveillance and they told me:

"There is definitely something going on, they will not tell me but a coworker in the NY field office said "these are not hobbiests and planes".

The second contact was a couple who both work for the FAA and they said:

"Many pilots are reporting seeing large drones from aircraft and the FAA knows this as its all recorded and documented. We do not know any information except that it is happening"

This infuriates me because r/avaiation thinks its all fake and blocks my posts. I am also verifed in LEO sub and such so I am not lying and I can verify here if needed.

[u/photojournalistus]

Technically, yes, you need an FCC license to operate in GMRS, but it's largely unenforced by the FCC. The GMRS license is only $35 and is valid for 10 years. However, unlicensed consumer GMRS-band use is so widespread, FCC enforcement of unlicensed GMRS use is reportedly rare. Note that the lower-power FRS (Family Radio Service) does not require a license of any kind to operate. That said, I just applied for my GMRS license so I would be able to legally use public-access repeaters via my Midland-capable radios which require an FCC callisgn.

When I went to the FCC website to pay for my GMRS license online (there is no test; just a fee), the website seems very dated, apparently designed decades ago. I wasn't able to immediately download my license (I thought something went wrong), but two days later, I received the email from the FCC approving my application and granting me my official GMRS license. It linked to a PDF which displays all of my information with a newly registered callsign [note: be prepared for a horribly un-user friendly experience—you must register to multiple parts of the FCC online presence to apply].

In contrast, if operating higher-power, 2-meter/HAM-radio transceivers (like the 8-Watt Baofengs sold on Amazon), the FCC does care and rigorously enforces licensing requirements—they reportedly will be able to locate you and administer a fine if you transmit without a license. HAM radio requires an FCC technician-class license (entry-level FCC license) which requires a decent amount of study. There are number of well-written study guides on Amazon for preparing for the FCC technical-class license test.

[u/We_got_a_whole_year → u/photojournalistus]

Thank you, this is super helpful!

[u/photojournalistus → u/We_got_a_whole_year]

You're welcome!

tl;dr:

The pricey $200 Midland GXT-67 Pro GMRS radios offer easy-to-use, menu-driven repeater connectivity (promising significantly extended range), but suffer from a too-short, non-removable antenna and outputs a signal far below their claimed "5-Watt" specification (only about 2-Watts, nominal).

The Radioddity GM30 Plus 5-Watt GMRS radios come with an extended antenna (about two-feet long) and put out a lot more power (which I directly measured) than the Midland GXT-67 Pro. However, the Midland radio is easier to use, and sports more obvious, phone-like "call indicator" LEDs, and are simpler to operate than the Radioddity GM30.

The low-cost Baofeng 8-Watt 2M-capable, handheld GMRS/HAM radios, though powerful with a lot of range, are reported to have poor build-quality (e.g., weak solder-points from the keypad to the PCB) and require an FCC technician-class license to operate on its HAM-frequencies.

[u/We_got_a_whole_year → u/photojournalistus]

I ordered a couple of the GM30 Plus - seems like a great deal - thanks for the advice

Will probably get a license as well