I just bought a pair of Motorola Talkabout GMRS/FRS radios in a cheapo
bundle pack from Sam's Club, just to have on hand in case we ever need some
short range communications.

The 22 channels a

1-7: shared FRS and GMRS simplex
8-14; FRS only
15-22: GMRS only

According to bandplan charts I found online and the channel frequency table
in the manual, channels 15-22 are in fact a mix of GMRS repeater input and
output frequencies, meaning that any simplex operation with this radio on
those channels could cause interference with nearby repeater users.

So, on the "shared" channels 1-7 I'll need a license or else will be
bootleg, because the radio uses GMRS power levels and modulation.

On channels 8-14 I'll be using straight FRS and legal even without license?

Channels 15-22 are basically useless anywhere repeaters might be in use,
given the radio cannot operate split to take advantage of them, even if the
repeater operators permited it?

So, in type-accepting these radios, the FCC is bolluxing up the accepted
GMRS bandplan. Who created that bandplan, the FCC or user groups or what?
Just curious.

At present the FCC will still take my money for a license, yes? And, of
course, they have about as much manpower committed to stopping the
unlicensed and improper operation caused by these cheap radios as they did
to police CB back in the 70's?

Of course it comes down to the question of whether to license or not. It'd
be a waste of 75 bucks if next year the FCC threw up their hands at all the
problems *they* caused and stopped issuing licenses. If I only use the FRS
channels, I've got a couple of cheap 7-channel FRS radios. shrug

Most folks that buy these cheapie bundles won't go to the bother of figuring
this stuff out. So they're going to keep messing things up for the
foreseeable future. With all that, just how much is left of the GMRS
community, if there was one? Is there anyplace where GMRS folks gather
online? It'd be nice to hear what they have to say.

Thanks for your comments or answers to my questions.

Mike D.