"Steve Bonine" ...
Smed wrote:

Will I need an FCC license? They say the radios work right out of the
box but some of the channels might be blocked without the license. How
much is the license? Are the unblocked channels over crowded and
worthless?

There are two radio service available to you that these devices support.

FRS, Family Radio Service, does not require a license of any kind. The
maximum power is 1/2 watt. The radio will automatically reduce power on
FRS-only channels.

GMRS, General Mobile Radio Service, does require a license. Higher power
is allowed, and the amount available will depend on the device. I went to
the Midland site and they do not list the actual power output for the
radio, which for me would be enough that I would not buy the radio.

Bottom line: How much range do you need? If your communication will be
over open water, the 1/2 watt that the FRS provides will be more than
adequate, and you can probably find much cheaper units at your local big
box store that will fill the bill. If you have a need to communicate over
longer distances, which I can't see happening on a canoe trip, go with a
more powerful unit that supports GMRS and get the license. But do not
believe the claims on the web site of 36 mile range; you might get 36
miles over open water with full power on GMRS, but in general use I would
expect no more than a couple of miles at best.

I don't think you will run into any problems with channel overcrowding on
FRS channels, especially in the wilds of Montana. Pick something other
than "1" and you should be fine. And should you run into another group
that has picked the same channel, all you need to do is change.

And "blocked" is rather a misnomer. The radio doesn't know if you have a
license. FRS and GMRS share some channels, and the license is required to
use high power.

Have a good trip.

73, Steve KB9X


First, thanks for the reply!

As far as how much power do I need, I really don't think I will be talking
to anyone at any great distance for the most part. The safety issue is what
I'm mostly looking at with the NOAA radio and in case we need to contact
emergency personnel (we plan on bringing a Spot Satellite GPS Messengers).
Where we are setting on, there really isn't any set off points for around
110 miles and cell phones will be worthless.

So if I have this right, the FRS channels limit the radio to 1/2 a watt but
if you switch over to the GMRS channels you can boost it to full power? Is
there a block out or password for the GMRS channels? If I had to switch
over to the GMRS to contact help, will the radio allow me access to the more
powerful channels?

Thanks again and sorry for the newbie questions.

Smed