Using GMRS and Meshtastic (LoRa) as Entry Point into Amateur Radio

During a Sunday coffee meeting, a discussion ensued about possible use of the GMRS/FRS radio system or something called “Meshtastic” as a supplementary radio system to get the public interested in radiocommunications as a first step in becoming interested in radios and advancing toward obtaining the basic amateur radio qualification to become an amateur radio operator.  In this article, the author described both systems and considers their feasibility for the Yellowknife Amateur Radio Society.

General Mobile Radio Service/Family Radio Service (GMRS/FRS)

In Canada, SP 462/467 MHz — Spectrum Utilization Policy to Permit Licence-Exempt Devices in the Land Mobile Frequency Sub-bands 462/467 MHz, Issue 2 (August 2016) is the Spectrum Utilization Policy (SP) 462 MHz that sets out the updated spectrum policy provisions for the frequency sub-bands 462/467 MHz.   In Canada this is different from what is called in the United States “Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS)” – which is not allowed as some of the frequencies are used by public safety services (police and fire). 

Quoting from the SP:

3.1 FRS Frequencies and Operations

The use of FRS devices is permitted in the mobile frequencies (using 25 kHz channel spacing) listed in Table 1 provided that the devices have received equipment certification from the Department and comply with appropriate Radio Standards Specifications (RSS).

Table 1 — FRS Frequencies Designated for the use of Family Radio Devices

3.2 GMRS and GMRS‑M Frequencies and Operations

In the 2004 policy, the Department identified 15 simplex frequencies in the 462 MHz range for GMRS use. In addition, the Department indicated that 8 frequencies in the 467 MHz range were reserved for possible future use as repeater input channels (and were not available for simplex communications).^Footnote1 Since the release of the 2004 policy that allow GMRS operations in Canada, the Department has reviewed the need for these frequencies and decided that these frequencies will no longer be made available for GMRS.

GMRS radios will operate on 15 simplex frequencies, of which 7 frequencies are shared with FRS operations, as shown in Table 2. GMRS‑M devices will operate on the five frequencies designated in Table 2 below. Of these frequencies, one is shared with GMRS and 4 are shared with both GMRS and FRS.

Table 2 — GMRS, GMRS‑M Frequencies

*Indicates frequencies shared with Family Radio Services (FRS).

Refer to the appropriate Radio Standard Specification (RSS) for details on permissible operation modes and other technical specifications.

In the 2004 policy, the Department reserved the following eight frequencies for possible future use, in the 467 MHz range: 467.5500 MHz, 467.5750 MHz, 467.6000 MHz, 467.6250 MHz, 467.6500 MHz, 467.6750 MHz, 467.7000 MHz, and 467.7250 MHz.  {Believed to be reserved for repeaters}

GMRS radios are generally operating very close to the 70 cm amateur UHF band.  The range of these radios would therefore be about 3 km or perhaps around 30 km if the antenna is at height.  Maximum power output in Canada is 2 W.  Repeaters are not allowed at this time.  Antennas must be non-detachable.  This means no base station antennas and no mobile antennas are allowed (as opposed to the United States).  The following GMRS radios are considered legal in Canada if sold in Canada and meeting the described requirements:

• Motorola Talkabout T600, T605, T800
• Motorola Talkabout T470
• Midland X-Talker series
• Midland GXT series sold through Canadian retailers
• Cobra RX-series radios
• Uniden SX-series radios

The following are considered not legal for licence-exempt use in Canada:

• Baofeng UV-5R
• Baofeng UV-82
• Baofeng GM-15 Pro
• Most amateur (ham) handhelds with detachable antennas
• Mobile GMRS radios intended for U.S. 15-50 watt operation

This means that GMRS equipment from the United States is probably not legal in Canada to operate.  Similarly, cheap Chinese radio equipment would not be legal to operate.  For amateur radio operators, they would have to operate from one of the legal radios and not from their amateur radio equipment tuned to one of the operating frequencies for GMRS.  These appear to be available at Radioworld but also at Walmart (including as walkie talkie 22-channel radios).  They can range from about $50-100 for a pair.  The antennas are clearly not detachable. 

While the restrictions on the use of these radios may seem like an obstacle, it must be remembered that if one wants to operate at higher power, use repeaters, transmit digital data or use better antennas (including for mobile operation), one needs to obtain a licence to do so. Use of GMRS could whet the appetite of future amateur radio operators...

What use are these radios?  They could be used for short-range local radiocommunications, including the use of a radio net or for practising voice procedure.  In terms of experimentation, they are limited.  One could do direction finding... The Society could run an informal GMRS net after its weekly net.

Meshtastic

VE8RT discussed the “Meshtasitic” system.  This system is a LoRa-based mesh networking protocol and software plaform.  From Wikipedia:

The main goal of the project is enabling low-power, long-range communication over ISM radio bands. It transmits at power levels which do not require a license to use. It is designed around exchanging text messages and data in off-grid environments, with potential applications in IoT projects where a decentralized communication system is needed without existing infrastructure.

“LoRa” is an abbreviation for “long range” and is a proprietary radiocommunication technique based on spread spectrum modulation.  It is analogous to WiFi or cellular technology.  It operates on licence-free bands:

• EU433 (433.050-434.790 MHz) or EU868 (863–870/873 MHz) in Europe;
• AU915/AS923-1 (915–928 MHz) in South America;
• US915 (902–928 MHz) in North America;
• IN865 (865–867 MHz) in India; and
• AS923 (915–928 MHz) in Asia.

It allows for long-range transmissions of data with low power consumption with data rates between 0.3 kbit/s and 27 kbits/s.  Its modulation is derived from chirp spread spectrum.  The system uses a peer-to-peer network and requires line of sight links.  Network reliability depends on having other notes within the operational area.  The system is limited to text messaging (with emojis).  Network congestion can result in the network crashing (demonstrated at Dayton Hamvention in 2024).  The system is open-source and highly adaptable to specific uses.  There is an official website at:  https://meshtastic.org/ .  VE8RT describes this as the “raspberry pi” of radios.  Is this a possible use for cell phones that have become e-waste? 

A quick survey suggests that this system is for off-grid communication.  The Meshtastic device receives a message and it is relayed to the radio (including an old cell phone or laptop) via Bluetooth, WiFi/Ethernet or a serial connection.  For transmitting a message, the message is relayed from the radio (i.e. cell phone or laptop) to the Meshtastic device and then relayed through the Meshtastic network.  Technical details are at: https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/ .  This may have similarities to radio packet communications.  Wikipedia reports that one of the interesting aspects of this mode of radiocommunication is that it may be difficult to radio-direction find the transmissions due to their short time-frame and low power – and may have potential military applications in the future (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LoRa) . 

The author’s view is that this is an interesting mode but it may not be purely at an entry level for enticing potential candidates for the basic amateur radio exam.  There is a computer-technical aspect to this mode and it is limited to texting.  On the other hand, it might be suitable if the potential candidate has an interest in computing, programming or whatever. 

[Author used AI MS Copilot in preparing this article - mostly for identification of GMRS radios that are legal/illegal to operate in Canada]