“Unfortunately, the infrastructure necessary to provide these services has exceeded its life expectancy. The equipment is no longer manufactured, repairs are difficult to accomplish, and spare parts are generally not available.” With new technologies like WLO
’s internet services…. is a traditional HF system necessary? (Click read more below to read the original article.)

(PopWireless: This is unfortunately old news. Comments were due the Coast Guard on August 24. It is something worth following however. Another major change in marine radio just like the end of Morse Code could be the demise of SSB.)

read more | digg story

UNIDEN now offers the MHS550 Marine radio with the license-free Family Radio Service channels. This very unique dual-band VHF-UHF radio gives a boater the ability to use marine VHF for essential boating safety communication and his or her family the ability to chat about family activities on the water or on land without worrying about the on-the-water-only operation restrictions of VHF marine (See FCC Rules Part 80) or the license requirements of a twenty-two channel General Mobile Radio Service radio. (See FCC Rules Part 95) Compared to most of the bubble-pack 22-channel radios the boating family will have fourteen channels on which to operate without a license instead of the seven available on most new 22-channel bubble-pack GMRS radios. The bubble-packs, as they have come to be known, offer a GMRS power level on FRS channels one through seven since the licensed GMRS service allows up to five watts Effective Radiated Power on FRS 1-7. Those channels are actually part of the GMRS shared with FRS. Marketing and sales deficiencies of major retailers over the years since the FCC’s unilateral approval of the 22-channel bubble packs have made unwitting radio pirates of many families using 22-channel bubble pack radios. Uniden has given families back that piece of mind that the radio in use is legal to operate on FRS without a license. It was the right thing to do. You can purchase the radio on line at RadioShack.com.

The most important radio you can have on your boat is your VHF marine radio. The VHF marine radio and your cellular telephone can be a lifeline to emergency or urgent assistance when the safety of life and property are at stake. Take your FRS/GMRS hybrid radios with you for fun and recreation but have a marine radio on board just in case. Your family should establish a radio watch on Marine VHF channel 16 so you can help another boater if you are close to an urgent call for help.

PopularWireless has a marine radio forum at the Personal Communications BBS where you can ask questions. There are a number of helpful links to the Coast Guard and the FCC in the Marine links section of this blog.

GMRS, FRS, and MURS are cool for family communication but don’t forget to take your Marine VHF as well!