What Are MURS Radio Service Radios?

One of the least known of the FCC's authorized radio services is MURS. What is a MURS radio or walkie talkie? The Multi Use Radio Service was recently established by the FCC in the VHF portion of the radio spectrum near the business band. What makes it unique is that it is for both personal and business use, and the fact that it uses more power than any other license-free UHF or VHF radio service. It's a bit like CB radio, but without all of the foreign stations interfering with your conversation. Also, unlike CB radio, MURS walkie talkies can utilize 38 CTSS tones for privacy encoding, so that you can block out most unwanted transmissions.

Another unique feature is that you can actually add an outside antenna to your MURS walkie talkie and make it a powerful base station that can cover several square miles. The FCC allows MURS radio base antennas to be placed up to sixty feet high. Businesses can save money by not having to pay for an FCC license for a radio service that can work across a medium sized town.

One reason MURS radios are an ideal small business walkie talkie is that they can provide reliable short and medium range communication while saving on cell phone and PTT cellular radio costs.

An advantage of MURS radios over FRS radios is that MURS walkie talkies can legally be used for both business and private communications. The advantage of MURS radios over GMRS is that the latter requires a license for each party using it. This can make business use of GMRS very complex. In addition, FRS and GMRS radios are so common now that those channels are becoming very crowded.

A further advantage of MURS radios for business is the ability to incorporate a driveway or front gate sensor into the radio system to alert employees when a customer arrives on a large property. Farmers or ranchers can use a MURS radio to know when someone arrives at the house while they are out working on the acreage, or even when the mail has been delivered if a MURS alert sensor is hooked up in that manner.

What Are The Drawbacks Of MURS Radios For Small Business Use?

On the downside, at around $80 each, MURS walkie talkies are not cheap compared to walkie talkies sold in discount stores. Also, MURS radios are not as powerful as those business band walkie talkies that require an FCC license, and thus have a shorter range. Since there are only five channels to choose from, MURS frequencies may at some time in the future become crowded in urban areas. You can however use CTSS privacy tones on many models of MURS radios to avoid interference, should it become necessary. In addition, MURS radios are not able to be connected to phone systems like some business band radios are.

For the money, at around $180 a pair, MURS radios are a good alternative to more expensive business band UHF and VHF radios. The fact that you never need a license to use MURS walkie talkies is a big advantage of these radios. If you need reliable communications within a range of one to five miles, they will fit the bill for a good small business two way radio.