Multi-Use Radio Service
Encyclopedia
In the United States, the Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS) is an unlicensed two-way radio
service similar to Citizens Band (CB). Established by the U.S.
Federal Communications Commission
in the fall of 2000, MURS created a radio service allowing for unlicensed (Part 95) operation, with a power limit of 2 watt
s. The FCC formally defines MURS as "a private, two-way, short-distance voice or data communications service for personal or business activities of the general public." MURS stations may not be connected to the public telephone network, may not be used for store and forward
operations, and radio repeater
s are not permitted.
Industry Canada
(IC) established a five year transition plan, which will permit the use of MURS in Canada starting June 2014. IC has not yet published rules for MURS, other than frequency limits.
.
:
Because previous business band licensees who have maintained their active license remain grandfathered with their existing operating privileges, it is possible to find repeaters or other operations not authorized by Part 95 taking place. These are not necessarily illegal. If legal, such operations may enjoy primary status on their licensed frequency and as such are legally protected from harmful interference by MURS users.
station is authorized and within or over any area of the world where radio services are regulated by the FCC. Those areas are within the territorial limits of:
Two-way radio
A two-way radio is a radio that can both transmit and receive , unlike a broadcast receiver which only receives content. The term refers to a personal radio transceiver that allows the operator to have a two-way conversation with other similar radios operating on the same radio frequency...
service similar to Citizens Band (CB). Established by the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
in the fall of 2000, MURS created a radio service allowing for unlicensed (Part 95) operation, with a power limit of 2 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s. The FCC formally defines MURS as "a private, two-way, short-distance voice or data communications service for personal or business activities of the general public." MURS stations may not be connected to the public telephone network, may not be used for store and forward
Store and forward
Store and forward is a telecommunications technique in which information is sent to an intermediate station where it is kept and sent at a later time to the final destination or to another intermediate station. The intermediate station, or node in a networking context, verifies the integrity of...
operations, and radio repeater
Radio repeater
A radio repeater is a combination of a radio receiver and a radio transmitter that receives a weak or low-level signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation. This article refers to professional, commercial, and...
s are not permitted.
Industry Canada
Industry Canada
Industry Canada is the department of the Government of Canada with responsibility for regional economic development, investment, and innovation/research and development. The department employs 6104 FTEs across Canada....
(IC) established a five year transition plan, which will permit the use of MURS in Canada starting June 2014. IC has not yet published rules for MURS, other than frequency limits.
Eligibility
No licences are required or issued for MURS within the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
- Any person is authorized to use the MURS frequencies given that it:
- Is not a foreign government or a representative of a foreign government.
- Uses the transmitter in accordance with 47 CFR. 95.1309.
- Operates in accordance with the rules contained in Sections 95.1301-95.1309.
Frequencies
MURS comprises the following five frequenciesFrequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
:
| Channel | Frequency | Authorized bandwidth | Channel Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 151.820 MHz | 11.25 kHz | N/A |
| 2 | 151.880 MHz | 11.25 kHz | N/A |
| 3 | 151.940 MHz | 11.25 kHz | N/A |
| 4 | 154.570 MHz | 20.00 kHz | Blue Dot |
| 5 | 154.600 MHz | 20.00 kHz | Green Dot |
Because previous business band licensees who have maintained their active license remain grandfathered with their existing operating privileges, it is possible to find repeaters or other operations not authorized by Part 95 taking place. These are not necessarily illegal. If legal, such operations may enjoy primary status on their licensed frequency and as such are legally protected from harmful interference by MURS users.
Authorized modes
| Designator | Common Name |
|---|---|
| A1D | Amplitude modulation Amplitude modulation Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent... ; on off keyed On-off keying On-off keying the simplest form of amplitude-shift keying modulation that represents digital data as the presence or absence of a carrier wave. In its simplest form, the presence of a carrier for a specific duration represents a binary one, while its absence for the same duration represents a... or quantized Quantization (signal processing) Quantization, in mathematics and digital signal processing, is the process of mapping a large set of input values to a smaller set – such as rounding values to some unit of precision. A device or algorithmic function that performs quantization is called a quantizer. The error introduced by... ; no modulation Modulation In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a high-frequency periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with a modulating signal which typically contains information to be transmitted... ; Data Data The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which... , telemetry Telemetry Telemetry is a technology that allows measurements to be made at a distance, usually via radio wave transmission and reception of the information. The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure... , telecommand Telecommand A telecommand is a command sent to control a remote system or systems not directly connected to the place from which the telecommand is sent. The word is derived from tele = remote , and command = to entrust/order... |
| A2B | Amplitude modulation Amplitude modulation Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent... ; Digital, with modulation; Telegraphy Telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver... for machine copy (RTTY, fast Morse) |
| A2D | Amplitude modulation Amplitude modulation Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent... ; Digital, with modulation; Data Data The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which... , telemetry Telemetry Telemetry is a technology that allows measurements to be made at a distance, usually via radio wave transmission and reception of the information. The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure... , telecommand Telecommand A telecommand is a command sent to control a remote system or systems not directly connected to the place from which the telecommand is sent. The word is derived from tele = remote , and command = to entrust/order... |
| A3E | Amplitude modulation Amplitude modulation Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent... ; Single analog channel; Telephony Telephony In telecommunications, telephony encompasses the general use of equipment to provide communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other.... , voice, sound broadcasting |
| F2B | Angle modulation Angle modulation Angle modulation is a class of analog modulation. These techniques are based on altering the angle of a sinusoidal carrier wave to transmit data, as opposed to varying the amplitude, such as in AM transmission.... , straight FM FM broadcasting FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"... ; Digital, with modulation; Telegraphy Telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver... for machine copy (RTTY, fast Morse) |
| F1D | Angle modulation Angle modulation Angle modulation is a class of analog modulation. These techniques are based on altering the angle of a sinusoidal carrier wave to transmit data, as opposed to varying the amplitude, such as in AM transmission.... , straight FM FM broadcasting FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"... ; on off keyed On-off keying On-off keying the simplest form of amplitude-shift keying modulation that represents digital data as the presence or absence of a carrier wave. In its simplest form, the presence of a carrier for a specific duration represents a binary one, while its absence for the same duration represents a... or quantized Quantization (signal processing) Quantization, in mathematics and digital signal processing, is the process of mapping a large set of input values to a smaller set – such as rounding values to some unit of precision. A device or algorithmic function that performs quantization is called a quantizer. The error introduced by... ; Data Data The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which... , telemetry Telemetry Telemetry is a technology that allows measurements to be made at a distance, usually via radio wave transmission and reception of the information. The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure... , telecommand Telecommand A telecommand is a command sent to control a remote system or systems not directly connected to the place from which the telecommand is sent. The word is derived from tele = remote , and command = to entrust/order... |
| F2D | Angle modulation Angle modulation Angle modulation is a class of analog modulation. These techniques are based on altering the angle of a sinusoidal carrier wave to transmit data, as opposed to varying the amplitude, such as in AM transmission.... , straight FM FM broadcasting FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"... ; Digital, with modulation; Data Data The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which... , telemetry Telemetry Telemetry is a technology that allows measurements to be made at a distance, usually via radio wave transmission and reception of the information. The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure... , telecommand Telecommand A telecommand is a command sent to control a remote system or systems not directly connected to the place from which the telecommand is sent. The word is derived from tele = remote , and command = to entrust/order... |
| F3E | Angle modulation Angle modulation Angle modulation is a class of analog modulation. These techniques are based on altering the angle of a sinusoidal carrier wave to transmit data, as opposed to varying the amplitude, such as in AM transmission.... , straight FM FM broadcasting FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"... ; Single analog channel; Telephony Telephony In telecommunications, telephony encompasses the general use of equipment to provide communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other.... , voice, sound broadcasting |
| G3E | Angle modulation Angle modulation Angle modulation is a class of analog modulation. These techniques are based on altering the angle of a sinusoidal carrier wave to transmit data, as opposed to varying the amplitude, such as in AM transmission.... , phase modulation Phase modulation Phase modulation is a form of modulation that represents information as variations in the instantaneous phase of a carrier wave.Unlike its more popular counterpart, frequency modulation , PM is not very widely used for radio transmissions... ; Single analog channel; Telephony Telephony In telecommunications, telephony encompasses the general use of equipment to provide communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other.... , voice, sound broadcasting |
Permitted areas of operation
MURS operation is authorized anywhere a CBCitizens' band radio
Citizens' Band radio is, in many countries, a system of short-distance radio communications between individuals on a selection of 40 channels within the 27-MHz band. Citizens' Band is distinct from the FRS, GMRS, MURS and amateur radio...
station is authorized and within or over any area of the world where radio services are regulated by the FCC. Those areas are within the territorial limits of:
- The fifty United States
- The District of Columbia
- Caribbean Insular areas
- Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
- Navassa Island
- United States Virgin Islands (50 islets and cays)
- Pacific Insular areas
- American Samoa (seven islands)
- Baker Island
- Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands
- Guam Island
- Howland Island
- Jarvis Island
- Johnston Island (Islets East, Johnston, North and Sand)
- Kingman Reef
- Midway Island (Islets Eastern and Sand)
- Palmyra Island (more than 50 islets)
- Wake Island
- Aboard any vessel of the United States, with the permission of the captain, while the vessel is traveling either domestically or in international waters.
Restrictions
- Transmitter power output is limited to 2 watts.
- The highest point of any MURS antenna must not be more than 18.3 meters(60 feet) above the ground or 6.10 meters (20 feet) above the highest point of the structure to which it is mounted.
- Transmitting on MURS frequencies is not allowed while aboard aircraft in flight.
- When transmitting in Puerto RicoPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Desecheo, MonaMona, Puerto RicoMona is the third largest island of the archipelago of Puerto Rico, after the main island of Puerto Rico and Vieques. It is the largest of three islands located in the Mona Passage, a strait between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, the others being Monito Island and Desecheo Island...
, Vieques, and CulebraCulebra, Puerto RicoIsla Culebra is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico originally called Isla Pasaje and Isla de San Ildefonso. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of St. Thomas and north of Vieques. Culebra is spread over 5 wards and Culebra Pueblo...
, care must be taken to not interfere with the Arecibo ObservatoryArecibo ObservatoryThe Arecibo Observatory is a radio telescope near the city of Arecibo in Puerto Rico. It is operated by SRI International under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation...
Products
There are a wide variety of radio products that use MURS frequencies. MURS devices consist of wireless base station intercoms, handheld two-way radios, wireless public address units, customer service callboxes, wireless remote switches, and wireless callboxes with or without gate opening ability. Since MURS uses standard frequencies, all devices that use MURS are compatible with each other.See also
- Citizens band
- Business bandBusiness bandThe business band is the name used by US radio users and scanner hobbyists who listen to Federal Communications Commission licensees using Industrial/Business pool frequencies...
- Family Radio ServiceFamily Radio ServiceThe Family Radio Service is an improved walkie talkie radio system authorized in the United States since 1996. This personal radio service uses channelized frequencies in the ultra high frequency band. It does not suffer the interference effects found on citizens' band at 27 MHz, or the...
- GMRS
- Unlicensed Personal Communications ServicesUnlicensed Personal Communications ServicesUnlicensed Personal Communications Services or UPCS band describes the 1920-1930 MHz frequency band allocated by the United States Federal Communications Commission for short range Personal Communications Services applications in the United States, such as the Digital Enhanced Cordless...