Should I MARS/CAP mod my radio?

On the gun / ammo capacity debate. If I knew that I was only going to need 4-5 bullets to defend myself in the attack against me and my family Friday night at 10:47pm. I would be somewhere else Friday night at 10:47pm and the police would have been staked out at where the attack was supposed to take place! Funny thing though, real life doesn’t really work that way.

This came up in my feed today. I've been considering the MARS/CAP mod for my new IC-7300. I live in Japan, which, as most people know, is a very earthquake prone country. It seems to me that a reversible MARS/CAP mod could be useful for me if an earthquake were to strike my area. I need to research what local hams are doing, of course, but I think if its not too objectionable, I will add a switch so I can go from unmodded to modded and back again with just a flip of the switch and a reboot once the emergency is over. Has this been the normal procedure for US hams or do people just leave their radios modded once they perform the procedure and take whatever risks that may involve?

Another aspect is that the number one reason that people modify their radios is to use them on licensed business bands. Lots of businesses use uv5r radios. They just unlock them and program them to their licensed frequency. This is a completely legitimate practice, and is largely the reason why radio manufacturers add that functionality in the first place. Hams that want to see unlocking features removed are only thinking about their service, and forgetting that radios are also marketed to businesses who need the ability to unlock them in order to legally use them

I have opened up ALL my transceivers to be able to use any frequency necessary in an emergency. Yes, I have been a MARS member for over 25 years, and have been involved in civil defense in my county for longer. I have had occasion to use my radios out of band (VHF, HF) on several occasions, and glad to do it. Being a ham for over 40 years hasn't spoiled me as to who uses what frequency for what purpose, sometimes I hear Fort Rucker in Alabama use the higher part of 6 meters on occasion and never complained. Someday you might be called upon to be able and ready to operate out of band as Hams have been called upon to do during an emergency. The FCC has defined an emergency as: when life or property is in danger and you are called on to communicate any way you can to save lives or their property (but only for the duration of the emergency and only if there is no other way to communicate). So, if I were you, I would open one each of my HF, VHF, UHF radios for full coverage that the radios were capable of. Amateur Radio has always served in emergencies, so being capable of communicating with local, state, and Federal agencies almost a given. No emergency, no out of band operation. But, be fully capable of communicating to anyone if an emergency calls you out and you can make a difference.

If you watch the news much you will realize why you need such things

We all have opinions... I guess I'm in the minority. In mine, unless you're tasked to "necessary" need that mod, I see no reason to do the mod. The better to have than not, emergency, options etc. and all the other arguable fabricated hooey is nothing more than that. But hey, it's your radio, go ahead and make yourself comfortable.

thank god for the cheap chinese radios! it's ridiculous you would need to have 2 or 3 separate radios. LOL

I like how this video is oriented with people that are smart and aware of what’s going on in the US currently—in other words, patriots—in mind

Forget ethics… illegal ntm warranty. Why not just do it right. Buy the right rig for the job. Sounds hard but a few of us have a brick or two lying about cause some hack watched a video. But hey your mileage may vary

If someone breaks into your house with a AR-15 with a full 30 shot mag, I feel like if I match his firepower, at least I have a chance. If all I have a double-barreled shotgun, or I'm a person that doesn't believe in guns at all, I'd probably be F'd. So I agree with KS6DAY on the gun thing!!

Love the content and love the philosophy of use!! Great parallel arguments being made.. Sub'd!!

No!!

Licence Ham radio operators can make their own transceivers from scratch. And with that licence comes the responsibility to ensure they only transmit within their bands amongst other things. It's not the responsibility of the equipment (which they made have built). So my understanding is that the FCC wasn't banning hams from buying and using baofangs, unlockable transceivers or even modifying them. It was banned for everyone else . Ie the person buying it for grms, marine radio etc. They didn't do the technical training to gain the responsibility to make and modify radios. There is as far as I know no issue with a ham having an unlocked transceiver. They just can not use it outside of the ham band without it being a real emergency. I'm happy to be corrected on this. I'm not in the US

Yes.............scary tools.............why why why................cause FREEDOM!!!

FREEDOM: It's not having other people or the government tell you what you NEED.

I mars mod mine because it's ridiculous that I should have to carry 3-4 HT's around with me to use services that can be used successfully with proper bandwidth / power with one radio without interference. All just because some bureaucrats want to charge more fees for radio certification. I don't operate outside of anything I'm licensed for. Same goes for my mobile rig. I'm not installing 5 radios in my truck to satisfy some bureaucrats weird notions.

Why shouldn't I use my ham HT for GMRS and MURS - OTHER than "because regulations" ...

As for warranty - get a radio from Gigaparts, they offer mars mods that keep your warranty intact.

I agree with most of the comments here. My biggest concern is the lack of quality in the cheap radios. I've seen the spectral purity of these garbage radios, and they transmit all over the place when you observe them on a service monitor screen. Sure, they transmit where they are programmed, but they also transmit simultaneously up and down the band simply because they have no filters or garbage filters. Quality matters.

No reason why not in my mind .just another tool.

How do you do the Mars cap mod on the alinco dj-vx50?

Can you MARS/CAP a retevis rt85 for GMRS and FRS? I’ve heard both yes and no. Asking since you’ve reviewed that radio.

Yes you should, I'll get 50 Mhz @ 1 watt and 70 mhz as well.

One thing I can say is going to happen because FR-S is so freely ran across gmrs I can see in the future gmrs and running amok people are not using their license Ford anymore it's just going to be just like CB radio gmrs mfrs will be just like a CB radio

Mars mod is for those in MARS only. I found Mars was a waste of time for me. I sent the “free” stuff back and ended my Mars activity. Old call was NNN etc .

Does the MARS mod effect output power of the radio? Saw a video of VX-6 owner on a SWR/Watt meter after MARS mod, and it was putting out 3.72 watts max, and on a number of bands less than 2 watts. That sucks for a radio that is "supposed to" put out 5 watts. Or am I completely out of the ball park with this one?

Oh..... Do any of your experience hand helds that are Mars modable have digital modes?? Is there such a thing as an all mode all band handy with digital modes??

Hey.... I have a few baofeng's and they are all unlocked but they still lock up when I try and key the mic between around 178.17375 and 188.86375..... is this normal?? Do they all do that?? Some of my radios are UV-5Rx3 tri band and some are just regular UV-5R..... Although I changed the max frequency on the UV-5R in CHIRP to from 174 I think to 260..... So I guess they are all kind of tri band radios now..... Btw I'm in the UK if that matters.....

Question: "Should I MARS/CAP mod my radio?"
Answer: Yes.

Question: "Why would one do this?"
Answer: So I only have to carry one radio to transmit on frequencies that would otherwise be blocked. Specifically GMRS, FRS, and MURS.

It's best to be prepared. My EDC HT has a few antennas and 3 batteries plus various charging methods.
Well explained and sensible thought on why.👍🤠

YES

I have a modified Kenwood. It will transmit any frequency you can tune to. I wish it wasn’t modified because I could transmit any frequency that I can tune to. I used it for MARS years ago. Now I have a new Yaesu that won’t transmit out of legal frequency.

yes always mod

Really the one thing that should have been brought up is changing the channel width on the unlocked channels. A few murs channels are narrow, and some of the GMRS channels are also. If you properly program your channel widths, nobody will know you're on a ham radio. If you don't, it's absolutely obvious what you are doing.

love the gun comparison.

radios are communication, 1st amendment. The FCC has regulated Radios too tightly.

The FRS restrictions are ridiculous, the wattage and antenna regulations especially

and we can't have 1 radio to talk on every band?!?

yes

Having trouble finding the video your referenced about Jan6, can someone share the vid title please?

gigaparts does the mod for you & you retain the manufacturer warranty that way.

Well said sir, and I absolutely agree.

You are correct.

What ethical considerations?

I just did the mars mod on my VX6R, and now I can’t hear out the speaker or adjust volume… any thoughts

most US roads have a max allowed of 80 mph. Do you support the car manufacturers to limit your car to drive at that maximum speed? bunch of clowns

You mentioned a key sequence to unlock the transmit on the tyt uv8000e. I have been searching for a bit and cannot find it. Could you point me in the right direction to find it. Thanks. 73

The answer is always "yes". Best to have it and not need it then need it and not have it.

I mars/cap every radio I buy before even turning it on. That includes a brand new VX-5R I bought six months after it came out.

Excellent explanation! Your wisdom and ability to communicate common sense got me to subscribe immediately. Did the mod on my FT 65R

Your EmComm bag video said it best. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

For many years, hams used home built, or retired police and business radios modified for the amateur bands, all of witch would transmit out of band. As far as i can tell, its not illegal to have a radio that will transmit out of band, but it is against the fcc regulations to transmit out of band or sell radios that can. FCC rules and regulations are not laws. They will not show up with a search warrant to check your radios unless you give them a good excuse, and then only after making contact with you multiple times to stop. Its a non issue.

I don't Because I like to keep My Radios like New, also FRS Radios are very Cheap to buy,

"They think they're just going to rise to the occasion and make their radio work like a magician".

What does being licensed and knowing how to make the radio work have anything to do with each other?

Do people not know how to drive because they don't have a driver's license?

🤷