HAs there been any thought on having meshtastic on the GRMS bands. with this it could support both voice and TXT now that the FCC allows it. look at the capabilities of the btech GRMS pro. it has a lot of the same features but on the other hand it is pretty expensive. but a DIY solution might work better
All of the Meshtastic code uses LoRa radios so it would be a pretty big effort.
I would think a lot of the base code and commands would be the same. But the hardware would be different
Would have to be supported by radiolib to start GitHub - jgromes/RadioLib: Universal wireless communication library for embedded devices
SOCORAD32 might be the best place to start. No personal experience, just randomly found this trying to learn more about the LimeSDR a few months back.
SOCORAD32 is primitive. There is no connection between ESP32 ADC/DAC circuits and voice input/output pins of the radio module. Thus, It has no any features beyond a simple walkie-talkie radio.
See this schematic file for more details.
LilyGO T-TWR Plus is way more advanced product than the SOCORAD32 one.
There are open source projects that have announced upcoming support for the LilyGO T-TWR Plus, such as:
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APRS is also pretty primitive.
APRS (born in late 80’s) uses no-license modulation type and it was soon adopted by major radio brands, such as Motorola, iCOM, Yaesu, …
No one is willing to put all the golden eggs into Semtech basket these days.
Pretty sure the updated rules on part 95 (FRS/GMRS) do not allow something like this to function…and throwing that many data packets out over the limited bandwidth would bring interference to the analog voice communication, which is the primary role for part 95.
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Everything I have ever seen says APRS requires a license, got a FCC link to back up your claims?
The statement was:
APRS (born in late 80’s) uses no-license modulation type
Does an access to Bell 202 AFSK modulation type require a license from an institution like LoRa Alliance ?
Great, I could care less about that, would rather have a standard and an alliance than one guy. The thing that matters to users is that you need a license to use it.
Just a thought… Will T-TWR+ run Meshtastic? 
No lora radio, so no.
I’m not aware of any radios that cover both frequency ranges, but GMRS repeater owners could be fantastic partners with Meshtastic networks as they already have $1,000-$2,000 worth of GMRS repeater gear with an antenna that is usually mounted on some type of 20-50ft mast or tall building. Adding, say a wisblock solar cased Meshtastic repeater node on those GMRS repeater masts would be a very inexpensive addition.