What License for Trail Radios

[Manfred]

All,
I'm looking for information about what type of license I need for this type of two way radio

https://www.ruggedradios.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1167_1168&products_id=1873

and how to apply.
Perhaps there are some members around who are better educated on this subject than I am.
Thanks,

 

[fourwd1]

I looked at their site. They are being extremely evasive on what FCC service the radio is FCC certified for use, if any certification. It appears to be a broad band radio that could be used for Amateur Radio, Commercial use, GMRS use, or MURS.
Amateur radio requires a FCC klicense which requires a test, GMRS or Commercial (ie Business or Public Sercice (Police/Fire/Public Safety) obviously requires more, GMRS is a simple apply and pay license. MURS is license free with restrictions. People frequently buy these radios and use whatever frequency/band they see fit. Some get away with it until they start interfering with Amateur or Commercial/Public Safety traffic. The FCC will enforce it and the fines when caught are in the Tens of thousands of dollars.
For offroad or close highway use you dont need anything with that much RF output power. An inexpensive CB or FRS handheld radio (both license free) will do just fine and keep you out of trouble and be hundreds of dollars cheaper.
I'm a licensed Amateur, Commercial, and GMRS holder, we don't tolerate unlicensed interference.
Thank you for being smart enough to ask.

 

[fourwd1]

And thanks for posting in the OT section.

 

[BrianSD_42]

If you check out the comments on their site .....

https://www.ruggedradios.com/blog/vhf-and-uhf-explained/

Keith says:
August 19, 2017 at 7:52 am
So I am a beginner with vhf and have recently purchased a radio from you. I am not licensed, will I need a license to actually operate the radio? I’m about to hit some trails in Utah and were hoping just to have this as a precaution in case we have a problem

Rugged says:
August 21, 2017 at 9:56 am
I’m going to copy/paste a reply I sent to someone else recently. I think this may be helpful. The short story is yes, you do. When we talk about licensing, there are often two areas of this that get muddled together, so let me help clarify. HAM radio operators go through a very specific study and FCC testing. When complete, they are assigned a specific “call sign” such as (random example: KNUC12) that they use to identify themselves during transmission.
Rugged Radios offers radios that work in the commercial band and as a result, they do not require testing as they fall outside the range of a HAM radio.

However, a licensing and filing fee should be done with the FCC for our radios. For the frequency range we deal with, you would need to file for a PLMR (Private Land Mobile Radio) license. There’s a couple steps involved and the fee is nominal. You can do some research online for additional details, but these two links may be a great place to start your process…

https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/private-land-mobile-radio-services

https://www.fcc.gov/help/applying-new-license-universal-licensing-system-uls

Reply

It looks to be a UHF / VHF capable radio. There is a PDF manual you can download as well.

Personally I use one of the Amazon $60 BaoFeng radios and my buddy has one as well. We have them set to SIMPLEX (eg non-repeater) channels and frankly I have never even heard another soul on the channel. Lot's of folks do this and works far better (IMO) than CB or cheap FM handsets. This is still frowned upon of course. Whatever you do, don't broadcast on repeater channels without a license. For the record I didn't program mine but my friend is decently knowledgeable and we've never had an issue.

https://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-F8HP-Two-Way-136-174MHz-400-520MHz/dp/B00MAULSOK/

https://w7apk.com/baofeng

 

[reelamin]

Buy it and use it the guys in trench coats and sunglasses wont show up on your door looking for your radio.

 

[e60ral]

it's an overpriced version of a cheap Chinese radio, don't buy rugged radios


they program them to work on commercial bands, so legally you need to license a frequency that will not interfere with already licensed frequencies for where you will be using the radio.

it will be much easier for you to either 1) just use GMRS radios or 2) get a ham technician license and buy the unbranded version of the same exact radio (for much much less) and operate legally in your permitted frequencies