Question about using amatuer ham frequency

[MFDHoward]

There is this amateur ham repeater frequencies for my town for example:

Call Sign N1LMA
Location Westerly, Rhode Island
Frequency 147.240+
Input 147.84
PL Tone 100.0

I have a Beofang UV-5R coming in the mail and I have never used a radio for amateur use and my friends would like to know what to do if we wanted to casually communicate on our radios together. Is there some legal process or any registering of anything you have to do about being a amateur radio user or can I just program this frequency for my friends on their radios and talk with them?

[W8RMH]

Every operator will need at least a FCC amateur technician license.

[MFDHoward]

So just to talk on this frequency with my radio I need a license?

[brushfire21]

To use any amateur radio frequency, you will need a license. It is not very hard to get and can be alot of fun. Here is the a link to the ARRL website that may answer a few more questions:

Getting Your Technician License

You can do a little searching and find weekend/evening classes to help prepare you to take the exam.

[QDP2012]

Originally Posted by MFDHoward

So just to talk on this frequency with my radio I need a license?

Absolutely, but the requirements are much easier now than years ago. The current license levels are Technician (lowest), General, and Extra (highest). All three levels are permitted to use the 2meter band (144-148MHz). The General and Extra levels have more privilege below 6M (50-54MHz) in those bands that go much longer distances without using repeaters.

Please take the time to earn your license, and encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Local ham clubs might also offer convenient classes, too. The Amateur Radio Relay League is the national organization representing all amateur radio operators. Its website has a lot of good information. You can search for Clubs on their site also.

Good luck and have fun.

[mmckenna]

Alternately, these radios will work on the GMRS frequencies, although there may be some type acceptance issues. GMRS DOES require a license, but there is no test involved. Each family would need to apply for a license through the FCC, pay $85, and you'd get your licenses in the mail.

With that GMRS license, you can talk radio to radio all you want. If you want to use a repeater, you would have to research if there are any in the area, and get permission from the owner, or put up your own.

I'd strongly encourage you to get your amateur radio license, though. Everyone in my extended family has theirs, including my wife. It's not hard, just takes a bit of studying.

[W2NJS]

Since it wasn't mentioned previously, and the OP is apparently not at all familiar with the law, be advised that the Federal penalties, at maximum, for unlicensed operation (amateur or otherwise) can be extremely harsh, with common FCC penalties of upwards of $7,000, sometimes on a daily basis (that's a lot of money), as well as possible jail time. By all means learn about amateur radio, get a license, and have tons of fun, but please don't even think about operating unless you have a license.

[majoco]

Without getting your tech licence, you wouldn't have a callsign when you first transmitted on any ham band repeater so unless your friend was waiting for your call, you will probably get a load of abuse from all the legitimate users who are just 'earwigging'.