Properly licensed?

tonythemediaguy · Oct 31, 2014

Hello,

I'm new here. I'm personally studying for the technician exam and have been listening on scanners for years.

In my real job, I'm an IT manager. We have a license and a handful of frequencies assigned to us. I didn't file this application, as this was long ago. But it is still active, and we now have a need for some wireless communications. Our license says: IG - Industrial/Business Pool, Conventional. We have several in the 464 range and 469 range.

So I just picked up four BaoFeng UV-82C which is the commercial version. Is this my best bet considering the license we have? I could have probably just used the UV-5R, but I know these are better because I can lockout the front. I picked put he programming cable for them also.

The place I'm using these is approx. 15 miles to the closest town, 5 miles to the closest neighbor. Cell phones don't work here.

Any help, advice, comments are very welcome!

Mtnrider · Oct 31, 2014

A call sign or link to license would help to determine this question. Sounds like you have a repeater license....and cheap radios are gonna work as such

jonwienke · Oct 31, 2014

As long as the radios are properly programmed to the business' licensed frequencies, and the VFO is locked out, you should be good. IIRC you can use CHIRP, which is pretty easy to use.

The Baofengs are not in the same class as other radio brands, but they are an excellent value for the money. I have several, and haven't had any of them break yet. But I have spares if one breaks.

KC9HI · Nov 1, 2014

tonythemediaguy said:
Hello,

I'm new here. I'm personally studying for the technician exam and have been listening on scanners for years.

In my real job, I'm an IT manager. We have a license and a handful of frequencies assigned to us. I didn't file this application, as this was long ago. But it is still active, and we now have a need for some wireless communications. Our license says: IG - Industrial/Business Pool, Conventional. We have several in the 464 range and 469 range.

So I just picked up four BaoFeng UV-82C which is the commercial version. Is this my best bet considering the license we have? I could have probably just used the UV-5R, but I know these are better because I can lockout the front. I picked put he programming cable for them also.

The place I'm using these is approx. 15 miles to the closest town, 5 miles to the closest neighbor. Cell phones don't work here.

Any help, advice, comments are very welcome!

Considering that you have an existing license, the UV-82C was a good choice. It will have the part 90 sticker attached from the factory. Even though the UV-5R is shown as part 90 approved in the FCC database, they are not always shipped with the part 90 sticker.

I agree that is does sound like you may have a license for a repeater. I helped my company get a repeater in the same frequency range (464.xxx +5 MHz). Do you have a repeater? I believe we had 1 year to get the repeater on-the-air to keep the license.

Program the "handful" of frequencies using NARRow FM. Then what I do is all a channel for the local NOAA weather radio. It is skipped when scanning and TX is inhibited. Don't for get to disable menu 41 (RESET). And it is up to you if you want to disable all menus and/or the ability to switch to broadcast FM reception.

Jim KC9HI

prcguy · Nov 1, 2014

You say the license was from long ago. Has it been updated since January 1st, 2013? If not its probably not valid unless modified for narrow band operation.

Look at the emission designator on the license, if it says "20K0F3E" then its not been updated and no longer valid. If its "11K0F3E" or similar then its probably current. Also check what power your authorized for as some licenses only allowed 2w operation. You could then program your Baofeng on the licensed frequencies with narrow band deviation, appropriate power level and be legal.
prcguy

tonythemediaguy said:
Hello,

I'm new here. I'm personally studying for the technician exam and have been listening on scanners for years.

In my real job, I'm an IT manager. We have a license and a handful of frequencies assigned to us. I didn't file this application, as this was long ago. But it is still active, and we now have a need for some wireless communications. Our license says: IG - Industrial/Business Pool, Conventional. We have several in the 464 range and 469 range.

So I just picked up four BaoFeng UV-82C which is the commercial version. Is this my best bet considering the license we have? I could have probably just used the UV-5R, but I know these are better because I can lockout the front. I picked put he programming cable for them also.

The place I'm using these is approx. 15 miles to the closest town, 5 miles to the closest neighbor. Cell phones don't work here.

Any help, advice, comments are very welcome!

KC9HI · Nov 1, 2014

prcguy said:
You say the license was from long ago. Has it been updated since January 1st, 2013? If not its probably not valid unless modified for narrow band operation.

Look at the emission designator on the license, if it says "20K0F3E" then its not been updated and no longer valid. If its "11K0F3E" or similar then its probably current. Also check what power your authorized for as some licenses only allowed 2w operation. You could then program your Baofeng on the licensed frequencies with narrow band deviation, appropriate power level and be legal.
prcguy

Not necessarily. January 1st, 2013 was the deadline for everyone to be switched to narrow band emissions. The mandate and migration started before that. January 1st, 2011 was the day that applications for systems exceeding 12.5 KHz would not be accepted. But even licenses prior to that date could have been designated "narrow". My "IG - Industrial/Business Pool, Conventional" licenses issued in 2009 and 2011 are both "narrow".

So as long as the license was issued within the last 10 years, is should still be active. Since January 1st, 2013, any operation under that license must use narrow emissions.

Jim KC9HI

Project25_MASTR · Nov 1, 2014

KC9HI said:
Considering that you have an existing license, the UV-82C was a good choice. It will have the part 90 sticker attached from the factory. Even though the UV-5R is shown as part 90 approved in the FCC database, they are not always shipped with the part 90 sticker.

I agree that is does sound like you may have a license for a repeater. I helped my company get a repeater in the same frequency range (464.xxx +5 MHz). Do you have a repeater? I believe we had 1 year to get the repeater on-the-air to keep the license.

Program the "handful" of frequencies using NARRow FM. Then what I do is all a channel for the local NOAA weather radio. It is skipped when scanning and TX is inhibited. Don't for get to disable menu 41 (RESET). And it is up to you if you want to disable all menus and/or the ability to switch to broadcast FM reception.

Jim KC9HI

The Part 90 sticker doesn't actually mean anything.

The VFO on the UV-5R can be locked out but I'm not sure if chirp supports it.

Baofengs do break...one of the quick ways to do this is to hot swap the accessory/programming cables.

KC9HI · Nov 2, 2014

W5PKY said:
The Part 90 sticker doesn't actually mean anything.

The VFO on the UV-5R can be locked out but I'm not sure if chirp supports it.

Baofengs do break...one of the quick ways to do this is to hot swap the accessory/programming cables.

The VFO mode of the UV-5R cannot be locked out. It could only be locked out on some versions of the F-11 model but it is no longer available. It can be locked out on the UV-82C.

You can disable the VFO of the UV-5R and its many variants by using CHIRP. What you do is set the lower band limit of each band higher than the upper band limit.

I've swapped programming cables in my Baofeng radios for over 2 years. I have yet to have a radio fail.

Jim KC9HI

tonythemediaguy · Nov 2, 2014

Hi Everyone, thanks for your replies. I only received the email today that there are replies, and there were MANY! Thanks Again.

Here is our license: ULS License - Industrial/Business Pool, Conventional License - WQDH449 - SKY RIVER MANAGEMENT LLC

This location is location 2 (nationwide). It looks like this license does not include the narrowband addendum. Perhaps the entire license is null?

The UV-82c is compatible with CHIRP. Because this really isn't my field, I don't know what radios to look at. I was going to program these UV-82c's with our frequencies and lock out everything else. If I wasn't looking for the cheapest, but the BEST, what commercial radio would I use?
Also, anyone have recommendations for a base station? The handhelds would all call back to the base station, due to the terrain of this location.

I need a base station, and an antenna. I also need a mobile, and an antenna. I know those questions get asked here daily. Most people are looking for the cheapest options. I'm looking for the best options, regardless of price. It seems like the Yaesu's are the ones everybody goes for. Can these be locked out as well? The folks using these radios, need to be able to turn it on and go. This is a very remote location that would be hard for me to get back to in order to fix something.

Any/all advice/discussion is very appreciated!

Thunderknight · Nov 2, 2014

tonythemediaguy said:
This location is location 2 (nationwide). It looks like this license does not include the narrowband addendum. Perhaps the entire license is null?

It is already narrowband. The 11K2F3E emission designator is for analog narrowband voice and is on all your frequencies so you are good in that respect.

KC9HI · Nov 2, 2014

tonythemediaguy said:
Hi Everyone, thanks for your replies. I only received the email today that there are replies, and there were MANY! Thanks Again.

Here is our license: ULS License - Industrial/Business Pool, Conventional License - WQDH449 - SKY RIVER MANAGEMENT LLC

This location is location 2 (nationwide). It looks like this license does not include the narrowband addendum. Perhaps the entire license is null?

The UV-82c is compatible with CHIRP. Because this really isn't my field, I don't know what radios to look at. I was going to program these UV-82c's with our frequencies and lock out everything else. If I wasn't looking for the cheapest, but the BEST, what commercial radio would I use?
Also, anyone have recommendations for a base station? The handhelds would all call back to the base station, due to the terrain of this location.

I need a base station, and an antenna. I also need a mobile, and an antenna. I know those questions get asked here daily. Most people are looking for the cheapest options. I'm looking for the best options, regardless of price. It seems like the Yaesu's are the ones everybody goes for. Can these be locked out as well? The folks using these radios, need to be able to turn it on and go. This is a very remote location that would be hard for me to get back to in order to fix something.

Any/all advice/discussion is very appreciated!

This license is still active. Click on any of the frequencies and set that the emission is "11K2F3E" (narrow).

Jim KC9HI

WA0CBW · Nov 2, 2014

As said above your are OK on the emission. Looks like you have 2 itinerant repeaters at location #2 and a base station at location #3. You have no control stations FX1( a base station that talks to a repeater ). If you want another base station you will need to add it to your license at specific coordinates.
BB

Project25_MASTR · Nov 2, 2014

Not the cheapest but the best...Motorola. For the price, Icom LMR and Kenwood LMR is good stuff too.

Yaesu is an amateur company. They don't make anything for the commercial world. The commercial counter part to Yaesu is Vertex Standard (though no longer a part of Yaesu Musen). I don't have a lot of experience with their commercial gear.

Looking at what you're licensed for, you've got a 4W ERP limit and a 35W ERP limit. So on the frequencies that you're licensed with a 4W ERP you're probably not going to find any current (or post) production mobile radios that will meet that requirement. On the 35W ERP channels, there are a bunch of options available in both current and post production.

As far as antennas go, almost any non-1/4 wave antenna will put you beyond you're ERP limit for any mobile radio running above 17W.

All of the equipment I deal with is out of production. The only current production radio I could suggest is the Icom F4021T.

Some of my personal favorites are Motorola M1225, Motorola GM300, Icom F221, Icom F420 and Kenwood TK-880.

tonythemediaguy · Nov 2, 2014

Thanks.

I just found out from our other location that they are using EX600-XLS and PR400.

I think I may need to contact a reputable company to hook me up with this equipment. It would need to be programmed,yeah? Or can I do it with CHIRP? I'm talking getting the latest Motorola units.

For a base station, do people just use the mobile radio and run it from a power supply? Or can someone recommend a unit.

Thanks!

Project25_MASTR · Nov 2, 2014

You'll have to get a hold of a local Motorola shop. The Motorola programming software is closed source and the newer stuff requires a $300 subscription for the CPS (unless you know a Moto dealer).

WA0CBW · Nov 2, 2014

A base station is usually just a mobile and a power supply. Most manufacturers also make base stations/repeaters that have their own power supply, high power amplifiers and better receivers/transmitters and are designed for sites with high levels of RF. They are much more expensive.
BB

Properly licensed?

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