Own an event company, need help with radios!

[eliasmartinez77]

Hi everyone!

I'm from Colombia, i just started a fashion event company, and i have to invert in radios for my staff, i need i think 7 radios, the purpose is obviously that all the staff members can communicate in a party, or a runway, etc...

i'm just starting and i dont want to spend a lot of money in the beginings, i was looking the BAOFENG UV-5R, i like the price, the style, and the hole bunch of reviews in the net, but i dont know if it fits to my needs, i just need the 7 radios communicate each other in a channel/frequency. thats all.

Anyone who recommend me anything? should i buy 7 UV-5R units?

And if the BAOFENG do fits my needs, whats the range of communication?


PS. obviously i dont know a thing about two way radios, any help would be greatfull!!

cheers!!

ELIAS.

 

[daugherh]

Elias,

First off, let me welcome you to Radio Reference.

To answer your question I am going to hit on some key points that should answer at least some of your questions.

i just need the 7 radios communicate each other in a channel/frequency. thats all.

Yes the UV-5R, just like any two way radio, will provide the communications you desire by talking to each other on a channel or frequency. However, there are some things to think about. Please keep in mind I am not 100% sure if everything I mention pertains to you since you're in Colombia but I'm sure some of the other members here can verify what is correct and what isn't. But for you to do such in America, you must follow the following guidelines.

• 1- In order to [highlight]legally[/highlight] use a two way radio on a frequency(ies) you must first obtain a proper FCC (In your case it'd be the proper licensing authority for your region, which I am NOT sure on) license entitling you to use that frequency. You can't just, for example, say I'm going to use 123.45 MHz because you could be interfering with another, properly licensed user(s).
• 2- Obtaining the proper license can cost a great deal, and you said you do not wish to invest a lot.
• 3- You must make sure your radios are programmed correctly to your frequencies. The BaoFeng is one of the easier radios to program in my opinion but must still be done correctly.

Now again with you being in Colombia I'm not sure if the following applies but in America we do have a set of frequencies referred to as MURS (Multi Use Radio Service) that has a select few frequencies with a max power of 2 watts. There are regulations as to which radios can and cannot be used with MURS. I would highly suggest not only asking here on RR as you have done but also ask around to other businesses or radio shops in your area (that being if there are any close) who might be able to give you a lead in the right direction.

 

[AgentCOPP1]

Welcome to the RR forums Elias! First off, you would not want to buy the Baofeng UV-5R. The UV-5R is a ham radio which means you'd have to license every single employee. If you use the ham frequencies illegally, you are playing Russian roulette. Ham operators are quick to alert to any illegal operations. Not only that, but using ham radios for commercial business is a big no. I'm not too familiar with Colombian laws, but I'm basing my knowledge off of the American laws, so I may not be entirely correct. I think the UV-5R is also licensed for commercial use, but you'd have to obtain a commercial license so that all of your employees could use it, but the price for that license could range greatly, and quite frankly I couldn't give you any sort of ball park range on how expensive it might be.

Here in America, we have two unlicensed radio services that you could use (I know you don't live in America though). You would use either FRS (family radio service) or MURS (Multiple Use Radio Service). These would both be fine for using commercially, and the good part is that you don't need a license to use them. The FRS radios would probably be easier to use since there are a lot more out there, and they are generally much cheaper than MURS radios.

Since you're probably going to get mostly American-based replies here, I would suggest to you that you research a little bit on Colombian radio laws and see which ones would work best for you. Ask around your local businesses. I'm sure you can find something out. I'd love to research it for you, but I'm about to go to bed haha.

Also, the range for the Baofeng radio could vary greatly, but with the stock antenna that they give you, you should expect anywhere between 1 and 3 miles (1.5km - 5km). I would say your range would probably lean more towards 1 mile though, but it's possible for it to go further. If you buy an aftermarket antenna, your range would improve dramatically, likely into the 5-10 mile range (given that you have little obstruction). Remember that VHF (very high frequency) communications is generally line of sight. If you can directly see the person you're talking to, communications could extend out to 30 miles, but if there's a bunch of trees and foliage in the way, that kind of distance is next to impossible.

 

[KD2DLL]

Welcome to the RR forums Elias! First off, you would not want to buy the Baofeng UV-5R. The UV-5R is a ham radio which means you'd have to license every single employee. If you use the ham frequencies illegally, you are playing Russian roulette. Ham operators are quick to alert to any illegal operations. Not only that, but using ham radios for commercial business is a big no. I'm not too familiar with Colombian laws, but I'm basing my knowledge off of the American laws, so I may not be entirely correct. I think the UV-5R is also licensed for commercial use, but you'd have to obtain a commercial license so that all of your employees could use it, but the price for that license could range greatly, and quite frankly I couldn't give you any sort of ball park range on how expensive it might be.

Here in America, we have two unlicensed radio services that you could use (I know you don't live in America though). You would use either FRS (family radio service) or MURS (Multiple Use Radio Service). These would both be fine for using commercially, and the good part is that you don't need a license to use them. The FRS radios would probably be easier to use since there are a lot more out there, and they are generally much cheaper than MURS radios.

Since you're probably going to get mostly American-based replies here, I would suggest to you that you research a little bit on Colombian radio laws and see which ones would work best for you. Ask around your local businesses. I'm sure you can find something out. I'd love to research it for you, but I'm about to go to bed haha.

Also, the range for the Baofeng radio could vary greatly, but with the stock antenna that they give you, you should expect anywhere between 1 and 3 miles (1.5km - 5km). I would say your range would probably lean more towards 1 mile though, but it's possible for it to go further. If you buy an aftermarket antenna, your range would improve dramatically, likely into the 5-10 mile range (given that you have little obstruction). Remember that VHF (very high frequency) communications is generally line of sight. If you can directly see the person you're talking to, communications could extend out to 30 miles, but if there's a bunch of trees and foliage in the way, that kind of distance is next to impossible.

Two points on this:

1, the UV-5R is not limited to just the ham bands. Anything in VHF or UHF will work. So one could use GMRS or any commercial frequency (if your licensed) on it. It is not type certified for MURS, but I'm sure people use it for that anyways.

2, FRS is not supposed to be used for businesses. It's Family Radio Service, its meant for families and individuals, not for business. MURS is the only unlicensed set of frequencies that can be used for business, which is limited to 2 watts of power.


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[n5ims]

Hi everyone!

I'm from Colombia, i just started a fashion event company, and i have to invert in radios for my staff, i need i think 7 radios, the purpose is obviously that all the staff members can communicate in a party, or a runway, etc...

i'm just starting and i dont want to spend a lot of money in the beginings, i was looking the BAOFENG UV-5R, i like the price, the style, and the hole bunch of reviews in the net, but i dont know if it fits to my needs, i just need the 7 radios communicate each other in a channel/frequency. thats all.

Anyone who recommend me anything? should i buy 7 UV-5R units?

And if the BAOFENG do fits my needs, whats the range of communication?


PS. obviously i dont know a thing about two way radios, any help would be greatfull!!

cheers!!

ELIAS.

Welcome to Radio Reference and congratulations on your new company! One thing you should watch out for in answers to your very legitimate question is that most folks here are US based and probably know very little about communication laws in Columbia. If you follow US laws there you may get into some serious trouble so please take that into account when getting advice from folks that know little about what laws and regulations you may need to follow. Without knowing the laws there our advice, while well intentioned, may put you on a frequency that's legal to use but just happens to be a critical military or police frequency in your country and that wouldn't be very good for you.

Since I know nothing about the communication laws in Columbia, I won't try to offer you any advice about your plans specifically but will give you some advice that may be useful. The first thing you should do is contact a two-way radio company in your country, explain what your needs are, and ask for what they would provide for a solution. They should be able to provide a solution that's 100% legal in your country and works for what you need to accomplish. The cost may or may not be all that high even since there may be radio services available to you like our MURS frequencies here in the US that are license free and would work well for your business.

Also radios may need to be certified for use in your country as they often are here in the US. The BAOFENG UV-5R may not be certified for use there even though it is in the US. Different regulations may affect certification and there is generally nothing that allows a radio certified in one country to be legally used in another one unless the company that produces it goes through the certification process for the country in question.

One example I'm aware of is the FRS radios some folks have talked about. Both the US and Mexico have similar services and use similar frequencies. In the US, those radios must have the correct FCC certification for them to be legally used here. Cross into Mexico and that certification isn't valid (the radios must have the appropriate Mexican certification to be legal there). I was on a bus chartered by our cruise company for an excursion and stopped at a checkpoint when some passengers (not us fortunately) were using their FRS radios to talk to others in their group that were on another bus stopped behind us. The authorities checked the radios (on both busses) and found that they weren't properly certified. While it doesn't sound like this would be a big deal (perhaps a simple, "You can't use those in our country, sorry.") it took a couple of hours and several high ranking folks from the cruise company to resolve the issue. The radios were confiscated and stern warnings were issued before we were allowed to continue onto our destination. One of the hostesses commented that they were really close to being taken to jail over it until the cruise officials were able to smooth out the situation.

 

[AgentCOPP1]

Two points on this:

1, the UV-5R is not limited to just the ham bands. Anything in VHF or UHF will work. So one could use GMRS or any commercial frequency (if your licensed) on it. It is not type certified for MURS, but I'm sure people use it for that anyways.

2, FRS is not supposed to be used for businesses. It's Family Radio Service, its meant for families and individuals, not for business. MURS is the only unlicensed set of frequencies that can be used for business, which is limited to 2 watts of power.


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1. This is true. The Baofeng can indeed transmit almost anywhere in the VHF/UHF band, but the question of it being legal to transmit outside what it is certified for must be in question. If my memory serves me correct, the UV-5R is Part 90 and 97 certified, which means that it isn't certified for any GMRS/FRS/MURS frequencies. It doesn't matter if you're licensed for any frequency outside of part 90 and 97. If you're caught transmitting on a radio that isn't certified for your service, your license could be in jeopardy.

2. This isn't true. The FCC explicitly states that FRS can be used for commercial activity. "You can operate an FRS device regardless of your age and for personal or business use so long as you are not a representative of a foreign government."

 

[DaveNF2G]

As somebody already pointed out, what the FCC says is totally irrelevant to this thread.

I would make a more generally applicable suggestion. Ask for advice on radios, taxes, and any other sort of regulated activity from real experts, not hobbyists using a website. In any country.