• To anyone looking to acquire commercial radio programming software:

    Please do not make requests for copies of radio programming software which is sold (or was sold) by the manufacturer for any monetary value. All requests will be deleted and a forum infraction issued. Making a request such as this is attempting to engage in software piracy and this forum cannot be involved or associated with this activity. The same goes for any private transaction via Private Message. Even if you attempt to engage in this activity in PM's we will still enforce the forum rules. Your PM's are not private and the administration has the right to read them if there's a hint to criminal activity.

    If you are having trouble legally obtaining software please state so. We do not want any hurt feelings when your vague post is mistaken for a free request. It is YOUR responsibility to properly word your request.

    To obtain Motorola software see the Sticky in the Motorola forum.

    The various other vendors often permit their dealers to sell the software online (i.e., Kenwood). Please use Google or some other search engine to find a dealer that sells the software. Typically each series or individual radio requires its own software package. Often the Kenwood software is less than $100 so don't be a cheapskate; just purchase it.

    For M/A Com/Harris/GE, etc: there are two software packages that program all current and past radios. One package is for conventional programming and the other for trunked programming. The trunked package is in upwards of $2,500. The conventional package is more reasonable though is still several hundred dollars. The benefit is you do not need multiple versions for each radio (unlike Motorola).

    This is a large and very visible forum. We cannot jeopardize the ability to provide the RadioReference services by allowing this activity to occur. Please respect this.

FCC Leasing Frequencies?

Status
Not open for further replies.

707Lineman

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Mar 10, 2012
Messages
29
Location
Big Spring, Texas
Hi hive,
I'm starting up a hotshot business here in Texas. I would like to get radios (ie TK-8180 possibly) for each of the trucks for communication between trucks on long hauls, between trucks and dispatch for local hauls. How do I go about getting frequencies "leased" to me? is VHF or UHF better? Sorry for the newbie questions
 

KevinC

Big Dog...celebrating 10 years of abuse!
Super Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2001
Messages
11,341
Location
Home
I moved your thread since it pertains to commercial usage of radios.
 

TampaTyron

Beep Boop, Beep Boop
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 1, 2010
Messages
1,091
Location
Phoenix, AZ
Dollar wise..... I would find out if there are any wide area radio systems (MOTOTRBOR or NXDN) that cover your expected area of operations. If so, then you would typically buy the radio and pay a monthly fee per radio for the coverage. If that doesn't work out, you could get an Itinerant license for a few dress for around 300-400 dollars that would enable you to legally use the radios, but coverage would be down to a handful of miles mobile to mobile. TT
 

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
23,618
Location
Hiding in a coffee shop.
You'd need an appropriate FCC license to do that.

To get a license, you need to file. To file, you need to know what you are asking for.

For your "on the road" use, an itinerant license would be the right thing. You can apply for those easy enough, but the application can be a bit of a challenge for those not familiar with it.

For your dispatch operations, you'll need a coordinated frequency, since it'll be used in a fixed location and you'll want something more than what the itinerant licenses will offer you. You probably want a repeater if you want any decent range. That'll mean working with a frequency coordinator to find an available frequency. That'll cost a few hundred bucks.

And depending on how many radios you have and what your budget is, putting up a repeater can be cost prohibitive unless you have deep pockets. The cost of a decent repeater will be a few thousand. Access to a tower/building/hill to install it at to provide decent coverage can be costly. Antenna, coax, combiner, etc. all will cost several thousand. A competent tech to tune and install it all will cost more.

Often a -much- cheaper approach is to contact a few local radio shops. Many of them can lease you space on their own radio systems. This can save you a LOT of money, because the cost of the repeater and maintenance gets shared amongst a lot more users. They'll take care of the licensing, radio programming, etc.

A good radio shop can help you figure all this out. They can set up your radios to access their repeater/trunked system and set up your dispatch point. They can add "talk around" frequencies for use by your drivers when they are outside the area.

VHF/UHF is something that's determined by your needs and what the frequency coordinator can find. Do NOT purchase radios without going through the frequency coordinator or radio shop, as you may very well get the wrong type of radio.

Talk to a couple of radio shops first. Find out what they offer and what kind of services they have.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top