First time learning

[Redryder28125]

So I have a question, I’m fairly new to the broadcasting side of radio I’ve mostly just rebuilt a radio to work and ran a scanner, me and a buddy of mine got a good deal on a couple of Motorola XTL2500’s and we both have legitimate uses for the P25 bands (volunteer fire) but as for the conventional bands we were wondering what we’d need to be able to communicate between one another with the radios, in licensing mainly I can figure out most of the other stuff, I didn’t know if there was a way to avoid having to get a license to use them or if it was required due to the radios we have

 

[AK9R]

P25 is not a band. P25 is a digital voice protocol used in radio communications on various VHF and UHF bands.

The agencies that you volunteer with most likely have a license for their radios. The license holder would have to authorize the use of personal radios under their license. Any radios that you bring to the party would have to be suitable to use under the agency's license. Public safety licenses are generally not issued to individuals.

FCC licensing requirements are not driven by what radio you have. The licensing requirements pertain to the radio service in which you plan to transmit.

FRS does not require a license, but it does require radios that meet the FRS rules. The Motorola XTL2500 does not comply with the rules for FRS because it has a separable antenna and outputs too much RF power.

GMRS requires a license and the rules require that radios used in GMRS meet GMRS rules.

MURS does not require a license, but it does require radios that meet the MURS rules.

Amateur radio requires a license. The amateur radio rules are less specific about the radios used than FRS, GMRS, or MURS, the the amateur radio rules do specify that the radios used meet certain emission standards.

None of the above radio services are suitable for public safety communications.

A better approach would be to determine your communications goals and then find a radio service that will help you meet those goals. Once, you decide which radio service you want to use, then acquire radios that are permissible to operate in that service.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Speak to whoever is in charge of your volunteer fire dept's radios. When life safety is involved you best not DIY or seek advice from a hobbyist forum

 

[Redryder28125]

So it appears there’s been some confusion, the volunteer part is already cleared up, we had permission to listen and transmit for emergency use over our department P25 system the question was more towards the non emergency use such as me and my buddy just talking while we drive places together or something along those line, normally I’d use CB for that but neither of us have enough space to mount a separate radio just for coms so we were hoping to use one unit for both, we also own and operate a upfitting business together so we tend to drive separate to shows and whatnot as well as we do service calls and it would just be nice to communicate

 

[K4EET]

So it appears there’s been some confusion, the volunteer part is already cleared up, we had permission to listen and transmit for emergency use over our department P25 system the question was more towards the non emergency use such as me and my buddy just talking while we drive places together or something along those line, normally I’d use CB for that but neither of us have enough space to mount a separate radio just for coms so we were hoping to use one unit for both, we also own and operate a upfitting business together so we tend to drive separate to shows and whatnot as well as we do service calls and it would just be nice to communicate

You are probably not going to be able to do what you want to do with your Motorola XTL2500s. But to be able to answer for sure, we are going to need the complete model number of those Motorola mobile radios at a minimum. We may also need to know what agency that you are with in order to see what frequency band their system is in. As has already been stated, mixing personal chatter and even trying to get business chatter on a radio meant for Public Safety, is not going to be a good idea. I personally know of case similar to that where a call was missed and things did not bode well. You really should try to figure out how to get another radio in your vehicle like a GMRS radio or something. Human life may rest on your decision.

 

[AK9R]

the question was more towards the non emergency use such as me and my buddy just talking while we drive places together

There is nowhere in FCC-controlled spectrum where you can transmit with those radios without a license. The only services that don't require an individual license are FRS and MURS, but those services require radios that meet the rules for those services which doesn't include your XTL5000s. Assuming those radios will cover 144 to 146 MHz or 430 to 450 MHz, the easiest approach may be for you and your buddy to get your amateur radio licenses.

 

[mmckenna]

we also own and operate a upfitting business together so we tend to drive separate to shows and whatnot as well as we do service calls and it would just be nice to communicate

This says business use.
You cannot use amateur radio for business use. That rules that out.

GMRS was mentioned. GMRS requires radios with appropriate FCC type acceptance, which these radios don't have. Even if it did, it would require the UHF model. Since you didn't share the exact model number, we don't know what you have. XTL2500 is a series of radios and doesn't tell us which band they are.

Your only -legal- option would be:
Figure out what band radio these are.
Talk to a frequency coordinator.
The frequency coordinator can determine which frequency/frequencies are available in your area for business use.
They will help you license that frequency/frequencies.