LMR for theoretical personal use

[Darth_vader]

Say that I won the lottery and acquired a set of brand-new part-90 narrowband FM HTs. Assuming money was still no object, say I also wanted to licence a couple LMR or "colour-dot" frequencies to use with them. Approximately how much would I have to expect to fork over in licencing/administrative/"just-because-we-can-charge-it" fees to the F¢¢ and about how much (and what sort of) red tape and general bureaucracy would I have to look forward to?

CAVEAT: Serious on-topic replies only. Meaning, don't post here just to say I should use part 95 or (especially) to "get a HAM ticket" or your post WILL be ignored!

 

[mmckenna]

Red tape:
You'd need to meet the requirements set forth in 90.35
You'd either need to:
1. get an itinerant frequency which would be shared, or
2. go through frequency coordination.
You'd need to apply for the license, which while not easy, isn't impossible. It's often easier to have someone experienced do it for you.

Cost:
Frequency coordination would be a few hundred bucks.
Licensing would be $210 (I think) for 10 years.

I could be wrong on the fees. Where I work, I'm exempt from FCC fees, so I've never had to pay them for our part 90 licensing.


It's not impossible to do. As an individual or a family, you would not qualify. If you are running a business, your business would, but using it for personal use would be outside the rules.

 

[bfperez]

Enjoy filling out the application. It's a real blast, even for itinerants, if you want more 1 or 2.

 

[rapidcharger]

Looks like the cost of just the license (no coordination) has soared to $260. Not 160, but 260.

As for the eligibility.... "commercial activities, engaged in clergy activities, operating educational, philanthropic, or ecclesiastical institutions, or operating hospitals, clinics, or medical associations"

You provide a brief statement of eligibility. Will something like "Radios will be used for housekeeping" work? Probably.

You should save your money and get your ham license, Darth. There's a lot more fun to be had and you can get in there and talk to us on those LMR hts and use them to actually talk to someone other than yourself.

The radios on the itinerant channels and the common business channels , such as the "color dot" channels, (from back when radios had a little colored sticker on the bottom indicating what frequency they were crystalled for), used to be a lot more interesting to listen to when there were a lot more users using them but now it's a ghost town. Get your HAM TICKET.

. You'll be glad you did.

 

[trooperdude]

You would be better off leasing radios on an existing commercial system, rather than go through the hassle of going through frequency coordination.

Fleet rates can be pretty cheap for low-volume users. Especially on the newer digital systems.

In the end. It's cheaper to just go the amateur radio route. Especially now that there is no code requirement.

 

[n5ims]

While to qualify for your own Part-90 license you must have a commercial (not personal) need, it really isn't that hard to find a way to qualify for that. You don't have to be a multi-national corporation to qualify, someone with a couple of lawn mowers can qualify by "needing to coordinate operations for my landscaping business". How about someone that runs "radios will be used to coordinate training for marathons". You get the idea.

 

[MTS2000des]

without a business license or incorporation document on file with your states' secretary of state, you'd essentially be lying.

so figure the cost of incorporating an LLC or such in your state/province into the figures stated above, ASSuming you wanted to "do it right"

 

[rescuecomm]

License your church! Send the correspondence to their secretary. All you need is the call sign.

No lying needed.

 

[trooperdude]

without a business license or incorporation document on file with your states' secretary of state, you'd essentially be lying.

so figure the cost of incorporating an LLC or such in your state/province into the figures stated above, ASSuming you wanted to "do it right"

Plenty of small businesses that are not incorporated/LLC and run as DBA...

$25 for a DBA filing in my area.


Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk

 

[MTS2000des]

Plenty of small businesses that are not incorporated/LLC and run as DBA...

$25 for a DBA filing in my area.

and I'm sure the OP figured this out as they haven't been back since March of 2014.