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Texas Non-Profit 2 Way radio license Requirements

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WRPI754

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Mineral Wells, Tx
I am a founding member of a Storm Spotting group in a county that has none. Not even EM or local FD/LEO. So we have formed a 501c (NON-Profit) and would like radio communications through out the county. Not to cross county lines. The radios would be strictly handed out upon spotter activation issued from the national weather service. We do not wish to obtain HAM licenses due to the financial restraints we have as an organization . What is the proper way to obtain a FCC license to operate our 2 way radios? Application form # and how much will it cost? We have gone to the FCC web site and holy cow mind blown!! cant find any reliable information. Thank you in advance.

Currently we use Zello and FB. We have Baofeng UV-9R that were donated to us to use.
 

DeoVindice

P25 Underground
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Gadsden Purchase
Your best bet is to speak with a radio shop. They may have a system on which you can rent airtime while being covered by their license, and/or could assist with getting your organization its own license.

It would help to know your requirements, too - do you need to communicate from one end of the county to another, or just a couple miles car-to-car? Are you able to install mobile radios into your vehicles? Handhelds, especially when used inside vehicles, should not be relied on for more than a mile or two in most cases as VHF/UHF is approximately limited to line of sight. Granted, that can be stretched out substantially by smart use of terrain, but that's probably the last thing on your mind while chasing a dangerous storm.

Lastly, those UV-9Rs are likely not type-accepted for Part 90 service and are therefore only legal for amateur use. Good used commercial equipment is common and affordable so don't stress too much about that angle.
 

MTS2000des

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really and truthfully, building out a good radio system, conventional or trunked, can cost tens of thousands to get rolling, then you have recurring costs like site lease, utilities, insurance, etc.

Especially if desiring to use portable radios. Getting desired coverage in a large area means shelling out for a good site, which can often eclipse the cost of initial equipment, licensing, coordination, etc.

Not knowing specifics of coverage requirements, or land location, it's hard to give any kind of estimate. I can tell you I have two amateur repeaters, Motorola Quantars with good 6 cavity duplexers, quality 1 and 7/8 feedline, Polyphasers, antennas, etc and these set us back around $7,000 when all is said and done just for hardware. Site lease, power bill, network (including site security stuff), insurance and site maintenance costs are several hundred a year and we are also an NPO.

Communications infrastructure costs real money. Be ready for that.
 

nd5y

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Location
Wichita Falls, TX
What is the proper way to obtain a FCC license to operate our 2 way radios? Application form # and how much will it cost? We have gone to the FCC web site and holy cow mind blown!! cant find any reliable information.
If that blows your mind then you need to hire a consultant or radio shop to do it for you.


Your location says Mineral Wells. When I lived there hams, volunteer fire departments, and county emergency management volunteers did storm spotting. What happened?

Due to the terrain there in North Texas hill country it is going to be expensive to install a radio system that provides hand held radio coverage in the whole county.

Your best bet is probably to keep using Zello.
 

ecps92

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Taxachusetts
Handing out radios at time of Activation is too late.

Best to go the Amateur Radio route, licenses are 10 yrs and individual, so as people come-n-go they can take the license with them to the new area or let it expire
I am a founding member of a Storm Spotting group in a county that has none. Not even EM or local FD/LEO. So we have formed a 501c (NON-Profit) and would like radio communications through out the county. Not to cross county lines. The radios would be strictly handed out upon spotter activation issued from the national weather service. We do not wish to obtain HAM licenses due to the financial restraints we have as an organization . What is the proper way to obtain a FCC license to operate our 2 way radios? Application form # and how much will it cost? We have gone to the FCC web site and holy cow mind blown!! cant find any reliable information. Thank you in advance.

Currently we use Zello and FB. We have Baofeng UV-9R that were donated to us to use.
 

MTS2000des

5B2_BEE00 Czar
Joined
Jul 12, 2008
Messages
5,173
Location
Cobb County, GA Stadium Crime Zone
Even building out a part 97 repeater is going to cost money, and the site access and associated costs don't diminish. Being a 501C.3 may allow for some leeway in negotiating a no/low cost site lease, but a served agency is going to require MOU and some commitment to providing something in exchange for allowing one there. One may be able to get donated equipment (e.g. a surplus analog VHF repeater, duplexers, etc) but any commercial site usually requires proper professional installation, R56 audit, and insurance. Repeaters that work well and cover a large area cost bucks to build and bucks to keep alive.
 

ab5r

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Jun 7, 2007
Messages
555
I am curious as to what county in Texas does NOT have fire protection or law enforcement. Who would you be communicating to if you has a radio system? Wierd!
 

nd5y

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Dec 19, 2002
Messages
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Location
Wichita Falls, TX
I am curious as to what county in Texas does NOT have fire protection or law enforcement. Who would you be communicating to if you has a radio system? Wierd!
Assuming by his profile location that would be Palo Pinto county.
I lived there from 2005-2012. Weather spotting was basically the same there as the surrounding counties.
What I think he means is FD, LE and EM don't do weather spotting. This makes no sense unless there were some drastic changes made after I left.
 

alcahuete

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Antelope Acres, California
Assuming you don't need coverage from one side of the county to the other, and you're just talking about local communications via handheld, you would need a land mobile license with itinerant frequencies. Last I checked, it was $170 for 10 years, and non-profits have part of that fee removed. You don't need a frequency coordinator or anything like that. It is a fairly simple process if you know what you're doing. If you don't, you're going to need to pay somebody to do the application for you.

As was said above, you will need to put the Baofengs away and get real Part 90 radios.

Storm spotters the world over use amateur radio. It gives you access to repeaters, "interoperability" with other stom spotters, etc.
 

n5ims

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Jul 25, 2004
Messages
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Storm spotters the world over use amateur radio. It gives you access to repeaters, "interoperability" with other stom spotters, etc.

Yes, like repeaters such as the two NCTC (North Central Texas Connection - www.nctc.info) repeaters in Brazos (146.86, PL 156.7 and 444.175, PL 114.8) on the Santo ISD tower with good coverage of the area. The NCTC was designed to assist the National Weather Service's Skywarn system be better able to reach counties that are in their coverage area but typically outside of range of ham radio repeaters. Soon they will also have a site at Peaster (442.45. PL 145.7) to better serve Palo Pinto County. There is an alternate repeater assigned to Palo Pinto County which is the Parker County repeater (147.04, PL 110.9). All three of these are listed at the NWS FTW Skywarn repeater list on their web site. (CWA SKYWARN Frequencies Table | WX5FWD SKYWARN® Team)

Info from the NCTC web site on their purpose and priority:
This system was founded by a few hams several years ago for recreational purposes of having a linked repeater system.
The NCTC is a vital means of communication for the National Weather Service for GROUND TRUTH reports during severe weather.
TRAFFIC TO AND FROM N.W.S. FT WORTH HAS PRIORITY ON THE REPEATER SYSTEM!!!!
 

tunnelmot

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Messages
427
Location
Conroe, TX
If your group is serious about storm spotting, then passing a ham tech exam should be elementary...and will allow your group to utilize existing wide area ham networks...which are plentiful in your locale. Not raining on the parade...it's been done very successfully many times over.

If that is non-negotiable then I suggest joining a pay-for-airtime commercial network(analog/NXDN/DMR,etc). That means bookkeeping members' dues, etc. Either choice will weed out the wannabes. Group consensus will either dictate if self license/ham usage along with the basic knowledge of how to utilize those resources, or willingness to pay into an already established linked network/airtime/equipment expenditure. Folks pay for the ability to RELIABLY key up on an existing system as little as twice a month. Tower climbers, battery backup, insurance, internet lines and real estate aren't cheap.

Lots of folks want to enjoy the benefits of a wide-area reliable ptt rf system...but few want to pony up the $.

And this is from a guy who is considering placing all family on a commercial/wide area/paid airtime system.

Dedicated PTT over cellular (POC) is also an option with many variants of everything from Chinese Android units to Kenwood, Motorola and Hytera ruggedized subscribers that may fit the bill. Motorola WAVE airtime without contract starts at $35/mo I think. You can even set up a Zello-based network with Chinese (Ebay) base units that allow easy connection into rf systems (ham or otherwise).

If everyone is willing to learn, study and practice (ham)...Texas has one of the most extensive DMR networks in the US. With proper mobiles, installations and judicious programming of codeplugs/radios I don't see how most Texas metro and outlying areas CAN'T be covered by the existing ham repeater coverage. But that takes a financial and learning commitment by the group. Texts, messages and even location reporting is possible with coordination, programming discipline, and communication with repeater owners/trustees.

In my eyes...
Option 1= ham licenses, utilize existing ham networks (DMR/FM existing networks), the group has patience to draw a comms plan
Option 2= No ham studying/rf knowledge, pay for play, acquire proper hardware and start a pool to pay the the bills for someone else to provide the infrastructure.
 

N5AFD

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Dec 19, 2002
Messages
15
Location
DFW, TX
As n5ims and others have stated, getting a ham license is the best way to go. I'm on the NWS Skywarn radio desk team in Fort Worth and we use NCTC to monitor spotters extensively. Due to that system's coverage, we always have at least one radio monitoring during severe weather events. Depending on which side of Palo Pinto is being affected, some spotters use the Weatherford repeater.

Also, once you get the Skywarn group off the ground, if you haven't done so already, please contact the Warning Coordination Meteorologist(Jennifer Dunn) at the Fort Worth office so they know you will be assisting and what your capabilities will be.

If you have any questions about coordination between spotters and the NWS, let me know or you can email our group at WX5FWD contact page
 
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