Clean VHF/CB radio installs

Woah... really!?
Im 110% sure they don’t have a license. so it’s a HAM radio?

I hang out with a group of about 5 guys.. one of them bought this radio and the others followed. But i know for a fact that they aren’t licensed... how are they able to use it?

 

@thedriza thank you for your note. This is my "Screen Off" and "Startup" image. Entune allows you to upload any image. It is super fun when my Star Trek friends sit in my truck! All of the non-trekkies are totally confused by this display and I just tell them it is my warp core status. Here is a great TW thread that discusses how to upload the images and a bunch of samples:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-custom-startup-and-screen-off.301061/

I just modified a 'LCARS' display to include the name of my truck on it using 'LCARS' fonts, and then uploaded it into Entune. I'm super nerdy...

 

This radio also operates on frequencies outside of the ham bands. Outside of the ham bands again, some frequencies require a license, some don't. However, this is where it gets questionable. This radio probably isn't legal to operate on the MURS or FRS frequencies, but people do it with very very little chance of getting in trouble. Then there are the commercially licensed frequencies, which perhaps your friends have access to (this is what I use on the trail if I'm with non-hams).

Without getting into any further dissertation on the FCC licensing spectrum, it's probably easier to first ask what frequencies they use.

 

@Taconator_ If your friends are not licensed HAM operators and they are using a VHF radio, like the Baufeng, and they are using any of the HAM bands, they are absolutely violating FCC rules. The FCC states this can lead to "enforcement actions, including seizure of equipment, fines and other criminal penalties". Now, the Baufeng has some properties that many HAMs state are violating FCC rules, which it opens up the frequencies for the Family Radio Service (FRS). FRS radios are those Handie Talkie radios that you can purchase just about anywhere. The problem with the Baufeng is that it allows you to operate at higher power at those frequencies than what is allowed. So, as long as you dial down the power on the FRS frequencies, you aren't violating any rules. Anybody can purchase a HAM radio, but only licensed HAMs are allowed to operate on those frequencies. I would encourage your friends to just go and get the Technician license. It is SO easy to pass this exam, and if you have your friends go to ARRL.org where they can find an exam that is being offered in their area. I can't imagine 'wheeling' without a HAM radio. Cell phone communication is sparse where I head out to, and I can absolutely get rescued if something goes terribly wrong, with my radio! Plus the technology with APRS allows you to send messages, including email and text, to other licensed HAMs.

 

Yes, I'd recommend getting a ham license too. But understand it's not the only way to get on the air. Part of the technician class ham test includes understanding FCC frequency alocations. Understanding that by itself is worth the studying.

 

That's what I thought it was. I was hoping you had a Star Trek theme for the whole interface.

 

They don’t have the Baufeng all my friends have this one.
https://www.ruggedradios.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=296_1127&products_id=1632

Which lead me here because I hated that god awful blue and was looking for an alternative not realizing it was a HAM radio and not a CB lol
I’ll definitely bring that up to them!
So how does the FCC track you? How would they know to find you and fine you?

 

If you plan on operating in any of the bands that require a license, please get one. For the ham bands, download one of the free apps. It's very easy to pass. Study via the app for a bit and then take your test. It only costs 15.00. Google ham radio license test near me.

Yes the FCC can find you. Radio serial number carried in the signal and triangulation. Will they? Highly unlikely. But it does happen and the fine is large - 10 grand. If you are unlicensed and are creating interference and your known by a licensed ham in your area, you may get turned in. Also licensed operators aren't legally allowed to communicate with knowingly unlicensed operators. Out east, most hams are ornery old men and get worked up when unlicensed operators mucky up the airwaves. It's a hot topic that I hear regularly...

 

Thank you @Taconator_ ! I really don't know how the FCC tracks all of this. I do know that the HAM community is self-policing with a lot of HAMS going out and doing signal triangulation and signal hunting. HAM operators are VERY serious about keeping their bands and don't want to lose them, so self-policing is the name of the game with this. Please feel free to ask me any questions or to also have your friends ping me about licensing. It has totally helped me when being out in the 'boonies' and to at least let people know that I am safe and sound.

 

Do people really use that? It's slow as shit and overheats my phone

 

They might have purchased from rugged radio. But that's a $25 Baofeng, just rebranded. Total ripoff. Seems like rugged probably has some frequencies pre-programmed into the radio. But I'm not sure what they could program into them that would be legal without a ham license. They're not technically legal for MURS/FMRS/GMRS.

$18 BAOFENG UV-5R Dual Band Two Way Radio (Black), 144-148MHz & 420-450MHz

https://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-5R-Dual-Radio-Black/dp/B007H4VT7A

 

That is the Qi spec not the pad itself...induction loss results in heat and does not have the same electron flow as conduction. Trade offs...of course the slower charge prolongs the batter's cycle lives, but if you don't keep your phone for many years that may not be the trade off for connivence you are looking for.

 

I dont think they designed it to prolong my battery life, I think it's just a piece of shit. Worst wireless charger I've used.

 

Clearly well understood.

 

I'm ashamed to say that in my youth, 14 yrs old, I was on a base CB from my house, and people were arguing back and forth, throwing insults, and I chimed in, and in my comment was a single f-bomb, not a screaming rant or anything more extended, and I'd say a little less than an hour later, a very unsmiling man in a black suit rang the doorbell and showed ID to my father and identified himself as some kind of federal agent. He spoke only to my father, never spoke to me, but threatened fines, etc. He was only there for a few minutes and then he left. Then I caught hell from my father, but that was it.

This was in a metropolitan area, not out in the boonies. My house was large, and on the highest ridge around, and I was regularly talking to people 50 miles away. So I guess I gave them a great signal to hone in on. But I still don't know why they bothered, or how they got to me so fast. But this was in the late '60s so I guess me and George Carlin have something in common.,

 

Rugged Radios is a shady operation. They have been cited by the FCC for selling radios programmed with channels that are not legal. Their radios are marked up significantly, you can find the exact same radio from other sources for a fraction of the cost. That blue radio: there is no frequency where that radio can be utilized without a license. Even if you have a GMRS license, the GMRS and FRS services require the radio has part 95 certification. Even if you have your own part 90 license, the radio must have part 90 certification. That radio has no certification. Even with an amateur radio license, that radio has recently become questionable to use in the amateur allocation. The recent FCC advisory makes any radio that is capable of operating outside the amateur allocation, and also lacks any certification, is no longer legal to use in the amateur allocation. The ARRL is challenging the FCC's advisory, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

I'd really like to know what frequencies Rugged Radios is programming. If anyone has one and can read it with CHIRP and post the channels.

The owner of rugged radios was challenged by the FCC about the radios being sold. His response was that it's the responsibility of the user to operate the radio legally. Which is technically correct. He's selling you a radio that is not legal for you to use. I'll repeat my first comment: Rugged Radios is a shady operation.

 

What I like about America’s hams is the collective responsibility and morals. Despite the ever increasing probability that our equipment has to be sourced from societies as yet unable to bridge what Henry Ford accomplished, the workers able to afford the product thus inherent social investment in quality, we as a society can resist the backward pressures of corruption and slough by supporting what is right.

 

I am considering this area of the dash. Any concern about airbag interference?

 

I'm under the assumption that the wheel bag will be filling the area in front of me so quick that in the unfortunate event of a bag deployment, the radio wouldn't come near me.

I know momentum builds in a crash, but I also don't think it has enough mass to be a concern

 

You better hope you're right. What if the airbag with the radio is a couple milliseconds faster than the wheel airbag? The radio could go right through your head.