Just purchased a baofeng, do I really need a license?

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I plan on using it with buddies while overlanding only. Is it really necessary that we all get tech licenses just to talk to each other when we're just driving around off-roading. I really don't care to talk to other/ new people but my friends. We were all using frs gmrs walkie talkies before this so when I found out they were compatible I bought the baofeng now we all have one. We're in so cal/ Los Angeles so I doubt anybody is going to triangulate where our location is and turn us into the FCC.

I know some people are going to hate but I'm not on the radio to talk over people's conversations or drop the F BOMB every sentence. Just find a frequency no one is on and talk to my friends. So as long as I stay off repeater frequencies I should be all good?
 

MANUCHAO

Aventurero
I was in the same boat last year.
Planning on using it only while on the road / trail with others I know.
I did so for a couple of months, but most of my runs are solo.
So, I decided to get my lic., I don't use it much, but it is nice to have for the I broke down were there is no cell service scenario.... or to get help if someone else needs it...
I would suggest you get your license... I know a learned a couple of things by taking the class...

Which model did you get?
 

mbuckner

Adventurer
No, if you are going to monitor radio transmissions only ..

However, you need a license to "legally" transmit ... a few hours of study and a take simple test
and $15 for the test beats getting fined up to $20,000 .... and the FCC plays hard ball ......

Also, HAM's tend self police ...

Good luck,

Mike
KE7GRM
 
Okay been geeking out on HAM and been "GOING HAM" really interested in getting my license after I learn everything enough to past the test. I might as well take the test I figure if I'm wasting all this time watching YouTube vids on ham and how to program the darn thing.

Got the original UV-5R, my buddy got the BFF8+

I also seen that hams police themselves. Kinda crazy how they do that.

I just want to tell my friends to stop on the trail when I need to pee or to slow down because there going to miss a turn. Ham sounds more trouble than frs and gmrs if you have to say your call sign every ten minutes. Everyone really does that I guess.
 
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mhiscox

Expedition Leader
Ham sounds more trouble than frs and gmrs . . .
It is considerably more trouble. It's also a pretty sophisticated system that's been around forever and has much more valuable uses than our trail interactions. Hams would not like you accidentally triggering their repeaters, and most think that if it's too much trouble for someone to get the required license, FRS/GMRS and CB radios are readily available and should be used instead. (I don't know that it's too much different than how an experienced overlander would feel coming on a trail blocked by someone who couldn't be bothered to mount proper tires.)

Getting the ham license is not rocket science, but it is a bit of a bother, so lots of people manage decent trial communications with unlicensed radios. You may find that the easiest approach is to get different (cheap) radios with frequencies/power ratings that don't requiring licensing.

Good luck if you decide to get your license. All the information and practice tests you need to pass the test are on the web.
 

mike the welder

Adventurer
Ham's do police themselves, in fact they volunteer to be Ham police and report violators to the FCC. You may not ever get caught but if you do there is a big fine and you will be charged with a Felony.
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
We primarily self police, the FCC doesn't have the resources to monitor every user and band and the truth is the ham band is very low priority for them. But they would love to have an excuse to reallocate some of our spectrum, so we don't like to give them any reason. The band where especially 70cm is located is very valuable for government and commercial users and we really don't use it as much as we should. Over parts of it we are secondary users as it is, so, yeah, it's possible that you'd eventually get spotted and reported.

The Tech test is about as easy as it can get. Just take it and get your call sign. Then you have no reason to ever wonder or look over your shoulder. You might also learn something and make a few new friends in the process.
 

mm58

Observer
Michael Vincent... if all you want is comms for short range trail use, why not just stick with CB? There's more CB in use with 4x4 anyway. And you can hard mount it and an antenna in your vehicle. It might even have better results on the trail than your handheld Baofeng.
 

Finlay

Triarius
I would recommend you get the license. It's easy, inexpensive, and good for 10 years. Plus, you might learn something.

Also, even if you just use FRS radios, you may need a license for those as well.

If you operate a radio that has been approved for both FRS and GMRS, and if you limit your operations to the FRS channels with a maximum power of ½ watt effective radiated power and an integral antenna, you are not required to have a license. (Note that some dual-service radios transmit with higher power on FRS channels 1 through 7; these radios can be used without a license only on FRS channels 8 through 14.)

The most important thing though is that the FCC can use license information as a tool to gauge interest - especially when it comes to auctioning off spectrum. You can be absolutely certain that businesses would love to be using HAM frequencies for their services and it is only lobbying by the ARRL that keeps that at bay so that Joe Q. Public can use those frequencies.
 

MrWesson

Adventurer
I'd say if you stay off repeaters your chance of getting caught would be almost 0.

I'll also say that hams are obnoxious but I read they became that way due to a spectrum of radio(that they didn't use) was taken away and made public. So I guess that rubbed them the wrong way.

I have one but don't transmit. I keep it in the truck with repeaters programmed knowing that if I break down out of cell range and in trouble I could use it for help hoping one of the old geezers chatting about the weather might help me instead of turning me over to the FCC while scolding me. After monitoring the Ham for a few months I'd bet on the 2nd.

I don't get my license because I don't care to talk to hams about politics and the weather.

For trail talk I'd just use FRS radios because I don't think you'd need the range of ham and from handheld to handheld ham isn't much better than FRS.
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
I suspect the average age of hams here is probably below that of old geezer. The hobby is what you make of it, there are lots of facets other than ragchewing over weather. Conversations on the radio are no different than anywhere else, whatever seems interesting at the time. Although a lot of it seems to end up about radios and antennas. But just about every 4WD trip I've ever been on usually ends up talking about lifts and lockers, so it sort of goes with the crowd.
 

kojackJKU

Autism Family Travellers!
No, if you are going to monitor radio transmissions only ..

However, you need a license to "legally" transmit ... a few hours of study and a take simple test
and $15 for the test beats getting fined up to $20,000 .... and the FCC plays hard ball ......

Also, HAM's tend self police ...

Good luck,

Mike
KE7GRM

So, for example, say if you were Haming it up one day, and you had someone come across the air needing help, you would report them?
 

craig333

Expedition Leader
Its really easier than you think to get your license. Don't get overly carried with stuff like IDing every ten minutes. No one is monitoring you with a stopwatch and it quickly becomes second nature. As to Socal, theres a lot of hams down there. They just may be listening. You never know when you just may need to hit that repeater and call for help. If all you do is talk on the trail will you remember how to use a repeater?
 

EMrider

Explorer
I'd say if you stay off repeaters your chance of getting caught would be almost 0.

I'll also say that hams are obnoxious but I read they became that way due to a spectrum of radio(that they didn't use) was taken away and made public. So I guess that rubbed them the wrong way.

I have one but don't transmit. I keep it in the truck with repeaters programmed knowing that if I break down out of cell range and in trouble I could use it for help hoping one of the old geezers chatting about the weather might help me instead of turning me over to the FCC while scolding me. After monitoring the Ham for a few months I'd bet on the 2nd.

I don't get my license because I don't care to talk to hams about politics and the weather.

For trail talk I'd just use FRS radios because I don't think you'd need the range of ham and from handheld to handheld ham isn't much better than FRS.

My assumptions and feelings as well.

The repeaters in my area are dead zones, except for some occasional inane banter between a couple of crusty guys.

The baofengs are easy to program for FRS/GMRS frequencies.

Also, it is perfectly legal to transmit on ham frequencies without a license in an emergency. I typically program in repeaters where I travel for this reason, but don't use them for basic communication.

R
 
Only bought the baofeng because it looks better than a walkie talkie, you can put different antennas and you could get it in camo if you wanted plus accesories are cheap. A CB inside my car would be more complicated for me to install, the antenna would get annoying, plus a handheld cb is huge.

Just listened in on my first HAM conversations and they were depresessing. Figured out I can use MURS frequencies with no license tho.
 
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