There is a loophole to getting licensed that you can legally use the ham radio bands if you are given permission from a licensed operator and under their supervision. Furthermore if you transmit and not being a nuisance the chances of a ham operator trying to track you down is slim to none and requires specialized equipment that can only be used while actively transmitting.
I mean, that's not a loophole. It's literally by design. That's like saying "there's a loophole to getting into R rated movies if you're underage. You can go with your parents."
In a time of emergency an unlicensed individual can broadcast on a ham radio. But the handbook, doesn't give a clear definition of what an emergency situation is.
transmitting on HAM frequencies without a license is the equivalent of going 5mph over. you’ll be fine, the FCC couldn’t bother wasting their time on tracking you down for it.
That makes sense but I’m guessing they’re not as hard on you if you use it in emergencies, so if you’re bleeding out and it’s the only method of communication you have so you call out to anyone you can, you’re not gonna receive some outrageous fine on top of outrageous medical bills
HAM radio saved my life once. My father has always been a licensed operator and when I was a kid he and I went canoeing down the green river and ended up getting stranded on a island after our boat washed away overnight. We were able to radio a operator in Florida who then contacted our boat rental company. They were able to send out a search boat to rescue us.
In an emergency situation being licensed or not goes out the window and anyone is allowed to broadcast. Their range depends on the watts of your radio. The guy posting this video is using a BaoFeng 5VR 8 watt radio. He is probably going to get 8 to 10 miles range line of site. You go into mountains and canyons it’s drastically cut down. Unless you hook up to a local repeater which can transmit you across the coast if they are networked
@ericspearo5731 imagine your trying to outrun a tornado or something see a car and are like... ohh nah man I can't drive that, my license is suspended 😂
@@bbbbbbb51 Them having the option to prosecute doesn’t hurt anyone and acts as a further deterrent against potential rule breakers. And the fact that they have chose, so far, to not use it means they aren’t abusing their power. You gain nothing by removing their power to prosecute.
@@alexlammers6371 that's not really proof that's just knowledge that can be found anywhere for all I know you could just be making up a random string of characters as a callsign theres really no way to prove this unless you wanna send over ur card with a picture of yourself or verify by radio and DM I'm not asking you to do anything just trying to put in perspective that theres really no way you can just prove something like that just as the other guy can't prove hes a vet unless hes got medals or shows a military id VA card whatever it may be
@@tychodancer Oh, just like how I can't own a fucking hedgehog as a pet in the state of Georgia? Just because they're "unsure about them" (last time I checked their reasoning for the law, 15 years ago). My favorite animal too! Cute little SOBs 😢
I used to mess around on my dad's CB radio. He always told me if i did they'd find me and I'd go to jail lol. (All the truckers knew it was some kid playing around they never got mad)
@@timokane-vu3ks is it more illegal to abuse the HAM radio frequencies than the citizens band ? I know you're not supposed to play around on CB either but maybe it's not that big of deal. My dad probably said that so I wouldn't mess around
@@col.cottonhill6655 cb is citizens band, it is unmoderated apart from maybe channel 9, and can be used by anyone, as the radios u can buy for cheap don’t broadcast hundreds of miles like high wattage units, which are debatably illegal, but if u buy one it’s perfectly legal to mess around with, which I do with my friends very often
@@timothywhite8130 unless you get yourself one of those handy dandy 1000W ebay redneck amplifiers and scream autistic nonsense on channel 6, seems to be a common thing to pick up
Here we go, infamous HAM POLICE... You HAM "elite" operators, instead of threatening, scaring and turning down people, should work on promoting your hobby and welcoming people...
@@alopandur Not ham police. I want more people using the service, not less. It's just that there are idiots out there who think it's fun to interfere with others using radio legally. There are also idiots who think they can use whatever they like who end up interfering with licensed operators. Rules, regs, and licensing are to make the bands generally usable for everyone. Fifty bucks or less($35 to the FCC and $0-$15 for the test) and you can get a Tech licence. You can buy a book or find free classes in-person or online.
The FCC doesn't care as long as it's not on police, fire department, ems, aircare frequencies. The only ones that that'll harass you are the hall monitors that are hard core ham operators.
@@pb6839 and they do what? Report John Doe (like anyone is going to identify themselves to someone not local law enforcement) to who? Do you think the FCC is coming running for a handheld on ham bands? Or do you think local police with their encrypted Motorola trunk systems care about your ham band? No Identification, no enforcement
Dude I was flying into an airfield and couldn’t make any calls cause two guys were on a hot mic roasting a dude about visiting his mom for like 5 minutes.
Dubious at best. It wasn't one of these radios. They don't tune ATC frequencies. I know because I was a controller for 13 years and I own one. More likely, they were hot miced in an aircraft on the ramp.
It’s usually not the FCC. If you’re being a douche on the channel, it’ll be a HAM that tracks you down. They have events called fox hunts for fun in which they basically practice the skill.
@@davidbrunner4413 Usually, if you don’t act stupid, you don’t have a problem. Unfortunately, that’s why all this regulation and BS exist in the first place. The world probably overall be a better place if half the people in it knew how to act like adults, or at least figure out there’s a time and place for everything.
*COULDN'T care less. Why do you guys say "they could care less?" That literally doesn't make sense. Saying "they COULD care less" means that they do care.
On our aviation radio licence course( in the EU), there are countless mentions that in case of emergency, you can basically do whatever it takes to solve the situation, so I don't think you'd have any problems doing it in an emergency.
I have two hams for that reason and I preemptively looked up all the local repeaters to know how to transmit to them in case I need to reach someone far away. I've got a path that will get me about 100 miles using repeaters. Kinda cool preparation as I live where hurricanes like to visit often. Last time one came through we lost cell phone uses for three weeks in a 30 mile radius
Teeechnically detachable antennas are illegal to use on FRS, it needs to be a specifically made radio for that frequency. Not that anyone is going to care or reprimand you lol, there's no way for anyone to know you aren't using an approved FRS radio
I don't know much about ham radios but my grandpa had a cb radio in his car from his truck driving days. He told me this story about how he got on the horn after a hit and run with his family in the car. Minutes and a 1/4 mile later 3 rigs had pined the guy into a barrier. Good people out there going above and beyond. So yea don't waste the good people's time.
For a PRR role over short distances, especially with something similar to this or the cheaper model beofengs, check the specific regulated frequency ranges and power limits for your local or national law. Here in the UK there are regulated frequencies, but there are ranges that you can use unqualified below a certain output outside of those ranges.
honestly as a licenced ham i never really cared if folks used the radios without a license. If your using a club repeater just try to be decent on there. But for simplex operation just find an empty channel in the simplex sub band and nobody will give a crap.
The FCC has literally never prosecuted anyone for unlicenced use of HAM freq's. Even if HAM's track you down the worst they can do is give you the stink eye.
When I was in high school, we used to track people for fun. In fact we used to make a game of it, playing hide and seek across the entire city. Whoever was hiding would randomly transmitted and The seekers would track. It would take literally minutes to track someone down who was either being annoying or interfering with our conversations. Sometimes this would result with snipped coax going to their antennas once we found their house.
The chance of them finding you if you are transmitting without a license is ridiculously low. You would have to be openly belligerent with it while they are actively searching for you.
My school hat a radio operation club. An old man supervised the children between 12-16 and introduce them into radio communication. It was a sought after club and always full of ppl. I remember them playing hide and seek on campus and every one is equipped with a good walkie talkie. Youd hear them a mile away bc of the beeping 😂
A quick Google search shows 1 in 2011 and 1 in 2016. Ultimately it depends on the old people around you if anything. Most Ham radio operators are in their mid to late 70s now.
The stupidest thing about living in the US today is that you need a license or a permit for everything. Basically you have to ask the government for permission for what you want to do and if they say no, you cant do it or you get fined/arrested.
I can see there being a fine presented if it’s someone constantly being a nuisance on first responders radio. But I really don’t see the FCC tracking you down for transmitting every once in a while
Agreed. Im seeing mixed messages about general transmission vs transmitting on emergancy frequencies and havent gotten a clear answer but one this is for sure. If you stay off frequencies for aviation, emergancy responders and so on, youll be ok. My old job had lower end radios and there was no issue. Whe. Me and a few others got this exact radio, we had a co worker tune them to our works frequency and channel.
@@GreyBlackWolfyeah you're basically good as long as you're not bothering anybody. Pirate radio stations are just as illegal and it's pretty rare they ever get taken down by anything other than their operators losing interest in the project.
@@davidponder1654 you're right if somebody is interfering with radio signals from the police or truckers or the military you're going to get really screwed but if you're just talking to another random person on a ham radio nobody cares
@@davidponder1654 The last fine I am aware of is one guy got hit with a big fine for operating an unlicensed radio station. Even that took a year or two for them to actually come out and do something.
My bro and I used some walkie talkies for fun as kids. Messing around. Then someone told us to stop. So we did. I didn't know about this. It's funny thinking about that knowing this now.
@@TBjunk25 the FCC can track and pinpoint a broadcast. so yes, they can come after you. the likelihood they are gonna be able to hone in on the sparing use of this handheld is slim to none. they have bigger fish to fry.
@@Tyler-ts2ld also other ham operators,some are legit trackers with their homemade equipments and then report the possible location to the FCC As long as you stay below the radar it’s fine but if anyone abuses the radio then defo someone will report it
@@evan3458 if youre generally being a dick on an important frequency like police lines, military comms, EMS lines, etc. and/or refuse to get off when someone tells you to, or maybe try to impersonate someone who actually uses the comms like emergency service dispatch or a soldier relaying false information just to mess with the military, youll probably get someone annoyed enough to track you down and report you, which would easily give the FCC enough reason to take away the license, otherwise should honestly be ok
@@UndercastEsmeganitrospeedno, it really is any frequency. It's just that it's also pretty much only meant for emergency situations where establishing a line of communication at all is more important than anything it might interfere with and using it frivolously will get that license yanked in a heartbeat.
@@MichaelPechner I knew a guy who did that for his AE. Just took about 600 practice tests until he aced them and then went and tested. I prefer actually knowing my stuff. Keeps me out of trouble and let's me have relatively intelligent conversations with those who know more than me.
@@Silversnapdragon I agree, I did the same. In fact when I was an active VE I would relearn the material to retake the test when the materials changed.
I would say that is completely fine. At the very least you are using the bands in a way that cannot interfere with license holders who are the primary users. I always recommend to get your license as it isn’t just a piece of paper and has some very important safety information that you should learn.
@@FatallydisorganizedGMRS is also a licensed service, for what it’s worth. The point of the license isn’t to keep people out, it’s to try and make sure you know enough about your equipment and operating procedures to be effective and not do something dumb.
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Isn‘t the UV-5R illegal anyways because of harmonics?
I used to work right next to a military base using that exact same radio as a referee. Used to pick up random garble from the base, even a few words here and there. According to my manager we were using illegal frequencies but since the boss above him was too stupid to use the radios properly we had to use those or else he’d blow a gasket. The Feds even visited us once but it wasn’t over the radios.
If you’re in the U.S., you can use the Family Radio Service (FRS) frequencies without needing a license. They do have limited power, but if you’re just playing around with your friends it’s good enough.
Ehhh we had a HAM with a 200 foot tower in a residential neighborhood.. it was a awesome raido. Our amplifier was so strong we could only use it at night. We could key the mic and all the phones in the neighborhood would stop working. We had two guys around the world and we could dial them in and bounce a code around the world in about 5 mins. Never ran into any law though and we used it all the time with no license.
You can also tune that radio to the regular talkabout frequencies which is what those like $5 walkie talkies run off of. It’s not on the ham frequency band and it’s perfectly legal.
No, it's not "perfectly legal". Those radios aren't legally certified for usage outside of ham bands. Odds of getting caught are next to zero, but it's still not at all legal. Just like going 1mph over the speed limit.
160.950 used to be the Norfolk Southern frequency, and I would talk with crews on trains that were tied down. NS used to be chill AF. Then they changed their frequency because of people like me 😭
@Stephen Walker imagine inventing a tool, selling that tool freely, but not allowing that person who bought it to use that tool. Like, a hammer, or a nail gun. It's a communications device, not a g un or two ton death machine.
Back when I was a firefighter, we opened our station up to the public one day to show the citizens of the city our gear/firetrucks. A group of 12 year old girls came up to me, and we were discussing radios. I was showing them my radio and one girl decided to hit the red button (aka the MAYDAY button). Thankfully, due to being in the bay with all the intercom speakers, my radio was off
...if the power goes out...anything youd wish you could listen on or would be useful is on an encrypted channel youd never be able to connect to and listen in on or transmit on
Let’s say that, you are the government and intel is valuable and don’t want it to leak out so they have to cut you off to save time, so they can move resources to a safe location so they are one step ahead of you, they don’t want people to hear the key classified movements
@@Mark_nobody3 this isn't the 70s or 80s all those channels are encrypted and you'd never be able to listen in anyways unless u steal one of theirs and they didn't notice and didn't change it
@Mark Nobody That, and the fact that in most emergency situations, average people are NOT helpful. If anything they make things worse and get in the way of the people who CAN help and have been trained properly to do so. A good amount of the training for emergency situations is not only WHAT to do, but HOW to act and techniques for keeping your emotions under wraps. It's about teaching people how to retain their higher cognitive thinking when they would otherwise naturally have a fight or flight response triggered. It's those adrenaline responses that need to be trained out of people so that a bad situation isn't made worse.
They very easily could find you. Most the software is actually free download on computer if that’s what you’re into. I was a cryptologic linguist in the Army, and it is incredibly easy to track a radio like this. That being said, I really don’t think anyone would even care if you have a license, Nevermind tracking you down lol.
They can track frequencies via the time it takes to communicate with nearby recievers/towers & which direction signals are being sent.. it's not that hard. & all radio frequencies are monitored more then you think. Criminals & foreign governments use channels like this to communicate, if every innocent americans call & texts are recorded via the Patriot act then yes every public frequency available is monitored, recorded & stored for future use.
It’s important to know that the monitoring stations record things such that they can investigate a crime that happened years ago so don’t think a lack of funding will stop the investigating
@@LemonSoulz they could look up the fake callsign you give and see it's not in the federal database. Then again, all they could do if they found you is give you the stink eye. The FCC has never prosecuted anyone for unlicensed tx on ham freq's.
@@LemonSoulz Your given a station ID you must announce yourself as, Radio signals are recorded 24/7 by anyone The only people who care are HAMboomers , but licensing is very cheap and easy as its just etiquette questions
@Someone said War ?? Gotta start somewhere, I've bought my share of junk over the years. Before Trijicon and Aimpoint I used Truglo, for my first rifle.
@@BloodyKnives66 Yea that’s fine, the problem is when you get online and start peddling shit products to idiots because you think you got it all figured out is what I have a problem with.
There is actually a set of frequencies available on that radio that are legal to use. It’s called FRS. The Family Radio Service (FRS) is a private, two-way, short-distance voice and data communications service for facilitating family and group activities. The most common use for FRS channels is short-distance, two-way voice communications using small hand-held radios that are similar to walkie-talkies. The service is licensed-by-rule so the general public can use the devices without having to obtain a license and channel sharing is achieved through a listen-before-talk etiquette. The FRS is authorized 22 channels in the 462 MHz and 467 MHz range, all of which are shared with General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) which requires an individual license for use.
Technically that isn't true. The device itself has to be licensed for FRS/GMRS. Ham radios are not. However if you just aren't a tool then no body is going to care.
@@captainwasabi if what you say is true, please post a link directing us how and/or where to license a device. Only operator licensing is mentioned in any FCC resources I can find.
Fun fact: anyone can broadcast on amateur bands, and even outside to the other two classes above your first license in case of emergency. If youre stranded, life is threatened, etc. and need assistance, disregard the fine and make sure you stay alive. But in cases of emergency, knowing how to press that button wont save you. You need to know what bands to run where youre most likely to be heard, and scanning channels wont mean who you hear can hear you. Learn how to operate them, how theyre built and modified, and keep one with you always. Its an underrated skill, comes easy with time, and can mean the difference between having more time or being cut short.
It isn't illegal to use the radio, it's illegal to broadcast on specific frequencies that those radios are able to access. There are a great number of frequencies that are perfectly legal for use by the general public, lisence or not.
I have a couple of those Boefang radios and we use them all the time. Nobody can ever find you and identify you when you’re moving. It’s literally impossible to track moving broadcasters and nobody will ever identify who you are. So the law is essentially useless.
There are ways to track you when your moving I've looked into but honestly the fcc unless your being so ignorant on active frequencies or just jamming the line your never gonna be bothered
I ain't skeerd. The hammies get a case of deputy fife syndrome and claim $10,000 fines, jail, water boarding, and the electric chair as punishment. I'm a button pusher sooooo
There’s no law that prohibits pressing that button, but there is a ruling by the FCC that states you cannot use a ham radio without a ham radio license
@Chris Kortjohn the are the fcc is a part of the government if they catch you the will fine you or if you do bad things like sware or insult you can go to jail
I wouldn't say "loads" but you can factory reset the uv-5r for frs/gmrs frequencies, the illegal part is that you're able to transmit and cause problems on other frequencies, also frs is supposed to be limited to 0.05W and this transmits with 5W, and you also need a license for gmrs in the US, although there's no test involved, it's like a $30-$50 yearly tax grab Moral of the story, don't talk to planes or emergency services, don't be a nuisance on HAM repeaters and you'll be fine
